Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ieper Fest
Saturday was the day we'd all been waiting for. Our booking agent for this tour got us a spot on the main stage at Ieper Fest in Ieper, Belgium. This was to be the pinnacle of our tour and a tremendous opportunity for the band. We had to drive through the night so HBK could load in and do their soundcheck before the show opened. The place was covered in mud and crews worked like madmen all morning cleaning up the grounds and putting down fresh hay and some sort of mulch to cover the mud and suprisingly it worked for the most part. Our new german brothers opened the show and even though it was just shy of noon there was already a huge crowd and people continued to pour in through the gate all day. Over the course of the day it became really apparent to us just how huge this production was. We were playing the oldest and possibly largest hardcore festival in Europe, it has been going on every summer in Ieper since 1992.
Bands traded off for thirteen hours, one outside on the main stage while the other set up in the tent on a smaller stage and so the day went off without a hitch as bands traded off and the crowded migrated from stage to stage and filled the merch tent all day. Bands from all over Europe and the US set up merchandise and everyone was kept busy, various distros also set up their wares, it was a really interesting site. Fests have been going on in the states for years but i never made my way down to any of them. The most popular were in Wilkes Barre, PA and Syracuse, NY but now the biggest is out in California and I doubt we'll be asked to play anytime soon.
We hit the main stage at about 3 o clock. As the guys set up their instruments on stage i warmed up my voice behind, upon walking up the stairs to the stage and looking out at the sea of people waiting to hear this unknown band from Boston play my nerves churned my stomach relentlessly. I gracefully made my way back behind the stage and almost lost my lunch. As soon as the sound check began and the set was under way everything clicked. We played great, the crowd was extremely attentive and interested and really gave us a great feeling. The stage was huge, the sound system - massive, it was really intimidating but when it came time to perform we did to the fullest of our abilities and it was great. Right up front I saw one of the promoters from our first show in Belgium, it was really great to see a familiar face and to feel supported in that way. This was our second show on a large stage with a really professional impressive PA system, and i loved every second of it. Having room to move about and a sound system that actually allows you to hear yourself is vital. Its really easy to overwork your vocal chords to compensate for the fact that you cant hear yourself, but with every instrument mic'd and your own voice booming back at you through stage monitors it really facilitates a great performance. Its taken long enough but i feel really comfortable with my voice now, Ive found its range and limitations and what feels most natural and never lost it once on this tour, I was really worried that we'd get to this huge fest and all the crowd would hear was hoarse whimpers but my voice was in tip top shape.
It was an honor to have kids from the fest all day saying how intense and passionate our set was and how impressed they were by a band they'd never even heard of. We sold an obscene amount of merchandise almost doubling that which was sold over the course of the entire tour. We now have next to nothing to carry home and expenses to made our own records and shirts covered. This is a tremendous relief. Ieper fest was one of the greatest days i can recall but it was brutally long, the last set ended about midnight and after thirteen hours everyone there was ready for it to end. We made our way to a hostel that was rented specifically for the fest in order to house all the bands. We shared a frigid room of lousy bunk beds with probably three other bands. One of the highlights of the day though was when our friends from back home who are also on tour came. Their show that day was cancelled so they drove to the fest even though they were playing the following day. They missed our set but it was really nice just to get to see them. I had talked to many of them before tour about their experiences in Europe and frankly they were all suprised to hear how positive our experience was. In spite of getting sick, having shows cancelled, and missing certain little faces back home this tour was amazing. We connected so quickly and intensely with our tourmates that three weeks went by like nothing. Now we just need to get home...
We've now been sitting in the airport at Hamburg, Germany for 17 hours with another 17 to go before our flight leaves. Our last show fell through in the booking process however after we booked our tickets. Heartbreak kid had to go back to Munich 8 hours away and so we've become temporary residences of the first terminal arrivals area, the only area open 24 hours. There are arm rests in between all the seats leaving no space to lay down and airport security keeping an eye so we dont sprawl out in to unsightly a fashion. Suprisingly and fortunately nobody has hassled us, we've managed to avoid looking like a gypsy encampment for the most part. It appears as though we've attracted flies, I'd like to think the flies are bothering everyone, but I think they've taken a particularly strong liking to us. My prediction is that by dawn buzzards begin circling overhead. There is however a shower here, which i plan on utilizing before checking in to our flight tomorrow morning until the bar of soap is no more. Having nothing but time I was able to sit for a second and look in the mirror, between the mess of hair, beard, and spectacles I feel like i've gone incognito. Amongst who I dont know, maybe grizzly bears? Wolves? I might have to change my last name to Ferile.
bye.
