It's been way too long since my last update and too much has happened to post everything, but i'll sum it up for you.
Rotterdam, Netherlands -
Nothing much happened on this day. The highlight of the day was when Casey and I went to a bagel and coffee place and got delcious bagels with avocado on them and some amazing coffee. The show was fun. Tons of stage dives and sing alongs. Got done with the show, loaded up and blasted out of there.
Paris, France -
I always have a great time in Paris. It;s probably one of my favorite cities in Europe. It's just so beautiful and has so much history and awesome things to see. We arrived at the club around noon and because the club was on such a narrow street, there was nowhere for our buses to park. Therefore, we had to stop the buses in the middle of a busy street and unload right there in front of the club. We ended up holding up traffic for a good 10 minutes, creating a long line of cars that were honking and yelling french obscenities at us, which we responded to with laughter. Good times. After loading gear into the club, Casey and I headed off to check out some sights in France - one of which being the Muse du qui Branly, where my girlfriend Rosie has some artwork featured. The ticket machine at the metro was broken, so Casey and I just hopped over the railing and boarded a train to the Eiffel Tower. We arrived at a street that was a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, grabbed a couple of baguettes and made our way to the Branly Museum, which is across the street from the Eiffel Tower.
The Museum was built to feature artwork by indigenous people throughout the world. It is a huge building, located right on the river showcasing unique and beautiful architecture and landscaping. When the museum was being constructed, Rosie and a few other australians were chosen to paint the ceilings of the museum with recreation of a painting by an australian aboriginal artist. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, so I wasn't able to see her work up close, but there were large glass windows that I could look through and easily see her work from the street. It was so awesome to not only see the Museum but to see something that Rosie helped create that will stand in Paris for years to come. it made me so proud. I was sure to tell everyone about it and show off my girls talents, haha. After the museum, Casey and I walked around the Eiffel Tower, which is always breathtaking. Then we went back to the neighborhood where our club was and got coffee. After haning with the dudes for a while, I decided to go for a little walk to kill time before we played. I chose a random street, started walking and 15 minutes, to my surprise I had arrived at Notre Dame Cathedral. It was my 3rd time seeing it, but it was an awesome sight to be hold again. I spent some time inside appreciating the architecture and sat down for a while to unwind. After, I just kept walking. By this time, It had gotten pretty dark and I realized that I had never seen Paris by night, and it is a truly beautiful time to see it. Hours later, I arrived back at the club, watched the other bands and then played one of the funnest sets of the tour. The crowd wasn't all that big, and there was a tv in the dressing room broadcasting the show. So we were just doing silly things on stage to entertain ourselves and the others that were watching backstage. This ended up being one of the most hilarious nights of the tour. Kinda had to be there. The show finished, we had some more laughs, the buses arrived, we blocked traffic again, loaded out and hit the road. Saying goodbye to Paris once again.
Durango, Spain(or Basque country) -
What a glorious day this was. We arrived in Durango and even though it was an overcast day, I was stoked. I hung outside after loading when Gaz, Pipey, Winston, Luke(parkway drive, and Charlie(the warriors) came walking by and asked me if I wanted to come with them to the beach. I agreed, thinking it would only be a short little journey. I was in store for much more though. Our destination was Mundaka beach, a world famous surf spot. The boys in Parkway are avid surfers and this beach was a must for them. We were given directions by a local to the beach and it ended up involving two bus trips and a little bit of walking. Luckily, we had Charlie with us who speaks Spanish pretty well so he was able to show us to the right buses and basically save us from getting lost. The bus rides were an ejoyable part of the day for me. I got to hang out with Ben(also known as Gaz, Rosie's younger brother) and talk Lost while enjoying the beautiful Spanish countryside. After an hour bus ride we finally arrived at what had to be one of the most lovely places I had ever been - a little Spanish town, tucked into a hill overlooking the ocean. We hung out at some cliffs overlooking the ocean and the surf, which was low but had massive potential and the dudes were loving it. Gaz, Luke, and Pipey decided to have a little dip into the ocean which resulted in them screaming like girls because of how cold the water was. After they dressed we walked through the town, making our way to the headland which had some old ruins. We hung out for a while, enjoying the views, taking pictures and then decided to head out. We had perfect timing on the way back, catching every bus without having to wait longer than a minute and walking into the club just as they were serving dinner. Good end to a great day. The show was alright. Not too crazy but fun. Some dudes threw rocks at one of the buses and broke a window, luckily it wasn't the bus I was on. Dudes has some drinks and then we hit the road, good times.
