Playlist: HITS magazine

To celebrate the release of our first print issues, here's a playlist featuring all artists involved.

HITS x Berlin

We hosted our very first live gig in Berlin - and this is what it looked like.

Cover The HITS

Our latest video series - covers performed by our favourite acts, exclusively for us.

Video Interview: Scenic Route To Alaska

Melting away in front of Stuttgart's castle, we had a chat about touring, band names, Toy Story and a lot more.

Find us on YouTube!

Visit us on the 'tubes for interviews, exclusive performances and outtakes.

Day 28: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HITS | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

IT'S OUR THIRD BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
I'm not even going to apologise for the caps because if I don't use them today, when will I? 

Today my third year of writing this blog is over. 
I don't even know where to start, maybe I'll just try to reflect this journey a bit.

In February 2012 I went to a gig. Martin and James were headlining, Jim Kroft was their support act for the tour and Dan Dietrich happened to be pre-support for two shows. 
If you asked me about my top 3 gigs, this one would be mentioned. 

The four incredibly talented musicians first left me speechless and then made me talk about the gig for ages. Once all of my friends were annoyed by me repeating the story over and over again, I decided to find a new way to let more people know about it.
But how? Google suggested blogging. Google is never wrong. So I created a blog, stole the name from a line of my favourite M&J song and wrote my first post.

And that's how it all started.

During my first year I wrote about pretty much everything that came to my mind, including music, of course. In October I started an online interview series with musicians I absolutely enjoyed. (Hi Martin and James, Dan Dietrich, The Arkanes!)
The interviews and music posts were appreciated by quite a few people and some musicians were interested in being featured. This led to the decision of turning house in the sand into a music blog. 

And now I'm sat in my chair, writing a post about how incredible these three years felt and I feel very lucky that I get to do what I love.
Within the three years of HITS (I still love this coincidence) I got to meet a lot of people, mostly musicians. Seeing talented people doing what they love makes me happy just as much and I'm glad there's a way I can share their music with you.

I would consider myself a very ambitious person and if I want to achieve something, I'll find a way to do it. It makes me so happy to look back on three years of blogging and being able to say that a lot of my goals became real. (I mean... I'm about to go on tour!)

But of course, I couldn't do everything on my own.
A lot of things depend on other people and so does blogging. Everyone can write a blog, which means there are literally millions of blogs you could read. And yet a big amount of wonderful people decides to check out the content I produce on house in the sand. This is pretty much the most wonderful feeling.

I fear words can't describe my gratitude but I'll try anyway - thank you to everyone who has ever decided to read my blog. It means the world to me and I can't wait to tackle bigger things with you during our fourth year of doing this!

I hate thanking a group of people because it always makes it seem like I don't appreciate everyone. (Which is nonsense, I am really thankful for every single reader!!)
But there are a few people I have to thank:
My mum, "my" band The Arkanes and their crew, the Berlin gang and my wonderful (media) friends. Without you, none of this would be possible.

So yeah, I'll have to say it myself - happy birthday, house in  the sand. You'll always be my baby.
(I just sounded like a mum...) (Great...)

This video shows exactly what I mean - the support HITS has gotten over the years never stops to amaze me. So here's a video of all birthday wishes we've received this month:



To watch all performances in full length, click the picture of your desire and the post will be shown:


http://houseinthesand.blogspot.de/2015/02/day-26-arkanes-hitsbc15.html



And that's it for year 3! Wow!
I'm sure there are many more to come and I can't wait for everything that is yet to happen.


Thank you for your continued support, it means the world!


Yours truly,





Credits // Text, Image & Video edit: Vanessa Jertschewske | video snippets created by the musicians

Day 27: Best Of: all performances | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

Here we go. 26 days of live music are over.
But we still have today and, of course, tomorrow to celebrate.

Instead of having another act, I thought it would be nice to reflect on the incredible talent we've seen within the last four weeks.

I'd like to take a few minutes to just chat about the performances with you.
(Trying my best to save all the cheesy words for tomorrow, so you should be fine.)

23 of the videos were filmed by the acts themselves - and I think that deserves a round of applause; they all took time to work with me and all of them did so well and were a pleasure to work with.
The other 3 acts whom I got to film myself were just as wonderful and made our filming sessions absolutely enjoyable.

During our Birthday Countdown we've had several song premieres; some "first times" of playing the songs and we've seen fantastic covers. 

The genres varied between acoustic, alternative, folk, pop, rock and soul.