-Sean
Bands traded off for thirteen hours, one outside on the main stage while the other set up in the tent on a smaller stage and so the day went off without a hitch as bands traded off and the crowded migrated from stage to stage and filled the merch tent all day. Bands from all over Europe and the US set up merchandise and everyone was kept busy, various distros also set up their wares, it was a really interesting site. Fests have been going on in the states for years but i never made my way down to any of them. The most popular were in Wilkes Barre, PA and Syracuse, NY but now the biggest is out in California and I doubt we'll be asked to play anytime soon.
We hit the main stage at about 3 o clock. As the guys set up their instruments on stage i warmed up my voice behind, upon walking up the stairs to the stage and looking out at the sea of people waiting to hear this unknown band from Boston play my nerves churned my stomach relentlessly. I gracefully made my way back behind the stage and almost lost my lunch. As soon as the sound check began and the set was under way everything clicked. We played great, the crowd was extremely attentive and interested and really gave us a great feeling. The stage was huge, the sound system - massive, it was really intimidating but when it came time to perform we did to the fullest of our abilities and it was great. Right up front I saw one of the promoters from our first show in Belgium, it was really great to see a familiar face and to feel supported in that way. This was our second show on a large stage with a really professional impressive PA system, and i loved every second of it. Having room to move about and a sound system that actually allows you to hear yourself is vital. Its really easy to overwork your vocal chords to compensate for the fact that you cant hear yourself, but with every instrument mic'd and your own voice booming back at you through stage monitors it really facilitates a great performance. Its taken long enough but i feel really comfortable with my voice now, Ive found its range and limitations and what feels most natural and never lost it once on this tour, I was really worried that we'd get to this huge fest and all the crowd would hear was hoarse whimpers but my voice was in tip top shape.
It was an honor to have kids from the fest all day saying how intense and passionate our set was and how impressed they were by a band they'd never even heard of. We sold an obscene amount of merchandise almost doubling that which was sold over the course of the entire tour. We now have next to nothing to carry home and expenses to made our own records and shirts covered. This is a tremendous relief. Ieper fest was one of the greatest days i can recall but it was brutally long, the last set ended about midnight and after thirteen hours everyone there was ready for it to end. We made our way to a hostel that was rented specifically for the fest in order to house all the bands. We shared a frigid room of lousy bunk beds with probably three other bands. One of the highlights of the day though was when our friends from back home who are also on tour came. Their show that day was cancelled so they drove to the fest even though they were playing the following day. They missed our set but it was really nice just to get to see them. I had talked to many of them before tour about their experiences in Europe and frankly they were all suprised to hear how positive our experience was. In spite of getting sick, having shows cancelled, and missing certain little faces back home this tour was amazing. We connected so quickly and intensely with our tourmates that three weeks went by like nothing. Now we just need to get home...
We've now been sitting in the airport at Hamburg, Germany for 17 hours with another 17 to go before our flight leaves. Our last show fell through in the booking process however after we booked our tickets. Heartbreak kid had to go back to Munich 8 hours away and so we've become temporary residences of the first terminal arrivals area, the only area open 24 hours. There are arm rests in between all the seats leaving no space to lay down and airport security keeping an eye so we dont sprawl out in to unsightly a fashion. Suprisingly and fortunately nobody has hassled us, we've managed to avoid looking like a gypsy encampment for the most part. It appears as though we've attracted flies, I'd like to think the flies are bothering everyone, but I think they've taken a particularly strong liking to us. My prediction is that by dawn buzzards begin circling overhead. There is however a shower here, which i plan on utilizing before checking in to our flight tomorrow morning until the bar of soap is no more. Having nothing but time I was able to sit for a second and look in the mirror, between the mess of hair, beard, and spectacles I feel like i've gone incognito. Amongst who I dont know, maybe grizzly bears? Wolves? I might have to change my last name to Ferile.
bye.