Madrid, Spain -
Casey and I went for a walk after waking. Had some awesome coffee and a croisont. The coffee in europe is so good, it's unreal. THis day wasn't the best for me. It started out awesome because before the show started, Gaz, Casey, and I went for a walk to find food and ended up finding a dope spanish restaraunt where I ordered grilled sea bass, and the other two ordered steak. Unlike everyone else who ate fast food and kebabs, we were sitting down at a nice restaraunt and loving life. It was an awesome time. We felt like kings. Later, I felt like death. Right before we were about to play, I started to feel a little off. When it was time to go onstage, I felt like I was going to die. I stood in one place the whole set and barely moved a muscle. I felt like I was going to puke or pass out or puke and then pass out in puke at any given moment. The one time I attempted back up vocals, I became really dizzy and started to fall into Kyle's drums, but was able to stable myself. When the last note of the last song wa struck, I ran off the stage and into the dressing room, then ran into the bathroom ready to be sick. Oddly enough, nothing came up. I went outside for some fresh air and started to feel better. When I got back on the bus, I took a ginger pill to calm my stomach, drank some water and went to bed. The next day I woke up feeling pretty good. I still have no idea what it was. At first I thought it might've been the fish I ate, but I don't think it was. I actually think it was probably from all the cigarette smoke I was exposed to at that show. Every single person at the show as smoking and the club looked like it was on fire. Whoever says second hand smoke has no effect on people doesn't know what they are talking about. As soon as I was out of the smoke, I started to feel alright. Cigarette smoke in Europe is seriously out of control. Every person here smokes, which means that playing shows here is awful. Thankfully countries are starting to ban it now, like England. But a lot of Europe is still so bad when it comes to cigarettes. I can't believe it's 2007 and there are still places that allow smoking in places. There have been a few times where i've had coffee on this tour from smoky coffee shops and I can seriously taste it in the coffee. Anyway, thats my smoke rant. Sorry.
OK, this is getting too long, so i'm going to break it up a little. Next post i'll post pictures and then write about Barcelona, which deserves a whole post of it's own. Anyway, that's all for now. Next up...Barcelona Spain, Zurich Switzerland, and Pinarella Italy. See you soon!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Manchester - Glasgow - Sheffield - Yeovil
Nothing crazy to report really. The last few days have been pretty standard touring routine. Get up, load in, soundcheck, hang out, play a show, go to sleep. But anyway..
Manchester - It was rainy as hell this day, typical english weather. I went for a walk with some bros around the city, bought a new pair of jeans since I accidentally left a pair in Germany. Went to Pizza Express with a bunch of bros for dinner. Pizza express is this gourmet pizza restaraunt chain that is all over the U.K. They actually serve amazing pizza by U.K. standards. We always try to hit up pizza express as much as possible when we're over there because we usually don't get served the best food at the venues in the U.K. See, with tours in Europe it's in the bands' contract that the promoter and venue provide dinner for all the bands on the tour. The food is usually either hit or miss. In the U.K. it's usually always a miss. So pizza express is essential to our survival. The show was mindblowing. Parkway Drive make everyone else look like little girls. Our set was pretty amazing as well. I slipped on a the stage and landed face first, which provided me and everyone else with a good laugh or two. Chilled with bros after the show then went to sleep.
Glasgow- Started off the day walking around the city with Travis (This Is Hell) and Casey. Bought a gingerbread latte at a coffee shop that was pretty gross. It was abosulutely freezing in Scotland. All of the bands had one tiny dressing room to share, so we all squeezed into it and had some good laughs and hang sessions. Show was alright. I didn't have much energy because of going crazy during our show the night before. Went to sleep a couple hours after the show, dudes stayed up and partied.
Glasgow
Sheffield - Took a shower at the venue when we arrived to the club - I hadn't had one in three days, blech. Got a coffee from a place that sold Byron Bay cookies, which was cool. I bought one later and it was delicious. Soundchecked and then Casey, Puc and I went to Pizza Express. Destroyed some pizza and then went back to the show. Sheffield is usually always an awesome place to play and this night was no different. All the bands had a great reaction. I did a guest vocal apperance for This Is Hell and, my typical luck, the mic broke on me so I just jumped into the crowd like an idiot and sang along with kids. Managed to give myself a nasty little cut on my leg from the barricade too. Good times. We played a new song "Industry Standards" and it went really well. This is one of the rare songs that we actually sing instead of scream and I do some of the singing myself. I was nervous but I think it went pretty well. After the show, got some fish and chips with Liam(Cancer Bats) and Casey. Came back to the bus and had a rad bro down session with Casey and Liam. Went to bed and watched The Lion, The witch and The wardrobe.
Yeovil - I had never even heard of this city before we played it, but it's a nice little town in the middle of nowhere which has a surprisingly decent music scene. Started off the day walking around with Jed (parkway drive merch guy and Rosie's older brother), Casey, Winston, and Luke (all parkway drive dudes). Got some food and Marks and Spencer, an awesome grocery store. Walked around some more with Jed and Casey, got some coffee and the bought The Wind That Shakes The Barley on DVD, a movie about the IRA and the Irish Civil War, which I have yet to watched but I'm stoked. Check it -
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wind_that_shakes_the_barley/ . A pub across the street form the club was providing food for us for free. We could choose anything on the menu. I chose Surf and Turf. Got my steak medium rare with shrimp. Not everyday you get a free surf and turf. It was delicious. The show was absolute chaos. The stage was less than a foot tall and there was no barricade. My guest vocal apperance for This Is Hell went better this show. Every set for every band was great. Our set was mental. There were two security guards, Nanouk(tour manager) and Puc(our bro) all up front trying as hard as they could to keep kids from falling all over us and our gear. It was hysterical. I'll post photos when I get them. Probably the craziest show on the tour besides Moscow. After the show, hung out with dudes and then took a sleeping pill since we were taking the ferry and there have beens some crazy storms in Europe lately, resulting in rough seas. Once again, I stayed asleep during the ride. Good times.
