Day 13, Hamburg

A great night in Hamburg last night at 'Baby I grew You a Beard', or "BIGYAB" as they like to call it. Very kind of our friend Torben to invite me in the first place, given I've never been even remotely close to being able to grow a beard. At least nothing that resembles one in a typical sense. Nor a moustache for that matter, as some of you might remember from THIS... Fortunately the audience didn't seem to mind too much, at least not outwardly, and in any case I think there were enough beards in attendance to make up for my lack of that particular genetic inheritance. A really nice space for live music, and a treat to play with a great system after a little run of unplugged gigs and a bit of busking this week...

Last night also presented a rare opportunity to share the stage with an old friend of mine Marina, a local musician here in Hamburg. I first met Marina in Byron Bay whilst touring The Arena nearly 4yrs ago, and last night she jumped up to sing a few BV's on Crossfire, as well as play a bit of Flute on Flying, the first time I've ever had someone playing flute with me...! It's a bit of a trip to think you can meet someone at a gig in Byron Bay, then end up playing with them in Hamburg 4yrs later. How one earth does that happen? Music wins again. Beautifully done thanks Marina!

Earlier in the day, and around about the time I left you in the last blog... I played in a church service, held in a big cinema space, somewhere not so far from BIGYAB in a big old converted factory, formerly a production plant of sorts for ship propellers I am told but more recently developed into a unique arts and retail space. Quite a spectacular facility I might say, done absolutely no justice by this terrible photo...

Arguably more spectacular than the building itself was the pastor's sermon for the morning, an exercise in conviction and delivery the likes of which I have not witnessed for some time. If only I was able to understand what on earth he was talking about... Lena was doing her best to translate some of the wisdom being imparted, but there are limits to what can be achieved when you're dealing with an Australian musician on 5hrs sleep, still struggling to remember how to say "My name is....". Such are the parameters in which I am currently operating. Yet still, the kind people at the church invited me to sing for them in English, a generous offer indeed it must be said. They didn't seem to mind too much about the beard thing either.... Coolness.

Anyway that'll do me today... Love to all from Magdeburg, where I just played a gig with a few mates to over a thousand people at the local University. But more on that tomorrow, I'm beat...

ox

Day 12, Shoeningen

Well following on from our discussion of all things home appliance yesterday, I thought it worthwhile posting a picture of the kettle that was finally purchased for Lui's house. Well not the kettle itself, but the box which it came in. Seemingly an ordinary enough box in which to sell a new kettle, until closer inspection revealed the following message in fine print....:

"Decoration not included"

Just in case anyone purchasing the kettle thought that perhaps they'd get the smiling girl as well. Hidden in the box somewhere, waiting to spring up Marilyn Monroe style when the expectant customer returned to his lonely kitchen with said kettle. It's an important point to clarify, just in case, in addition to thinking he was buying the girl with the kettle, the customer also thought she was the type of girl who would be able clone herself and hide in every box at once. A very clever girl indeed. Certainly the type who would no doubt provide insightful conversation over a nice hot cup of tea, were she in fact provided as a free 'decoration'.

Sorry I've lost my train of thought. What train? What thought? Exaclty.

We had a near miss last night in Shoeningen. Having carefully negotiated the intricate web of the town's one-way street network (why do small towns do this....?!), we finally found a place to park, just around the corner from the venue. Alas, no sooner had I thrown the wagon into reverse and skilfully mounted the curb with the rear right wheel, than I saw a local police car (Polizei), sirens flashing, pulling up behind us to observe first hand my master class in parallel parking. Alas for the poor policeman, at about the same time he was taking my licence and wondering which chapter in the handbook dealt with Australian musicians in Shoeningen, he was fending off invitations from Lena for he and his partner in anti-crime to attend the performance. Because this was the guest musician from Australia, in town for one night only, and if the officers had finished their rounds for the evening then perhaps they'd like to come and sing along, maybe even buy a CD or two. And in all the confusion, it's fair to say the poor fella just wasn't sure what the hell he was meant to be doing in the first place, so the easiest option was to hand me back my licence and return to his vehicle for the short drive back to base. Fortunately for me, that meant he missed the much more serious of my indiscretions for the evening, which was, in my haste to de-mount the curb before the officers noticed.... running into the car parked directly in front of us! Lucky for us, subsequent inspection of both vehicles revealed little damage, certainly none to the other car, and it seemed the officers had been so eager to return to base and tell the local constabulary about the big event in town that they missed the whole thing. Phew.

