1/8/05 Jono
Saturday afternoon 08.01.05
Yesterday I got the two bicycles here working and both jeremy and I
went on a jaunt through the charming hamlet of Lichtaart. There are dedicated
bike paths where the traffic gets heavy.
Gert picked us up at 5:00 pm and drove us west to the East Flanders
city of Eeklo. Most of it was monotonous highway driving but the town was
fairly exciting. What was truly interesting was the club, N9. Apparently,
the owners had a few buildings and since it is the European custom here
that the club feeds the bands (go figure), the woman Bernadette invited
us to her other Art Deco apartment down the road where we were all served
a homemade meal of soup, sauteed pork in mushroom gravy, some kind of tater
tots (!) and a sauteed cabbage in a heavily reduced wine stock. We were also
served a fine variety of excellent vintage wines. Bernadette then gave us
a tour of the sumptuous flat which fronted an old bicycle factory. There were
very large pieces of furniture in every room, much of it that would match
our bedroom set quite nicely. The bathroom was bigger than our bedroom.
We were playing with a local band, the Hawaiian Astroboys. They were
young, handsome and a very good band. While eating with them, I engaged
in conversation with Jan Frans and Francis, the drummer and bassist, respectively.
They urged us to skip Bruges as being a disney-esque monument that was
destroyed and has been rebuilt and go instead to Ghent and perhaps visit
the Gravensteen Castle. We also discussed European history and politics
and Ferenc, listening in since it was the only conversation in English,
told me to shut up when the mention of King Leopold came up. Just don't
go there. The Hawaiian Astroboys were recording a live CD and we were recorded
also. Unfortunately, i entered what i sometimes call my "downward spiral"
as I made mistake after mistake, often due to the fact that I am freaking
out about the last mistake. Oops. Normally I wouldn't care but we were
being recorded live and I botched at least three songs. Gert is here to
take us to Hengelo, the farthest we have to go. It is in the Netherlands
and I must go find my passport.
Hengelo
The band's first
venture over the border into Holland. It was quite a long drive - and,
with Gert not knowing the area as well, we were all depending on a highway
map. Gert tried a less traveled route for the way there, possibly to avoid
freeway traffic (like there's ever truly freeway traffic over here) but
quickly we found out that even for a native, many of the intersections were
a bit confusing. We found ourselves seeing signs to Zurphet in more directions
than one, or looking at signs meant for cars coming from other directions
just to make sure we were going the right way. It was a bit stressful,
to say the least. I need to learn some Dutch for next time... sheesh! But,
other than one freeway exit, we actually did everything we needed to do
to get there enroute... coming home? We took the freeway!
Speaking of freeways, the freeways here are in great shape! They have
signs for everything - the good 'ol Euro symbol signage, the circle-slash
whenever leaving a town or changing a speed limit. They even have signs
telling you a camera will take your picture if you're going too fast. Many
sharp turns have arrows reminding us of airport runways - one in Holland
yesterday had arrows that were polarized somehow ... or, someone was really
tripping when making them. Ah, the Dutch.
The show was at the Metropol in Hengelo. Once we arrived, they had
Indonesian food waiting for us. The chef was out sick, so they apologized
that they could only offer takeout. Well, we weren't a bit upset with
them...
Another thunderous stage with a huge mixing board. Our sound was monitored
really well, making Jeremy's bass drum boom as it should. Two other bands
were with us and were both very talented. The MonoMen were actually the
Monotones and they had one female in the band. They played very well and
had a very solid sound. They played several originals and covers and did
a great job keeping the audence interested.
The Killer Bananazz came on the stage in masks, had a trumpet solo now
and then and did other unique things to keep the listener curious. They
are going to join us in another show next week, so hopefully I'll be able
to see more of their set then.
We were soon ready and played 45min - our best set yet and I think we
all felt pretty good on the road home. It was atleast 2 hours on the road
each way, so we were exhausted once we got back. I think the rest of our
shows are closer, our sleeping is improving since we're all more used to
Euro time, and I think colds and flus have all gotten taken care of...
I think we're finally getting the hang of this! Next stop - today we're
going to prision!
-jeff
Jeremy's Benelux tour notes day three
We slept hard
and late. Because of the long travel time to Hengelo in Holland, Gert
picked us up early. Long drive to venue with a minor navigational mishap,
easily corrected collaboratively. We arrived at Metropol and were treated
to a good take out meal of asian food. Then soundcheck. Gigantic oversize
sound system with lots of monitors, nice mics, capable friendly assistance
from both front of house and monitor operators (Michael and Frank). After
getting the mix just right, I asked the doorman, Bartle, if there were any
smoking coffeeshops nearby. He said that there were four within walking
distance, but recommended the Rokade. I was not dissappointed...mission
accomplished. The walk thru town was lovely. There is a large brown brick
church with an illuminated clock. And a huge state house with a clock tower,
this one illuminated in neon green rather than white light like the church.
