Sinus attack.

Well, it has happened. I go overseas will a clean bill of health and get sick. How typical of my sinuses to ruin a day of planned exploring. I'm still going, but I may not be able to do the full amount that I was planning on. Hopefully I will only be down and out for a few days since the next show is on Thursday. Sinus infections are potentially troublesome for running sound: my nose is congested, my ears feel clogged, and I'm drowsy.

This morning, I did what any American would do: head down to a grocery store to grab some medicine. This is all well and good except that Swedish groceries do not have medicine. Only Swedish pharmacies have medicine. Fine. Great. I'll go to a pharmacy. Finally having made it to the pharmacy, I find that Sweden is not as frivolous about giving out medicine as we are in the US. They only have regular strength over the counter drugs. If I want the Jerry Seinfeld "figure out what will kill me then back it off just a little" maximum strength, I have to go see a doctor. Thus, I am on a combination of various medicines that will hopefully do what Advil Cold & Sinus does. I am not a fan of alternative, natural medicines on the whole; I just want the drugs.

Therefore, I will be chowing down on apples, bananas, OJ, Emergen-C, etc. until I feel myself again.

Back to Stockholm

Well, we have four shows under our belt and have just arrived back in Stockholm for a couple of days rest. The shows have been to very interesting crowds due mainly to, in my opinion, inappropriate venues but we've gotten fairly good responses. In the past week since I've been here I've made many observations about Sweden and Swedes in general:

-95% of Swedish hotel rooms have only a single bed-no double, no queen, and certainly not a king.
-95% of Swedes wear jeans. All the time. So, I, of course, fit right in.
-Sweden is the one place I don't look ridiculous carrying around my sunglasses at midnight. People that know me well know that I usually find myself stuck with my sunglasses late at night for one reason or another but in Sweden, I actually need them until usually around 10:30pm due to the extremely late sunsets.
-Swedes don't understand the whole Hurricane Katrina disaster. They understand that we could have done nothing to stop the storm, but what is puzzling is the loss of life. It seems that in Europe's eyes, America really has it together and to lapse in a time of need is unbelievable. When I asked the entertainment producer of Scandinavia's largest theme park what he meant by this, he replied "Well, hell, America sent a man to the moon! Anything is possible!"
-Swedes say "thank you" all the time. Constantly. I hear "tack tack" 1,000 times a day.
-The Swedish countryside looks very much like Mississippi: rolling pastoral lands full of very down to earth people.
-Swedes (and Europeans in general) have an extreme affinity for small cars. It's easy to see why with the high gas prices here. Something I've found interesting is the appealing American brand European-only available vehicles. I imagine that as gas prices continue to rise in the US, some of these tiny Fords, Hondas, Hyundais, etc. will make their way into the American market. It would be absurd for US automakers not to bring them stateside.
-Finally, Europe loves large, counterproductive digital FOH boards. The Digidesign Show is the worst live board I've ever seen unless it is a touring board. The time it takes to set up a new artist is extremely prohibitive and the fact that I have to select each channel to set EQ and pan (controlled a full 2 feet away) is alienating. Great recording board, great board for a touring band, but horrible in a venue.

We've played two festivals so far and it's been awesome to be able to run such large systems (albeit on terribly expensive, terribly limiting digital boards) though the set-up, sound check, and load out times are getting smaller and smaller it seems for festivals. This is certainly a drawback when you have a set-up that has to be disconnected completely and moved in sections because Theresa prefers not to be on a riser. Oh well.

On a lighter note, here is the van we're traveling in:



And here's a view of Goteburg (which really looks like Munich, where Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was filmed):

Sweden!

So I've made it to Sweden and I must say: Jet lag is horrible. The fact that the sun doesn't set here until around 11:00 pm doesn't help my sleeping pattern one bit. Thus, after going to sleep last night before 9pm, I'm still up at 12:30am. I just don't get it.