The locations also offered a wide range of places; from living rooms to venues, to practice rooms, to dressing rooms, to spots near a river.


And as different as all of those performance might have been, they all had one thing in common: they were passionate and honest. 
I am very proud of the lineup I got together for our birthday party. 
All of these acts and their teams have been super supportive and I'm absolutely thankful for that.

I guess that's enough rambling for today.

Now go ahead and enjoy this collection of all performaces that were a part of #HITSBC15:



Here are all performances in full lenght, just click the title of your desire to be led to the post and video:



And that's it for today!

If you enjoyed it, please share this post and video with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15 


Thank you guys so much for reading, watching and supporting!!! 



 



Credits // Text, image editing & video editing: Vanessa Jertschewske | credits for images and videos are below each solo post

Day 26: The Arkanes | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

So a few things changed during you guys were watching the countdown. There were meant to be 27 performances but due to some unforeseen reasons, day 26 will be the last one.
We still have two very special videos coming up though, so the official end of our party is still February 28th.

What is the Birthday Countdown though? Throughout the entire month of February, one artist/one band a day is going to wish house in the sand a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for us.

For this last performance we're having The Arkanes to celebrate with us.

The Arkanes are a quartet from Liverpool, UK.
The rock band seems to be taking over the world step by step. With an EP out ("Don't Act Like You Don't Know Me") they've already built a loyal and world wide fanbase. Debut album "W.A.R" took everything to another level - the first single off of it "Sharpshooter" even made its way into the top 20 of the German rock charts.

The Arkanes are:
Chris Pate (lead vocals, guitar)
Dylan Cassin (backing vocals, lead guitar)
Jake Hallam (backing vocals, bass)
Andy Long (drums)

2014 was a busy year for the Liverpudlians; they released their album, went a little lineup change and toured with Monster Truck, The Rifles, Blues Pills and The Temperance Movement.

Next month the lads will be playing their first headline tour in Germany.


It's no secret the band is one of the most featured bands on house in the sand. I'm happy to call this talented lot good friends of mine and couldn't be more excited to share their performance of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" with you.


Yeah, even though I've probably spammed them with thank yous, I'll just do it one more time: thank you Kanesies for your support and for almost always doing what I tell you to do. ;) I'll see you soon! 


Please go ahead and share this performance with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15.


The Arkanes online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud




 

Day 25:                                                                                                                              Day 27:
 photo Sarah Bollinger Photo KLEIN_zpsyikevsxm.jpg photo question mark_zpspzwu94vw.jpg










Credits // Text & Image: Vanessa Jertschewske | Video performance & camera: The Arkanes | Video intro: Vanessa Jertschewske

Day 25: Sarah Bollinger | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

February is definitely house in the sand's favourite month. There's no way to deny it. A month of live music - I mean, is there anything us music lovers could love more?

What is the Birthday Countdown though? Throughout the entire month of February, one artist/one band a day is going to wish house in the sand a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for us.

Today Sarah Bollinger is the star of our party.

Sarah Bollinger is a singer/songwriter from St. Louis, USA. Her music is often described as a mixture between soul, r'n'b and blues. You'll also find light sprinkles of pop in her sound.

She has been making music ever since she can remember. So far Sarah released a debut album called "Both/And", a ten track recording that you definitely should listen to. Her music stands for passion, honesty and bits of sass, if you ask me.

In honour of our third birthday Sarah performed "Circle Back". All I can say about it is - if I had her voice, I'd never shut up!


Many many thanks to Sarah for performing for us for the second time now, it's such a pleasure to have you on house in the sand.

Please go ahead and share this performance with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15.
 
Sarah Bollinger online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube



 

Day 24:                                                                                                                              Day 26:
 photo The Arkanes Photo KLEIN_zpszlsl4rj8.jpg photo Shoot The Rabbit Photo KLEIN_zps6uvuthvm.jpg


Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Sarah Bollinger | Video performance & camera: Sarah Bollinger | Video intro: Vanessa Jertschewske

Day 24: Shoot The Rabbit | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

I'm always really happy when bands and solo acts return to house in the sand after being featured once.
It just seems like they enjoy what's happening on here and that's a very nice compliment. Some of the bands became lovely friends which is even nicer. Today we have such kind of band performing for us.

What is the Birthday Countdown though? Throughout the entire month of February, one artist/one band a day is going to wish house in the sand a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for us.

Today our favourite Welsh lads, Shoot The Rabbit are here.

Shoot The Rabbit are a four piece band from North Wales, UK. Their sound is best described as indie rock with alternative elements.