This Is Hell - Yeovil
Cancer Bats dudes at dinner in Yeovil.
Cool mural of Morrissey at the club in Yeovil
Now we're in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Casey and I had amazing coffee and bagels this morning. Probably one of the best coffees i've had in a while. Now i'm just chillin on the bus writing this thing. Show starts soon then we're off to one of my favorite European cities - Paris! See you then, kids.
Check these dudes out -
Parkway Drive - myspace.com/parkwaydrive
Cancer Bats - myspace.com/cancerbats
This Is Hell - myspace.com/thisishell
The Warriors - myspace.com/thewarriors
Manchester - It was rainy as hell this day, typical english weather. I went for a walk with some bros around the city, bought a new pair of jeans since I accidentally left a pair in Germany. Went to Pizza Express with a bunch of bros for dinner. Pizza express is this gourmet pizza restaraunt chain that is all over the U.K. They actually serve amazing pizza by U.K. standards. We always try to hit up pizza express as much as possible when we're over there because we usually don't get served the best food at the venues in the U.K. See, with tours in Europe it's in the bands' contract that the promoter and venue provide dinner for all the bands on the tour. The food is usually either hit or miss. In the U.K. it's usually always a miss. So pizza express is essential to our survival. The show was mindblowing. Parkway Drive make everyone else look like little girls. Our set was pretty amazing as well. I slipped on a the stage and landed face first, which provided me and everyone else with a good laugh or two. Chilled with bros after the show then went to sleep.
Glasgow- Started off the day walking around the city with Travis (This Is Hell) and Casey. Bought a gingerbread latte at a coffee shop that was pretty gross. It was abosulutely freezing in Scotland. All of the bands had one tiny dressing room to share, so we all squeezed into it and had some good laughs and hang sessions. Show was alright. I didn't have much energy because of going crazy during our show the night before. Went to sleep a couple hours after the show, dudes stayed up and partied.
Glasgow
Sheffield - Took a shower at the venue when we arrived to the club - I hadn't had one in three days, blech. Got a coffee from a place that sold Byron Bay cookies, which was cool. I bought one later and it was delicious. Soundchecked and then Casey, Puc and I went to Pizza Express. Destroyed some pizza and then went back to the show. Sheffield is usually always an awesome place to play and this night was no different. All the bands had a great reaction. I did a guest vocal apperance for This Is Hell and, my typical luck, the mic broke on me so I just jumped into the crowd like an idiot and sang along with kids. Managed to give myself a nasty little cut on my leg from the barricade too. Good times. We played a new song "Industry Standards" and it went really well. This is one of the rare songs that we actually sing instead of scream and I do some of the singing myself. I was nervous but I think it went pretty well. After the show, got some fish and chips with Liam(Cancer Bats) and Casey. Came back to the bus and had a rad bro down session with Casey and Liam. Went to bed and watched The Lion, The witch and The wardrobe.
Yeovil - I had never even heard of this city before we played it, but it's a nice little town in the middle of nowhere which has a surprisingly decent music scene. Started off the day walking around with Jed (parkway drive merch guy and Rosie's older brother), Casey, Winston, and Luke (all parkway drive dudes). Got some food and Marks and Spencer, an awesome grocery store. Walked around some more with Jed and Casey, got some coffee and the bought The Wind That Shakes The Barley on DVD, a movie about the IRA and the Irish Civil War, which I have yet to watched but I'm stoked. Check it -
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wind_that_shakes_the_barley/ . A pub across the street form the club was providing food for us for free. We could choose anything on the menu. I chose Surf and Turf. Got my steak medium rare with shrimp. Not everyday you get a free surf and turf. It was delicious. The show was absolute chaos. The stage was less than a foot tall and there was no barricade. My guest vocal apperance for This Is Hell went better this show. Every set for every band was great. Our set was mental. There were two security guards, Nanouk(tour manager) and Puc(our bro) all up front trying as hard as they could to keep kids from falling all over us and our gear. It was hysterical. I'll post photos when I get them. Probably the craziest show on the tour besides Moscow. After the show, hung out with dudes and then took a sleeping pill since we were taking the ferry and there have beens some crazy storms in Europe lately, resulting in rough seas. Once again, I stayed asleep during the ride. Good times.
This Is Hell - Yeovil
Cancer Bats dudes at dinner in Yeovil.
Cool mural of Morrissey at the club in Yeovil
Now we're in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Casey and I had amazing coffee and bagels this morning. Probably one of the best coffees i've had in a while. Now i'm just chillin on the bus writing this thing. Show starts soon then we're off to one of my favorite European cities - Paris! See you then, kids.
