These last 10 days were incredible. From Vienna to Bavaria and back down to the hills and valleys of quaint and majestic Austria. The highs and lows were much like a well spun yo-yo whose beginners wrist often has it teetering on almost losing its balance and momentum. But even a professional with more tricks can falter while trying new things. In the lows and awkward squiggles we had mishaps and misprints which included one concert being advertised on the wrong date, one advertised at the wrong ticket price (triple the actual cost!!), and two not advertised at all. Successes, smooth spins and wonderful surprises in these last days included: sold out shows, the various Schnapps' http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnapps I was convinced to try to alleviate my cough, the friends and VIPs whose presence make me feel like I have family on the road, the new song which I feel good about got performed ("Give My Heart A Home"), taking part in the hot 'n sweaty and relentless performance of a traditional Austrian band's gig (playing clarinet, trombone, trumpet, tuba, accordion...and now guitar too!) who play at a large wooden table facing each other while their audience feasts on an afternoon lamb meal, walking along the edges of the longest castle in Europe (Burghausen), running through spectacular Autumn leaves at the ... www.schoenbrunn.at/en palace in Vienna, and doing the kind of interviews where I learn something too. Thank you so much to Kennedy Music Promotions, AER, Taylor Guitars, Wildeschneider.de, Ron Putzi, Fortune Records, Bomi, Johannes Koch, Andreas Buder, Kevin Kennedy, Hans Kraus, and the players who gave my music so much color - David Sinclair, Martin Rose & Stefan Rapp, Rob Chernenko the webmaster, Andreas Buder (new street team leader), and Toolboxx & Alive Distribution!!!
Videos we have seen from this tour so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JYYoA70Bns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeXhp8oVpKM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeXhp8oVpKM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sux--JNNMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JczFXXjBI_c
http://www.celler-fernsehen.de/94774d6a496099eb1cf6.video?Melanie-Dekker-im-Herzog-Ernst
Just found this news! ''The Hanna, Alta., rockers Nickelback, now based in Vancouver, are scheduled to release their seventh studio album, Here and Now, on Nov. 21.'' Fluke? Plagiarism?? Just too good an idea to pass up?!
I now have Bronchitis which makes me sensitive to everything and my voice is weak, as coughing slams the vocal chords together. The concerts are a little shorter and we have dropped the guitars down a 1/2 step so the songs sit in a slightly lower key. Fans have left me all sorts of cough drops, special teas and medications; I am so grateful. Two venues allowed smoking while we played; this wrecked me further (I thought smoking was banned everywhere in Germany?!) As for the smoke machines on the stage...I have never been a fan of it (but especially not now) though I know it looks good from an audiences perspective.
On another note, something I have come to know on this tour is that my band prefers carpet on stage...David petals unplug when I stomp on a bare stage. And Stef likes the warmer atmosphere that carpet brings...me? I don't care either way.
Sometimes we get to be 'tourists' on our tour. And these past 15 days we've been lucky with having the time and energy for just such adventures! In Riedlingen at the Lichtspielhouse we got to celebrate a good show in a classic old theater...and staying late with our friends and fans. It's so good to laugh and just be a little crazy (I needed this, thank you!!). In Oppenheim (close to our show in Dexheim) there are 600 cellars below the city; originally built for refrigeration type needs and then as secret passageways. Sinclair and I put on a shower cap and a hard hat and explored this labyrinth with a tourist group...not to be missed also was the wall of bones (Ossuary?) that contained more than 15,000 skulls, which was a simple overflow from full cemeteries, since the middle ages. Between Villingen and Metzingen there were two fun stops (where a keyboarder and friend, Fuchs, lead us) First to the Wilmser höhle, the crystal clear water cave that in its entirety is still unexplored by divers. We could take a small boat (watch your head! Achtung die kompf!) through 30 meters of it. In former times the 'owner' of this cave was used in negotiations between powers in charge such as Napoleon and Fredrich the Great...) Then a total opposite experience on the same day, we hit this huge American like shopping complex in Metzingen. Putzi found a Swiss brand of clothes that fit