-Sean
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Berchtesgarden, Deutschland
We played in Salzburg, Austria three nights ago. Nice club, great kids, it was really fun. The best part however was that it was so near the hometown of two of our tour mates. After the show we went to the family homes of Beenie and Marco in the town of Berchtesgarden, located in the Alps in the very south of Bavaria right near the Austrian border. We could have played half a set the following day in Vienna with Masterpiece, a band were playing several shows with from San Diego but in a move of solidarity decided we would do nothing without our tour mates Heartbreak Kid. This unexpected and unforunate day off turned out to be possibly the best day of tour. I slept for two nights in a real bed in a lovely home at the foot of the alps where we had clothes washed and were stuffed endlessly with Beenies mothers home cooking. Not only that but shes been vegetarian since most of us could crawl and the food was outstanding.
Berchtesgarden is most famous for being the sight of Hitlers mountain retreat complex. Beenies mother works for the documentation center, a small but famous museum and archive at the location that gives a full story of not just the Berchtesgarden complex but of the entirety of the third reich. We all got in free and were given hand held devices to guide us through the museum in english but the best part was the final part, where the museum leads you into several bunkers and tunnels. Unfortunately the US troops completely destroyed all the buildings on the site, but these tunnels survived, all the mountains where the villas were built are supposed to be filled with these secret tunnels and bunkers. It was truly amazing to be able to walk through the bit that we were. It was particularly important for me to be there for Grandpa, though I know most of his tour of duty was in Italy I believe they made their way through portions of the alps and perhaps into Germany. The whole time I wish you were there walking through with me Grandpa I think you would have really enjoyed it.
Afterwards we went to lake Konigsee which im told is as deep as the mountains surrounding it are high, which for a lake for that narrow is beyond impressive. The lake spills out into a river of pure mineral water you could drink. Marco and Beenie took us through the woods to a spot where you could dive off the rocks into the river near the foot of a 20 foot waterfall, the water is cold but refreshing and felt incredible and rejuventated us all. After all this Beenies mother cooked a meal that fed us all with seconds until we couldnt move and then dessert! She had a really wild garden growing in the back, much of which she admits is for the benefit of the birds in the area. She was so in touch with her natural environment it was really refreshing to talk to someone who has built a garden with the hopes of feeding and housing the animals who as she said lose more and more land with each new house built. I laughed when I saw the rosa ragosa, she really loved that we call the vegetable a beach plum. After supper Beenies father pulled out his acoustic guitar which we had played earlier, it was a s 30 year old Ovation and hands down the nicest guitar ive ever seen let alone played. He sang some really hysterical old german folk song and then looked at me and said "you know the pogues right!" and off he went into a hilarious rendition of Dirty Old Town.
Were staying in the youth club in Mannheim where we played today, so far we found computers, a phone, a room full of middle age warrior costumes and props, and some orange juice. All in all a great night. Tour is soon coming to a close but we have two big festivals left ahead of us and I cannot wait, it should be an amazing way to cap off this experience. Hope this finds everyone well. Home soon.
Sean
Berchtesgarden is most famous for being the sight of Hitlers mountain retreat complex. Beenies mother works for the documentation center, a small but famous museum and archive at the location that gives a full story of not just the Berchtesgarden complex but of the entirety of the third reich. We all got in free and were given hand held devices to guide us through the museum in english but the best part was the final part, where the museum leads you into several bunkers and tunnels. Unfortunately the US troops completely destroyed all the buildings on the site, but these tunnels survived, all the mountains where the villas were built are supposed to be filled with these secret tunnels and bunkers. It was truly amazing to be able to walk through the bit that we were. It was particularly important for me to be there for Grandpa, though I know most of his tour of duty was in Italy I believe they made their way through portions of the alps and perhaps into Germany. The whole time I wish you were there walking through with me Grandpa I think you would have really enjoyed it.
Afterwards we went to lake Konigsee which im told is as deep as the mountains surrounding it are high, which for a lake for that narrow is beyond impressive. The lake spills out into a river of pure mineral water you could drink. Marco and Beenie took us through the woods to a spot where you could dive off the rocks into the river near the foot of a 20 foot waterfall, the water is cold but refreshing and felt incredible and rejuventated us all. After all this Beenies mother cooked a meal that fed us all with seconds until we couldnt move and then dessert! She had a really wild garden growing in the back, much of which she admits is for the benefit of the birds in the area. She was so in touch with her natural environment it was really refreshing to talk to someone who has built a garden with the hopes of feeding and housing the animals who as she said lose more and more land with each new house built. I laughed when I saw the rosa ragosa, she really loved that we call the vegetable a beach plum. After supper Beenies father pulled out his acoustic guitar which we had played earlier, it was a s 30 year old Ovation and hands down the nicest guitar ive ever seen let alone played. He sang some really hysterical old german folk song and then looked at me and said "you know the pogues right!" and off he went into a hilarious rendition of Dirty Old Town.