Backstage, the club set us up with beer, water, sodas, juice, fruit
and other munchies incl a sandwich tray after the show...also towels....rock
star treatment. During the solid, tight Monotones' set I chatted with
Michael about the sound. He said that after our sound check, some from
the othe bands(?) requested an adjustment to the drum tones. "Too Heavy
Rock" they said. I listened closely and sure enough he had adjusted the
eq and the drums sounded VERY trad...dry. I said "Hey dude, when I get
up there, put it back to Heavy Rock."
the Killer Bananaz played next and tore it up. Then it was our turn...epic
in my opinion, tho' I am biased. Long ride home. blissful sleep. Next stop,
prison.
1/9/05 - Jono
Sunday a.m. 09.01.05
Yes, last night Jeremy and I "put the hammer down." After exploring
the charming little hamlet of Lichtaart by day, jeremy and I went on after
the show in Eeklo last night to Le Leeow (The Lion). Beats 'n Beers seemed
to be the motto of the club. It was one of those places where you instantly
felt old. The first thing I noticed after ordering a Hoegarden wheat beer
was a photo of San Francisco on the wall - cool. So I chatted with some
of the youth. I quickly met Jan, a wildman dancer/surfer pierced dreadlocked
blond dude about 6'6" who knew all of the lyrics to any song on the jukebox
and screamed them, often with someone else. There was dancing on the tables,
it was wild and crazy. There is no age limit and no last call. But they
shut us down at about 5 am. The owner (who has Stella's birthday but born
in 1961) was kind enough to just keep the beers flowing for us. The evening
ended when Jan and his AC/DC girlfriend Linda ("I prefer women" she confided
to me) smoked a joint with Jeremy and me out in front of the town's manor
Needless to say I woke up at 2 feeling crappy. But I did fix my delay
pedal and was ready when Gert arrived for tonight's show at exactly 4pm.
So, in answer to your question about food - yes we went to a store.
Gert purchased us some staples when we arrived (bread, eggs, milk, cheese,
juice) but Jeremy wanted some more. One fun thing I did was walk into a
charcuterie (butcher shop). It was quite clean and well-lit. The old woman
behind the counter spoke no English but I got to do the old point-at-what-I-want.
I bought 1/2 kilo of bacon. Why not? It is more like Canadian bacon but I
fried some for breakfast. It is a lot, actually. I also bought a weird snack
I thought might be a confection, it was amongst prepared puddings. It is
a cheese-covered potato thing - what I think is a raw tator tot. I will fry
them tomorrow, they weren't very exciting raw.
We also purchased some lambiks at the SPAR grocery store. Most of the
bars we play at are really rock and roll centers and often do not have
a wide selection of beers. Stella Artois is readily available most everywhere.
Last night's club served it to me.
Tonight we drove deep into Holland on more surface roads which added
time. The countryside is very flat, the Lowlands, so there isn't much to
see except reforestation and industrial centers along the highway. It is
the villages that are quite charming. The surface roads of Holland are remarkably
tidy with traffic circles and protective bollards.
We played a show with 2 bands at a club called Metropool in a fairly
large town called Hengelo. We arrived and set up after meeting the 2 bands,
the Monotones and the Killer Bananaaz. We did a sound check and then had
the dinner with the club staff. Frank, the monitor sound guy, informed us
the cook was sick and that they would order out Chinese food (Chinees in
Dutch). That was interesting, because as I engaged the guitarist from the
Killer Bananaz, he explained that Chinese food in Holland is actually Indonesian
food but cooked by ex-pat Chinese. There was a noodlemein dish, a veggie dish,
an omelet in a spicy tomato sauce, chicken satay, lumpia, and these shrimp/rice
wafer breads.
After the meal I took a nap. Jeremy intrepidly set off and was instructed
by the doorman on how to get to the nearest "coffeeshop." The crowd was
light, Gert apologized but blamed the club for not promoting it effectively
-but they had a good excuse by setting up a tsunami relief fundraiser and
channeling all their efforts to promote that the night before our show.
I awoke to what I figured was the middle of the Monotones' set. Their
attractive female second guitarist looked dazzling in a form-fitted dress,
prompting us to ask ourselves, "Why don't we have a sexy girl onstage?".
The Killer Banaaz were lots of fun! They had entrance theme music and
they come running out a la Los Straitjackets in Mexican wrestling masks,
terrorizing the audience. Then they break into surf tunes and quickly
lose the masks. The front guy was tall and bald. He played a pink guitar
but mostly sang and played the trumpet. The band acts real goofy and did
something pretty dangerous in the wake of nightclub fires, especially the
Great White Meltdown recently. They put gasoline or something flammable
on the headstock of his guitar and lit it on fire. He then played with
a cordless drill close to his pickups, making cool spinning noises. They,
too, did a rendition of the Hall of the Mt. King. Last night the Hawaiian
Astroboys played it. too.
Then we played. We played well. I am not happy with my tone but I am
using a borrowed amp so we worked some kinks out tonight. Some people danced.
They stocked our dressing room with beer, drinks and snacks. And it was expected
that we would take all of it with us, which we did. We packed meat, cheese,
bread, beers, candy, sodas. Tomorrow we play the Antwerp State Prison -
an early 5 pm show.
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