his 2m tall body (shopping is a challenge in itself for just about anybody) It was too crowded for me to get inspired. I did look around for a hacky-sack ...none yet. After singing in Glems to a sold out concert hall and trying a special food called schwäbische Maultaschen (mouth bag!) It was fantastic to wake up to the sound of only birds and a barking Saint Bernard. We are in a strong catholic area and there are statues of Jesus on the Cross spread throughout the fields and towns. We hiked up to a special cross...a day with nature, perfect...and at the top they were offering rides on glider planes...we had a beer instead! In Villingen (a great folk club concert btw!), the city itself is in the shape of a cross...so when Sinclair used the first city wall archway as a land mark to find his way home, he was baffled and amused when on his trip 'home' ...he noticed there were 3 more identical archways (corners of the cross)! The streets of Stuttgart are wide and full of shops...the more narrow the street the more bars. Putzi and I ended up in a gay bar (it was an accident, I think!!) and laughed until closing. The castle and the general area of Marburg is stunningly beautiful and majestic...oh the castle and oh the chance to see some friends again, perfect (Angie, Tina, Claus, crazy Kissel, Christian and Weinnachtsmarkt man!!). Ulm has the tallest cathedral in Germany, no, in the world! The tip was hiding in the fog for our stay. Also Ulm feels like my 2nd home, the home of FortuneRecords.de , Einstein Cafe 'n Restaurant, Bomi, Fuchs and the Children's hospitz.
We've had extra tour help around every corner!! With Kraus, Putzi and PF selling cds and taking pictures and feeding the fans stories and facts etc!..THANK YOU!! Putzi has called himself the god of groupies (not on his IA website yet!) We also had Carsten Lips (percussion) and Thomas Fuchs (piano / keys) bring variety and colour to the stage with their vibrant style, on special selected nights.
There appears to be no dangerous animals in Germany. Although in our first few weeks we would wipe out many mosquitoes from our bedrooms before we dare try to sleep with one eager hungry buzzing one. An animal highlight: It was the most delightful discovery to come upon a Hedge Hog! Damn they're cute!! So, on this trip we've seen loads of wasps, a lama, an emu, prehistoric hairy chickens, grey geese (one in particular was a pet to a passerby who didn't even use a leash!), some curly horned sheep, fried octopus, peacocks, all sorts of barnyard cats, hound dogs (like in Elvis's song), a lot of dead foxes and rabbits (along side the hwy), a rat (who had crossed the road safely), deer in our headlights, ladybugs (so many in one hotel room that Stef had to switch rooms!), a gorgeopus lonely black swan, beautiful white swans, and we learned of doormice (Siebenschlaefer) who sleep for 7 months and afterwards are nocturnal and like to live in the walls of houses. We droves through "Worms, DE" and there are loads of piggy banks (sparschwein) which are considered lucky! Also on this tour we've seen eagles, hawks, cows, donkeys, goats (14 days old and cuter than a puppy). We are road dogs now ourselves. Fuchs is like a Terrior, Putzi like a Dobermin , Rose like a Labrador, Rapp like a Golden Retriever, me a Shitzu (ha!) and Sinclair simply a most like the quick, wise and clever Grasshopper.
David Sinclair has solved world hunger with an acorn theory. (We see millions on the ground here, and have even been struck by them falling from trees!) Martin Rose is brilliant with multiple languages and makes more mixed language puns in one day than most like to make or hear in a lifetime. Stefan Rapp (not Raab-though I would love to be on his show soon!!) smiles more on stage than he used to so we wonder if he's being mischievous. I am in dire need of a hair cut...but where to find three hours!?
Denmark and Holland are often thought of as the same...by some North Americans. The Danish and the Dutch have few similarities in my experience. Except in both, there are lots of sheep and cows and strong winds and lots of water which seems to give birth to a lot of sailors, sail boats and windmills. (Many more windmills in Denmark actually!) I have Dutch family and I am so grateful to have a few short days with them while we are in Holland to do a concert in Zwolle, NL. I got to eat fresh apples and pears from the trees and have Fla and Hagel on toast. I look Dutch and I like it:). Denmark had us doing shows with various other bands which can work sometimes; but not so much this time (the draw for fans must be triple if you have three bands right?...the math didn't work out like this:(. Though meeting other touring musicians is something I love.