Anyway a big thanks to Thomas at Cafe 44 for hosting the show. The expected Polizei invasion never occurred, so it was a pretty quiet evening, but a lovely little venue, a very gracious host, and a place I would happily visit again next time round. Also they make a pretty decent Chai latte. Rock. And. Roll.

In Hamburg, just played in a cinema. Which was a church. Obviously. I'll explain more tomorrow, I need to head off for sound check...

Bye for now
x

Day 11, Braunschweig

So I'll preface this post by saying I'm starting it whilst sitting in a media-mart store (German electronics / white goods etc), watching three German girlfriends (*) trying to decide which blender they should buy. Words and thoughts may or may not be influenced by the surrounding toasters, kettles and coffee machines. Possibly also by the espresso I was just given by the old German salesman who, unperturbed by the fact he was dealing with a foreign customer, took me to the only English-language coffee machine in a vain attempt to get me to part with 600 Euros. If nothing else, his persistence will stand him in good stead for the final month before his retirement.

(*Lena, our host Lui, and her friend Carmen. Hence the reason I was in the store. In addition to looking for blank CD's. As opposed to just going in there on a whim to watch people compare features of kitchen products in German....)

Braunschweig is a beautiful little city. The picture above is of the old Castle, which has been rebuilt and converted into a shopping mall. It's not every day you see a shopping mall in a castle. None of us were exactly sure if this was a good thing, but then the only other option really would be a museum with an audio-tour, and perhaps they thought Europe already had enough of those. It probably does. How much do we need to know about the castle in Braunschweig anyway? Perhaps we'd all just prefer a t-shirt from H&M and and a Caramel Frappucino from Starbucks.

Last night's concert was in Lui's living room here and it was awesome. How often do you get to perform to a room full of Volkswagen employees? It gave me an idea - I've started the 'Find Renny a Kombi' society, a charitable not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping me in my quest to find a 1960's split-screen Kombi van to tour the world. Perhaps several. I figured if you're working for VW, and living down the road, then you must know someone who knows someone who knows where all the old Kombis are stored... Perhaps a big old car yard of some sort, in the countryside, were the old campers come to be restored to their former glory before being sold on to touring musicians for the cost of a song or two.... Well that was my theory anyway. I'm not sure the VW staff in attendance were entirely convinced, but I forgave them.... they were a wonderful audience, one of the best of the tour so far. And I was having a great old time playing my songs and yapping away about nothing in particular. As I like to do when I'm happy. So thanks Braunchweig, thanks Lui, and thanks Volkswagen!

Schoeningen tonight, Hamburg tomorrow. On we go...
ox

PS - Perhaps a sign this afternoon that I could be on to something here... for walking back towards the flat what should we see... but a 1960's split screen Kombi, fully restored and in mint condition. WITH, I might add, a surfboard on the roof. What was a surfboard doing on a Kombi in the middle of Germany, a country with no surf? I'm not sure, but for a very short time I died and went to heaven.

Day 10, Wismar...

You see the thing about the German road network is it's incredibly efficient. Only today I was marvelling at the sheer magnitude of it all. Taking millions of people to all sorts of places, many of them at speeds the V8 super cars would be proud of, delivering parcels, moving houses, feeding the masses.... you name it, the German roads can do it. Until something goes wrong of course. And then you're pretty fucked. Most likely staring at the back of a truck for the next half an hour, munching on an over-priced pretzel you just bought at the service centre, thinking about the terrible coffee you could buy at the next one, cursing the fact that you're missing out on such a beautiful day, all the while wishing you could sit down and write the blog to tell everyone about the show at Der Schlauch, Wismar, the previous evening (pictured). Which really was a lot of fun. Similar to the way I remembered it from last year, only with a few more people and a bit more Guinness. But it was Arthur's day, or so I was told. How does a German person know about Arthur's day in Ireland? And why was a German bar serving Irish beer in the first place? Questions for another time folks, questions for another time.....

