la batteria

Don't get me wrong. I love touring by myself. That's why I started this project in the first place. I was sick of dealing with and interpreting what was going on with my band mates. But it has been great have Steve on tour with me so far. The sound is just so much bigger and the playing is more fun. He's doing a great job at his job of what I call Wolff liaison, chatting everybody up and making friends. There is of course the drawback of expenses (I go from making money to losing money on the tour) but Steve is worth it. "cazzo di tiro!"

Do the art but don't do the shit

We're in Marseilles right now having finished recording some audio and video with our buddy Jerome and crew at Divine Madness. I've been looking forward to this as I've felt like we've desperately needed good video for a long time. Last night in Milano was a tough show although I really loved the space (Biko club) and all the wonderful people that work there. I played Happy birthday for Fikri's little girl before the show which was hilarious but during the show I really blew my voice out. I could feel it coming on for a few days now as the hard living was catching up to my throat. We had to wake up at 8 in the morning the next day and drive all the way to Marseilles to make it in time to record and I was freaking out a bit that I wouldn't be able to pull off singing for the recording. I really wanted to get good versions of 2 new songs called drowning and Triumph of Delusion. Fortunately my body and my mind rallied (just barely) and it came out really good. One of these days we'll have proper video up of Steve and I (I think that has been holding us back in a lot of ways). Before Milano we spent a day or so hanging out in the Cinque Terre, a small collection of towns along the Ligurian sea. The water was incredibly refreshing. We slept outside on the side of a mountain in the car with the windows rolled down. Steve has been pointing out that there is an incredible smell of jasmine, magnolia, and orange blossom everywhere we go (a possible contribution towards my throat problems as I feel like I could eat the air to get at the pollen). I think I may be one of the few musicians who actually eats much healthier on the road. I find it much easier to avoid eating late at night and I eat a ton of fruit and well cooked meals with fresh ingredients. Actually I suppose that's the product of touring Europe (or perhaps California as well). We spent the couple of days before that hanging in a villa outside of Parma. It was originally built in the 13th century. I was nervous about the show because there wasn't a sound system (just a couple amps) and we needed to play very softly so as to not disturb the neighbors. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun and very interesting. Steve played with brushes and I did a lot more soundscapes and subtle dynamics than I would normally do. It got the gears turning in my head about different ideas for musical projects I've been pondering. Bologna the night before was a bit crazy. There were three bands and the first one didn't start until 11:30pm. Consequently we went on incredibly late. The show was at a big squat called X Mercato 24 (it used to be a market hence the name). Steve and I were commenting that it is amazing how counter culture steam punk kids dress and act alike all over the world. There aren't as many subtleties as you'd think.
It's the day of the Marseilles show which I'm very much looking forward to. This tour has been fascinating thus far as Steve and I have very contrasting styles of traveling. I think for him it's a bit more of a vacation vibe and I lean towards the all work and no play direction. It's been a helpful contrast. I never would have normally gone and swam in the sea figuring it was too far out of the way and would waste money. Also, I'm trying to get better at relaxing and soaking up my surroundings rather than worrying over details and pondering the future (much of that still needs to be done as there are always more details of this tour to take care of to say nothing of working out future touring and plans. That's life when you are your own booking agent, manager, tour manager etc...). I naturally want to stop at markets and supermarkets to get my food and eat it on a bench somewhere where as he leans towards sitting at a cafe or restaurant. He's been a godsend as far communicating with people and hanging. I can be a bit antisocial and with him here I am able to hover in and out of the collective hang without offending anyone. Anyway, as Eric said yesterday (he's the gentleman that kindly lent us his space called Divine Madness where we recorded), "do the art, but don't do the shit."

The tour begins...