The band got together in 2008 and has been making music ever since. Their EPs "Sticky", "Scribble" and "Heavy Eyelids" got them a loyal fanbase, a lot of positive reviews and comparisons to bands such as Radiohead and The Cure.

Shoot The Rabbit are:
David Bullough (vocals, guitar)
Adam Taylor (guitar)
Matt Norton (bass)
Rhodri Davies (drums)

Since their house in the sand debut in Summer 2013, the band has been featured every now and then and slowly but surely became a big part of HITS.
Therefore I'm ridiculously happy to have them back on the countdown. Go ahead and enjoy David, Matt and Adam performing "No Bugs Or Fleas". (Make sure to watch the bloopers as well!!!)


Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Rabbits for their fantastic video. It's always a pleasure to have you on the blog and I can't wait to meet you, hopefully very soon!



Please go ahead and share this performance with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15.



Shoot The Rabbit online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud



 

Day 23:                                                                                                             Day 25:
 photo Sarah Bollinger Photo KLEIN_zps318fwzqp.jpg photo Dan Dietrich Photo KLEIN_zpstylxyayb.jpg



Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Shoot The Rabbit | Video performance & camera: Shoot The Rabbit | Video intro: Vanessa Jertschewske

Day 23: Dan Dietrich | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

You probably already know it but I'm just going to say it again: I'm ridiculously proud of this countdown. The fact that so many incredible acts got involved means a lot to me and I couldn't be happier to be able to present you a month of live music.

What is the Birthday Countdown though? Throughout the entire month of February, one artist/one band a day is going to wish house in the sand a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for us.

Today the wonderful Dan Dietrich plays us a song.

Dan Dietrich is a singer/songwriter from Darmstadt, Germany.
His own material could be classified as acoustic/folk-rock and is inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan, Melanie Safka and Tracy Chapman.

So far Dan released a six track EP, played a countless amount of gigs on his own and with bands, he supported Canada's Morgan Finlay and Scotland's Martin and James and built a loyal fan base over the years.

Alright, I still can't believe it but this song has been written for our Birthday Countdown! It doesn't really get into my head how hard Dan worked on his performance of "Our Song" and I'm absolutely happy to have him on the blog.



Many, many thanks to Dan for three years of supporting each other, for amazing gigs and lovely chats. And for this awesome video!


Please go ahead and share this performance with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15.



Dan Dietrich online: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter




Day 22:                                                                                                                        Day 24:
 photo Shoot The Rabbit Photo KLEIN_zps6uvuthvm.jpg photo Panic Tree Photo KLEIN_zpszswkyghy.jpg



Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Dan Dietrich / Dominik Gruszczyk | Video performance & camera: Dan Dietrich | Video intro: Vanessa Jertschewske

Day 22: Panic Tree | #HITSBC15


 

Hey guys!

I don't know about you but I'm excited about day 22. (If you get the quote... please don't tell anyone.)
We're really close to the end of our little Birthday Countdown and if you've been here from day one, me oh my, then you are fantastic.
And just like all the days before, today we have another splendid performance for you.

What is the Birthday Countdown though? Throughout the entire month of February, one artist/one band a day is going to wish house in the sand a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for us.

Today we're celebrating with Panic Tree!

Panic Tree are an alternative, electro pop duo from Berlin, Germany. The duo consists of Queen Mamatchie (A. Seiffert) on the guitar, keys and vocals and Rocko Dune (T. H. Krohn) on the guitars and vocals.

Formed in early 2012 they released an EP called "New Monster Invasion" during their first year of making music together.
They are yet to release a very promising debut album which means we definitely have something to look forward to in 2015.

The video you're about to watch was filmed last year whilst I was in Berlin and I just want to mention that it was absolutely lovely working with Panic Tree.
Now go ahead and watch their brilliant performance of their song "Blood Fountain".



Lots of thank yous to Anja and Timo for having me over and for the brilliant time. Also, thank you to Ryan for introducing me to this fantastic band. And thanks to the pet crew who made this even more fun!


Please go ahead and share this performance with your friends by using the hashtag #HITSBC15.


Panic Tree online: Bandcamp | Facebook | Youtube | Soundcloud





Day 21:                                                                                                                        Day 23:
 photo Brooklyn Doran Photo KLEIN_zps70ffq49k.jpg
 photo Dan Dietrich Photo KLEIN_zpstylxyayb.jpg










Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Panic Tree | Video performance: Panic Tree | Video camera & intro: Vanessa Jertschewske