Nov 1, 2010 - Germany - Always such a blast!
The venues, surroundings and people vary so much, that I feel like Alice in Wonderland. From venues still standing & rockin' from the 1500's, to crowded pubs, to slick concert halls & bavarian long wooden table venues.
We had photographers, who we love, come along for many of our shows in the 3 weeks in Germany. Mostly, our good friend & fan Hans Kraus, a man from Sesslach who is a huge fan of Canadian roots music. He helped us make more friends and helped with CD sales and stage decorations; and drove along side us. There was also the vibrant Thomas PF who is a man that I believe has seen more concerts in his life than any other music fan on the planet. We also got fantastic pictures and good laughs with Andreas (who drove from Dresden to our final shows!) and Hans-Martin Schmid who seems to capture the warmest shots every year. Special moments came from special fans who leave me smiling for days: Thank you for your visits & surprises: Sancho Panzer, Bomi Glogger, Thomas Bauer, Evelyn Leibham, Tommy Adrian, Klaus Neide, Patrick from ASS concerts, Johannes Koch, Viktor Buttner, Dirk Pries, Arnica Dekker, Tina Bauer, Jens Meier! You're amazing!I have been coming to Germany since 2003 and some of the changes I noticed this year were: The fee for using the toilets on the autobahn have gone up to 70 cents, more people speak English, there's a greater sense of pride somehow, more excitement in regards to sports (more TV's in local pubs too), more soymilk and soy options, more noticeable fashion, more solar panels, more hi-tech windmills, and on a personal note there is more press, cd sales and radio(THANK YOU!) Things we always do together...eat breakfast. It's a little bit like family on the road, and we laugh a lot. Almost consistently have Sundays and Mondays off. And talk about new songs or ideas on Tuesdays. Tragedy often meets comedy and if you have a rough sound check, it doesn't mean you'll have a rough show. Oct 9th..our first day in Germany we had to drive there from Denmark, then see Sam off to London via Hamburg (an essential cold beer was had before it was suggested that Sam visit the street where only Men can rome and the old Beatles Club), then also return the Dachbox and trade in our rental car (you can only insure for up to 45 days...our time was up!)...once all that was done we had to beat traffic (impossible) to play a show! Well, we scored an upgrade to an SUV and the dachbox posed an unforeseen challenge... The sports box on top our new wheels made us too high for the airport... or shall I say, with in about 2 millimetres of its roof. Elyse's spanish came in handy...as our Avis amigos rode on the outside of the car to help weigh it/ drop it down, and barked with laughter and sweat to get us out of the 3rd level. Just like the studio...always be prepared for things to take 3 times as long! It's wild moving from place to place every day. We have slept in over 60 different hotels. In Finland every one had a sauna in the rooms & the berries at breakfast were perfect anti-oxidants, now we are lucky to get a pen in the rooms and meat and white buns are 'special' breakfasts. In Neuruppin there was a memorable bottle of Champagne awaiting us & I always like to see robes and slippers. I didn't write as much as I wanted to, and it was tricky to keep my voice clean, strong and in good shape for each show. Caring for the voice is tricky...as in, my guitar takes much less effort and time (though there is currently duck tape holding one pick up together under the bridge). I probably drank 2 to 3 litres of water a day, and kept speaking to a minimum. People ask what we do during the day...well with 5 to 6 concerts in a row, there is little time and 'energy' to explore every thing and every day. But we do as much as we can! The drives and the packing of in and out and up and down take its toll and time. I get out everyday...outside that is, and run about 4 times a week, usually in the direction of a park. Wikipedia is a great way to read about highlights of the town while in it or before getting to it so you know what you want to see, and my favourite social local thing is to sit on a terrace and drink a coffee or at night, to visit an irish pub. The new songs are so much fun and I am loving the reaction from the audiences. Rich Girl & Hippie...could be the new singles based on the high energy responses. I am going home to my Mom and my brother and my close friends and to my dog Chip, to the rain & ocean and mountains in Vancouver, and home to finish writing and recording my album. I want it to be the best one ever, and I hope to capture more of what it feels like to be out on the road, doing what I love and feeling so full of wonder, excitement and exhaustion all at the same time. What a trip. Oh what a trip.