We pulled in to JFK airport and the shananagans began quickly. We had engaged in considerable deliberation over the best way to pack and had concluded that we would stuff as much as we could into one big suitcase. When I travel I check my big electronics case which is unfortunately over weight (one of these days I’ll figure out how to lose ten pounds) and my tuba which comes just under the allotted fifty pounds. So right off the bat I pay one over weight fee and a second bag fee. I carry on to the plane a bunch of pedals and my mixing board in a bag and usually a second bag with my computer and other assorted things. Steve was bringing a bag and a small suitcase to put in the overhead with his clothes. The big question revolved around the cymbal bag which he claimed he could carry on and gate check thereby avoiding being charged for it. The snare drum and the cymbal stand and his mixer and cables and the cds and the power transformer and some other odds and ends were left. Should we cram them all into one big case and pay the overweight fee or should we split stuff in two and have Steve check two items and pay for an extra bag. The overweight fee and the bag fee were equal so we went with the overweight figuring that if we didn’t get away with the gate check of the cymbal bag the fee for a third bag is astronomical. Amazingly everything worked according to plan although the suitcase was actually too heavy and we had to put the power transformer in Steve’s clothes suitcase. We flew into Paris no problem and all the baggage made it fine. We found the car rental place and I realized that in my stupidity I had reserved the car for rental the day before we got there. Fortunately the woman at the counter dealt with my stupidity well and we were on our way. The new gps worked like a charm and we drove through the night to Roma. The drive was pretty exhausting but went with few hitches. We arrived in Rome late morning and I decided to check and make sure all the equipment was working before we crashed out. My first attempt at cranking up the new power transformer (There was no way to test it when I got it) resulted in a loud explosion. Actually my first attempt was a complete failure but I quickly figured out that not all the outlets where we were worked. Fortunately is was just the fuse that had shattered and I had two more fuses with me. I popped in the second one, readjusted the settings on the transformer and plugged in and once again there was a popping sound. Fuse number two was done. I put in the third and last fuse and this time nothing happened at all. Fortunately after some panic I realized we had blown the fuse to the outlet. We fixed that and all was well. I plugged in all my equipment and miraculously everything worked perfectly. That never happens when I fly. At the very least something always comes unplugged. Steve and I walked around a bit and then found a couch at Forte Fanfulla (what we thought was the venue but it was actually right down the street. An annex of sorts.) where we promptly crashed hard and deep. So deep that we actually slept through a book reading which started up well after we had fallen asleep. We woke up and took our stuff down the block to the venue and set everything up. We ate dinner and by that time it was almost time to play the show. I was starting to feel quite strange which at first I thought was just a lack of proper sleep but then I started to feel like maybe I needed to throw up. I rarely vomit but I have had food poisoning a few times and I was thinking that was what was going on. It was almost show time though and though I felt like throwing up I didn’t know if I was ready. I wretched a couple times outside the club and went back inside and played the set. By the end of the show I was getting dizzy and was desperately trying to both not puke and not pass out. We played drowning (a song written for Steve Mackay) last and I felt like I was really channeling the vibe of the song as I furiously kept from falling apart. We played The Triumph of Delusion last and I immediately left the bar, walked out to the car and threw up all the crap I’d eaten over the last 24 hours or so. The volume was quite impressive. I immediately felt better but completely weak and exhausted. I went back in, packed up my stuff, told Steve I’d be out in the car and fell deliriously asleep. Steve stayed and sold cds and schmoozed with our hosts. Thank goodness I had him with me. I woke up confused in the car at about 5 in the morning and Andrea (the promoter) took us to his apartment to crash. I woke up still exhausted the next day and completely unable to eat. Steve grabbed a bite with Andrea at Fanfulla and then we loaded up the car to drive to Pisa for a show. I could tell Steve didn’t want to leave. These were really good people and the weather was beautiful and he was going through that thing on the road where you’ve had a great time and you wish you could just stay and do all the wonderful things people in that given place are telling you about and share all the wonderful times with them that you could have if only you could stay longer. Unfortunately there’s always another show to get to. I had to be the bad guy and end it all so we got in the car and started driving to Pisa where hopefully another adventure awaits. Preferably one that doesn’t involve me getting sick. By the way, Italy is not the place to get food poisoning. There’s too much tempting food everywhere you go.
The drive to Pisa was pretty easy until the last kilometer or so. There was simply no way to get to the club and the streets around it are incredibly confusing. After an hour of driving in circles I finally got out and walked to the venue and got the sound man (fonico in Italian) Eduardo to come drive us closer. When we got to the venue I sat down for a moment and broke through the chair which reminded me that last time I was here I busted the seat of the toilet (it’s still broken). Is that a sign I need to lose weight? I’m gonna wrap up here because we are about to play a show for what is, at this point, two people. Se va…