Around Europe, spring 1999(With The Blind Doctors)
Hello music lovers! At long last I'm back in Concarneau, France after one month on the road with the Blind Doctors. Since April we have driven over 14,000 KM and visited Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Czech Republic.
We named our van "Rose" and she behaved wonderfully the whole time although by the time she returned here she was tired and glad for the rest as we all were.
The Blind Doctors played great for the whole tour and it was fun for me to make a big noise! Playing with other musicians was treat for me too for, as you probably know; most of my touring work has been done as a solo act. It was fun to hear the band and myself get better and better as the tour rolled along and by the end of the month we were really a "well oiled music machine"!
As you can imagine, playing music every night brings you together both as musicians and, for us thankfully, as friends. I think each one of us had our "off" days somewhere along the way but by the end we still enjoyed each others company. Believe me when I say that there is nothing more miserable than being in a van on tour with someone you don't like.THE TOUR
We all worked hard but shared evenly the work load. All of us drove (2 hour shifts) which made the long drives bearable.We had a few 7 and 8 hours hauls (and 24 hours straight from CZ to Concarneau!) but we found a way for 3 people to sleep in Rose so someone was always rested and awake to be the driver. Franck sold the merchandise
at the end of the shows, Alain was the equipment expert and worked with the soundman every night, Benoit took care of Rose and Jean Phi did everything else. I was the co-pilot and map reader and could always be counted on to find a gas station with a pretty face inside to direct us to the different venues.
Everywhere we met and made great new friends and all of us in the band had a wonderful time. Sometimes there were not so many people at the shows (18 in Hamburg was the low point I think!) but I believe the band and I played good shows every night no matter how many or few were in attendance. I lost my voice (laryngitis) for a few days at the beginning like I always seem to do on those long tours but it did come back and for the last 3 weeks was fine.
Getting enough rest is the hardest thing to do when your working a different city each night and I think my voice suffers the most for that. Check these lists out..
Happiness is:
1 Clean socks 2 Sleeping late 3 2 hour drives to the next gig 4 Smiling faces and new friends 5 Open air festivals and naked bodies 6 Naked bodies 7 German breakfasts 8 Getting paid to play music 9 A cold beer after a hot night on stage 10 Playing music together and a job well done
Misery is:
1 Stuck on the autobahn in Eastern Germany for 2 hours in the rain 2 Can't find the club in the city after too long a day in the van 3 Bad sound in the monitors 4 Broken strings in the middle of a song 5 Only 4 hours to sleep with a 7 hour drive to do the next day 6 Laryngitis 7 Trying to get the Doc's to enjoy something other than French cooking 8 Trying to get the Doc's to enjoy something other than French wine 9 Something other than French wine 10 Tours end HIGHLIGHTS:
There were too many shows to tell about each one so I'll just mention a few. Everywhere without exception the owners,the people that worked in the clubs and the fans treated us like we were kings and made us feel totally welcome and at home. Thanks to every one of you from me and the Blind Doctors!!
Stuttgart at the Universum
Absolutely first rate club with an excellent sound system and operator, catering , stage and all of it is a reflection of the owners love of live music. In my opinion one of Germanys best clubs.
Orange Blossom Festival in Beverungen
This is my record company annual live music party and in their own backyard no less! We got to see the Sunday show on the day we played but a stellar line-up of bands for 3 days and a totally cool atmosphere must put this festival at the top of coolness. We got to see Todd Thibaud and his excellent band play just after our turn (we were on about 15H00 I think) which was way cool as I'm a big fan of his music. It was his birthday too so I know he'll have a more successful year than he already enjoys. Also I got to visit with my good friends Chris and Carla from The Walkabouts and a have a chance to hear their band preview songs from their new album. Lots of friends and fans everywhere and all kinds of positive energy made this a magical day for musicians and fans alike.
All the Glitterhouse crew should be congratulated for their efforts on our behalf! We stayed in Beverungen the next day and Reinhard and Rembert took us all out for a nice dinner and later Rembert played host for us at the local watering hole. He introduced us to some local drink specialties and I would guess they are still talking about us at that bar. General craziness.
Arezzo, Italy - Storyville
Absolutely beautiful country to drive through (Tuscany) and a wonderful new club in a small village made the long drive to get there well worth the effort. The best sound system and designed music venue we played in all the 40 or so shows we did. Not so many people that night as it was very warm outside (30+) and I'm not that well known in Italy but getting a chance to play such a "class" establishment makes playing music and all the work that goes into it well worthwhile! My heartfelt best wishes to them in their effortsto get their club established!
Alborg Denmark
Another long, long drive and it was unfortunate that we only had one show to play in the North of Europe as it's a beautiful and friendly country. Lovely people to party with and a cool club run as a co-operative (only one paid employee!) with everyone donating their time to bring all kinds of live music to the north of Denmark.
Rote Fabrik, Zurich Switzerland
Another co-operatively run club right on the lake in the beautiful city of Zurich. It's a big venue but we played on the stage in the restaurant part. Great sound system and friendly people in a very relaxed cool atmosphere made this a fun night for the band and myself.
Chelsea in Vienna, Austria
Medium size club under the tram line provides cool ambience during the shows but lots of fans turned out for my first show in Vienna in over 2 years. 4 encores and then everyone disappeared to catch the last tram home.Great sweaty music night!
Czech Republic
This country for myself and the Dr.s is a magical place to travel and play music in. Super friendly people with no pretentiousness at all. They just want to hear live music and have fun doing it. Highly recommended country to visit and make friends with. All our shows there were highlights but the open air "Rock For People" festival was the best. It was also the Blind Doctors and my last show of the tour and the chance to play for over 5,000 people made us all a bit nervous but we'd had lots of practice up to that point and I think we played a totally rocking show! It was a fitting and appropriate end to a long month of work and travel. On the other hand I managed to find a hole to fall into after our set was finished and cracked a couple of ribs in the process. So now I'm in the healing mode and have not been able to enjoy the fine swimming around here this summer.
Ah well, that will teach me to watch where I'm going.So that's just a few of the best times we had.
Once again big and heartfelt thanks to everyone along the way who helped make our visits so enjoyable. I'm working on a way to share some of my guitar techniques and tunings with you so stay tuned (ha ha) for that.
