Summer tours ending
Published on August 4, 2022
July went by fast, but looking back it has been a month filled with fun gigs and other events. Though I’m hoping that summer will linger a little longer, as it hasn’t been very warm and sunny here (other than a few days).
This week Trinity are doing our final gigs of the summer tour. The dates are:
Aug 4th 7pm Brännkyrka church, Stockholm
Aug 6th 6pm Hedemora church, HedemoraCome see us! It has been a great summer tour so far.
Last week I was in Värmland visiting my aunt an other relatives. The picture above was taken during a recording there, where I did the “anthem” of this county, a folk melody called “Ack Värmeland du sköna”.
The video is up on youtube and you can watch it here:
https://youtu.be/N0xvIRpmTuIWhen I’m out playing, especially when I bring my B3, I often get the question of how I load and transport it. So when packing and loading last week I made a video about that. Check it out here:
https://youtu.be/cx77wyeDTb4Hope you all are well. See you soon!
/Andreas
Summer concerts
Published on June 28, 2022
The picture is from last week’s midsummer concert at St Skedvi church. Such a nice way to start the midsummer weekend! Afterwards people went down the hill from the church to take part in the traditional midsummer festivities. All in all, it was a great weekend in my home region of Sweden.
Today we’re rehearsing with Hunky Dory to prepare for the concerts that are coming up. Here’s a few:
Wed Jun 29th Bruna Dörren, Ljugarn, Gotland
Fri Jul 1st Musikhuset, Gävle
Mon Jul 4th Gula villan, UppsalaOn Saturday July 2nd me and Claes Janson are playing at Oxelö krog in Oxelösund.
Hope to see you somewhere and that you are all well!
/Andreas
Midsummer
Published on June 23, 2022
For Swedes in general, and those who grew up in the county of Dalarna, midsummer is really special. I belng to the latter category and this year I’m going “home” for a nice weekend of gigs and celebration.
Tomorrow, on Friday June 24th is Midsummer’s eve, and Trinity will have the first church concert of the season in Stora Skedvi church at 3pm. Really looking forward! Trumpet player Erik Tengholm is subbing for Karl. More church concerts are coming up in July and August.
Then there’ll be some private celebrations but on Sunday 26th there’ll be another concert. This time a Hammond Garden Party in Skäddarbacken, outside Borlänge, where I grew up. The concert starts at 3pm. If you wish to go, contact me!
Last weekend I had a party gig with drummer Ola Bothzén. Before the concert we had a little rehearsal and session at the HQ and recorded a few songs. Here you can watch Get Back, as a celebration to Paul McCartney who recently turned 80.
Hope you all are well!
/Andreas
Organ party at Katalin!
Published on June 8, 2022
It’s so nice when summer comes, with all the green in the fields and forests, and on my bicycle ride to HQ I pass peosple swimming in the river. It’s getting harder to stay indoors. At the same time, it’s fantastic to look back on the past spring and everything that has been. It has been both fun and rewarding to keep the Saturday streams alive but it also feels like it’s time to get out in the big world and do it “for real” there. And on Satdurday, it’s actually time for that.
Then there’ll be a combined stream and concert at and from Katalin’s jazz bar in my hometown of Uppsala. Welcome everyone! There will be no cover charge.That is, Organ Party at Katalin’s Jazz bar, June 11th. Doors open at 6pm and the music starts at 8pm.
Also, I never got to post last week. I did the usual Hammond Hour on Saturday (although a little shorter than usual) and the themes were summer and Sweden.
Här kan ni se den:
https://youtu.be/5dV1kN7hdCQHope you are all well!
Så skönt när sommaren börjar göra sitt intåg. Grönskan sätter fart och på cykeln ut mot HQ passerar man folk som badar i ån. Det blir allt svårare att hålla sig inomhus. Samtidigt är det fantastiskt att se tillbaka våren och allt som varit. Det har varit både kul och givande att hålla liv i lördagsstremarna, men det känns som om det är dags att komma ut i stora vida världen och göra det på riktigt också. Och på lördag är det dags.
Då blir det kombinerad stream och konsert på och från Katalins Jazzbar! Välkomna dit alla! Det kommer att vara fri entré.Alltså, Orgelparty på Katalins Jazzbar, 11 juni. Dörrarna öppnar kl 18 och vid 20 så börjar jag spela. Fri entré så kom i tid! Varmt välkomna!
Sen hann jag inte få ut något mail förra veckan. Gjorde en lite kortare stream i lördags med teman sommar och Sverige. Här kan ni se den:
https://youtu.be/5dV1kN7hdCQHoppas ni alla har det bra!
/Andreas
Party at the HQ!
Published on May 27, 2022
The last week of May is always special because that’s when my birthday is. A couple of years ago I also had the release concert for Finally! on the 25th so that’s always a nice memory that comes back. This year it also coincided with Ascension holiday. It’s so nice to be avble to celebreate for real again! On the actual birthday I had some friends over for a sourdough feast at home. And the day before I prerecorded this week’s stream at the HQ. And since it was the day before my birthday it became like a party as well. I invited some of my friends for cake and bubbly and then they were a mingling audience when I played my set. So nice!
It will be broadcast as usual on Saturday May 28th 6pm CET, The Hellkvist Hammond Hour, party edition!
