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January 31, 2006
kleine gummi
06.01.31
i am in dusseldorf.
tomte is a rad band.
really good pop songs sung in german.
and they are the sweetest folks too.
the backstage accomodations have been kick ass
and every show is sold out. they are huge here.
we will be sad to say goodbye tonite, but we are hoping to be back with them in a few months when they are touring on their new album.
good stuff.
it is sad because we'd love to bring them to the states, but we all know that the american kids would never embrace a band that didn't speak in their native tongue.
i love their songs so much, but i have to admit i wish i knew what they were singing about.
i am curious to see how the rest of the deutschland shows will be on our own.
definitely a different deal.
it is definitely not as hard to eat healthy when there are big spreads of food at every venue. it IS hard not to eat too much bread and cheese.
the fruit abounds, though we are definitely spoiled living in northern california.
but i ate that orange this morning anyway.
kleine gummi translates as small rubber.
which is almost as funny as gross schwanz, kleine unterhosen
which means big penis, small underwear.
we are doing our best to learn deutsch.
we had a crazy night in leipzig, the first night of the tour with tomte.
after driving 8 hours from antwerp,
the van died 8 kilometers away from the venue.
tomte's crew came and jumped us, but it wouldn't start after the show either.
we rocked the show and it got late.
we were calling the guy in amsterdam we rented the van from and didn't hear anything for a while.
finally, he gives us the number of mercedes benz 24 hour support.
we call, and we order a taxi to take some of us to the hotel.
the taxi never comes.
the mercedes guy does. at 3 am.
he jumps us and we follow him to the dealership. freezing becuz the alternator is dead. no lights, no signals, no heat for a 20 minute drive to the outskirts of leipzig.
he does the repair, but not before letting us know that we can only pay cash.
luckily we have a good bit from the shows we have been playing.
so, we sit around this dealership for an hour and a half while he replaces the alternator and battery.
there was this big security guard who didn't speak english, so we practiced more german trying to make conversation. luckily pat has a high school grasp of the language.
he saved us with the repair guy too, cuz he barely spoke any english either.
americans are so spoiled. it's ridiculous. i am constantly meeting people who speak at least two languages, and many that speak 4.
stupid americans.
we are pretty embarassed to say we are from the states.
oh well.
better to be embassadors, right?
maybe we can change some minds.
i cannot wait to get back to our spacious, warm van on the 8th.
imagine the luxury of having your own bench seat to sleep on.
love,
gram
Posted by goldengram at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2006
we're here
hi,
we are in antwerp, belgium and i love it.
i love belgium.
it is slightly intimidating though becuz everyone is so beautiful. and competent. and polite.
and reserved too. we are definitely the loudest folks here.
imagine that.
we are playing the de nachten festival at this beautiful conservatory called desingel. the belgians know how to do it up right. they support their art. this place is an engineering masterpiece.
some of the ladies are too.
anyway, we are opening for stuart staples from tindersticks. that was a nice surprise for zach and i who are fans.
they put us up in the hotel across the street and the backstage accomodations are top notch.
only hope the rest of the tour goes as well.
last nite we sold out that dive of a club, barfly in london.
and we got our van. which has significantly less room than the sprinter we had last time we were in europe.
in fact, if anyone wants to lie down, they have to ride in the back with the gear. which evan and i did this morning. cold and dark.
we'll have to work on that.
thanks to my friends for all the support.
i am sad to be away from my family right now, but we all agree i am doing the right thing.
love,
gg
Posted by goldengram at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
a new year
it is 2006.
this may be a year like 96 was for me. that means i am going to learn a lot and it is going to hurt.
and that is OK.
i am ten years wiser.
we leave tomorrow for europe. 2 weeks there, then another 6 in the states.
i will be keeping those i love close.
tour dates here:
http://www.myspace.com/roguewave
and me too:
http://www.myspace.com/goldengram
love,
gg
Posted by goldengram at 03:49 PM | Comments (1)