The Strong Contenders

Band Concept: Part of this Story started about along time ago. It was the day when I first saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show on T.V. Then I thought just like a lot of people did at that time how great it would be to put a rock and roll band together. Of course it wasn't only the Beatles, it was Fats Domino, James Brown, Cannon Ball Adderley, Jimmy Smith, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and so forth. Later on came The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Chambers Brothers and The Quicksilver Messenger Service. My brother Dominic and I we both set out to first get some musical instruments together and start learning how to play them. We both listened to all types of music, everything, R&B, Classic, Jazz. Dominic and I we were both fortunately talented enough to start at an early age to compose music. As you may have it this story goes on over several years. The Concept of "The Strong Contenders" is, that a "Rock Band" plays a combination of Rock, Funk, Jazz and Classic. Similar to the way that the band "Weather Report" plays Jazz. That simply means, to play music that is well rehearsed and properly executed.

Band History: This story begins about a long time ago. I remember walking over the bridge that leads into the Weissenburger Strasse in Spandau on the outskirts of the city of Berlin. You know it yourself you probably have heard a story that began just like this opening sentence has started. Needless not to say the sun was shining, the birds were singing in the trees. At that moment I was pretty happy with my self because I had just stepped off the bus number 145, from the city. I had spent a very successful day in the HDK AltBau Studio where I had assisted a musical colleague of mine with his Demonstrational Recordings. I don`t know if it was because of the fact that I had played three different musical instruments (Drums, Bass and Guitar), I also assisted him with the mix down of his recordings, or was it because the sun was shining and the summer weather on that August day in the year of 1993 was so enjoyable. What a day! But still, walking over that bridge leading in to the Weissenburger Strasse often led to a lot of sentiment, I mean good feelings. A voice spoke to me suddenly out of the high heavens. "The Strong Contenders" said the voice. Speaking as if the Good Lord was just standing behind the clouds, watching down on me. I thought that God felt proud of me because He knows that I work very hard for my music, often too hard to say the truth. I took that as a recommendation for a new band name.

"Olando-James Bethel", I was born in New York City, New York USA. I studied at St. Thomas Apostle School, Louis D. Brandeis High School, and majored in Accounting and minored in Music at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, Long Island. Because of my interest in Music and also for the fact that my Grand Father and Grand Mother, Joseph and Else Ann Brown were very musically inclined I started at an early age to develop myself as a musician and a composer. I first started with the piano, at about the age of 5. I received a small piano from my Mother Sarah and my Uncle Calvin Brown for Christmas. Outside of playing that piano, I had an Aunt named "Tanti", who had a full size piano in her apartment, when I was over for a visit I often played piano at my aunt‘s place. Around that time I also started to get interested in Studio recording. This came into being because my Mom bought me a Grundig 2 speed tape recorder for my Birthday. With that of course, I started to automatically go in the direction of music and production with out really knowing it. At that time outside of my growing interest for music and composing, I was very active in sports. At the age of 14 I was being scouted by the New York Yankees Baseball Team. So I had my hands full with activities.

At that time in New York, fortunately for me and for other New Yorkers it was mandatory for each student to learn an instrument. Outside of the normal fundamental musical training you had to learn a Musical Instrument and not necessarily the one of your choice. I wanted to at first, when it wasn’t permitted, that I could learn guitar, or the Trumpet. My music teacher who was at that time the "First Flutist" in the New Yorker Philharmonic, said that, "You should play the Concert Flute". So I then started to learn the Concert Flute in the High School Orchestra, I also started to learn how to play the electric guitar in our neighborhood band. My Uncle Calvin bought my brother Dominic and I our first guitar amp. It was a "Harmony". A year or so later, Uncle Cal bought us both each even bigger guitar amps. I believe that they were called "Univox". The amplifiers also sounded really good. I took on some temporary employment, working before and after my daily High School Classes to buy some guitars. I did not want to bother our parents with the task of buying us musical instruments. A couple of months after High School, I joined the U.S. Army. I was in the service for three years which included 13 months in South Korea. At that time I also started to learn how to play the drums and completed instruction in the Photographic field.