Titta här:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDS394Imiw1htk6K27esKw
https://fb.me/e/5O4ziVUWqHere’s a little clip if you want a preview
https://youtu.be/tsgpeECtuZgHope you all are well!
/Andreas
Back at the B3
Published on May 13, 2022
A few weeks ago Claes Janson visited HQ for a recording session and a little talk. It turned out, as expected, a really nice day. We recorded 4 songs and talked about everything and anything. The new episode of Guest at the HQ was out this week, but this time, entirely in Swedish.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/rZ9OHUpZ5MA
If you just want a taste of the music, here’s the song “Ett ord till mina polare”
https://youtu.be/iR_GFph4Ry0
And of course there’ll be a stream tomorrow and this week I’ll be back at the B3. Looking forward to that! The remaining streams before summer I thought I’d reuse and bring out the best songs dfrom previous streams. That means only the hits!So, Hellkvist Hammond Hour Saturday, May 14th 6pm CET.
Watch here
https://youtu.be/gGc9UsbFl5Q
https://fb.me/e/3bJgrTiqCHope you all are well!
/Andreas
Trying the SkxPRO
Published on May 6, 2022
A few weeks ago I spoke about the patent for the first Hmmond organ in 1934. Today I’ll talk about the opposite. Hammond still makes organs and other instruments, but they are of course quite different from the old organs. This year’s model is called the SkxPRO and you can see it in the picture above. I got to borrow one for a few weeks so I’ve had the chance to try it out. It has been a lot of fun! Except for the organ, it has a lot of other nice sounds. Here’s a little taste:
https://youtube.com/shorts/GjmQKNP5pnMTomorrow Saturday May 7th 6pm CET is, as usual, the Hellkvist Hammond Hour, but I thought I’d use the SkPRO this time and not my old B3. Feeling excited about that! Watch here
https://youtu.be/_xgI2zICS5g
https://fb.me/e/1r2773gpuThat’s all for now. Hope you are all well!
/Andreas
Hammond patent celebration
Published on April 22, 2022
On April 24th 1934, Laurens Hammond’s patent for an electromechanical organ was registered. The first organ, the model A, came out the year after. A defining moment in music history, at least as far as I’m concerned. In the picture above is the man himself, sitting at his creation. Funny thing is that he didn´t play himself.
Anyway, I think that calls for a celebration and so that will be the theme for this week’s stream. I’ll be playing some of my favorite songs that made me love this instrument. This week’s Hellkvist Hammond Hour is as usual on Saturday April 23rd 6pm CET. Very welcome!
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/n5bzUAscZX8
https://fb.me/e/1sCiRFPZnAnd if you want to listen to some party jazz, there are two new songs out from the last session at the HQ.
Spinout https://youtu.be/Pruy39doZtM
Novelty accordion https://youtu.be/jso8CJ-_fEkThat’s all for now!
/AndreasEaster nostalgia
Published on April 15, 2022
On Easter Friday 1997 me and my dad took the car with trailer and went to Gothenburg to pick up my first “real” Hammond organ. It’s the one in the picture above, an A100 from 1967. It has served me faithfully for many years but nowadays it mostly sits in my living room. Where, by the way, it still fills an important purpose, besides just tying the room together with its presence.
With that in mind I thought as a theme for this week’s stream to look back on 1997 and the music the was played back then. A trip down memory lane. I guess you know by now that I love doing those things. And there’ll be some other music as well of course.
Important! This week’s Hellkvist Hammond Hour will be on Sunday April 17th 6pm CET and not Saturday. Hope that works for all of you who are plannign on watching.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/SJqRWZQICGw
https://fb.me/e/3cFYZ0UHaThe new episode of Guest at the HQ is also out, with my friend and guitar player Ulf Holmberg. We talk about twang guitar, party jazz, Elvis and other stuff. And there are also some very nice songs that we reocrded earlier in the day!
Watch the whole show here:
https://youtu.be/fQD7-idJGVQHere you can hear the Booker T & the MG:s klassiker, Time is tight
https://youtu.be/YmQ4pPd_XMEI also have got a Patreon account, so if you want to support what I do at the HQ, do subscribe!
https://www.patreon.com/andreashellkvistThat’s all for now. Hope you all are well!
/Andreas
Twang and Hammond
Published on April 8, 2022
As I’m writing this, in a hotel lounge in the small town of Leksand, the snow is whirling around outside. It’s kind of cosy, but still I hope it’s the last of this winter. Luckily I have yet to change to summer tires on the van.
This week’s guest at the HQ was my friend and guitar player Ulf Holmberg. We’ve been playing together in different ways for a number of years. One of the most fun collaborations has been the combination of twang guitar and Hammond. There’ll be a new episode of Guest at the HQ out but it is not yet finished. Howver, you can watch a little teaser here, in this recording of “Harlem Nocturne”.
https://youtu.be/4C4VzkyGdoEA lot of the music that I have played on my channel has been dedicated to my father. He always loved a good shuffle and hard swinging jazz. Unfortunately he passed away not too long ago so this stream will be dedicated to him (and everyone else who has lost a loved one for that matter). Now, it might seem like a somber theme there’ll be a lot of good music and a positive mood. Always a nice hang with the Saturday hammond family!
Watch it here
https://youtu.be/vbjn5OQXU4w
https://fb.me/e/1sFpeQI4dHope you all are well!
/Andreas