We picked up Stefan Rapp in Fulda last week and started with an in-store show in Fulda where I got to visit with some folks whom I had met already 7 years ago! Three guitars together (no bass), means that the orchestration of the music must be meticulous and our ears and minds must stretch. Parts must be punchy, colourful and dynamic and not get in each others way. Plus the song itself must still have the mood and build it is meant to portray...so it comes across with genuine feeling, and some weight.
Visiting AER was a last minute add on to our stops along the way. A treat! We played with the amps, guitars and pedals they brilliantly design. (We have 3 of their amps on our stage- and it has saved our asses on a few occasions!!)
For a few days we had our tour angel, Hans Kraus, join. He takes pictures, tours us around areas like Nurnberg - which he knows well, and takes care of the CD sales. In Kassel, Lüder shows us the Wasserschloss where fairy tales like Rapunzel and Snow White originally come from. A playground for creativity no doubt, with its towers and castle doors. We can't tour like a tourist often, so for many reasons this was special. I bought a Dolly Parton CD and enjoyed its deep mood and playfulness...a little like the sweet villages we drive through. I went for a run in the woods around Bamberg. I got carried away and ran for an hour longer than planned. If you're a tourist wanting to see the best of Germany according to me...Bamberg is a must see-do-feel (but don't get lost in the woods when you have limited time!!) There is so much to see, do, hear and feel...and I am tired now. For extra fuel Ron is coming tomorrow for tour help and mood. It's a miracle to fit all of us, our spirits and dirty laundry in this tour 'car'. Little miracles everywhere.
Wow, here we are, Half Way!!!
My voice is still strong; our days off are essential in keeping it so. I am drinking 2 liters of water a day, often ginger tea, and trying not to say too much over the loud highway hum that vibrates through the tour vehicle. It's a French car called a Kangoo...which surprisingly attracts daily 'attention' from everyone. We have fans and venue owners who are agog and aghast, or simply bewildered that we drive a French car. For example, fans exclaim enthusiastic, "thanks for the music," and then follow it up with a wrinkled brow and inconceivably (outwardly), disbelieving gasp... "What..!? But why a French car!?" Nevertheless, 'L'auto' -- Rocks! :)
We don't travel with a sound tech and sometimes there are disappointments, even in the big cities. However, In Ashausen...barely a dot on the map...we had the best sound tech ever... This means your sound check is fast and painless and that you feel that you sound better than ever all night long. The monitors are simply deliciously balanced and the dynamics the band uses are left un-enhanced. Ashausen welcomed 100 more people than they expected, so everything, including the cop that visited the next morning, serendipitous and left me smiling. In Neubrandenburg we were once again reminded of Germany's mosquitoes infestation this year (crappy summer!) Mosquitoes still hungry for blood. The party was good-in a fahrradladem ~bike shop and my bassist Martin met a 'nice' girl! Next time, we'll play in a bigger place, this one sold out.
I really looked forward to returning to the Czech Republic. Old Czech theaters, refined jazz clubs, pastel colored towns, 3 meter tall sunflowers, perfect beer, kind greetings (including a beer toast at 10am!!) and meticulous manners were all colourful, quirky, and adorable. I wish we had more time (a common daily wish on tour), because this was a quick in and out with 4 shows into 2.5 days! Our one song concert at Prague Balcony TV was spectacular...on the roof of a building, 25 degrees, blue skies, overlooking the majestic city of Prague (see video here: http://www.balconytv.com/prague)
Dresden is close and our city tour and touring the sandstone pillars along side the Elbe river, was inspiring and truly thrilling (look up Elbsandsteinebirge http://bit.ly/vf7pTN ). Andreas and Hans ~fans who are good friends who helped plan the concert at Tante Ju...are angels. Tante Ju is a club in an industrial area, and I later heard a few fans were dropped off in the dark by their 'we don't know this place' taxi drivers. Glad that I wasn't the one dropped off in the dark; my German isn't quite good enough to explain myself (though perhaps find my way,yes...)