Were staying in the youth club in Mannheim where we played today, so far we found computers, a phone, a room full of middle age warrior costumes and props, and some orange juice. All in all a great night. Tour is soon coming to a close but we have two big festivals left ahead of us and I cannot wait, it should be an amazing way to cap off this experience. Hope this finds everyone well. Home soon.
Sean
Monday, August 18, 2008
Nein vienna
another cancelled date, today i am in munich which is beautiful at the apartment of the german drummer and his girlfriend, we all split up to their apartments last night and meet up soon to drive to salzburg for what should be a really good show tonight. The weather is great, breakfast was delicious, I am feeling very relaxed and in decent spirits despite the constant unknowing of whats going to happen with this tour. Off we go.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Warsaw...
...was Joy Divisions original band name and i hoped(for more reasons that just that) that we'd at least get to see it. Poland lacks some serious infrastructure, particularly in the highway department. Our drives have been long 9 or 10 hour treks through desolate looking countryside of poured concrete homes and scattered farms. It dampers spirits but the shows have been really great for how different the two were. Last night we played a really huge professional venue, much like the upstairs of the worcester palladium, actually identical in size and layout. The crowd was huge and very receptie to all the great bands and we were able to peddle a good amount of our wares. The singer for one of the bands told us the venue for today closed so he was movn the show to his garage. This of course after the big stage was not what i had in mind but a good amount of people turned out and his girlfriend made us the best and warmest meal weve had so far. Were showered and crashing at their house tonight which is really quite nice.
After the Leipzig show, which felt more like Belfast urban combat training we stayed in a really cool loft i mentioned briefly before. Leipzig was the kind of situation where we drive through the city and see lots of great things to check out and realize we are not yet near the venue and as we drive and drive these points of interest turn into cautionary warnings which turn into squatter dwellings and our venue. Regardless, the loft after was really something, the walls were painted with trees and a ladder was built out of split logs that brought you out to the roof. The wholeplace had a very natural feel to it and the local inhabitants, both people and kittens were extremely hospitable. As we all hung out and settled in for the night I found a Thelonius Monk cd laying out. Nobody seemedto mind me leaving it on so as i fell asleep quite comfortably n the next room i could hear Monk drifting in. It was a perfect end to an otherwise ugly day. In the morning I felt my health returned and off we went.
Tomorrow we go back to Germany for a couple dates then into austria, I can't wait to see Vienna. Im told the shows are often lacking but the cities beauty makes the trip worthwhile Hopefully we will have the time to absorb some of the cities asthetics and enjoy better weather than weve had the last few days.
So far I havent found any really interesting gardens, some really cool vegetabe farms in Belgium, but not much else.
The people we meet along the way have all been great, i can hear everyone laughing downstairs so that's where i'm headed.
Half way done but still too far from home.
After the Leipzig show, which felt more like Belfast urban combat training we stayed in a really cool loft i mentioned briefly before. Leipzig was the kind of situation where we drive through the city and see lots of great things to check out and realize we are not yet near the venue and as we drive and drive these points of interest turn into cautionary warnings which turn into squatter dwellings and our venue. Regardless, the loft after was really something, the walls were painted with trees and a ladder was built out of split logs that brought you out to the roof. The wholeplace had a very natural feel to it and the local inhabitants, both people and kittens were extremely hospitable. As we all hung out and settled in for the night I found a Thelonius Monk cd laying out. Nobody seemedto mind me leaving it on so as i fell asleep quite comfortably n the next room i could hear Monk drifting in. It was a perfect end to an otherwise ugly day. In the morning I felt my health returned and off we went.
Tomorrow we go back to Germany for a couple dates then into austria, I can't wait to see Vienna. Im told the shows are often lacking but the cities beauty makes the trip worthwhile Hopefully we will have the time to absorb some of the cities asthetics and enjoy better weather than weve had the last few days.
So far I havent found any really interesting gardens, some really cool vegetabe farms in Belgium, but not much else.
The people we meet along the way have all been great, i can hear everyone laughing downstairs so that's where i'm headed.
Half way done but still too far from home.