Check these dudes out -
Parkway Drive - myspace.com/parkwaydrive
Cancer Bats - myspace.com/cancerbats
This Is Hell - myspace.com/thisishell
The Warriors - myspace.com/thewarriors
Thursday, November 8, 2007
London
London was a fun day, which was nice considering it was my birthday. The day started off like usual - loading in, soundchecking, hanging out, etc. We played the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, probably one of the nicer venues we've played in London. We took care of all of our soundchecking business and then Casey and I left to do one of my favorite things on tour - laundry. A woman who worked at venue said that she could bring us to the closest laundromat if we needed and Casey and I definitely needed it, so we jumped at the chance. While our clothes were being washed, I decided to check out Camden, which is very colorful neighborhood full of interesting people from all walks of life. Camden is also known for its numerous markets that sell everything from indian food to obviously pirated Morrissey shirts and fake designer clothes. Think a bigger Maxwell Street Market (to all the Chicagoans who may be reading this).
A couple hours later with our laundry freshly cleaned, we decided to make the trek to the Soho neighborhood and go to our favorite London eateries - Hummus Bros. Hummus Bros is a wonderful restaraunt that serves large bowls of fresh hummus with toppings of your choice along with pipping hot straight-out-of-the-oven pita bread. Doesn't sound too amazing. But it's amazing compared to usual european tour food - bread, cheese, sandwiches, and bread and cheese sandwiches. Soho was pretty far from Camden, so we had to take the Tube (subway) which made it a smooth effortless journey. We arrived at Hummus Bros stoked out of our. I ordered my hummus with a gaucamole topping and a ginger mint lemonade. Casey got his hummus with an italian sausage casserole and a coke. Since it was my birthday, we decided to split a large brownie with ice cream, which was mindblowing. So it ended up being a most righteous birthday dinner.
The show was a banger. Every band had a great reaction, there were tons of friends hanging out, lots of birthday wishes for yours truly. Spekaing of which, Nanouk even organized to get a birthday cake for me. During parkway drive, I was ushered into one of the backstage rooms where everyone was waiting for me with a cake and all wished me a happy birthday. Good times. Our set went great, complete with huge sing alongs to close the night. There was an aferparty for the show set up at a bar across the street so all of us went over there and had a raging good time. Now, I don't dance - but something got into me and I was dancing up a storm with all the bros on the tour and some randoms. Lots birthday wishes were given and a few cokes and orange juices were bought for this guy. I was even double fisting it for a while. We all wore our throats down from laughing, yelling, and just given'r all night. Best thing about the night was that our buses were parked right across the street so when I had had enough, I just crawled into my bunk and fell into a peaceful sleep. Best birthday I've had in a while.
(By the way, the guys call me K-Piss cause i guess my expletive of choice is "piss!" Don't ask me why.)
A couple hours later with our laundry freshly cleaned, we decided to make the trek to the Soho neighborhood and go to our favorite London eateries - Hummus Bros. Hummus Bros is a wonderful restaraunt that serves large bowls of fresh hummus with toppings of your choice along with pipping hot straight-out-of-the-oven pita bread. Doesn't sound too amazing. But it's amazing compared to usual european tour food - bread, cheese, sandwiches, and bread and cheese sandwiches. Soho was pretty far from Camden, so we had to take the Tube (subway) which made it a smooth effortless journey. We arrived at Hummus Bros stoked out of our. I ordered my hummus with a gaucamole topping and a ginger mint lemonade. Casey got his hummus with an italian sausage casserole and a coke. Since it was my birthday, we decided to split a large brownie with ice cream, which was mindblowing. So it ended up being a most righteous birthday dinner.
The show was a banger. Every band had a great reaction, there were tons of friends hanging out, lots of birthday wishes for yours truly. Spekaing of which, Nanouk even organized to get a birthday cake for me. During parkway drive, I was ushered into one of the backstage rooms where everyone was waiting for me with a cake and all wished me a happy birthday. Good times. Our set went great, complete with huge sing alongs to close the night. There was an aferparty for the show set up at a bar across the street so all of us went over there and had a raging good time. Now, I don't dance - but something got into me and I was dancing up a storm with all the bros on the tour and some randoms. Lots birthday wishes were given and a few cokes and orange juices were bought for this guy. I was even double fisting it for a while. We all wore our throats down from laughing, yelling, and just given'r all night. Best thing about the night was that our buses were parked right across the street so when I had had enough, I just crawled into my bunk and fell into a peaceful sleep. Best birthday I've had in a while.
(By the way, the guys call me K-Piss cause i guess my expletive of choice is "piss!" Don't ask me why.)