The next morning I was asked, "What does a typical musician 'do'?" Now, other than we all play music, if you put 100 musicians in a room, each person's job description would be different! Each musician does different things and as projects come up- and work different hours. It's broad what we do, can do, and 'will' do, and it depends on when you ask, because a musicians 'job' often changes monthly...as does the description of ourselves and our 'art'.
There are hazards to our occupation, mostly that it is hard to find consistent and inspiring 'gigs', though on tour the hazards are more specific and acute. My computer got run over by a car (don't re pack the tour vehicle in the dark!), the European to N. American wall adapter split in half and while plugged into the wall I got electrocuted (don't touch live wires), we ate a meal where part of it was wrapped in clear baking paper which wasn't SUPPOSED to be eaten as well (don't eat things you can't chew and don't melt in your mouth), hot coffee in a car on the Autobahn is just a bad idea and pricey anyway (it usually spills on someone other than the original 'sipper'), water "with gas" creates gas and isn't good for singing, not all steps in a theatre are well lit (only good for inventing new dance moves), when the brakes are so outrageously squeaky that you hesitate to use them (fixed now!), and perhaps to avoid other raod and hwy hazards...when the speed limit changes slam on the breaks immediately cause everyone else does (speed trap photo cameras everywhere...think we've got some extra tour photos).
12 concerts in now...of the 45 scheduled. Full speed ahead! There is barely time to email, call home, write postcards, check facebook, file my nails, see every corner of every town, speak with at least a few warm locals, kiss babies, write new music...all things I love to do, but it's so tight to get it all in. Concerts take an undescrible amount of energy and they give a high like nothing else in return. It's a reciprical love to give a concert. It's intense. So rest too, is crucial to keeping up the voice, the chops and the vibe. I like to entertain myself too....which the band helps me do. To be bored is a luxury...I don't remember the last time I was bored.
The Band: Martin Rose, Stefan Rapp, David Sinclair and me.
Surprises and being on the edge of disaster is par for the course in touring. A simple rule book can and must be applied every night we do a show to maintain sanity.At soundcheck:
1.) Don't panic.
2.) Smile alot, even when you it hurts to.
3.) Trust & doubt your instinct evenly.
4.) Rely on and be empowered by your musicianship.
5.) Know that every apparent problem is temporary, has a solution; though not always pretty, always creative.
6.) Just when it seems you have run out of alternatives, there is another.
7.) Things are not always as they seem, and if they are...you will cry, laugh, or punch a wall, and be sure to write a great passionate song about it later.
8.) Humour: find it, use it.
9.) The worst nightmares, are the funniest to share later.
10.) Sweat looks good under stage lights (regardless of why you are sweating).
Our first concert in Weilburg DE we used and tried out our AER amps supplied by Around Music (http://www.aroundmusic.de) for the first time. Brilliant. 2 vocals and 3 guitars sounded crisp and honest. We tour with our own mics (Sure Beta 58 & a special limited edition silver AKG). Our hostess, booker and good friend bought mic stands to accomodate our rider. We were too loud at a volume of 1 during soundcheck and there was no stage. Go to rule book above...all good. Sold out show. Amps, Vibe, Volume, turn out, perfect. Hannover gifted me an outdoor stage, with a tent cover it was 36 degrees C! The sun also hit us from the front, so photographers must have had fun. HA! We had a sweaty 4 minute sound check (between festival bands) and the stage hand sat in for the front of house sound tech, who took a one hour break shortly after our first song and we didn't see him again. Go to rule book...all good. Rupp Brau beer poured into the bodies and hearts of the fans faster than we could get a wind blowing fan to the stage! CDs flew out to the audience like frizzbies looking for a home. A radio interview awaited me in Schoneiche, which is close to Berlin. After some coordinating complexities, the admirable and vivacious Viktor Buttner andI laughed and chatted about favourite things and my new "Here & Now"album. In between the interview, I was asked by the venue staff if I needed a P.A. for my vocals. OMG...really?!....with a grin...I replied with a bewildered, worried and hopeful,'well, yes'. Go to the rule book. PA good. We were short 2 mic stands and a runner was sent out to town to "find" some. As for monitors...umm, who needs em right!? When the night was through I added a 'brick in the wall' to the Kunst & Kulturinitiative who are working to keep venue alive and to keep the brick walls in better shape. Name engraved...didn't get to see it. The Hard Rock in Berlin was next, and we got to do that as a 4 piece band. (Sansa from Finland opened for us she's sweet quirky and has a pretty voice; it was popkomm time and we met lots of musicians and industry at this time.) So,our sound check was at a hazy time of 9am...morning, yes. Not that we needed 12 hours to sound check before the show...but people