The photo of me here is just after the performance, which I finished wearing a beanie instead of my normal standard issue RF truckers cap. The reason for this? My hat was doing the rounds with Lena trying to collect some coins to help pay for today's petrol. Typically we pass a hat around at some stage through each performance and that's generally how you get paid most of the time for shows here. It's a slight cultural difference I think - in Germany people seem far more willing to contribute in this way. There seems to be a tacit understanding that this is how the musician makes a living, and if they have enjoyed the evening then it's a way of showing the performer their appreciation. (Or perhaps buying a CD or two if they are so inclined...). For this reason, someone like me (more or less unknown to 99.999% of the population) is able to book and plan a tour, knowing that I'll make enough money at least to pay my way, maybe even buy a new truckers hat or two if I spot them along the way. I'm constantly amazed at the generosity of the audiences here, and their openness towards music they've never heard before. Love.

Incidentally my T-shirt last night was from a small independent record store in Melbourne called Pure Pop records, which recently ran a campaign to sell bricks to help build a new sound-proofed performance space, on account of some nearby residents making noise complaints, having purchased property directly behind a long-established record store holding concerts regularly in their beer garden. Much like the people of Milsons Point in Sydney who bought houses next to Luna park and then wondered why there were kids screaming in their ear all day... Ah people. So confusing. But anyway, here's a link to Pure Pop if you'd like to check it out. And if you're in Melbourne, you really should. It's gold!

A link to pure pop records

I'd love to tell you more about Wismar, but as it happens I'm now at the venue for the next concert, typing this blog furiously as people arrive for the show. On the one hand trying not to make any spelling mistakes, on the other trying to meet people as they enter... Also knowing there is a vast supply of Ikea-issued hot dogs ready for consumption, which I really must sample. Perhaps several times. Suffice is to say Wismar is a lovely little seaside town, nicer ever than I remember it. Lots of lovely boutique-style shops/cafes, the kind that have you wandering round with a relaxed yet curious expression on your face, usually spending money on things you don't really need to put on shelves you don't actually have. But hey that's living right?! It's a good thing we had to leave straight after breakfast, lest the tour budget suffer a devastating blow from the purchase of a deluxe edition hand-made wooden penguin set.... Anyway thanks to Stefan and the crew at Der Schlauh, it was grand! (That's an Irishism. From the guiness perhaps...).

In closing, why is there a pig on this bridge? I don't know. I just don't know.

Day 9, Boltenhagen

A nice time here in Boltenhagen yesterday, feeling a lot more refreshed now we've had a chance to take a bit of time out here on the north coast. Even had a chance to run along the beach for a while with Lena, the price for which I'm paying today by way of some very tight old calf muscles... but you can't be next to a beach and not do something there (this is an international rule, enforced by a guilty conscience), and late September is not the time of year here to be splashing around in the Baltic Sea. So running it was. And the calf muscles will remember it, as will we for the next few days...

Another thing I will remember from our run (a memory I have from previous trips...) is the European beach hut phenomenon. Little huts for two people, facing sideways along the beach, available for rental, to use in between dips in the ocean, or just to sip cheap champagne with your Fish and Chips. I've never understood the beach hut phenomenon. As far as I'm concerned, one of the best things about being at the beach is actually being ON the beach itself. Not just swimming in the water, but lying on a towel on the sand, feeling the sun on your face, the breeze in your hair (if you are fortunate enough to have hair...), and even being assaulted by the elements on the odd occasion - a gust of wind perhaps, sand in your ice cream, a rogue wave destroying your otherwise idyllic picnic setting.... These are the things that make the beach the beach. So you leave with the memory of the day that lasts longer than the day itself. Bits of sand falling off your feet into the car. Water pouring out your ear on the drive home. Maybe out of your nose if you've been unceremoniously dumped by one of the aforementioned rogue waves. The idea of sitting in a little hut, out of harms way, protected from the wilds of the ocean and the sun, seems a little counter-intuitive to me. Is this just a personal view? I'd like to hear arguments for the beach hut if anyone has any... I do suspect the same people who use the beach huts religiously can also be found standing in queues at departure lounges, waiting for the plane to start boarding. But we don't need to go there today...