Monday, November 5, 2007
Anarchy in the UK - Brighton, England
The show is brussels ended up being pretty dope. Every band killed it once again making for a fun night. By the time we got up to play our set it was super hot and muggy. The stage was really slippery and I nearly ate it a few time, so I restrained myself from moving around too much to avoid any faceplants. I was pretty wrecked after the show so I called it a night and retired to my bunk to finish watching transformers before falling asleep. At about 5am, we were awoken at the border to the U.K. where we had to fill out a form and go through customs. We all got through with no problems. Our next move was for our bus to board the ferry to England, so I made sure to borrow a sleeping pill so that I would be passed out while on the ferry. See, I get really seasick and I had an unforunate vomiting episode on a ferry the first time I came to Europe. Since we have the option of either getting off the bus and hanging out on the ferry or staying in our bunks to sleep, I usually stay in my bunk and take something to knock me out so that I don't repeat that incident. So i'm stoked to report that I survived another ferry ride with no ralphing - complete success.
Today I woke up and found that the our bus was parked in front of the venue which happened to be right on the ocean. So I got dressed and took a little stroll down to the beach, which was all rocks and no sand, and had a relaxing morning.
When I got back to the bus, I helped everyone load in and just chilled for a while. The club here in Brighton is situated in a unique place. It sits right on a boardwalk that leads to a large pier with an amusment park on it. After soundcheck and a quick snack I got together with Casey, Charlie from the warriors, and Gia, Luke and Jeff from parkway drive and went for a walk down to the pier. It was a little chilly, but we had a scenic walk to the pier at sunset. Gia had his sights set on a big ride that was basically a huge arm that swung in circles high above the pier. He and Charlie rode that and then Gia and I went on a ride called 'Horror Hotel' which was a haunted house that you go through on a cart. The ride malfunctioned before we entered it, so we sat there for 15 minutes while they tried to figure out what the hell was going on. This was great because it allowed me and Gia to have a some quality alone time. We sat there, all alone, about to eneter the Horror Hotel and wondered how different our lives might be after having experienced the horror hotel. What lay ahead of us? Would it be the ghosts of disgruntled maids, zombie bell hops ready to devour our brains, disembodied desk clerks??!! Finally, the ride was operational again, the swtich was flipped, and the doors opened to reveal.....the worst ride ever. A big plastic spider covered in florescent paint, a plastic skeleton wearing a tattered shirt and another such frights. It was fine though, we weren't expecting much to begin with. It ended up giving us a good laugh though, so whatever. After our exhilirating rides, we made the walk back to the club, ate some dinner and now we're just chillin. The Warriors and bringing the rock and i'm gonna go watch them. Peace.
Today I woke up and found that the our bus was parked in front of the venue which happened to be right on the ocean. So I got dressed and took a little stroll down to the beach, which was all rocks and no sand, and had a relaxing morning.
When I got back to the bus, I helped everyone load in and just chilled for a while. The club here in Brighton is situated in a unique place. It sits right on a boardwalk that leads to a large pier with an amusment park on it. After soundcheck and a quick snack I got together with Casey, Charlie from the warriors, and Gia, Luke and Jeff from parkway drive and went for a walk down to the pier. It was a little chilly, but we had a scenic walk to the pier at sunset. Gia had his sights set on a big ride that was basically a huge arm that swung in circles high above the pier. He and Charlie rode that and then Gia and I went on a ride called 'Horror Hotel' which was a haunted house that you go through on a cart. The ride malfunctioned before we entered it, so we sat there for 15 minutes while they tried to figure out what the hell was going on. This was great because it allowed me and Gia to have a some quality alone time. We sat there, all alone, about to eneter the Horror Hotel and wondered how different our lives might be after having experienced the horror hotel. What lay ahead of us? Would it be the ghosts of disgruntled maids, zombie bell hops ready to devour our brains, disembodied desk clerks??!! Finally, the ride was operational again, the swtich was flipped, and the doors opened to reveal.....the worst ride ever. A big plastic spider covered in florescent paint, a plastic skeleton wearing a tattered shirt and another such frights. It was fine though, we weren't expecting much to begin with. It ended up giving us a good laugh though, so whatever. After our exhilirating rides, we made the walk back to the club, ate some dinner and now we're just chillin. The Warriors and bringing the rock and i'm gonna go watch them. Peace.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Luxembourg - Cologne - Brussels
Well we're finished with our fly-out shows and finally hooked up with the Never Say Die tour for the rest of our time here in Europe. Our show in Prague was a fun time. Small club, small stage, and kids falling all over us again. Good times. After the show we climbed into a van and drove 6 hours overnight to hook up with the Never Say Die tour at the airport in Frankfurt. On our way, we made a detour to Nanouk's house where our luggage and instruments were waiting for us. It was so good to put on a fresh pair of clothes and to use my own toothbrush. We finished up at Nanouk's house with a quick internet sesh, some breakfast, coffee, and then we hit the road Frankfurt. It didn't hit me how many awesome friends are on this tour until our first meeting at the airport. The first person I saw was Jed, Rosie's older brother, and it immediately got me excited for the good times with good friends that were to come. So the Never Say Die tour consists of Comeback Kid, Parkway Drive, Cancer Bats, The Warriors, and This Is Hell. All awesome bands and awesome dudes. We said all of our hellos and climbed aboard our two tour buses, which are quite deluxe, and headed for the first show of the tour in Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg show was pretty cool. Not the best tour kickoff show i've ever played, but there were still plenty of people that came out and had a good time. Nothing too crazy happened. The club was in the middle of nowhere so there was no sightseeing to be had. We all mostly just hung out and caught up and relaxed, considering most everyone was pretty jet lagged.