come in to eat burgers and be part of the Hard Rock scene at 11am...and so, this is the way this show goes. It could have been PMS and an early morning combined, but when the feedback that seared through my monitor (a misplaced cable and volume at 10) and I lost a few precious little hearing hairs...I said a loud French word followed by a threat to leave. Sorry, Not good, not cool, but neither is ripping off your ears with high feedback. Needed rule book and didn't get to it in time. Of course, all was better than average and the concert was fun, full of energy & excitement, and there was nothing short of perfect sound. Also must mention that I had the best veggie burger I have ever had. We arrived in Hemmoor a day later. (Most of our concerts are back to back, with some Sundays and Mondays off.) We gazed apon our venue, which was 100s of years old, and a classic old stand alone and well maintained German 'haus'. Inside...there were alot of stuffed, preserved wild-life. All sorts of critters and furry hunted animals were hanging along the rafters and above the stage...most peculiar was then white swan. We had dinner with the sound tech for the night, and we learned that he works everynight and sometimes twice a day (wow!). Aside from the dead animals, the place was warm, and the soundtech had fun with reverbs...just right. I like the way the fans tended to sway back and forth to the music. A short sleep and then off to Kiel. My show usually starts at 8pm or 20:00 and three hours previous we are typically loading into the venues. So when the clock struck 7pm or 19:00 and no sound gear or equipment was in the venue in Kiel, there was more than just a frown of concern. Gulp. I saw lots of shrugging of shoulders and my German still sounds like Dutch with a bad accent...in short. 'We have no gear or sound tech here'... In my head I am screaming...to the rule book...and then the 3 of us put our heads together quickly! Next we are rifling through big old closets, and making phone calls to nearby fans and AER amps were our rescue mechanisms. I dont know if we've ever sounded better, so how is that for irony.We laughed, we sweat. Rule book, priceless. OK! Next...Do you worry if you are doing a singer-songwriter concert and a soundtech in Trittau Germany shows up wearing a MegaDeath t-shirt, sporting a long blond pony tail, and comes in with his Dad?... At first...and then no, just go to the rule book. Everything turned out fabulously; with a little extra rock guts and power. Though, we had to agree to disagree that a ringing that goes on and on and on and on and on and on...especially on certain notes...is or isn't feedback...no point in a stand off or arm wrestle. Grin, adjust, leave well enough alone...back to the rule book. Now next, we are playing at a cancer clinic at Sankt Peter Ording. White soft sand still between my toes and up behind my ears upon arrival for dinner and sound check. Enthusiasm and posters abundant and a lengthy introduction...like no other has ever been given at the start of my show (including internet info, biography quips, accolades, my favorite foods...you name it). The mic cables, well not so abundant, and not so lengthy... 4 feet long (maybe one meter!?). WHO makes mic cables this length? And WHY!? We switched to a cordless mic. Rule book...works everytime. Celle Germany, I love it here, and yes I have been before. Herzog...you work a challenging design. The band faces a wall and about 4 fans that can fit there in front of the stage. The rest are to the left and right and outside through the windows behind the stage. I recommend a wall tear down, or at least a swivel chair to look at all the beautiful people. I had to look hard left, hard right or right behind me! On Sept 15th we played in Bremen, originally recommended by a fabulous fan. This place, Sensedaal, was a radio station and now it houses everything from radio to video to live concert production and even an area for music therapy (my 2nd passion). This concert hall is good for every acoustic. Except it sucked out the bottom end of my guitar mystifyingly 'somehow'.... I was told that my guitar has no low end. Let me tell you, a Taylor guitar (http://www.taylorguitars.com)has the best, warmest, sexiest bottom end one can imagine. But nope not tonight. Reasons unknown. Made me feel thin, and not in the skinny sense. Could here a pin drop at the concert though, infact I think that I actually did. If you want to play a venue with elegance, grace and style, that has been designed by a building inside another building, to use 'air' as an insulator...go here; play here, hear concerts here. History and technology, top notch. Still needed rule book when I was told to turn the low end on my Taylor to maximum and then it still sounded like ukulele to me. Friday nights are often the most fun and indeed the concert in Ashausen (close to Hamburg) was stellar. The sound check was a glorious 10 minutes, and it felt great. We sounded HUGE (thats a good thing!) Rule book ready for Saturday though, 'cause sometimes the sound man just wants to get up and sing. Yup. And that's after he's playing along to my song using a shaker the size of a melon. It was a party~ tricky manuvouring indeed, all in all, the phrase 'sold-out', says more than anything else can! THANK YOU for the surprises! THANK YOU FOR loving it. I am!