Friday, August 15, 2008
upside
Feeling much better, thanks very much, travelling like madmen through poland, NO HIGHWAYS its taking forever but tonights show was a huge success. equivalent to one of the biggest venues back home, things are back on track and going well. have to go shower and sleep now sorry for a short post but wanted to calm down the family, thank you again everybody. clean bottled water only, lots of rest, the guys really picked up the slack for me and everyone from the german band took incredible care of me, the house we stayed at last night was great ill write more on that later.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
lifes vicissitudes
the tour has hit a few rough spots recently, weve had two shows cancelled on us now, one due to a club being closed two days before we were scheduled to play. ive been feeling a bit under the weather but we got a good nights sleep in a hostel in berlin last night and everyone has been extremely helpful. we really cant afford to not be playing shows so right now we are checking with promoters and our booking agent to make sure the rest of tour is all set. We are scheduled to play a huge festival in Ieper, Belgium at the end of tour, this is what we are all looking forward to most. I was blown away to see that we were booked for the main stage during the middle of the show on the festivals website. There are some huge legendary bands playing this fest as well as a lot of our friends playing the day after. With shows going down hill as well as my less than perfect health at the moment thoughts like, "what the hell am i doing here" and of how easy it would be to not be doing this at all lurk in the back of my mind and i have to do everxthing to combat this.
Truth be told though, i cannot wait to come back home and move into my new apartment. I have everything i love waiting for me back stateside.
Truth be told though, i cannot wait to come back home and move into my new apartment. I have everything i love waiting for me back stateside.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Jonkoping, Sweden
Last night will never be forgotten by the nine people of this trip. Not only is Jonkoping one of the most beautiful and hospitable places i have ever been last nights show only capped off the bliss of the day. Since we arrive at about 9:30 in the morning we had all day to explore and there's plenty more I would have liked to see, enough indeed to want to come back for that reason alone. The show space was so great, it was an abandoned theatre turned into a youth club, the downstairs where one would buy tickets became the lounge\merch area and then upstairs they had a small room with a stage covered in graffiti, black and red flags, and epithets of socialism and anti-fascism. The actual theatre remained seperate but accessible and the guys looked into whether or not we could hook a movie up as i was falling asleep afterwards. The first two bands were really great raw punk rock bands of kids from the town many of which helped run this beautiful place all on their own right in the heart of Jonkopings shopping center. For this reason we had to wait for the shops to close before setting up and warming up inside, its amazing the way this bustling area shuts down about 7 o clock. Im told there are about 200,000 residents but it does not feel that way at night.
Heartbreak Kid played great, it was the first show where the kids really danced and went wild for any of the bands and they set the bar really high for us. We had the option of travelling to England or Sweden on this trip and unanimously decided upon sweden, this also created a great opportunity to cover Swedens most important hardcore band from the 90's. This was the perfect audience to play Refused's classic "rather be dead" the politicized environment and spirit of their community gave way to a frenzy when we started the song half way through an already well received set. The stage was covered with kids, i gave them the microphone and there was barely enough room for us, at one point i had to catch peterson and his guitar from falling over the drumset, it was bliss and madness. We played every song we knew with more energy than ever before. Kids dove from every side of the tiny stage, in a split second one of the kids up front grabbed my leg and i was launched on top of the crowd still singing. Its really incredible how anywhere between 50-70 kids can make you feel like maybe mick jagger could take a lesson on showmanship. When the set ended the feeling of sheer happiness washed over us all, some of the kids from the show took a few of our guys down to the water to jump in what i guess is a lake, a most massive lake, to cool down. I stayed and sold merch and cleaned up a bit. We slept in the venue on couches and cots, it was the first time i closed my eyes in about 36 hours after driving through the night before. about 12 hours later here I am back in town getting one last look of things before we hit the road for Malmou.
The end of the night was dampened for only a moment when one of the promoters, who looked about 21, told me at the end of the month they were losing this club and asked that perhaps we might write of our day in town and our night at the youth club and our experience there. If they are to lose the club they will then have to go search and beg somewhere else and ive seen what a process this is but i know that with this spirit they will continue to build and rebuild in spite of state opposition. A letter a day from 9 people in germany and the us may perhaps help.
Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving me your notes it means a lot to hear from family on this trip.
