Arrived in Helsinki, checked into our hotel and started working immediately. The press reportage has been strong over the whole tour. I was greeted this morning with a giant feature on the front page of Finland's largest newspaper. I wonder how many trees had to die for this.
After a couple of interviews, I headed over to the venue for soundcheck and met up with my Finnish cousin Markus Nordenstreng. Markus is a Renaissance man. He writes about music in the press, is a radio deejay and a superb singer and songwriter. We hooked up with fellow maniac and drummer/producer Janne Haavisto and made plans for a true Finnish smoke sauna tomorrow. Janne and I also have been friends for a few years now and are members of an international (and intergalactic) band, The Farrangs. We had arranged to do a recording session during my visit and now was the time.
Hittsville IV is the studio that Janne and his regular group, Laika and the Cosmonauts run and is a fine facility. State of the art as any musician operated studio in LA. Funky, but chic.
The track he asked me to contribute to was a delicious slice of pineapple space funk. I wrote and recorded a spoken text and put a baritone guitar solo on the track in the hour we had to work in. Just the way we like it. Hit it and quit it. Working title: "A Vacation in the Islands." It's completely sick and beautiful.
Back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and to the venue for tonight's show. Being the last show on a tour automatically makes it a special night and the sold out crowd of 800+ really made it a fitting finale.
We have a running joke in the band that we're rehearsing out here on the road and when we get back to LA we'll finally have it down. It's actually true that nothing gets a band together better than working every night and we really cut lose tonight. There are moments, and they are just moments, when things can not get any better. They are peak moments and at that moment, joy comes into my life. I can't hold on to joy. No one can. You just grab a kiss as it passes by. This was one of those peak moments.
Great crowd and we left them screaming for more. I returned to finish the night with the Sideburns on their all MC5 encore Let Me Try/Tuttie-Fruttie/Sister Anne. Eduardo Martinez and his brothers in the Flaming Sideburns showed a lot of class by insisting to do these shows with us and I appreciate it. Good guys and a hard-rocking outfit. They're touring the states in the fall and I hope to hook up with them when they hit the West Coast.
The next day I went with Janne and Markus and Cosmonaut guitarists McGiver as we drove out to the country to Janne's family cottage for a real Finnish smoke sauna and lunch. This was a real treat for your reporter. Janne comes from a whole family of musicians and I enjoyed talking with his father about music and the unique melancholia of traditional music in this part of the world. A superb meal prepared by Janne himself and then the sauna.
You heat the sauna with the smoke and hot rocks first then clear out the smoke, get naked and get in. This is a tradition that runs deep in the Finnish psyche. I think you can find a parallel in the sweat lodges of the American Indians and in other cultures. I stood the heat as long as I could (the Finns prefer to pour water on the rocks, increasing the heat to unbelievable levels) We then took a naked run to the lake and jumped in. WHOOOOOOO. Then back in the sauna to do it all over again. On the second trip to the lake, I was a little prepared for the shock to the system and really enjoyed the experience.
Of course, time was running out and another ferry had to be boarded for the next and final leg of the tour.
A funny thing happened while I was in Finland. Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha. I may have missed some of the details but the basic story is this: The Prime Minister of Finland resigned while we were there.
Apparently she made a covert deal with the Bush/Cheney Junta to help rebuild Iraq after the war. This was a problem because it runs contrary to Finish national policy of not supporting any wars whatsoever. She then tried to cover it up ands was busted. She had lost the confidence of the people of her nation and the only proper thing to do was resign. Can you imagine an American politician resigning just because he or she got caught lying? Our political leaders get caught lying regularly and no one bats an eye. It's as if we've become numb to deceit and corruption and just accept it as business as usual.
Much love and respect to all my Finish cousins for the grand time in your country.
This last leg of the tour can give you an idea of how grueling touring gets sometimes. Check it out:
Depart Helsinki, Finland at 5:30 PM
Arrive Stockholm, Sweden 9:30 AM
Drive 12 hours to Hamburg, Germany
Catch flight at 11:30 PM for London Stanstead
Arrive 11:30 PM
Catch bus at 3:00 AM for Heathrow
Arrive and check in for 7:30 AM flight to New York
Arrive JFK at 10:20 AM
Depart JFK at 2:30 to LAX
Arrive LAX at 5:07 PM
That's 72 hours of traveling with the only proper sleep on the ferry to Stockholm.
I had some time to think while touring Europe, and I know this much. Europe is a society surrounded by history, where culture plays a more important role than in the United States. Being there, for what is probably the 100th time in my life, I have experienced an impetus to move ahead to do better work, better music and to live a better life. Many people on this planet do it every day. I am one of them.
I am most grateful to my band and dear friends, Doug Lunn, Eric Gardner and Freddie Kron for the camaraderie and mutual respect we have enjoyed this last month. Appreciation to our hardworking crew; Bertrand (BP) Perrot, tour manager and FOH mixer extraordinaire and Stephane Barde, our merchandiser, co-driver and all around good man.
And of course, thanks to all the good people who came to the shows and took the time out of their busy lives to come out to hear the music that brings us all together.