Last night I received an invitation from Thomas and Nicole to play at the local Italian restaurant, Portofino (pictured above), and once again the pre-gig dinner was simultaneously an absolute triumph and a significant over-indulgence for someone who is about to sing for an hour and a half... Anyway a great evening had by all, and a nice chance for me to play through some of the newer songs I had written prior to leaving Australia. It's always an interesting journey with new songs. Quite often 6 months down the track they end up sounding very different to when they were first written. It's one of the reasons I'm always a bit torn between recording something close to the time it was created, or letting it grow into itself a little before putting it down. Perhaps you can do both. I'm sure lots of people do. Perhaps it doesn't matter. Of course it doesn't. But as artists we like to think about these things, about lots of things, feeding the restless mind, creating enough friction for the next spark to ignite. Not that you need the conflict of course, but sometimes it helps. Or so it seems...

Boltenhagen has once again proved to be a real breath of fresh air, in more ways than one. I'm not sure what we've done to be treated so well up here, but one thing's for sure - Thomas and Nicole have set quite the benchmark. Hopefully one day we'll have the opportunity to host them in return, wherever in the world we might be. I'd like for that to happen. You can't always be sure with touring when exactly you'll see people again. Life rolls on, circumstances change, time passes by. Such is the nature of things. Another reminder that we need to live this moment, appreciate it for what it is, and be thankful for it. Yes I'm starting to sound like a self-help book, but there you go... Anyway till next time guys, it's been savage.

Tonight we're off to Wismar, the town which gave us 'Spontan schapps am morgen' last year on my trip there with Julia, the other half of the VondoMachine engine room. Who knows what it'll throw up this time, but as always we go with no expectations, knowing that what goes on tour stays on tour, unless someone has a camera and decides to post the photo on the internet... .

See you tomorrow x

Day 8, Stellshagen/Boltenhagen

Greetings from Boltenhagen, north of Hamburg, on the coast, somewhere round about HERE if you need to know exactly...

Last night's show in Stellshagen was no. 6 for the tour, a lovely evening with Thomas Kunz in a large sitting room of the Hotel Gutshaus. I've just noticed the first four letters of the name are "Guts", somewhat appropriate given the extraordinary vegetarian buffet on offer prior to the show. This did nothing to assist my singing, nothing whatsoever, but that didn't stop me from eating far more than was necessary, not dissimilar from last year's visit to the same venue with Mijo Biscan. The hotel is in fact a health retreat of sorts, much of the food they serve (all vegetarian) is grown on the grounds, and guests are a few minutes drive from the Baltic Sea, yet surrounded my pristine German farmlands. A pretty special place.

I had been looking forward to this show since Lena first sent it to me on the tour schedule. Not only because of the vegetarian buffet, but also because of the fond memories of last year's 'Melodica on the Beach' festival in Boltenhagen, and our wonderful hosts Thomas and Nicole. It was interesting to observe last night that as they walked in to greet us at the hotel, I had completely forgotten they were German! It wasn't until they started talking that I remembered, such was the impression they left on us all last year. I guess it goes to show that when you meet good people, the kind that you make you feel welcome, that are good to be around, it doesn't matter where they are from, or what language they speak, the qualities that endear them to you remain constant. Generosity. Kindness. Warmth of spirit. It comes as no surprise then that many of these same qualities filter through into Thomas' music, which was wonderful to hear live again, one year later. Here's a tune if you'd like to have a listen...

Today we're taking it easy up here in Boltenhagen, and tonight I'll play a few tunes with Thomas again in a local restaurant - Portofino - from around 9ish... An impromptu performance of sorts, but given the invitation how could we refuse...? Be rude not to.

Wismar tomorrow, see you soon

ox

Out the back of the guesthouse...GUTShouse!