-Sean
p.s. Amanda lets move to Sweden
Heartbreak Kid played great, it was the first show where the kids really danced and went wild for any of the bands and they set the bar really high for us. We had the option of travelling to England or Sweden on this trip and unanimously decided upon sweden, this also created a great opportunity to cover Swedens most important hardcore band from the 90's. This was the perfect audience to play Refused's classic "rather be dead" the politicized environment and spirit of their community gave way to a frenzy when we started the song half way through an already well received set. The stage was covered with kids, i gave them the microphone and there was barely enough room for us, at one point i had to catch peterson and his guitar from falling over the drumset, it was bliss and madness. We played every song we knew with more energy than ever before. Kids dove from every side of the tiny stage, in a split second one of the kids up front grabbed my leg and i was launched on top of the crowd still singing. Its really incredible how anywhere between 50-70 kids can make you feel like maybe mick jagger could take a lesson on showmanship. When the set ended the feeling of sheer happiness washed over us all, some of the kids from the show took a few of our guys down to the water to jump in what i guess is a lake, a most massive lake, to cool down. I stayed and sold merch and cleaned up a bit. We slept in the venue on couches and cots, it was the first time i closed my eyes in about 36 hours after driving through the night before. about 12 hours later here I am back in town getting one last look of things before we hit the road for Malmou.
The end of the night was dampened for only a moment when one of the promoters, who looked about 21, told me at the end of the month they were losing this club and asked that perhaps we might write of our day in town and our night at the youth club and our experience there. If they are to lose the club they will then have to go search and beg somewhere else and ive seen what a process this is but i know that with this spirit they will continue to build and rebuild in spite of state opposition. A letter a day from 9 people in germany and the us may perhaps help.
Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving me your notes it means a lot to hear from family on this trip.
-Sean
p.s. Amanda lets move to Sweden
Monday, August 11, 2008
Reeperbahn
One thing made quite apparent to us on this tour is the vast availability and open display of porno mags mom dont stop reading this just because this is the first sentence. Last night we had our show in Denmark cancelled so we started our trip to Sweden and stopped to see a new friend in Hamburg and hang out for a bit. This city is well known for its district known as the Reeperbahn, its red light district, which after a really nice long walk along the ports along the elba river we found ourselves in after cutting through a very public street lined with prostitutes, all of which had fanny packs which I found the most interesting part about it.
The guys in Heartbreak Kid informed me that a lot of these young women are taken from their homes in eastern europe under false pretenses and forced into prostitution. Its one thing if the circumstances in ones life forces them into such an unpleasant and dangerous line of business, its another if you are forced into this line of work at the hand of another. So as we got food at subway in between the sex shop and strip club and got a good little laugh at the ridiculousness of it all i noticed that the absurdity was capped off with a large gunshop across the street which gave me perhaps the best idea that will come to me overseas. ARM THE HOOKERS! To hell with the pimps and the sleaze, if we could make enough money on this tour to put a small pistol and a ticket home in the fanny pack of each young woman it would be well worth it. This is of course no solution but at the time seemed like a start. In a place where we were so fortunate to breeze through and bask in the absurd the realities of that which created this atmosphere were inescapable. The mutilated silicon enhanced flesh advertised in each window was more obscene than the product itself because it turned the human into the product.
ANYWAYS, unpleasantness aside Peterson and I drove straight through the night in what i like to call the U.S.S. Bismark into sweden which was a gorgeous drive across two bridges that brought us through denmark, copenhagen, and into sweden. The darkness that loomed over the first bridge in the early hours of the morning led me to proclaim how awesome the view was "it looks like were driving into hell!" at which point reign in blood the anthemic Slayer hit came across the stereo followed by a barrage of Enriques finest Black Metal, known to come from scandanavia. It was glorious but appropriately adjusted by a most gorgeous sunrise behind the fields of wind turbines and farms as Billy Bragg escorted us into Swedens beauty. We are now in Joenkoping the site of our first show and I am quite in love with this cities beauty. Its small, very walkable, and absolutely gorgeous and thoroughly interesting from end to end. We play just across the street from the sea which flows through a canal across the city. This is the most gorgeous place we have seen thus so far and is has exceeded our hopes of what we might find in Sweden. It cost quite a bit to come here but we should make it all back and a bit on top if all goes well.