Oct 10, 2010 - Denmark- full of kind wishes, hugs & kisses (they do both!)
Med venlig hilsen … Denmark you are as cute & sweet and warm the 3rd time as you were the first time we met.
Odense…best place to get stuck in the jazz club’s back parking lot freezing ones ass off. Aalbor ... best place to shop & party & best "Doggy Bag" after the concert. Middlefart…from the stage-best view of the new city's bridge-the old bridge is on the Danish Kroner bills & the best place to take a picture of a sign. Viborg…best place to enter contests, get on radio spontaneously by making up a song on the spot and the best place to talk 'shop' and 'tour details' with fans and audience after the show. Ikast-Brand…best place to jump on a trampoline & shoot video while jumping & best place to see photos from last years show framed in the back hallways at Bakkehuset. Skanderborg…best place to have a live for TV video shoot & a candle lit dinner back stage with friends. Skive…best back stage mini rooms & best theatre decor & vibe. Ebeltoft…best place for high winds (the locals barely notice it) & great ideas (like the weighted hoola-hoop for exercise). Thisted…for your eclectic hippie vibe & your Irish pub we love you. And Goteborg…what's there not to love?!
The Ocean & Beaches seem to be everywhere we went.
We love the 1/2 flush, whole flush option on the toilets. Save water…and if a half flush don't do it, just do another 1/2;). We love to say ""Hi HI","øl". Tak" : Hello, Beer and Thank You. OH and mostly: thank you for your Danish pastry: marzipan & custard filled OH Spandau! We visited every bakery we saw.
Robbin Thompson double billed most of our concerts in DK. Most precious moments I remember are when we met in Skanderborg, our rooms side by side and he right away shared a song, shared his photos on his mac and his stories of his collection of beautiful angel trumpets that he has scored & nurtured through his travels throughout his tours. Next: I insisted we sit outside in Ebeltoft on a patio with a fresh cold øl. And as winds that wouldn't let you keep your hat on swooshed intensely by Robbin got a call from his wife in the USA saying his boat got slammed by a storm. He was so calm-not all like the wild wind. On stage Robbin whispers & roars and is like the wind moving sometimes vigorously and always vibrantly through the cobblestone streets and quaint corners & shops…with different timbres as is soars through the many bicycles & trinkets. Powerful, moving and magical. He also threw some valuable road tips my way: "Get a string sponsor", "get a guitar case that holds two guitars", "Don't put packaging tape on cars as it will take off paint" & "Hang a f^*#! ' tie"
We are half way (5 weeks of 10), Sam remarked…before we started our two weeks in Denmark. It seems the tour is picking up speed exponentially as each concert goes by.
Favourite article seen by Simon Staun in NU Magazine. (see photo)
Favourite photos seen so far by Flemming Skully & Ron Putzi.
http://www.flemmingscully.dk/thumbnails.php?album=272
Sep 30, 2010 - Norway
Norway! Don’t try and play the ‘hold your breath while going through a tunnel’ game. The tunnels can stretch thousands of meters and then some! After two weeks here & 10 shows the words that come to mind as we recap our magnificent experiences are: Steep rocks, mountains and fjords (we hiked leaving us breathless & breath-taken), thick thick moss in the woods, Moose, Moose hunters, gutted & dragged moose pictures taking up most of the daily papers, Metal music (not as prominent as in Finland) but still makes the covers of newspapers, toll charges on highways (some are automatic as your license plate is recorded while you cruise at 100km/hr down the highway, others taken a man behind the window in a booth), there are warning signs before a speed trap camera appears (strategically about 2km apart...so don’t forget the warning!), there are no so called post-offices (find them in grocery stores), ferries everywhere (and we haven’t seen one the same as the other), Geographical highlight: Trollsteigen (steep winding road that used to make a traveller on horse go from being a boy to a man!), we see roller-skiers and roller-skaters with hiking/ski-poles using the bike lanes along the highway, SNUS is popular (nicotine packets & loose leave style that tucks under your upper lip for about 30 mins), there is space between every house, there are no typical centrums or centers (as in Denmark/Germany/Holland), their national speed skating team have thighs the size of my waist (we watched shared a hotel with them & then watched them skate in Bjung), many words contain a ‘j’ (like Sjokalade or Recepsjon) people seem to love with they ‘do’ here & are generally tall and proud, we are mistaken for Germans because of our license plate & we don’t mind (sometimes we just go with it!), most Norwegians speak English & German well, fashion & pop culture seems less important here than in Sweden, people are curious here & they are not shy to stare & stare for a long time, a typical bar gets going closer to midnight (regardless of they day of the week), the sense of humor is quick-witted loaded with tasteful sarcasm & a willingness to poke around, winter sports are ‘big’ here & it was fun to speak about our Vancouver Olympics 2010, small white fish with onions added is on every breakfast table, if you are paying for parking be prepared to use your entire paycheck, if you are buying beer in a bar say goodbye to your budget. Torkel, we loved your local touring, Randi (female) & Tom & Trond we loved you giving us a late night out, Helge & Helge thanks for reminding us to promote Fantasy, Humour, Faith & Madness (All in all: getting NOK’d up in Norway was a thrill!).