The next day in Cologne was really fun. All of the bands had great sets and the kids in Cologne were much more stoked than last night in Luxembourg. Our set ended with at least 30 people all on the stage singing along and jumping around while we played our last song. Since we don't have showers on the buses and the club didn't have showers, we had a driver that was taking people to a hotel close by to shower. Casey and I were driven to the New Yorker Hotel. Upon arriving, Casey and I had a strong desire to leave the tour and stay at the hotel forever. It was probably one of the nicest hotels either of us had ever been to. I even forgot I was on tour for a little bit and felt like I was a glamorous jet setter. After a nice shower we were driven back to the bus where I lied down in my bunk and watched the cinematic triumph known as Transformers. Touring in a bus out here is so nice. The bus is a double decker - the bottom level a massive lounge with TVs, a stereo, refridgerator, etc. and the top bunk has a nice back lunge with enough bunks to fit us and Cancer Bats. It's great to be able to just chill on the bus, watch a movie, write music, read a book, and just relax and get away from the show atmosphere. It really helps keep my sanity.
Tonight we're in Brussels. We just got finished with some lovely food and are getting ready to watch Parkway Drive tear this place down. That's all that's going on right now. Nothing crazy, just good friends and good times. The way it should be.
-Kevin
The Luxembourg show was pretty cool. Not the best tour kickoff show i've ever played, but there were still plenty of people that came out and had a good time. Nothing too crazy happened. The club was in the middle of nowhere so there was no sightseeing to be had. We all mostly just hung out and caught up and relaxed, considering most everyone was pretty jet lagged.
The next day in Cologne was really fun. All of the bands had great sets and the kids in Cologne were much more stoked than last night in Luxembourg. Our set ended with at least 30 people all on the stage singing along and jumping around while we played our last song. Since we don't have showers on the buses and the club didn't have showers, we had a driver that was taking people to a hotel close by to shower. Casey and I were driven to the New Yorker Hotel. Upon arriving, Casey and I had a strong desire to leave the tour and stay at the hotel forever. It was probably one of the nicest hotels either of us had ever been to. I even forgot I was on tour for a little bit and felt like I was a glamorous jet setter. After a nice shower we were driven back to the bus where I lied down in my bunk and watched the cinematic triumph known as Transformers. Touring in a bus out here is so nice. The bus is a double decker - the bottom level a massive lounge with TVs, a stereo, refridgerator, etc. and the top bunk has a nice back lunge with enough bunks to fit us and Cancer Bats. It's great to be able to just chill on the bus, watch a movie, write music, read a book, and just relax and get away from the show atmosphere. It really helps keep my sanity.
Tonight we're in Brussels. We just got finished with some lovely food and are getting ready to watch Parkway Drive tear this place down. That's all that's going on right now. Nothing crazy, just good friends and good times. The way it should be.
-Kevin
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Pictures
So here are a select few pictures from our travels of the past few days....
Lisbon, Portugal. View from above
We had a pretty decent turnout in Lisbon. The picture is of Devil in Me, a local Lisbon band. They were most excellent.
The beach by our hotel in Lisbon.
This dude had the surf in Lisbon all to himself, lucky.
Andrew getting interviewed for Russian TV.
Russian crepes.
Our Russian friends Roman(left) and Sasha(right) right before entering Red Square
Lennin's mausoleum
St. basil's Cathedral
It's worth going to Russia to see the metro stations alone. They are unreal. In the states, subway stations are havens for filth and street trash. In Moscow, they look more like museums and art galleries. In this pic, there are some works of art depicting the October Revolution and other historic events.
Another metro station.
That about does it for now.
Lisbon, Portugal. View from above
We had a pretty decent turnout in Lisbon. The picture is of Devil in Me, a local Lisbon band. They were most excellent.
The beach by our hotel in Lisbon.
This dude had the surf in Lisbon all to himself, lucky.
Andrew getting interviewed for Russian TV.
Russian crepes.
Our Russian friends Roman(left) and Sasha(right) right before entering Red Square
Lennin's mausoleum
St. basil's Cathedral
It's worth going to Russia to see the metro stations alone. They are unreal. In the states, subway stations are havens for filth and street trash. In Moscow, they look more like museums and art galleries. In this pic, there are some works of art depicting the October Revolution and other historic events.
Another metro station.
That about does it for now.
Stockholm - Lisbon - Moscow - Prague
Wow, where do I begin? Well we haven't had any internet until now in Prague, so a lot has happened since I posted last. Ok, here' we go.
