David Knopfler

I have a number of fabulous top drawer sponsors for Guitars and other equipment I use. I just wanted to give a shout out to Carlos Juan whose acoustic pickups are in most of my guitars. I’ve been in the studio recording for a few months now and I just wanted to remark that as often as not I prefer the tone, sound and convenience of working with his pickup as with a mic. There can’t be too many pickups you can say that about can there?

What is the best way to decide which take to work on as a final master if you have two that are equally viable? Usually one emerges as better but not this time. They aren’t sufficiently different to warrant using both versions. I suppose it’s a nice dilemma to have but still...

I added a bass to a track last night. The strings on it haven’t been changed since 1977. Sounded great. Then I added a snare drum that I bought at the local municipal dump for £1.50 and with its brand new skin, and previous owner’s skill at tuning. It sounded great too. Then I added a cymbal... well you get the idea. If I had a bigger studio I’d pick up the free harmonium I see offered in the local ads.

It’s rare these days that it happens but I woke up with an old Dire Straits song running around my head, tonight. It was among my favourite Mark Knopfler compositions from that 1970s era. “Single Handed Sailor” has a nicely sketched out, emotionally satisfying, lyric and a quite demanding tune to perform too, with some jazz influenced inflections. I probably wouldn’t be able to figure it all out now. Mark brought it, pretty much fully formed, to rehearsals and I think, had written it overnight. I don’t believe the slightly quirky and busy, rhythm part I added, after Mark showed me the trickier chords, really met full approval from either Mark or later our Producer, Barry Becket. I’m pretty sure if I’d been a session player, they would have insisted it was tidied up more and delivered something a little more consistent, spacey and disciplined but they generously let it go and it survived to make the cut, for better or worse. If memory serves, and often these days it doesn’t, it was still performed in the live set when I left the band. It had a kind of rhythmic pace and economy that was simpatico to the sentiment of the song. Maybe I also liked it, in part, because I also found the river Thames at night, with its quiet barges moving, almost invisibly, through the dark, so quickly in and out of view inspirational... a place of excitement and beauty. And there was also the not unremarkable skill for just one person to be handling such a boat. I don’t suppose those long sand barges are still around these days performing their industrial deliveries. That economical, almost romantic “Eng-Lit” and half-journalistic style of narration worked for me. It wasn’t commonly used by lyricists in the gracelessness of the punk era either. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark wouldn’t have tipped a nod to the way Ray Davis could mine treasure from the battered grime of Waterloo Station and bridge. I guess we made a decent noise for four people. It never felt at the time like we had enough men onboard to do the job but maybe that was part of the skeletal charm; that like most four piece bands, you couldn’t disguise much in the arrangements.

New album coming along nicely (if slowly). Looking forward to starting the artwork soon

Been working on my tracks for the next album. Having a day of feeling like this could easily be my best work yet. What a joy it is listening to the individual performances of my fellow musicians, Harry Bogdanovs, Pete Shaw and Martin Ditcham. Step by step

Many thanks to those Hall of Fame members and fans of Dire Straits who collectively voted to induct the band into the HofF - I hear the acceptance speeches by John, Alan and Guy did us all proud. Onwards and upwards

Sorry not to have been posting here for awhile .. having a splendid time making a new studio album ... hope to have it finished later in the year

Just spent a couple of very productive days with studio engineer, Paul Madden, who has helped me sort out some of my studio chaos. We even managed to get several new tracks started c/o my updated Logic software and new iMac. Very happy with how this is progressing.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Dire Straits

Dire Straits Blog

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(Photo/Design: Dirk Ballarin) ------------

Live in Spain! :)

Once upon a long long time ago there was a social worker who founded a rock band...

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Look what National Guitars sent me in the post today

David Knopfler & Band + special guest Alan Clark 40th Anniversary Tour 2017 Sa. 24.06.2017 - GERMANY Neuruppin, Kulturkirche SOLD OUT Photo: Dirk Ballarin

David Knopfler & Band + special guest Alan Clark 40th Anniversary Tour 2017 Sa. 24.06.2017 - GERMANY Neuruppin, Kulturkirche SOLD OUT Photo: Dirk Ballarin INFO: https://www.ballarin-music.com/artists/david-knopfler/40th-anniversary-tour-2017-band-text-english/

A careful observer will notice that Dirk Ballarin captured a comet in the sky when he took this picture of our maiden concert as a six piece

First concert with DAVID KNOPFLER & BAND + special guest ALAN CLARK - 40th Anniversary Tour 2017 22th June 2017 - GERMANY - Bad Rappenau, 4th Blacksheep Festival SOLD OUT (Photo: Dirk Ballarin)

On tour ... DAVID KNOPFLER & BAND + special guest ALAN CLARK - 40th Anniversary Tour 2017 Alan Clark (B3), Martin Ditcham (drums) and David Knopfler (guitar / voc), Pete Shaw (bass), Harry Bogdanovs (guitar / piano) and Bub Roberts (lead guitar), Jens Gloede (FOH), Michael Kuhna (crew), Jörg Göbel (crew) and Dirk Ballarin (management) (Photos: Dirk Ballarin)

Looking forward to the shows - See you there :)

Neuruppin is SOLD OUT Der einzige Clubgig: Hoyerswerda, Speicher No. 1 http://www.speicherno1.de/