Simone Reifegerste - mandolin, voc.

Gina Faber - bass, voc.

Peter Jack - git.- voc.

Fotos © Regina Sablotny / Berlin

Almost Heaven was intended as a casual get-together band, where three seasoned
professionals could meet up to cultivate their secret passion for the
minimalistic charm of North-American  folk music. Far away from the hustle and
bustle of media entertainment they just wanted to sit around with a few
friends and sing a few of their favourite songs.
That was the idea - but things took a different turn:
Perhaps it was due to the type of favourite songs, or to the reaction of
listeners, or to the fact that you can’t keep good musicians down! At any rate
they quickly  became one of the busiest bands in town, and within a few weeks
an integral part of the Berlin acoustic- and country scene. This is not
surprising, as they are one of the best bands the city has to offer.
The concept has remained minimalistic: one guitar, one bass, one mandolin and three voices -
and these vocals will knock you out!
It’s mostly American material, but here and there a pop song crops up, and you
don’t have to be a specialist to have heaps of fun at one of their gigs. And
as far as the visual impact is concerned, let me just say that an evening with
ALMOST HEAVEN is a true pleasure even when the hearing-aid battery gives out!

The "WESTERN MAIL" about a concert of ALMOST HEAVEN:

<The three musicians/singers Heike Faber (Gina), Simone Reifegerste and Peter Jack offered a real display of fireworks which got the whole crowd going. You can't help noticing that here are three professionals who really put their hearts and souls into what they do. With their often very original, but always spot on interpretations of well-known country songs like  "16 tons" or "papa loved mama" they give proof of a sound musical education coupled with a profound love of the material itself. The visitors in the WESTERN SALOON were completely captivated by ALMOST HEAVEN and the furious clapping, stamping and cheering after each encore obliged the band to play quite a number of songs before  they were eventually allowed to leave the stage.>

tip Magazin Berlin Nr. 10/99

The group “Almost Heaven” define their music as “Hippie-Yippie-Folk” -  a mixture of hippy-, country- and folk music which the trio also emphasizes with their outfits: Peter Jack is the cosmic cowboy with long hair and an elegant hat; his wife Gina is a delicate and self-confident folk/country heroine with a charmingly exaggerated southern-states accent; and then there’s Simone Reifegerste as a neo-hippy Neukölln version of Janis Joplin,  with her long mane of red hair and her huge platform soles. A wonderful trio.
Bitter and full of feeling, raw and soft. Guiness, whisky and a spoonful of honey. That really goes down well - just like the formidable choice of songs:
Dylan, Dolly, Croce. There’s a line in a Guy Clark song they do: “Gotta come from the heart, if you want it to work!”  In Almost Heaven’s case - it does - and it works!

H.P. Daniels