Our first show is tomorrow and we'll see how well Swedish sound guys understand English when I need a hand in locating certain things, figuring out how the place is wired up, etc. I don't think the few words of Swedish I have learned (tack - thank you, nej - no, yah - yes, mixer - mixer, etc) is going to help one bit in this regard.

We have been into Stockholm from the suburb we're staying in quite a few times. What I have seen of it is absolutely beautiful; the old and new architecture, cobblestone streets, and canals passing through the city are great. However, I must admit I haven't been paying attention to the city nearly as much as I have been paying attention to our driver: Goran Wallen. Retired salesman turned promoter, Goran should have been a last place Nascar driver. He drives with two feet (even when not shifting), tailgates, zooms around curves, hops curbs to pass slow moving vehicles in the city, and talks on his cell phone constantly, even if that means traveling at highway speeds in third gear. It's terrifying.

We've been to a few music stores to get supplies and scope out places we may later need and have found a goldmine: Hellstone. The owner, Sven, gave me a free shirt that is killer. I will surely take a picture of it at a later date. This place has tons of vintage drums including old Gretsch sets and probably 100 each of vintage Slingerland and Ludwig snare drums. It's pretty much Eric Rogers' heaven. In addition, they have not one, not two, but three RCA 44 ribbon mics wasting away in a display case. According to Sven, all three are working very well and all three have an asking price of 21000K or $3500. Oh well.

I keep you all posted about some other parts of Sweden when I return from my 4-show road trip.

AHH!

Packing up is serious business. We're cooped up in a large Tribeca apartment trying to make sense of all the stuff we have to take. Hopefully we'll be able to fit all of it into small enough bags to make the trip financially viable (overweight/size bags are expensive!).

On the other hand, New York is great. Once you learn the subways, it's really a piece of cake. It's still expensive to eat and live and all that but at least I know how to get from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side quickly and cheaply now. No more cabs for me. I will be wrapping up loose ends this evening (i.e. posting pictures that haven't yet been posted and need to be...if any) before we leave tomorrow afternoon for nearly 5 weeks.

Obviously, my phone will not work in Sweden but I should be able to check email every other day or so and I would greatly appreciate a hello from folks in English since I'm not sure how much I'll be able to communicate with these Swedes. I've got a ton of books to read including two new ones I just picked up--Made to Stick by Chip Heath and American Pastoral by Philip Roth--so I won't be all alone. Either way, shoot me a line, let me know what's going on in New Orleans or in the US in general. I'd appreciate it.


drinks11@gmail.com

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

[Writer's note: While today I should be writing about the show, it seems that the new MMJ record is more present in my mind so I shall review it instead]

I love My Morning Jacket. I do. I love the singable melodies, the huge reverb, the amazing shows, and their progression through the years. I discovered Z first and worked backward. Z is such a stand out record for me because nearly every chorus has a melody that one just aches to sing along to. The music is well written, the lyrics have meaning, the recording itself is phenomenal, and it's just the right length.

When I heard that they were releasing a new record soon, I waited on pins and needles to hear it. Today during my drive I listened to it three times in a row and I must say I'm a little surprised. Throughout their career, the members of MMJ (mainly Jim James) have flirted with alt-country, space rock, noise rock, and indie. Each album shows a growing musicianship and talent for arranging and Evil Urges is no different. However, the vocal melodies that were once so appealing are not as present in this record.

The title track begins with strongly until the vocals come in: Jim James is almost squealing his lines. It's a little bit of a turn off. Two songs later, "Highly Suspicious," you would swear that Prince was coming over the loud speakers. This song rocks. It has a great melody, a pumping bass line and a tempo that makes it a great driving song. Again though, the vocals are strange. The chorus (a chanted "Highly Suspicious") is sung more or less sarcastically or playfully.

