28 July 2008
So here are some pictures from my time over here in Europe. They’re all from my phone, so please excuse the lack of quality.
Dornstadt
Side of the road in Germany
Again, the side of the road
Brussels
Lots of people
Ukulele
Sitar
Fucking Tourists
Expensive cab ride!
Vegetarianishe
BIG MONEY!
French Riviera
Dour, Belgium
Dour Festival!
More to come!
28 July 2008
So, I have just returned from a working weekend in France.
It was amazing to say the least!
Here’s a recap of the weekend.
25.07.08 – FRI
We meet up around 10AM on Friday to leave for the MIDI Festival in Hyere, France. This weekend was full of hectic travel. We land in Nice, FR and get a van ride to the festival. The ride ended up being roughly 2 hours and was comprised of some of the most gorgeous scenery I’ve ever laid eyes on. Mixing sound in castle ruins on the French Riviera was incredible.
As soon as we get to the festival, we drop off our gear in our dressing room, and head straight for the wine. The set time that evening wasn’t until 9:30, so we had a fair amount of time to kill before the show. So we proceed to indulge in some tasty adult beverages and snacks from the chef, and sit and talk with Jonah from The Blow and Yacht for a while. Dinner ends up being a huge mishap, and we miss out on the good food and just end up chowing down on hors d’oeurves. Arguments with the chef happen, things get cleared up, etc, etc… The show goes really well, I’m extremely pleased with the overall sound, and at this point I’ve made a cheat sheet for myself where different types of delays and reverbs go in the songs. This helps immensely and has given me a way to add effects very consistently. After the show, we head to our hotel, which is not too far from the festival, only to have to wake up at 6AM! Keep in mind that it’s 1:30AM at this point in time. No rest for the wicked, I suppose.
26.07.08 – SAT
Saturday, we wake up at the crack of dawn, head down for breakfast, and then catch another 2 hour van ride to get on a plane in Marseilles, FR to Nantes, FR. Get on the plane, blah blah, land, and get picked up by another van, only to drive another 2 hours to the 3 Elephants Festival in Laval, FR. This is a much larger festival than the MIDI Festival. HUGE PA system, extremely professional video set up, the works! I was in heaven!
Once we arrive at the festival, we scope out the food situation, have some snacks and begin setting up equipment. The set time was at 8:30PM, so again we had some time to kill, and ended up chatting with some people and just sort of milling around for a while. The show went pretty flawlessly, and again I was extremely happy with the sound. I believe that was the best sounding show I’ve mixed since I’ve been over here. Afterwards, we head to the open bar and have a few cocktails. We all load up in the van and head back to the hotel. At this point, I’ve got a little buzz going and in the mood to get a few more drinks. Doug and Austin decide to join me, and we head back to the festival to enjoy some more complimentary adult beverages. After a few too many, we’re all in no condition to be in public and head back to the hotel.
27.07.08 – SUN
I wake up, grab some breakfast, and proceed to get ready to leave. At this time there are 6 total people in our group, 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 keyboard, 1 vibraphone set, and miscellaneous pedals, cymbals, cables, etc… So needless to say, we’ve got a decent amount of stuff with us. Our transport from the hotel to the airport arrives and more or less, it’s a glorified station wagon. WAY too small for us. Obviously, we can’t all fit in here, so the festival arranges a cab to take everything that can’t fit… 2 and a half hours away to PARIS! The driver doesn’t speak a word of English, so there is a definite language barrier there. Yoni, Austin, and myself are chit-chatting the whole way there. Once we arrive at the airport the meter on the cab reads 614.80 Euros!! Almost $1000 USD! Thank god we didn’t have to pay for it! After we go into the airport, we have to get in this RIDICULOUS line that has about 200 people in it. So we wait, and wait, and wait. Finally we get to the agent, get our boarding passes, and get on the plane, that’s also late. After we land, we go to our favorite Vietnamese spot, which has the best Tom Kah Tofu soup I’ve ever had, and chow down. At this point we realize that Yoni left his fanny pack on the plane! We try calling the airport, but it’s all too late to handle that. After decided to wait until today to handle everything, we head back to Josiah and Doug’s to crash.
28.07.08 – MON
We get up today, grab a bagel, and head out for our trek to the Berlin airport. Let’s just say it takes a while to take the trains all the way out to the airport. We left at 2pm and returned at 6pm. Tonight’s plans are to eat, drink, and be merry.
I only have one week left here, and I have to say I’ll be sad to leave. Great company, great music, great city with great public transportation. Time to live it up, just a little longer!
I’ve been really slacking with this thing since I started it, really. I’m going to try and update more often. Maybe even some pictures!
26 July 2008
So Europe has been amazing so far!
I’ve been living in Berlin somewhat couch surfing back and forth from the flats that Why? are renting. It’s been great catching up with them again. As much touring as they do, everyone seems to be in fairly good spirits.
I’ve already mixed 5 festivals, with only 2 more to go.
Obstweisen Festival – Dornstadt, Germany
Valkhof Affaire – Netherlands
Melt Festival – Gräfenhainichen, Germany
Dour Festival – Dour, Belgium
Midi Festival – Nice, France
3 Elephants Festival – Laval, France
Lok Pop Festival – Osnabruck, Germany
We’ve pretty much just been staying in Berlin and either flying or driving out to festivals on the weekends. The scenery has been beautiful, the food has been some of the best I’ve ever had, and the people have been extremely nice. The 3 Elephants Festival is tonight and should be a good one. Why? is following a band called TUNNG that I’ve heard a bunch about.
Why? has been kind enough to ask me to continue working for them throughout the 2nd US portion of the tour, so if any of you live in these cities, let me know and we can hang out for sure.
08-29 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
09-04 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echoplex
09-05 – Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse
09-06 – Tucson, AZ – Solar Culture
09-08 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
09-09 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
09-11 – Pensacola, FL – Sluggo’s
09-12 – Gainesville, FL – Common Grounds
09-13 – Miami, FL – The White Room
09-14 – Orlando, FL – The Social
09-16 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
09-17 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
09-18 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
09-19 – Boston, MA – Museum Of Fine Arts
09-20 – Portland, ME – Space Gallery
09-21 – Providence, RI – Club Hell
09-22 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa
09-25 – Cincinnati, OH – 5th 3rd bank blackbox Theatre for Midpoint Music Festival
09-26 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
09-27 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
09-29 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
09-30 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
10-02 – Vancouver, BC – Richard’s On Richard
10-03 – Seattle, WA – Vera Project
10-04 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
I’ll also be making another round with The Famine shortly thereafter for 6ish weeks, and many things stirring around for early next year!
