We did a workshop with a school in Lange Reihe. This probably serves as the best reason why Songs and Whispers is such a great company to work with, and I could think of many, but having workshops included in a tour is a wonderful idea. That's not to say I wasn't a little nervous about doing it. I grew up wanting to be a teacher but the older I get, the less I know I can teach. Luckily I procrastinated enough up to now so I would never succeed in that vocation and have to learn the hard way. The workshop was fun though. The students played us some songs, we gave some tips in terms of arrangements and I got to hide the fact that most of them were more accomplished players than I was. That night we played a show in Lox and some of them joined us on stage. Before we started our set, Nicky Sprenger played a song with our backing and set a fantastically warm tone for the evening. Lana was up next. Her voice is beautiful and she helped me with my German pronunciation. She's taking part in the next Songs and Whispers Circuit. If you're in Bremen in July or August, catch it. Nicky and Lana were both joined by Bremen's premiere baddass percussionist Rizgar Marx. I knew after the first couple of songs that I was going to enjoy myself. I was right.
I think my favourite type of scene to play music in is a cafe with a packed room. The smell of coffee and the taste of wine. Sure wouldn't we do it all the time? :)
Yesterday we had time to spend a few hours in Bremen City. I was looking forward to it, The largest village in the world. In the centre, there's a church that was too big for my camera frame. I don't even think I would have pictured it anyway, in case I poisoned the memory. I would have spent days inside. The art I can't possibly try to describe. All I could do was stand in front of it and not think. Underground there was a room of silence. I am by no means a religious man but I love the architecture and as Donal said, time seemed to simply not exist in this room. To be enveloped by such a heavy silence in a candle lit room is so fundamentally intimate and personal. I thought about my grandmother for a few minutes, gave her a poem in my head and wrote her name in the book. She would have liked that room I think.
We had a gorgeous meal in that same area and the waitress understood what we meant when we said we had a "chicken blah blah blah." We tipped her then. On to a gig in Oldenburg. There's always a little apprehension on nights where we compete with football, especially this late in the tournament. But an audience was there for sure and we had fun. Eric involved The Changing Band in more of his set. By the end of the tour we'll most likely be sharing the whole set together. It's moving fast. Too fast.
Obligatory Wes Craven Horror Moment : Lorcan in the toilet and a young kid poking his head underneath the door and screaming at him in a foreign language to, we presume, hurry up. Our poor drummer couldn't even respond.
Missing and making friends.
Chat soon.
Paul
I think my favourite type of scene to play music in is a cafe with a packed room. The smell of coffee and the taste of wine. Sure wouldn't we do it all the time? :)
Yesterday we had time to spend a few hours in Bremen City. I was looking forward to it, The largest village in the world. In the centre, there's a church that was too big for my camera frame. I don't even think I would have pictured it anyway, in case I poisoned the memory. I would have spent days inside. The art I can't possibly try to describe. All I could do was stand in front of it and not think. Underground there was a room of silence. I am by no means a religious man but I love the architecture and as Donal said, time seemed to simply not exist in this room. To be enveloped by such a heavy silence in a candle lit room is so fundamentally intimate and personal. I thought about my grandmother for a few minutes, gave her a poem in my head and wrote her name in the book. She would have liked that room I think.
We had a gorgeous meal in that same area and the waitress understood what we meant when we said we had a "chicken blah blah blah." We tipped her then. On to a gig in Oldenburg. There's always a little apprehension on nights where we compete with football, especially this late in the tournament. But an audience was there for sure and we had fun. Eric involved The Changing Band in more of his set. By the end of the tour we'll most likely be sharing the whole set together. It's moving fast. Too fast.
Obligatory Wes Craven Horror Moment : Lorcan in the toilet and a young kid poking his head underneath the door and screaming at him in a foreign language to, we presume, hurry up. Our poor drummer couldn't even respond.
Missing and making friends.
Chat soon.
Paul