Two songs that really strike a chord with me (and not in a good way) are "Two Halves" and "The Librarian." The chorus of "Two Halves" is a little out there for me and not what I'm used to from My Morning Jacket. With "The Librarian," he mentions that we don't use books much anymore since we got the interweb [sic]. Interweb. Jim James may not think of it this way, but I believe that most artists should think ahead to the lasting impression of their work. Including kitschy slang like "interweb" does not bode well unless, heaven help us, it becomes a common word through major usage.

That's not to say that the entire album is that way because it's not. I will say that Evil Urges is a grower and you can most definitely find gems in it. Those of you who aren't as concerned with lyrics or vocals really will find it remarkable. But for those who have been waiting patiently for a new album full of James' reverb laden vocals, you may have to keep waiting.

That said, I can still greatly appreciate this record and I know I will be coming back to it again and again, but I don't feel I can give it the same 4 star rating I would have given Z. I continue listening to it again and again hoping to find something new. Fans will love it, casual fans may feel alienated by the playful vocals. I do think they will gain a whole host of new fans with this one though. Either way, I'm excited to see them again.

New York shows!

Sorry I've been slacking with blogs since I arrive in New York. It's just so hectic up here I haven't really had time to write. Anyways, New York has been a blast and it's over too quickly. I'm leaving here in a mere 45 minutes to go to VA for the next two shows.

Sunday we played at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Very cool place. They had bocce ball courts in the bar and the music was in the basement on a tiny stage with low ceilings that had lots of charm. It was a small crowd that was receptive for the first few songs.

The next day I hopped on the subway and explored Manhattan for a few hours before having lunch with Kelley near Times Square where she works. I got a new phone charger since I left mine in Baltimore and duder was nice enough to let me charge it in the store while I browsed through the inferior Virgin book selection. I went to the only physical B&H store and it was amazing. I also headed over to 48th and 7th for all the music stores and actually had time to explore them all which was great. Then back to Brooklyn to prepare for the second show at Pianos.

The Pianos crowd was bigger and better and the show went off without a hitch. [edited for content]. Good crowd that was receptive. It was a cool club in a cool area. Seemed to be one of those "places to be seen" and she was certainly seen there.

After the show, I left the club around 11:30 and didn't get home until after 1. The subway stopped after only Lorimer street due to late night construction which meant walking the rest of the way through Brooklyn. That sucked.

Yesterday I had some true New York pizza and went to Katz's for dinner which is the ultimate in Jewish delis. Katz's is where the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed. I had matzo ball soup and a brisket sandwich; both were out of this world excellent. The show went fine and it was a quick load out so I had time to get back to Brooklyn while Kelley was still awake and actually hang out with her and Rubey.

Oh yeah, and while walking through the Lower East Side yesterday I stumbled upon this: the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. I wanted to go in but it wasn't open yet.


Now, we have to drive a long way to VA instead of having a few days off to pack up and prepare as we should. Oh well. See you guys in the funny papers.

Baltimore Chop - Baltimore, MD

Before we even get to the venue I hated because of the long drive and insane traffic. DC sucks. Always go around it, never go through it-no matter what Mavis says.

The coffeeshop ended up being very intimate. Good small crowd that was quite receptive and stuck around for nearly two hours afterwards to talk. They certainly didn't help carry anything but oh well. I bought two books there since I'm already getting low.

So far I've finished Geronimo Rex (for the third time), read the Jerry Lee Lewis biography Hellfire (great) and I'm burning through Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. I bought an Elmore Leonard book and on that will perhaps allow me to better understand my sister when I read it, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop.

Today before leaving we went to Hon Fest on 36th St. It was nuts.

Visulite Theater - Charlotte, NC

Good show, good room, great percentage of folks buying CDs. The stage was amazing.

Before the show, we had some absolutely killer BBQ. I don't care what anyone says, Carolina BBQ is the tops. How could anyone truly favor ketchup-based BBQ over vinegar based? People are crazy.