Day 7, rest day... Hamburg

Hello again! Not much to report from the rest day yesterday, just a little bit of R&R before we set off north to start the next little run of shows. Being on the road is a strange conundrum of sorts. On the one hand there is a sense of excitement and anticipation about visiting new places, meeting new people, sharing new experiences. On the other there is a general sense of weariness/fatigue that comes from the continual displacement, in addition to the emotional energy you expend by default with each performance. It's a balancing act, a few years ago I overdid it and paid the price. Now I've learned to pay attention to how I'm feeling a bit more, rest when I need rest, charge ahead when the reserves will allow it. Occasionally it means sacrificing 'sightseeing' to sleep in, catch up on emails, read a book or even just sit on the couch. I used to feel bad about that somehow, like I wasn't getting the full experience from being on the other side of the world. Now I understand it's all part of the flow of things. And it sounds like a simple concept, but when you're someone like me who is typically inclined to 'go go go', it takes a bit of practice to rest. To breathe. To accept that today it's ok to do nothing.

Having said all that, I couldn't help but explore a little of the local area yesterday. The 'Schanze' district (if I can call it that...?) of Hamburg has a lovely community feel to it, plenty of shops/restaurants/bars/cafes, but perhaps a touch more independent/underground than is typical in a large city. Peaceful, but with enough activity to make you feel like you are a part of something. These are the types of areas I feel most comfortable in larger places. Last night we took a trip to the Planten and Bloomen park to see a beautiful light & water show, set to classical music, where the display was controlled by 2 people on piano keyboards in a room next to the lake... (Above picture). I'm always amazed by stuff like this. Firstly the idea to create it, secondly the technical know-how to actually make it happen, although it could be argued in Germany there's a better chance of success than most other places in the world.... Anyway a wonderful display, and if I lived in Hamburg I could quite happily wander along most nights of the week to watch it, if only to chill out for half an hour or so (it's on every night till the end of October).

We wouldn't have actually known about the light show had we not bumped into some old friends the previous evening, River and Siggi, who we'd met last year at the Hamburg Melodica Festival, then again at Melodica by the beach in Boltenhagen. Always nice to run into people you know by chance on the other side of the world. River's mother was also over for a visit from Broken Hill, NSW, having never travelled on a plane before. Can't imagine what it must be like to leave the vastness of the Australian outback and wind up in Hamburg eating Japanese with your son and his German wife! But great that in this day and age it's possible. Originally from Melbourne, River has since relocated to Hamburg to pursue his music (and his wife) over here. Wistful acoustic folk with that sense of stillness that makes music real. Have a listen HERE.

A big thanks to Hanna for hosting us in Hamburg! We'll be back for another show here this Sunday, but a few places to get to in the mean time...

North we go to Stellshagen for tonight's show with Thomas Kunz.

ox

PS - This picture is of the Movenpick Hotel in Hamburg. What a beautiful old building. Might be a few CD sales short of affording a room though... Taken from Instagram if you'd like to join me there under rennyfield.... Cheers!

Day 6, rest day... Hamm to Hamburg

I'm wondering in Germany's infancy, when they when they were assigning names to places for the first time.... did they drop the m and add the burg. Or did they drop the burg and add the m? These are the types of questions which become increasingly significant the more time you spend on the road, logic would suggest the latter but who can be sure... What I can tell you however is that men will always find it easier to use the toilets in the rest areas on the Autobahn because there is never a queue for the pissoir. Which is French. Naturellement...

A slightly longer drive yesterday to Hamburg, where we braved the elements (fairly mild pleasant evening) to paint the town red (eat dinner and see a music festival). One of the more exciting moments of the tour so far it must be said when we stumbled across a gelato shop not far from where we are staying - the first such establishment we have located this trip, despite my finely-tuned Gelato shop radar working overtime since the commencement of the tour... Friends of mine will know that given the choice between Gelato and most other things, I will always go for the sugar hit. Shops like Gelatomassi in Newtown planted the seeds long ago, now the cravings are a daily curse, one which can only be dealt with by excessive consumption and a temporary cessation of any diet restrictions (not that there is usually a great number of those on the sugar front, and rightly so!)

Now where was I again...?