As a music minor at Hofstra University I also learned Orchestra percussion which consisted of Piano, Drums, Tympani, Cymbals, Bells, and Chimes. A year and a half after finishing College I moved to Germany, and I started to play with several Jazz and Show Bands. I did a bit of studio work as a bassist, guitarist, and drummer. That was done with bands in Frankfurt am Main and later here in Berlin. For example I did sessions with Wilbur Little who was the bass player in Rashan Roland Kirks Band, with Taj Mahal, Joachim Kühn, Anita Boländer, The Mike Mueller Show, Mike Naylor from the Brecker Brothers Band, etc. I then took a few years off from the Jazz and Show Bands to develop my skills as a Rock Guitarist. In this period I learned the guitar day and night around the clock. Besides learning the guitar I discovered the Fountain of Composition. I started to compose music as if there were nothing else in the world but that.

I moved to Berlin in 1984´ and started to look for musicians to play the music that I had composed. I also spend quite a bit of time, over several years off and on, assisting the Studio Sound Engineering Students at the HDK Conservatory for Music in Berlin. Of course to make ends meet I had several different forms of employment. This ranged from working in kitchens, washing dishes and cooking, as cleaning personnel in government and commercial buildings, also as a stage hand (Roady), (Local Crew) for Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Sting, Brian Adams, André Rieu, Metallica, Phil Collins, Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, AC DC, Neil Young etc. I worked some times off and on in my studied profession Accounting again. I did different types of Administrative work and Photography, Photo-Labour technique, I assembled computers, Marketing-Marketing Management etc. I also carried Heating Coal. You name it.

I started "The Strong Contenders" about 1993´ this came to past because of the fact that several other bands never took form. For example the band "Slädger" which was formed by Geoff Bohn, Dieter Herzog, and myself in July of 1986 actually was a good Rock and Blues Band. "Slädger" had some good gigs and tours and television appearances, in and around Germany. We played covers and originals. Before the „Strong Contenders“ were formed came the bands named "The Olando Band" which was renamed into "Radical News". This band started to get off the ground. The band members were Hjalmar Stecher: Bass, and Joe Di Carlo: Drums and myself on Guitar and Vocals. Later on came the pianist named Wolfgang Obrecht in the band. We were also signed by World Wide Records, Uk. And Germany.

I have now a very thick file of original music that I have composed and this realms from Rock, Funk, Jazz to Classic. My file contains approximately 166 titles, I also have a title as a Composer here in Germany.