Oh and our last show in Germany was amazing, great venue, joined with a skatepark, around the corner from where we played where in the loft they built two massive bunk beds that fit all 9 of us comfortably on our own mattresses. it was paradise... or something like it.
viva la revolucion, arm the hookers,
-Sean
The guys in Heartbreak Kid informed me that a lot of these young women are taken from their homes in eastern europe under false pretenses and forced into prostitution. Its one thing if the circumstances in ones life forces them into such an unpleasant and dangerous line of business, its another if you are forced into this line of work at the hand of another. So as we got food at subway in between the sex shop and strip club and got a good little laugh at the ridiculousness of it all i noticed that the absurdity was capped off with a large gunshop across the street which gave me perhaps the best idea that will come to me overseas. ARM THE HOOKERS! To hell with the pimps and the sleaze, if we could make enough money on this tour to put a small pistol and a ticket home in the fanny pack of each young woman it would be well worth it. This is of course no solution but at the time seemed like a start. In a place where we were so fortunate to breeze through and bask in the absurd the realities of that which created this atmosphere were inescapable. The mutilated silicon enhanced flesh advertised in each window was more obscene than the product itself because it turned the human into the product.
ANYWAYS, unpleasantness aside Peterson and I drove straight through the night in what i like to call the U.S.S. Bismark into sweden which was a gorgeous drive across two bridges that brought us through denmark, copenhagen, and into sweden. The darkness that loomed over the first bridge in the early hours of the morning led me to proclaim how awesome the view was "it looks like were driving into hell!" at which point reign in blood the anthemic Slayer hit came across the stereo followed by a barrage of Enriques finest Black Metal, known to come from scandanavia. It was glorious but appropriately adjusted by a most gorgeous sunrise behind the fields of wind turbines and farms as Billy Bragg escorted us into Swedens beauty. We are now in Joenkoping the site of our first show and I am quite in love with this cities beauty. Its small, very walkable, and absolutely gorgeous and thoroughly interesting from end to end. We play just across the street from the sea which flows through a canal across the city. This is the most gorgeous place we have seen thus so far and is has exceeded our hopes of what we might find in Sweden. It cost quite a bit to come here but we should make it all back and a bit on top if all goes well.
Oh and our last show in Germany was amazing, great venue, joined with a skatepark, around the corner from where we played where in the loft they built two massive bunk beds that fit all 9 of us comfortably on our own mattresses. it was paradise... or something like it.
viva la revolucion, arm the hookers,
-Sean
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Bastard Club
Today is the third day of the Maintain and Heartbreak Kid european tour. Pardon any punctuation or spelling mistakes in this blog "hoo ha" the euro keyboards are quite different. Our new German friends in HBK have been so great to us, the van they picked up is a monster VW there is plenty of room for everyone to sit, a dvd player, and more than enough room in the back for all our equipment and personal belongings its even pretty good on gas considering its size, you could stand up and not hit your head if you wanted. They made us feel instantly at ease and we became fast friends which has made the experience thus so far that much better. After waiting 2 hours in Logan, flying 6 to Frankfurt, sitting for another 2, flyzing 1 to Hamburg, and waiting 3 hours to then drive 6 into merkplas, belgium to our first show it was well worth it. the venue had a great sleeping place upstairs for us with couches and blow up mattresses and they fed us a hearty meal. The kids there were so gracious and accepting, the venue was run by guys around our age and everzone hung out into the wee hours talking after the show. Our set was great, they cheered for an encore which never happens. The second show was also in belgium, I took a long walk through the town though it was mostly closed down by that time. The show went fairly well, we did not sell as much merch and took a little less from the door but regardless we are well on track to cover all our costs hopefully by the halfway mark. last night and tonight we stay at this great loft where they built a room with 2 rows of bunk beds for bands plazing at the "bastard club" around the corner. well see how that goes tonight. Everzone is feeling great and having a wonderful time, weve had to spend very little of our own money on meals and water here and there. as a band weve never been treated so well, not by a long shot. as a person i feel so comfortable and at home in the places weve been to thus so far and weve had the opportunity to see the diversity of cities such as antwerpen where we spent the day wandering about the primarily turkish neighborhood.
As someone who has never really travelled or left the US before this has so far been an incredible experience and i know already ill want to return immediately when i get home, but its home that i miss when the day slows down. The people, the comfort, the monster kittens, all of these things that make me feel at home. But for now I feel so incredibly fortunate to be having this experience, its funny how a place to sleep and a warm meal and the chance to play each night has made us all feel like kings.
As someone who has never really travelled or left the US before this has so far been an incredible experience and i know already ill want to return immediately when i get home, but its home that i miss when the day slows down. The people, the comfort, the monster kittens, all of these things that make me feel at home. But for now I feel so incredibly fortunate to be having this experience, its funny how a place to sleep and a warm meal and the chance to play each night has made us all feel like kings.
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