Well, after my caffine induced blog frenzy, I needed to lie low and get some rest, who knew diary keeping was so intense? Poor Samuel Pepes and Adrian Mole.
On Saturday I had an appointment with the Balcony TV people, this is really exactly what it was, TV on a balcony overlooking the city. I met Heinz who had agreed to join me for this performance, and we met on the Reperbahn. The Reperbahn is the red light [not so much district as Small town] area of Hamburg, a big long street, with every imaginable facility, plus theatres showing musicals [not naughty ones, but shows like Sister Act, which really is quite the opposite], it’s a real lively place and it is brilliant at night.
Heinz and I waited for almost an hour for the Balcony TV people, we made our way to the balcony that we filmed at 2 years ago, but unfortunately due to some oversight or cruel joke [it’s not big and it’s not clever.] [Millie, has this ever been done in the dark and murky world of grammar ? [[The use of a bracket within a bracket with a question mark ]], they decided to not let us know that they had found a new balcony, so , minus Heinz who had by this time lost the will to live let alone perform Cajon on a balcony, I made my way to another balcony over looking the Hamburg skyline.
I sang my song, rather badly I think because my voice wasn’t great having spent the previous day singing Old McDonald far too loud and far too often, with lots of unusual Canadian life forms like whales, bears and Don Cherry.
I sang my song, and then jumped in Lars’s ‘off blue’ Octavia, and drove an hour and a half to Cadenburge. My good friend, and friend to many musicians [Mary Black, James Keelaghan, Mike Silver, Barney], Wolfgang Hess, greeted me with his usual wonderful hospitality. Wolfgang is one of a very very special breed of people in this music business I find myself in. His love and support of live music is legendary, every musician I know loves him, he is a one man promotion company, and recently he became the Lord Mayor of Cadenburge, or Burgermeister. So after I kissed his [I know you thought I was going to say ring], ……….girlfriend in a European on the cheek sort of way, avoiding the lips fashion… ….. …..
Can anybody tell me the rules of a single cheek or double, or even, God forbid a triple cheek greeting, I can never get it right, I don’t believe it is down to the country because I have singled and doubled in France and in Germany, and just as I’m getting the hang of it I go up to greet someone at the CD [subliminal product placement moment] table after a show and they….. Cheekily…., just squeeze my left buttock, [hang on hang on, sorry, that was a dream I had last week], but you get the picture, its more complicated that the middle east peace process but with more saliva.
We drove to the venue and I met some old friends, played my show and then went back to Wolfgang’s house and met his lovely girlfriend Anoka again [no kiss this time], I think I ‘tripled’ when I should have doubled and completely freaked her out, she believing that I was some sort of pervert .We shared another great German vegetarian pizza, there was so many vegetables on the pizza this time that I started to genuinely worry about the future extinction of the carrot, you can’t take these things for granted you know!
We stayed up talking about our favourite singer songwriters and then our other favourite singer –songwriters [perhaps this explains why there was only Wolfgang and I left at the table], I slept like a log which had just overdosed on Gravol. I woke to find breakfast prepared by Saint Wolfgang [patron saint of bodhran players and dadgad guitarists], and then to cap it off, Wolfgang gave me a gift of a brand new watch !
[although I had been late to the gig the previous night I don’t think that this was a subtle hint] I think it was more to do with Wolfgang having the only watch store in town, and me softly sobbing on his shoulder that I had lost mine 6 months earlier.]
Future promoters,
please don’t feel pressured by this beautiful and memorable,in a sort blood brother bonding sort of way display of generosity,
Please don’t feel you have to shower me with quality leather goods
[no trousers please] and apple products [iphone 4 maybe 5 if it's out yet, with case]
What a guy, he is 50 next week, and I would have loved to have been at the party, but I know it will be a great do!
Happy Birthday miene freund!
[I swear to you I am drinking decaff!]
From Cadenburge to Finkenwerder, I drove to meet Uli Kringler, my friend and guitar player. I also had the bonus of meeting his wonderful lady, Imke, a very talented lady with a beautiful soul [did I get that right ..Uli?], seriously, she was just lovely.
Uli and I drove to Osnabruck [in his new Winter Grey Octavia, I dribbled on my shirt, deep in sleep, dreaming of that buttock squeezing incident again at the CD table,[shameless self promotion again] made even more bizarre this time by the fact I was [HoHoHo’d] by a Father Christmas with a lazy eye , and quite astonishingly he didn’t even buy a CD.[I feel therapy beckoning].
Did I mention I have CD’s for sale?
Osnabruck, Gaste,, Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andreas, Wolfgang, Katarina, Lukas, and all the Gaste-Garage family
forget Lourdes,Fatima, Rome,Camino, Gaste-Garage is where I want to spend my time on Pilgrimage.
To have friends like this on tour is like winning the lottery!
This is my favourite gig on the planet, nay universe!
Such kindness, such friendship, such food!
You simply have to go, learn the guitar write some songs, make a dodgy cd with songs about your dead parrot, get a gig there, you will leave me money in your will because of this advice!
Uli and I drove home after the show, I dared not go back to sleep for fear of meeting Father Lazy eye and his wandering red gloved hands.Uli was glad because it’s hard to get dribble stains out.
Back to Finkenwerder [the home of Air Bus], slept for about 5 hours and then drove to my next workshop.
The Greta-Bergmann Gymnasium.
Martin Rischer is a darling man, who I am sure if he lived on the same continent would be a friend and constant popperarounderforacuppakindaguy [see, its not only the Germans who have long words1]
I visited his school last year and this year he had asked me to come for 2 days.
It was one of the best workshops ever, the students were truly fantastic
Kevin [Dave] this guy will go far , mark my words!
Kevin [also Dave sometimes] super guitar player
Alex [never David] super electric guitar player
Kai [sometimes Alex] groovy bass player
The legendary Kotofwski Horns
Marie Caire trumpet
Christof Trumpet
Clemenz trumpet
these three are not actually the famous Trumpet triplets, they just play the trumpet.
Linus Sax
Thomas, seriously cool guy who I have a lot of respect for!
Sandra Diva supreme
Amanta fearless and beautiful
Kristina sang Adele, better than Adele, and is currently learning the guitar [are you not?]
Alice so so so good
Vero who will one day win an oscar if there is any justice in the world
Eileen with gorgeous [Irish ] red hair , and who sang the lazy song better than Bruno!
Yasmin, writer of the Blue Planet song, such great talent and a heck of a guitar player
Thanks Herr Mueller and Herr Rischer, please ask me to come back
Ps
[ I am coming back whether you ask or not!]
In the evening we had a concert and I was joined by Lars and Uli , and much fun was had by all.
Later that evening we went for a meal at an Italian restaurant, joined by Uli and Steffi.
As I write this blog, I have now left my favourite restaurant , Julie, and am in the car with Lars and Heinz on the way to Berlin for a show. Earlier today I was asked by two friends to give them guitar lessons, Joscheba, a wonderful singer songwriter, jazz musician, who, when you play my new CD [another subliminal product placement moment], can be heard singing along, mind you, there were only three peple at the concert. And a great guy called Oliver who I had met at the Fransiscan Monk Puppet concert, where he had been the sound engineer [ I bet that looks impressive on his cv…]
Experience
House Engineer for the Rotten larynx punk club 1977-1978
Live Sound for Milli Vanilli [specialized in vocal playback] 1999-1999
Franciscan Monk Puppet , stage and monitor sound 2011- present
I had two wonderful hours of making music and swapping ideas about life and how exactly did the Fransiscan puppet manage to go home with that gorgeous waitress.
Later
0 Comments / Leave a comment or question