Sep 11, 2010 - Sweden
Sweden is so superbly sweet & their houses are decadent
Physical Travel Highlights: The 12 hour party Ferry from Sweden to Finland (included Hot-tubs & Saunas!), gravel roads through central Sweden, getting faster at packing the car, having the GPS try to lead us one hour of town, lots of red foxes as road kill- we get to see a live one make it across and it is just beautiful! They love their flag...many houses have flags and flag poles.
Injuries: Sam & Mel play on a climbing wall in a mall that lights up with different games...leads to two days of aching wrists while playing concerts. The top of a wine bottle breaks off as Mike's opening it & slices his index finger open. Sam's drum cases tumble as they hit a funky stone while rolling down cobblestone streets, as Sam uses his shin to save the fall and the entire shin is scrapped open. Everyones hamstrings are tight ... from some long travel 'sitting all day' days.
Common or classic foods: Fermented Herring, Kanel buns available at every stop (like a non sticky American Cinnamon bun), lots of 'coffee time', 2% alcohol beers very common, fresh (not in plastic) soft candy, fish-eggs served in a squeeze tube at breakfast.
What we miss about Finland: the abundance of soy products, the saunas, the unique way people like to share and welcome.
Sep 8, 2010 - Finland
Finland #1 country to live in according to Newsweek magazine
Cities: Espoo, Vamalla, Tampere, Helsinki, Porvoo, Pori, Vassa, Oulu Counting 1 to 4: yksi , kaksi, kolme, neljä,... (Also the beginning of a new song we are writing) It seems: Tourist season is over, though temperatures are still 8 to 15 degrees, some hotels seem almost deserted.
Regretfully: Didn't get to visit the ice hotel...it was too far north and our schedule couldn't... http://www.icehotel.com/ (what would it be like to do show there!?), Mike's sunglasses were left on the roof of the car & the car behind us turned them into a million sorry pieces, Mel's sweater suddenly has too many holes to keep it any longer.
Items lost: Mel's phone stopped working, Mike's coffee mug was left behind 'somewhere', Mike's iphone was lost in a club called Sky...so it's up in the sky maybe now, Mel's tweezers (OMG, How will I live without!!...borrow Sam's for now!), left USB flashdrive in a hotel computer, Mike's little video camera called it quits.
If you are from Finland it is not unusual for you to know about or have some of these classic characteristics: You own a fishing pole, you are welcoming and warm in character, you like to have fun with slot machines (they are irresistibly everywhere), you've been at a local bar till closing (4am here folks!), you spend lots of time in saunas (local news link : http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/sauna-championship-russian-dead ) , you are educated (government paid), you are likely in the logging, hospitality or electricians business, you have seen a moose, you have eaten deer meet, you have picked berries or mushrooms, you obey the law, you are healthy (we don't see alot of drug stores or any clinics), you dress sensibly with fashion not being your number one concern, you have had a few different colours of hair at one time, you listen to Metal music, you are curious, you likely have a tattoo & have eaten at Hesburger, and your wine is served by the millilitre or ounce (as it's not permitted to be served by the glass).
Tampere, FI concert photos: http://www.klubi.net/gallery2_eng.php?gid=344
Helsinki Concert photos by Aija: http://bit.ly/aRQAFm