Ah yes Hamburg! Last night we managed to find our way to 'The Bunker' here in Hamburg, which for those of you who aren't familiar with it is a big old Flaktürme, an above-ground bomb shelter of sorts built during the war. Outside and in, the building feels other-worldly. The walls are so incredibly thick, there is a heaviness about it that seems completely impenetrable... Not the type of place I would have expected to find the Keuchen Sessions festival in full swing, held in a pretty remarkable dedicated live performance space near the top of the building. So often in Germany I am amazed by their ability (and willingness) to use these types of spaces. A great thing for artists and musicians alike, and probably one of the reasons so many people like myself come from different parts of the world to spend time here. To finish the evening, we were treated to a few tunes from Iceland's Svavar Knutur, a friend of Lena and the VondoMachine, someone who's name I have heard many times yet never had a chance to see live. Very glad that has changed, a great songwriter and a beautiful, humble performer. Also if you ever see him yourself, please ask him about the martial art of gravity. I found that quite impressive... :). I'll be filming a few songs for the Keuchen Sessions website early in October here in Hamburg, will post a link once it goes live...

Ok that'll do me for today's ramble. Found our way out of the bunker, slept in, it's now 1.30pm and I have moved NOWHERE. This is completely fine.

Back soon x

Svavar live @ The Bunker, 22/9/13...

Day 4 & 5, Wulfringhausen to Hamm

Morgen all from Hamm, the venue for our lovely little house concert last night, and home to an excellent collection of figurines, two of whom I was having a chat to this morning. I can't remember what exactly we were talking about, but it was great banter nonetheless, language barriers aside...

So it only took me 4 days, and already I'm offering my apologies for a missing blog.... We we had limited internet access yesterday in the German outback, but with scenery like this you can't blame us for taking a little break from the world of computer screens et al...

A big thanks to Anna and Matthias for arranging and hosting the concert on Friday (actually in and old Farmouse in Wulfringhausen, just near Sundern...), and for taking the time to show us around the area the next day. Some beautiful woodland areas and hill-country in this part of Germany, and it was nice to get a bit of fresh air away from the cities and autobahns, even if I do like watching Alpha Romeos fly past the drivers side window at 300km/h... There is something about a pine forest that seems magical to me. Perhaps because the Australian bushland is so rugged by comparison, and there is a touch of the childhood fairytale about a pristine European pine forest. Whatever the case, you can't help but feel a real sense of connection to the world around you when you stand silently in a place like this. Hopefully this is the first of many trips to similar locations throughout the tour.

Last night's concert in Hamm was a lovely evening in the living room of Sabine and Wilfred, friends of the Vondo family who hosted my old mate Brett Winterford when he toured here last year. An unexpected surprise as well to be joined by Dom and Tine of Lauscher, a local band here in Hamm, who played some wonderful tunes to start the night, including a song with Tina on the saw! A musical saw in fact, which looks like a normal saw only it has been made to sound a lot better... I've heard about people playing saws and seen photos/videos etc, but I've never had the opportunity to see it live. Quite an amazing discovery, as was the home made apple strudel I found in the kitchen at the end of the concert. One thing about Germany - they really know what to do with apples here! And pastry for that matter. In the presence of such greatness, I am defenceless... This does not bode well for the waistline come November....

A great start to the tour so far. 5 gigs down, plenty more to come, but a couple of rest days in Hamburg now which I'm looking forward to...

See you soon... x

PS - One more pic from the German outback.....

Day 3, House concert in Duisburg

Well I had a bit of a moment last night here in Duisburg. I was telling a story I've told many times before, the one about the gig in the pub with nobody, where I was asked to watch the bar for 20mins whilst the manager drove the only customer home because his wife had called and he was too drunk to drive himself... Well that's the short version anyway, if you'd like to read the full diatribe, then you'd best make yourself a cup of tea and set aside 15-20mins before clicking HERE...

Anyway a few years ago I used to tell that story, and relate it to a time in my life when I'd been working in an office building in Sydney... And the decision I made to leave that life behind and pursue music, for better or worse. Only in a strange sort of way, a few years ago I wasn't really sure if I believed what I was saying. It's not that I was trying to deceive anyone, some part of me believed it sure, and I certainly wanted to believe it... But I guess in the infant stages of being a full time musician I wasn't exactly sure it was all going to work out. I wasn't sure if the worse would necessarily get better, if I'd really be able to make it work in the long term, if the choice I had made would end up being the right one. (It's always the right one, but you know what I mean....).

