9/2/12
5:30pm Munster, DE
I’m writing this from tonights venue in Munster. A small, literary cafe with hundreds of books lining the long, winding shelves that occupy the walls surrounding the cafe. We got a chance to walk around the city center for a bit and check things out. There’s some sort of festival happening in Munster today. The city center is decorated with flags in the individual colors that make up the German flag. Munster is one city that certainly favors riding bikes over driving cars. Thousands of bikes surround everything, absolutely everything. The bike lanes in most of Europe are on the sidewalk, and not being adept at this change can only result in near collision, after near collision. I can tell by the looks on the bike riders faces as they whip by that they're not impressed with our lack of pedestrian etiquette. Also, for some reason there are a ton of wild rabbits throughout the green space and traffic medians. This is a bit of odd coincidence, for I just finished reading Watership Down a few weeks ago. A fantastic book that led me to develop an affinity for rabbits. I know that some see them as a sign of “rebirth” (whatever the hell that actually means), but I see them as strong, intelligent little creatures. They have an heir of mischief about them that I can identify with. Either way, regardless of your thoughts on rabbits, a vast population inhabits Munster, and that is irrefutable .
The promoter for tonights show is our friend, Flo. I met Flo while doing support for the band Landmines a few years ago. We hit it off immediately and he wound up traveling to see three, or four shows on that tour of old friends, and debauchery. Landmines are some of my oldest, and best friends. They also double as one of the best bands in their genre. I was lucky to be on that tour. It's safe to say that without Landmines; I would never have had the opportunity to travel around Europe and play shows. Flo, for his part is a bright, excitable guy. If the world were full of people like Flo; it would certainly be a better place. His enthusiasm for music is infectious.; it sparks a fire in me that I sometimes feel has long been put out. Some people naturally have this effect. I mean, I’ve been playing music for quite some time, and to be honest I find myself starting to burn out a bit. I try to be honest- and i try to be positive, but at times it’s just not there. I can say with absolute certainty that if you’re around Flo and you don’t feed off his raw passion for what he loves; you are dead inside. So, for right now I'm feeling very much alive. We’re staying at his flat tonight, hopefully we’ll get to catch up, drink whiskey, and tell some stories.
9/3/12 Highway A1 to Heiloo,NL
1pm
The show last night was great. Though not very well attended, I had a memorable night with my friend, Flo. I think there may have been twenty-five people in attendance, but some folks knew the words and sang along just the same. It still blows my mind that we can be this far from home and people know the lyrics well enough to sing along to songs written in my living room; in Allston. I really like the small shows over here. They don’t have that feel of desperate failure about them. I think it’s because the folks in attendance actually care that you took the time, and put in the effort to be there. They have this... what’s it called... appreciation. Yeah, that’s what I was looking for. Plus, the smaller shows give you the chance to talk to more people which in turn gives you the opportunity to get to know people better than you would have if you were in a green room, or drinking at a bar down the street from the venue. In general, it makes for a more meaningful experience.
After the show, we all sat around drinking whiskey and getting re-acquainted. I think our crew is off to a good start. We’ve got a few spots that we’ve never been to coming up in the next few days which should be nothing if not interesting. It’s tough to forecast what those shows will end up being like. We could wind up in what Alissa , and I affectionately refer to as the “twilight zone”. The twilight zone is when everything that surounds the show gives off a brilliant glow of weird. Those nights can be rough if you’ve got a bunch of them in a row, but they always make for good stories down the road, when it’s easier to laugh. I think regardless of what the shows turn out like, our crew of three will be having a good time together.
The whiskey, and conversation put me in a perfect spot to get some sleep. Unfortunately, Christian fell asleep before me, and as I’ve already mentioned; he snores like no one I’ve ever heard before. It’s pretty amazing, really. Christian can un-knowingly-completely replicate the sound of an airplane engine, perfectly. Due to this, I stayed up most of the night listening to Ryan Adams records, thinking about how funny the end of the day is when you start off the day not knowing how it'll end up. I’m real thankful to have my ipod, but even this tiny device of technological advancement can't drown out the wolf like growl of Christian’s un-hinged snoring. I love Christian, but if I have too many nights like this without sleep; I’ll lose my mind. I might have to get creative. Ugh.