"The Strong Contenders", The new band consisted of Frank Immervoll: Drums, Hans Peter Vogel: Bass, and Peter „Bio-Rhythm us“ on the Keyboards. The only problem was, I myself I had spend too much money for the previous band, I was actually bankrupt. I had to take time out from the music to earn other money to pay all of the bills that had accumulated from the first band called „Radical News“. I put the Strong Contenders on ice till around late in 1995. I took the original drummer from „Radical News“ Joe DiCarlo, Bassist Ramani Krishner and the Saxophonist Ben Perkoff who had also played with the first Strong Contenders band. He was also substituted by Dave Beecraft and Paul Griesbach. Our Video „D.S.“ was shown often on television in Germany. Between 1997´ and 1999´, I had to take another break to earn money to support my band. The Strong Contenders started again, in the winter of 1999´, this time with some altogether new faces. Justice Kweku on Piano and Organ, Harold Mahl on Saxophone, Olaf Seidel on the Drums, Stefan Jacobs on Bass and myself of course, guitar and vocals. Later on we were a Quartet with out saxophone and Lionel Haas replaced Justice Kweku on the keyboards. Justice Kweku had left the band on his own request. To constitute the problem of session musicians we were faced with the task of having a permanent keyboarder. Lionel Haas supported his cost of living with different studio and concert gigs, with other musicians and interpretants. We had a very good array of keyboarders at our disposal; Jeffrey Ernst and Mark Mac Cean. Justice Kweku returned only for one concert, that was on the 1st of May 2003´ in the "Friends Club" in Berlin-Schoeneberg. In 2004´, Stefan Jacobs was replaced by the musician and bassist Martin Schoenian who was formerly a member of „Weed“ a magnificent Hard Rock Band from Berlin. 2005´, after a rather extensive survey of the music market situation, „The Strong Contenders“ returned. This time with the Bassist Holger Lewin and Lionel Haas once again on the Keyboards.
In August of 2003´, Gerd Bluhm and I mixed the "The Art Of Contention" in "Beat Studio" in Berlin, Germany. Overdubs were added and we made some final perfections to the basic tracks. Gerd premastered the results in August 2003´ and he did the Final Mastering which was completed on the 23rd of September 2004´. The Album titled “The Art of Contention” was officially released in November 2005´and became available in the USA in August 2006´ and in Germany in November 2006´. The first supportive music video to the album titled "The Post", was filmed in Berlin in May and August of 2005´.

We are very sad to announce the death of our Colleague Olaf Seidel. On Monday the 18th of September at approximately 23:07 hours after rehearsal, Olaf Seidel collapsed while walking to his car. All attempts to revive him failed. He was only 35 years old.

Keep an eye out for how the new band sounds. Just as good as the band on the current CD. Of Course! Mean while, “The Strong Contenders” as a band have some new members. At present we are working on our “Live” presentation and of course preparing ourselves for the new album. All of the virtues of the previous band, in concert, on camera and of course on the current CD “The Art of Contention” will be kept. The promotional aspect of this story will be well perfected so that the international listening public can pay more attention to “The Strong Contenders”. In 2008 the current CD will be re-released to co-operate with our distribution partners through out the world.

"NLBF Music", The main reason why The Strong Contenders album with such innovative talent was released by an internally initiated record company is because of the unprofessional attitude of several other Major and independent record companies. As a participant of a Workman’s Compensations Program in Germany, called "Hartz IV", designed for the establishment of Self Employment, I started the Independent Record Company. NLBF Music. NLBF Music is responsible for the production and marketing of “The Strong Contenders” CD, “The Art Of Contention”. In the future NLBF Music will cater to the needs of other aspiring artists.

Discography:
The Strong Contenders CD, "The Art of Contention":

The Post: 3:48
This Song: 2:58
Film Clip: 0:32
The Friendly Skies: 6:27
Glasnost: 6:09
Such A Long Time: 5:49
Now Is The Time: 5:01
D-45: 3:58
20 Seconds of Silence: 6:35
She‘s Coming Home: 4:38
Peace and Harmony: 4:03

All Music (GEMA)……50:05.09) NLBF Music (C)+(P)2004

Recorded In May 2000. Additional recordings and Mix and Mastering in July 2003.
Remastered in September 2004. at "BEAT STUDIO" Berlin, Germany.

Officially released on November 30, 2005´ Became available for sale around the third quarter of 2006´

Sound Engineering by: Gerd Bluhm, Produced by: Olando-James Bethel, Mastered by: Gerd Bluhm

Olando-James Bethel: all Guitars, Lead and Background, Vocals. Olaf Seidel: Drums and Percussion
Stefan Jacobs: Bass, Justice Kweku: Grand Piano and Keyboards, Vocals on "She‘s Coming Home".

All Compositions by: Olando-James Bethel, "Peace and Harmony" by: Olando-James Bethel and Lenjus Robinson
C D. front cover drawing: (Painting of Band members), Chiu Ming Lo.Graphic : Olando-James Bethel.

www.thestrongcontenders.com , www.nlbfmusic.com