Czech Rep. and Germany, Spring 1999(with The Blind Doctors)
Hello friends - Here's a little tour diary about The Blind Doctor's and my first 8 shows together on the road.Needless to say we had a lot of fun and it was also a good chance to "perfect" our already stupendous act. I've recently written a few new songs for our June dates and I'm really excited about sharing them with you all! More dead bodies and broken hearts for your listening pleasure. Make sure to come and see us live and be sure to say hello. We are all looking forward to the June tour and hope to see you there!!!
April 11 Desna, CZ - A really cool old theater that I had played once before in the heart of the Czech Republic mountains. Everywhere we played people were very friendly and in Desna it was no different. We slept in a really cool B&B farm house in the country, very quiet and comfortable. As I was out on the road as support with Eric Burdon and Canned Heat (yes it's true!) the Blind Doctors drove all the way to CZ without me (from Concarneu France), some 22 hours! I arrived in Prague in the early afternoon and was met by Stepan ( Capricorn Productions and our promotor and friend) at the train station in Prague and we traveled by car to Desna where I met up with the Dr's. We were all a little tired for this show and perhaps nervous but we played with a lot of power and had a great time. We did not have a chance to eat before the show and so afterward went to a little bar and had sauseges and beer. A wonderful welcome to a great country!
April 12, Prague - Jazz Club a room I had played in twice before and really a special, magical place to play music. It's a little small for us but a really good soundman made us a perfect soundcheck and we really rocked this night. I prefer the intimacy of these small culbs and we all laughed a lot with the audience and I believe everybody went home happy. I had a chance to meet a lot of old friends and the Dr .s were on their way to making their own new friends. As we had recorded "Old Hand" here in Prague we felt very comfortable in this wonderfull city. Our friend Chris Burroughs was in town for the evening and he played a few of his tunes before our turn and really added a special touch to a good night. He's such a great musician - please make sure you check out his CD's! The band and I all played with more confidence this night and were happy at the end. Afterwards we all went to a bar and talked for 2 or 3 hours, drinking a little beer and sharing stories. We met an Australian man and his daughter who were traveling through and made great friends with them. A special, special night. After the bar (4 or 5 AM?) we went looking for some food and found a man from New Guinie who spoke French, English and Czech and he acted as our tour guide for the late night streets of Prague (showing us some interesting corners!) and eventually put is all in one taxi (poor driver!) for the ride back the the hotel.
April 13 Kolin - Our favorite Czech room, Club La France- A real rock house, small but packed with excited fans and music lovers one and all. The owner here is I think a Bregegne man disguised as a Czech! We played a great rocking set that night and were all totally wet with sweat and beer by the end (audience included!) Again Chris B; opened for us and as he had played there a few nights before his fans were in abundence. We stayed around for awhile after the show and talked to our new friends there and had a good time. We actually met someone more crazy than Franckie but I think by nights end Franck was champion of the world! He made everybody sing Nino Ferrars song Le Sud (in French!) The promotor shot at least 6 rolls of film and we are all waiting to see the results. There is a sign on the door ot the music room that states "racism free zone". Highly recommended music room with real friendly people and if your ever in this part of the world do yourself a favor and stop in for a beer or 2.
April 14 Munchen- Back to Germany now for the rest of our little tour. A long drive but the weather was beautiful and our little bus was running great. Again, another room that I had played 2 or 3 times before. Feur Werk ( sorry for spelling I think). In this place you sleep right at the venue and eat there too so it's easier to relax before and after the show. A treat for us because usually someone has to stay sober for the drive to the hotel at the end of the gig! This place has many rock acts every week and they really are professional in every area of their production. Our best sound of the tour was here and when you sound great on the stage it's a lot easier to play well if you have the talent! I wasn't sure how my German fans would respond to the louder sounds that I make with the Doc's but everyone seemed to like the show and we did too!
April 15 Berlin - A long, long drive as I think we left at 8 in the morning but I know that road well and traffic jams are not uncommon but we lucked out and arrived in the growing city that will soon be Germanys capital again. We played here at Kraftwerk a sort of collective of artists, musicians actors and the like. A cool old building that still showed war damage with lots of different rooms and very interesting for us to see. The soundmans name was Batman so we knew it would be an interesting night. It was just that. Our show was with Hugo Race and The True Spirit (we were the openers) and I was looking forward to meeting him and seeing him play live as not only is he a label mate, but I like his records as well. Our band had a lot of trouble with the sound that night and it was hard to relax and just play music. It's one of the drawbacks of not having our own soundman. I did not feel as though I played so good ( I broke 2 strings!) . People were understanding though and quite supportive. I always like to sound great though and I was not so happy at the shows end. Hugo and his friends were wonderfull in this venue and played fucking great. Very interesting sounds and musical ideas. I'm a big fan of his and wish him all the best. We stayed with the promotor at his flat and talked untill daylight. Jean Phi was ready to go back to Concarneau after this show and kept saying he wanted to see his wife. Hilarious!
April 16 Leipzig - Another drive back down the same road we came up the day before but this time we were not so lucky and ended up in a jam for about 45 minutes. When we finally came to the reason we saw 6 cars all crashed ass-end to front end. Crazy. Another cool story was when we were stuck there we saw a young boy in the car next to us with his parents get sick in a plastic bag being held by his mother. Poor guy but we all had a good laugh. Too long a time in the van will do this to your personality! In Leipzig we stayed in a 4 star hotel and really felt like kings. Perhaps our best played show on the tour as we all were confident and just played the songs without thinking so much. We had some old friends come out and see us and that always helps the ambience. After the show we all ordered dinner and they brought it backstage for us and I think I was the only one to eat that night as the rest of the band were busy making new friends in the bar. Franck left us after the show for a tour of Leipzig night life. He started smoking cigars on this tour and he told us that he had a cigar waiting for him in every club he went to that morning. He was a little bit red-eyed the next day but on time for our departure too.
April 17 Soest - Our only bar show of this tour but a nice big room with 2 floors for everybody to have a good view of the stage. A couple of hundred people that night I think. My good friend Christa Weller showed up here with another friend and musicion Joseph Parsons so it was a "family affair" that night. Joseph sang a few of his great songs and kicked off the evening with great energy. There was a woman there that was a great fan of his and she was just thrilled to death to be able to see him live. Unfortunatly for me my voice was becoming hoarse on this night and I'm afraid I did not sing so good but I made it to the end of the night and we played a real strong rocking set. I drank a lot of tea and hoped I could sing one more night.
April 18 Krefeld - Our last show and in a cool old rock and roll club in one of my favorite musical areas of Germany. Lots of intelligent music fans and many good friends of mine live around here. We played headliner this night with Nikki Sudden and his band of Chicagoians (I think that's where their from); My voice was absolutely gone on this day. I could not even speak my name and spent the whole day praying I could recover by show time. I did just barely get through the night but was glad when it was over. A real cool venue though, wonderfull sound and very professional. Our booking agent ( Lutger from KGB) for the German dates came by to see us and I was a little embarased because of my performence but he smiled through the whole show and said he really liked it so I guess we did not do too bad.
That's the story folks. The Blind Doctors left the next day for a 12 hour drive back to Concarneau and I remained in Germanys for 5 more shows the E.Burdon and Canned Heat. I slept for a couple of days after the Krefeld shows and recovered my voice for the rest of my little tour. All in all I believe we all had a great time playing music every night and meeting and making many new friends. Many thanks to KGB and Capricorn Productions for their efforts on our behalf! Thats all from me for now and looking forward to seeing you down the road. I'll certainly keep a diary of the month of June but I'm not sure anyone would have the time to read it. A novel I think it would be.