Stockholm, Sweden - The show in Stockholm was great. About 400-500 people came out and made it a great time with sing alongs and other fun stuff. Afterward we crashed in a hostel where I slept until probably 3am, woke up, and couldn't fall back asleep again until probably 7am. We woke in the morning and got a ride form our Swedish friends to the airport for our flight to Stuggart, Germany for a day off.
Lisbon, Portugal - I was excited to hang out in Lisbon not only because I had never been there before, but also because it was warm and sunny which would have been a nice change from the dark and cold of Sweden and Finland. Alas, a day in the sun was not meant to be. Not only was our flight to Lisbon delayed, but we had to wait to wait at the airport for a couple of hours because British Airways had lost our luggage - including all of our instruments! Long story short, we yelled at a british airways employee for a couple of hours and then we were rushed to the venue where the show had already started. We had to borrow clothes, guitars, drums, amps, everything in order to play the show. The show was incredible so that made up for things a little. Afterward we went to our hotel and crashed, very worn out from the stress of the day.
Stuttggart, Germany, Day off - We started off the day at the Lisbon airport with the bad news that the airline still hadn't found our luggage yet. So we argued with birtish airways again and demanded compensation, for which they gave us 50 euro a piece (about 72 dollars U.S.). So with that we were able to buy some new toiletries so we could quell the stench emitting from our bodies. We then boarded our flight to Stuttgart, landed, caught a cab to our hotel, and chilled. We finished out the night be eating some italian food across the street from our hotel and then buying clothes from a sport shop down the street. Casey and I fell asleep this night while watching Knocked Up.
Moscow, Russia - Today was the day of days, the big one - we were going to Russia. None of us had any idea what to expect before we entered Russia. Would they even allow us in? Would there be anyone at the show? Would we die at the hands of surly cab drivers that drove 100 mph through the streets of Moscow? Well all those questions and more were answered. Yes, we did get in with no troubles. The show was easily one of the funnest shows Comeback Kid has ever played. And yes, the cab drivers are surly and do, in fact, drive 100 mph through the city. At the end of our first night, I was convinced that Russia was the most terrifying place on planet earth, but that view would be changed very quickly. Our flight to Russia was, like everything else - delayed. After passing through customs we met with Nikoli and Roman, the promoters of the show. We caught a cab to the venue where the show had already started. We were escorted through a labryinth of back hallways that eventually led to our lovely dressing room. The show was packed at about 550 people in a small club. This show was amazing. Kids falling all over us, singing alongs, high fives, stage dives, hugs, blood, sweat, tears - everything a hardcore show should be. Incredible. Afterwards we crawled into the most dilapitated "taxi" ever and were driven to our hotel at the hands of a man that made Stalin himself look like a cute teddy bear. We crashed hard that night, some of us drunk on exhaustion and the rest drunk on Russian vodka.
Moscow, Russia, day off - We started our day the same way all great days start - with crepes! Before embarking on our sightseeing in Moscow, we got come crepes from a little shack on the corner. From there we made a long, but fun trek to Red Square with our tour guides Roman, and Roman's friend Sasha. It didn't fully hit me that I was in Moscow until I gazed upon the Cremlin, Lennins mausoleum, and St. Basil's Cathedral. I was blown away. So much history, such amazing buildings. It was fanstastic. After the red square and some shopping, we ate some Russian food and man was it very ok. Something about the food in that place messed with my stomach. Even though we mostly ate bread, potatoes, and borscht - nothing exotic - it just felt kind of weird. Anyway, after eating we went back to the club that we had played the previous night for a Halloween party night. It was....interesting. Just ask me for the story in person. I don't know if I can write about it here, haha. We had a fun night at the club - sharing drinks and laughs, telling stories, etc. It was a great night. We toasted to a successful show and fun day in Moscow and to the fact that "we are still alive." After drinks and food, we called it a night and said goodbye to some of our new friends, went back to our hotel and crashed.
Prague, Czech Republic - I woke up today fresh as a daisy after a 3 hour sleep, got ready, and caught a cab to the airport. We arrived at the airport and said goodbye to our other Russian promoter and friend, Timor, and thanked him for a great time. I was definitely a little uncomfortable in Russia at first, but I ended up having a great time. I made some new friends and memories that I won' be forgetting anytime soon. So we boarded our plane and flew to Budapest to catch our connection to Prague. We had a few hours before our flight to Prague, so we chilled out and slept and relaxed. With 25 minutes to go before our flight depature, we decided the head to our gate only to be greated by an airline employee who informed us that were too late and our flight was already leaving. Long story short, we freaked out on the guy and told him we were going to make this flight. What airline leaves 25 minutes before the scheduled departure? Unreal. So after going back and forth with the guy we finally forced him to radio the plane, which stopped on the tarmac for us and we were rushed by bus onto the plane. Pretty hilarious. Man, i'm so over flying it's unreal. I think i've done enough flying for two lifetimes in this past week. Never again.
So now we're in Prague and we are playing in twenty minutes. I'm tired of typing as i'm sure you're tired of reading. See you later. Pics to come soon.