Also, on the way to the venue, we went to an awesome coffee shop called the Smelly Cat. It was totally chill. Great coffee and the owner was a sweetheart. Additionally, out on the porch they had these little glass pieces strung up which I though was cool:

Yesterday Theresa had a YouTube featured video that got something like 250,000 views very quickly. Hopefully that will translate to lots of people out to future shows but we'll see.

I took a bunch of pictures though they may remain in my camera until August as I think my computer is kaput for the time being. My RAM is corrupt and I don't feel like spending nearly $200 on some SODIMM right now, especially if I apparently won't be able to really use it much overseas since the Swedes are all about some PCs.

Tomorrow's drive will be 7 1/2 ungodly hours. Far too long for a donations show. We should've had a paying show in VA or elsewhere in NC somewhere instead.

Anyway, here's a few pictures I took of the show I thought turned out well.











[I was able to edit this post on someone's computer, so here are pictures. I will be able to post some pictures when I can use others' computers but not my own...]

Greenville, SC - The Handlebar

This morning we left Atlanta for Greenville, SC where we met up with sound man extraordinaire Brian Dawson.  He will be with us through our New York City shows and will lend us his experience and talents to make sure the very important showcases in New York will be tip top.

Tonight at the Handlebar, Brian took the wheel running sound with my assistance and, I must say, it was pumping.  This is the first room we've been in with a sizeable PA system.  We figured out some great EQ tricks and levels that will make sound checks a breeze and each show will sound crystal clear.

The show itself tonight was great though the turnout was dismal-even for the headliners.  Theresa has never played Greenville before and we were told that the town is usually dead during the summer months as it is.  Oh well.  I blame the headlining band.  They were some old duders "rocking" limply it seemed to me.  The lyrics were in the style of Jimmy Buffet: mellow, not smooth, kind of shitty.  What really mattered was that the crowd, though small, got into the set and was engaging with Theresa.  They were cheering heartily, clapping along, and talking to her between songs and definitely after the set.  

That being said, we're psyched for the next few shows leading up to New York and especially NYC because it is generally awesome.  Besides, I'll get to see one of my dearest friends: Miss Kelley Farris.  

Until next time folks!

Decatur, Ga - Eddie's Attic

Mavis is a liar, and a pathological one at that.  She'll take me down a road then pretend it ends prematurely so she must calculate another route for me.  Most recently in her string of lies, she sent me down Dozier Hill Road just outside of Oxford en route to Birmingham.  For those of you unfamiliar with the road (which I will assume is everybody save for the residents of the few houses along it), it is six miles of a one laned gravel full of steep hills, tight curves, and speeding locals.  It will haunt my dreams all the days of my life.

Finally, after I was able to resuscitate myself, I made it to Birmingham otherwise unscathed to stay with a good high school friend, Candace.  She has just finished her first year in law school and is having a blast living it up in the South's worst area of cell phone reception.  Many thanks to Candace.

Atlanta was great.  I finally got to go to Eddie's Attic and see a show.  Eddie's the nicest guy in the world, and I got to talk shop for a solid hour with the sound guy, Shalom.  They fed us well and afterwards we retired to a friend's cousin's home just off Piedmont Park.  Many many thanks to Mark Thompson for letting us stay, feeding us, entertaining us, and being generally hospitable.  He sat up with us until 1am engaging us with his stories of his 2000+ skydives.  He is truly fearless.  

Unfortunately, I have no picture from Eddie's Attic.  I either forget that I have a camera, or I'm far too busy to actually get in there and take pictures.  I promise to be more diligent the rest of the week.a

Oxford, MS - Two Stick

A 4 1/2 hour scenic drive sponsored in part by local New Orleans bands Antenna Inn and Fay Wray has put us in the 95 degree Oxford Square.  We were able to stop by my hometown and have lunch with my folks which was nice.  

During our break today, I began advancing shows for the next week.  Advancing is neither a science nor is it a pleasant thing to do.  If I'm lucky enough to actually get someone from production on the phone, there's always some sort of contractual discrepancy.  Otherwise, I'm stuck talking to duder that happens to be near the phone and is generally unaware about things like load-in, doors, set length, etc.