Fri Sept 2 Cafe Ententeich Weilburg DE
Sun Sept 4 Entdeckertag Festival Hannover DE
Wed Sept 7 Kunst und Kulturinittive Schöneiche DE
Thu Sept 8 Hard Rock Cafe Berlin DE
Fri Sept 9 Kulturdiele Hemmoor DE
Sat Sept 10 Hof Akkerboom Kiel DE
Sun Sept 11 Alter Bahnhof Trittau DE
Mon Sept 12 Café Instinkt Sankt Peter-Ording DE
Tue Sept 13 Herzog Ernst Celle DE
Thu Sept 15 Sendesaal Bremen DE
Fri Sept 16 Behns Gasthaus Stelle-Ashausen DE
Sat Sept 17 Radservice Wehden Neubrandenburg DE
Wed Sept 21 See Hotel Fontane Neuruppin DE
Thu Sept 22 Jazz Club Teplice CZ
Fri Sept 23 Divadlo Theatre- 1st show Zatec CZ
Fri Sept 23 Strelnice -2nd show Kadan CZ
Sat Sept 24 Tante Ju Dresden DE
Wed Sept 28 Papenstraattheater Zwolle NL
Thu Sept 29 Musiktheater Piano Dortmund DE
Fri Sept 30 Ahabs Culture Club Cuxhaven DE
Sat Oct 1 Ursprung Rostock DE
Tue Oct 4 Godset Kolding DK
Wed Oct 5 Kulturzentrum Alte Meierei Postfeld DE
Thu Oct 6 Hagges Musik Pub Tønder DK
Fri Oct 7 Kulturhuset Pavillonen Grenaa DK
Sat Oct 8 Tobakken Esbjerg DK
Mon Oct 10 Hi-Fi Gärber Fulda DE
Tue Oct 11 Südpunk Nürnberg DE
Wed Oct 12 Theaterstubchen Kassel DE
Thu Oct 13 Live Club Bamberg DE
Fri Oct 14 Lichtspielhaus Riedlingen DE
Sat Oct 15 Kulturkneipe Hirsch Metzingen-Glems DE
Tue Oct 18 Grüner Baum Gaufelden DE
Wed Oct 19 Steinkellerhaus Gengenbach DE
Thu Oct 20 Scheuer - Folk Club Villingen-Schwenningen DE
Fri Oct 21 Die Halle Reichenbach DE
Sat Oct 22 Adler Hohenstein-Meidelstetten DE
Mon Oct 24 Wiley Club Neu-Ulm DE
Tues Oct 25 Acoustic Lounge at TTZ Marburg DE
Wed Oct 26 Kaufmanns Schlachthof Bruchsal DE
Fri Oct 28 Weingut Weyell Dexheim DE
Sat Oct 29 Schlachthof Lahr Lahr DE
Wed Nov 2 Kulturverein Reigen Vienna A
Thu Nov 3 Buehne Mayer Moedling A
Fri Nov 4 Kunst Kulturhaus Öblarn A
Sat Nov 5 Felsenkeller Schwandorf DE
Sun Nov 6 Schiffart Donau Linz A
Mon Nov 7 Knoxoleum Burghausen DE