God bless you all.
A fine months work. We'll do it again next year.
That's it. w.
After a couple of interviews, I headed over to the venue for soundcheck and met up with my Finnish cousin Markus Nordenstreng. Markus is a Renaissance man. He writes about music in the press, is a radio deejay and a superb singer and songwriter. We hooked up with fellow maniac and drummer/producer Janne Haavisto and made plans for a true Finnish smoke sauna tomorrow. Janne and I also have been friends for a few years now and are members of an international (and intergalactic) band, The Farrangs. We had arranged to do a recording session during my visit and now was the time.
Hittsville IV is the studio that Janne and his regular group, Laika and the Cosmonauts run and is a fine facility. State of the art as any musician operated studio in LA. Funky, but chic.
The track he asked me to contribute to was a delicious slice of pineapple space funk. I wrote and recorded a spoken text and put a baritone guitar solo on the track in the hour we had to work in. Just the way we like it. Hit it and quit it. Working title: "A Vacation in the Islands." It's completely sick and beautiful.
Back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and to the venue for tonight's show. Being the last show on a tour automatically makes it a special night and the sold out crowd of 800+ really made it a fitting finale.
We have a running joke in the band that we're rehearsing out here on the road and when we get back to LA we'll finally have it down. It's actually true that nothing gets a band together better than working every night and we really cut lose tonight. There are moments, and they are just moments, when things can not get any better. They are peak moments and at that moment, joy comes into my life. I can't hold on to joy. No one can. You just grab a kiss as it passes by. This was one of those peak moments.
Great crowd and we left them screaming for more. I returned to finish the night with the Sideburns on their all MC5 encore Let Me Try/Tuttie-Fruttie/Sister Anne. Eduardo Martinez and his brothers in the Flaming Sideburns showed a lot of class by insisting to do these shows with us and I appreciate it. Good guys and a hard-rocking outfit. They're touring the states in the fall and I hope to hook up with them when they hit the West Coast.
The next day I went with Janne and Markus and Cosmonaut guitarists McGiver as we drove out to the country to Janne's family cottage for a real Finnish smoke sauna and lunch. This was a real treat for your reporter. Janne comes from a whole family of musicians and I enjoyed talking with his father about music and the unique melancholia of traditional music in this part of the world. A superb meal prepared by Janne himself and then the sauna.
You heat the sauna with the smoke and hot rocks first then clear out the smoke, get naked and get in. This is a tradition that runs deep in the Finnish psyche. I think you can find a parallel in the sweat lodges of the American Indians and in other cultures. I stood the heat as long as I could (the Finns prefer to pour water on the rocks, increasing the heat to unbelievable levels) We then took a naked run to the lake and jumped in. WHOOOOOOO. Then back in the sauna to do it all over again. On the second trip to the lake, I was a little prepared for the shock to the system and really enjoyed the experience.
Of course, time was running out and another ferry had to be boarded for the next and final leg of the tour.
A funny thing happened while I was in Finland. Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha. I may have missed some of the details but the basic story is this: The Prime Minister of Finland resigned while we were there.
Apparently she made a covert deal with the Bush/Cheney Junta to help rebuild Iraq after the war. This was a problem because it runs contrary to Finish national policy of not supporting any wars whatsoever. She then tried to cover it up ands was busted. She had lost the confidence of the people of her nation and the only proper thing to do was resign. Can you imagine an American politician resigning just because he or she got caught lying? Our political leaders get caught lying regularly and no one bats an eye. It's as if we've become numb to deceit and corruption and just accept it as business as usual.
Much love and respect to all my Finish cousins for the grand time in your country.
This last leg of the tour can give you an idea of how grueling touring gets sometimes. Check it out:
Depart Helsinki, Finland at 5:30 PM
Arrive Stockholm, Sweden 9:30 AM
Drive 12 hours to Hamburg, Germany
Catch flight at 11:30 PM for London Stanstead
Arrive 11:30 PM
Catch bus at 3:00 AM for Heathrow
Arrive and check in for 7:30 AM flight to New York
Arrive JFK at 10:20 AM
Depart JFK at 2:30 to LAX
Arrive LAX at 5:07 PM
That's 72 hours of traveling with the only proper sleep on the ferry to Stockholm.
I had some time to think while touring Europe, and I know this much. Europe is a society surrounded by history, where culture plays a more important role than in the United States. Being there, for what is probably the 100th time in my life, I have experienced an impetus to move ahead to do better work, better music and to live a better life. Many people on this planet do it every day. I am one of them.
I am most grateful to my band and dear friends, Doug Lunn, Eric Gardner and Freddie Kron for the camaraderie and mutual respect we have enjoyed this last month. Appreciation to our hardworking crew; Bertrand (BP) Perrot, tour manager and FOH mixer extraordinaire and Stephane Barde, our merchandiser, co-driver and all around good man.
And of course, thanks to all the good people who came to the shows and took the time out of their busy lives to come out to hear the music that brings us all together.
God bless you all.
A fine months work. We'll do it again next year.
That's it. w.
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