Well last night, as I told that story, I realised that the song I was about to play, The Birds, I had in fact played on my first trip to Germany 5yrs ago. It's a song that was more or less about that decision I made in Sydney, and here I was, years later, performing it to a room full of people in a house in Duisburg, a city I'd never even heard of until a few weeks ago... (The picture is of the room I played in). And even though I have felt assured about this path for some time now, last night I felt a particular connection to the story, a moment of real gratitude for the opportunities I have had, and continue to have, as a result of that choice I made. We shouldn't need to be reminded of these things of course, but sometimes it's nice to feel that genuine sense of recognition within, if only to reassure us that we are headed in the right direction.

Thanks to Petra for the invitation to perform (and for the soup!), and to everyone who came along and made it such a special evening.

Nearly time to head to Sundern. I need to check the map...

ox

PS - That was a bit deep I know, but I'll get back to the upside down banana-peeling and other similarly important discoveries tomorrow...!

Day 2, Monchengladbach to Cologne

Hello again! 2 days in a row, this is promising... Just went for a run along the river here in Cologne, home to one of the most spectacular cathedrals in Europe. I can't understand how religion can give us things of such incredible beauty, yet also be resposible for so much anger and destruction in the world. This is one of the things that makes it hard for me to be 'religious' in a classical sense... Who's to say which religion is the right one, which faith is pure, which god is the greatest? Yet so often decisions are made, wars are fought on this basis. Ultimately I think there should be room for all faiths, or non-faiths. People have a right to choose the belief systems that resonate with them, whatever they may be.

Where did that come from? I'm not sure... but there you go.

In other news... did you realise that we should open bananas from the bottom up? Really. This is something I learnt yesterday morning in Monchengladbach. And that's one of the things I love about touring, the fact that I can spend my whole life doing something a certain way, and then suddenly discover there is a better way after meeting someone in a small town on the other side of the world. Sure enough, it's much better to open from the bottom! Then you can take care of that seed bit or whatever it is before you start eating... Try it for yourself, you'd be amazed. Thanks Gero for the tip!

Bananas aside, it was a fairly quiet day yesterday, puctuated by a trip to the supermarket and the drive to Cologne. Which is actually Koln in German. Why would we change that in English? And for that matter, why do we call it Germany when it's actually Deuthschland? I don't have an answer... anyone? Hmmm.... tackling the big questions...

The show last night (pictured) was in a hostel in the middle of town. There was a chance we weren't going to make it there for a second, what with the one-way streets here doing their best to throw us off the scent, but we arrived with time to spare, courtesy of the sat-nav and a bit of local knowledge in the form of our generous host Anna. A small but appreciative crowd for the show, and a wonderful little venue. Any place that gives you a nice stage and no TAB has got my vote! A big thanks to Weltempfaenger for hosting the gig, hope to have another chance to play there again in the future...

https://www.facebook.com/weltempfaenger

(They also make a great Apple Pie. Sweet tooth has kicked in. Dear me, I think the waistline might be in trouble...)

Thanks to everyone for coming down on a rainy Wednesday night, good to be making new friends on the other side of the world. Germenglish stage banter still a work in progress but we'll get there...!

I feel like a banana. Next stop Duisburg...

xo

Day 1, Paris to Mönchengladbach

So here it is, another attempt at a daily blog. We'll see how we get on this time. I seem to remember having trouble with the weekly version a few years ago... but perhaps the short-but-sweet approach will be more effective. Yet even writing that I'm beginning to see the error of my ways, I can't remember there ever being a 'short' blog post here. Long irrelevant rambling introductions like this probably won't help... SO....

Moving on...

Paris is a wonderful city Oui? Especially at night, perhaps the best lit city in the world. Sydney has a certain magic to it with the harbour, the bridge and the opera house, but the romance of Paris is inescapable. I've only been there twice for short visits and I always leave a bit spellbound. Notre Dame in particular is nothing short of spectacular. I could stand there and look at it for hours on end and not feel the slightest inclination to do anything else. And it's funny with all the museums/galleries scattered all over the French capital, perhaps the greatest work of art is there for everyone to see. All the time. For free.