On a lighter note, the Two Stick has some damn fine sushi.  Thus, it was with a full belly and a tingling tongue (spicy sauce) that I loaded gear.  The load-in was quick and easy and the show went pretty well.  We still have a few bugs to work out but things are coming together well.  

I guess now is a good a time as any to explain exactly what makes the show so complicated:  Theresa has a monstrous pedal board with two looping pedals.  She builds loops using guitar, violin, dulcimer, vocals, drums...anything really.  She has two sub-mix boards and a total of five outputs.  Basically, it's a fight with every song to get everything equal.  I've got a crib sheet for each song but we've got to figure out little feedback issues and clarity.  

All in all, I'm pumped about the next show at Eddie's Attack in Atlanta.  I've heard great things about it and I've never had a chance to go so now I'll see it in the flesh as well as running sound.  

No pictures this post but expect some from Eddie's Attic on Tuesday.

Natchez, MS - Bowie's Tavern

We began today in a huge van barreling up I-55 on our way to Natchez guided by Mavis: the wireless GPS system which is absolutely amazing.  After soundcheck and grub, we found our hotel rooms, lounged about, and pumped ourselves up for the show.  We had no idea what to expect when we arrived back at Bowie's Tavern for showtime.  

Full of our Deep South neighbors, drunks, bored citizens looking for a good time on a Friday night, and, finally, music fans.  Pre-show jitters were accompanied by the police escorting out an angry and intoxicated Toyota mechanic and a "Happy Birthday" request. 

I sat side stage - rather, directly next to Theresa behind the speakers - an unfortunate spot.  Theresa didn't care about her dining fans or those that just didn't understand the whole looping concept; she played anyway.

The crowd brightened up quickly and by the time she played her Sw

edish song (which I was worried about the crowd's response) everyone seemed hooked.

Theresa can work a crowd.  Her dancing, her ability to sing just as loud off the mic as on it, as well as her obvious heart and soul propel the shows.  By the way, she obliged the "Happy Birthday," though not happily.  Her voice and smile said "yes," but her body language said "no, no no." 

Cheap thrills don't come easy, but when you sing a song called Mississippi to a group of steady drinking Natchez, Mississippians, it just works.  One last thought: It seems Duane Allman is alive and well.  He offered Theresa $20 to play a Faces tune (Ooh La La).  

Stress! Time to go!

So it's officially the night before and I'm stressed. My emotions run wild from thinking ahead to the upcoming drives to shows to having to advance all the upcoming shows and generally making sure I'm doing everything right. Kat and I just had our last dinner together at Cafe Atchafalaya (which was good by the way) and it's becoming quite obvious to us collectively that we have but a short time together before I head out tomorrow morning.
I will of course be updating all with blogs about the various shows and how I'm feeling and where I am so please everyone feel free to leave comments. They let me know how many folks are actually reading these and reassure me that I'm not writing for myself. Below are a couple of pictures that are cheaply displaying my array of emotions while procrastinating packing. I hate packing. Kat is actually trying to pack for me while I'm typing. Fitting two months of your life into a carry-on is not fun. Until next time, let's boogie.

Almost ready to go!

So it's June 4th and it's coming down to the wire. I've officially begun "road-mode" which means I'm stressed, on edge, hurried, impatient, and unable to sit still for very long. Theresa and I had a great rehearsal last night which will go a long way for the first show in Natchez. By the way, for those of you loyal readers that will be in the area for any of the upcoming shows, I fully expect to see you at them!

Before I leave I'm spending as much time as I can with friends and loved ones which means dinners, drinks, shows, and general relaxation (or as much as I can as we approach my departure). Tomorrow night will be my last night in town for nearly two months and I will spend it at Tipitina's to see John Michael's show (he's the opener). So please come see that folks!

Keep posted for more and more blogs!