CHEAP TURTLE!

A hired gun in purple...

Cheap Turtle was a long-standing Deep Purple cover band in Frankfurt. Alex, Bernd and I were invited to a rehearsal as three of the leading CT members had quit, and it all worked out fine. It was not hippy-artistic like Mandrake Root, but a commercial cover band that lead to some very large events - enjoy!

Cheap Turtle - 2008-2010

Singer Alex
Keyb - Bernd
Bass - Jörg
Drums - Stefan
Bass - Dom - our inimitable bass substitute

After Mandrake Root, Alex found CT in Frankfurt, and called me. I turned up and it was great, especially with Bernd, the new keyboarder, but it was a little too far away for me (130km to rehearsals and back). Still, Alex, Bernd and I pushed on as hired guns, and wore the fancy pants and hats from our predecessors...

This was a audience-pleasing band like you expect a cover band to be. I recently tried to find the CT webpage as I am always searching for pictures and gig lists, but I could not find it anymore.

Feel free to click thru them or start the slideshow. Please also feel free to read about:

Purple Smoke - 2010-2012

Mandrake Root - 2003-2007


THE GIG LIST - oldest first

06 June 2008 - Take 5 in Deidenberg, Belgium. It was my very first time here and with the band. I like Belgium and I loved this place. I believe we played here 3 times... Anyone? This first time the large rear room was still being extended and the bar at the front was well, olde worldy. The locals came out, we played well and we sat until breakfast around the hearth drinking beer and eating bacon. A bit like Lord of the Rings. I had bought a Ceriatone Plexi 50 clone and a Marshall AX 100w box with 4 x 25w Greenbacks. I used this combination througout, until the end of Purple Smoke.

23 August 2009 - Bembel Rock Open Air. This was outdoors and big - lots of people. The only thing that irked me was my guitar(s) went out of tune towards the end. It had been a very hot and humid day, which suddenly went very cold and very damp. My guitar had no chance and I struggled to play the riff to 'Smoke' in tune. Admit that to your children lol!

19 Sept 2009 - Musikkeller in Frankfurt. It was a very hot night and my first time there too. A good solid performance. Several older CT fans came to have a look and most nodded agreeably.

Late 2009 / early 2010? Beavers in Miltenberg A cool place with lots of musical memorabilia. I do not remember the date of this first time. I remember the cars were frozen went we went outside. and I have absolutely no pics of this. In fact, this first time was thrown together (too) quickly and nobody knew we were even playing - nobody came. A long way to go for an evening to forget.

04 April 2010 - Take 5 - Belgium. This was our 2nd time I think... The room at the rear was now finished and the pub had been modernised with graveyard fittings... Did Stratius Quo come with us this time? They were great guys.
I probably had plug n' go el84 tubes in my Plexi this night. They are way less aggressive than my el34, but it meant the amp can be cranked at a lower volume. I remember all the scratch+bitch glory was missing, but it was still a good creamy sound. However, I abandoned the idea afterwards... The gig was maybe half-full. A long day and a long way to go...

24 April 2010 - Musikkeller in Frankfurt. My 2nd time. Our intrepid roadie, Dom, played bass for us as Joerg could not make it due to illness. Andi from Demon's Eye/ex. CT voluteered to play bass for Mistreated. The place was fairly full, but we were getting the 2nd-time-round syndrome, especially after Belgium.

09 May 2010 Miltenberg. Our second time here too. A lovely warm sunny day, yet sadly it was no where near full. We snapped a few pictures and played the set to the end. I think I was a bit fed up now. The drive home was another long one.

15 May 2010 - Rockland Cafe in Bad Kreuznach. Alex could not make it, then we heard we would have Michael Baum as substitue - ex. CT again. I had bever met him before. He brilliantly sang his way thru the set without anyone even knowing he was not the current singer... This was my home territory and I felt better after this gig, but maybe Alex did not...

29 May 2010 - Sinkkasten in Frankfurt. This was a cool place - but the bar was expensive and I think we were allowed 2 beers each backstage... Lots of bands were playing here. I saw a few well-known bands from the LA Sunset Strip were on the following week. However, Bernd had called in to say he was too ill with fever to play. For the 3rd time in 4 gigs we were ordered to play with a replacement. Andi from Demons Eye/ex. CT stepped in again and of course the gig was very good, but maybe others found the substitution control to be now questionable. If you never knew what it feels like to be a hired gun, then you do now.

13 June 2010 - The Hugenottenhalle in Frankfurt. This was the big one in a full concert hall! I had a great time running about the stage - we all did. I felt like I was 20 again! It was filmed too and we were in the local TV. Oddly, the same enthusiasm was not present backstage. Only the half of us sat together, either in our room or in the backstage room from the Kiss-band. They had beer in a bigger cooler...

16 July 2010 - Crope'n air Festival in Belgium. Belgium again on a large open-air stage. Although very close to Deidenberg, it had nothing to do with Take5 - a coincidence. Maybe this is why I thought I had played in Take5 3 times... Dunno.
Anyway, our intrepid roadie, Dom, played bass (flawlessly) for us again as Joerg could not make it due to illness. The 4th time we had someone drop out and they were simply replaced. Anyway, we all enjoyed the gig, Dom was great, but there was tension caused by a number of undemocratic leadership decisions, even on that evening. I wonder now if some of the boys 'could not play' the last few gigs simply due to their frustration? Well, maybe or maybe not... I never asked.
Despite the gig being great, it turned out to be the last gig. Bernd, Alex, and myself decided to quit on the way home. Surprisingly, we heard afterwards that Joerg had also left.

Oh well. Time to say goodbye to Cheap Turtle...