-Kevin
Stockholm, Sweden - The show in Stockholm was great. About 400-500 people came out and made it a great time with sing alongs and other fun stuff. Afterward we crashed in a hostel where I slept until probably 3am, woke up, and couldn't fall back asleep again until probably 7am. We woke in the morning and got a ride form our Swedish friends to the airport for our flight to Stuggart, Germany for a day off.
Lisbon, Portugal - I was excited to hang out in Lisbon not only because I had never been there before, but also because it was warm and sunny which would have been a nice change from the dark and cold of Sweden and Finland. Alas, a day in the sun was not meant to be. Not only was our flight to Lisbon delayed, but we had to wait to wait at the airport for a couple of hours because British Airways had lost our luggage - including all of our instruments! Long story short, we yelled at a british airways employee for a couple of hours and then we were rushed to the venue where the show had already started. We had to borrow clothes, guitars, drums, amps, everything in order to play the show. The show was incredible so that made up for things a little. Afterward we went to our hotel and crashed, very worn out from the stress of the day.
Stuttggart, Germany, Day off - We started off the day at the Lisbon airport with the bad news that the airline still hadn't found our luggage yet. So we argued with birtish airways again and demanded compensation, for which they gave us 50 euro a piece (about 72 dollars U.S.). So with that we were able to buy some new toiletries so we could quell the stench emitting from our bodies. We then boarded our flight to Stuttgart, landed, caught a cab to our hotel, and chilled. We finished out the night be eating some italian food across the street from our hotel and then buying clothes from a sport shop down the street. Casey and I fell asleep this night while watching Knocked Up.
Moscow, Russia - Today was the day of days, the big one - we were going to Russia. None of us had any idea what to expect before we entered Russia. Would they even allow us in? Would there be anyone at the show? Would we die at the hands of surly cab drivers that drove 100 mph through the streets of Moscow? Well all those questions and more were answered. Yes, we did get in with no troubles. The show was easily one of the funnest shows Comeback Kid has ever played. And yes, the cab drivers are surly and do, in fact, drive 100 mph through the city. At the end of our first night, I was convinced that Russia was the most terrifying place on planet earth, but that view would be changed very quickly. Our flight to Russia was, like everything else - delayed. After passing through customs we met with Nikoli and Roman, the promoters of the show. We caught a cab to the venue where the show had already started. We were escorted through a labryinth of back hallways that eventually led to our lovely dressing room. The show was packed at about 550 people in a small club. This show was amazing. Kids falling all over us, singing alongs, high fives, stage dives, hugs, blood, sweat, tears - everything a hardcore show should be. Incredible. Afterwards we crawled into the most dilapitated "taxi" ever and were driven to our hotel at the hands of a man that made Stalin himself look like a cute teddy bear. We crashed hard that night, some of us drunk on exhaustion and the rest drunk on Russian vodka.
Moscow, Russia, day off - We started our day the same way all great days start - with crepes! Before embarking on our sightseeing in Moscow, we got come crepes from a little shack on the corner. From there we made a long, but fun trek to Red Square with our tour guides Roman, and Roman's friend Sasha. It didn't fully hit me that I was in Moscow until I gazed upon the Cremlin, Lennins mausoleum, and St. Basil's Cathedral. I was blown away. So much history, such amazing buildings. It was fanstastic. After the red square and some shopping, we ate some Russian food and man was it very ok. Something about the food in that place messed with my stomach. Even though we mostly ate bread, potatoes, and borscht - nothing exotic - it just felt kind of weird. Anyway, after eating we went back to the club that we had played the previous night for a Halloween party night. It was....interesting. Just ask me for the story in person. I don't know if I can write about it here, haha. We had a fun night at the club - sharing drinks and laughs, telling stories, etc. It was a great night. We toasted to a successful show and fun day in Moscow and to the fact that "we are still alive." After drinks and food, we called it a night and said goodbye to some of our new friends, went back to our hotel and crashed.
Prague, Czech Republic - I woke up today fresh as a daisy after a 3 hour sleep, got ready, and caught a cab to the airport. We arrived at the airport and said goodbye to our other Russian promoter and friend, Timor, and thanked him for a great time. I was definitely a little uncomfortable in Russia at first, but I ended up having a great time. I made some new friends and memories that I won' be forgetting anytime soon. So we boarded our plane and flew to Budapest to catch our connection to Prague. We had a few hours before our flight to Prague, so we chilled out and slept and relaxed. With 25 minutes to go before our flight depature, we decided the head to our gate only to be greated by an airline employee who informed us that were too late and our flight was already leaving. Long story short, we freaked out on the guy and told him we were going to make this flight. What airline leaves 25 minutes before the scheduled departure? Unreal. So after going back and forth with the guy we finally forced him to radio the plane, which stopped on the tarmac for us and we were rushed by bus onto the plane. Pretty hilarious. Man, i'm so over flying it's unreal. I think i've done enough flying for two lifetimes in this past week. Never again.
So now we're in Prague and we are playing in twenty minutes. I'm tired of typing as i'm sure you're tired of reading. See you later. Pics to come soon.
-Kevin
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