(The picture at the top is of another building across the river. No idea which one, but it looked cool.... !)

Gushing aside however, I did encounter one significant problem once I had left the wonderful city of Paris behind... French drivers do not know how to check their blind spot. In fact, I had discovered this a day earlier driving from a wedding in Poitiers further south, but yesterday confirmed it. Just pull out any time you feel like it mate. Any time at all. I'll be able to throw my car around in self-defence at 130km/h, narrowly avoiding the guard rail in the middle of the freeway... The thought occurred to me that perhaps I could quit the music game for a while and make a small fortune teaching people in France how to look over their shoulder..... although having now returned to the autobahns of Germany, one could argue that travelling at 250+km/h is really creating one enourmous blind spot all around the car, with the potential for a disaster far more wide-reaching than anything the French could manage at half that speed.

A quick stop in Dusseldorf to pick up tour manager Lena of the VondoMachine, and before we knew it we were in Monchengladbach. Once Lena got into the car, I was able to forget that I'd spent the past 6hrs travelling without a car stereo, something I wouldn't recommend unless you are particularly adept at having conversations with yourself. Fortunately as a songwriter, it's a skill I have managed to fine-tune over the years. Even so, it was nice to have some company for the trip to Monchengladbach. (One day I will be able to pronounce that properly...)

The gig itself was an O-week function of some sort. I'm sure there's a word for that in German, maybe I'll know it in 2months time... But yes, lots of students, plenty of alcohol, and a nice relaxed night to start the tour. I even managed to play standing up, something I haven't tried for quite some time, but you know the pubs of regional NSW have taught me to be to adapt to most situations... Performance negotiated safely, albeit with a few things to think about for the next one... as always.... principally here in Germany, how to communicate better with a room full of people who really haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. But you know, we'll sort that out soon enough...

A big thanks to Gero and Sebastian for inviting me to play, a great way to kick off the 2013 European walkabout. Next stop Cologne...

Bye for now x

Next stop Europe proper...

So here I am in London, getting ready to embark on my biggest European tour to date. Strictly speaking we've already started with a few shows here in the big smoke, including this one (pictured) last Friday night in Fulham where someone decided to put a dog on my head. Why was there a dog in the bar...? How did it end up on my head...? Why did I keep playing the song...? How close exactly did it come to shitting on me....? These are questions I cannot answer.... But dogs aside, there's some part of me that won't feel completely 'on tour' until I'm hurtling down a German Auto-Bahn in the VondoMachine station wagon trying to avoid being hit by speeding Lamborghinis whilst simultaneously keeping my eyes peeled for the exit to.... check spelling... Monchengladbach! Where's that you ask? Well really I have no idea, except to say it' somewhere near Dusseldorf, its hard to pronounce and it's the first stop on the German leg of the tour... Tuesday 17th September if you fancy it.

As with all things acoustic and independent, you end up playing all sorts of places when you're on tour and the first show is actually a house concert. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of house concerts, basically the hosts for the evening set you up in their lounge/kitchen/backyard or wherever they might be able to accommodate you in such a way that their guests can take in a few tunes and form an opinion, favourable or otherwise... At best creating a new-found love of Australian singer-songwriters with a penchant for beaten-up touring tales and broken hearted love songs, at worst exposing a deep rift in musical tastes between once good friends who thought they knew each other better... Having been at this caper for a good few years now, I'm happy enough to fall somewhere in between the two extremes, possibly edging towards the better half, pending the guest consumption rate...

My introduction to house concerts came in the form of a big old backyard shindig organised by the 'K-team', some good friends of mine on the northern beaches in Sydney. Concert is a bit of an understatement in their case, what with the huge marquee in the back yard, a giant projector screen with a DVD of Woodstock ready to roll once we'd finished playing, and an audience of 70's fashion enthusiasts, or at the very least willing adherents to the Woodstock dress code... Heck it's a lot to live up to, but I'm sure my German friends will fill the K-team's shoes admirably! If you're over there somewhere and you'd like to give it a go, then feel free to contact my friends at the VondoMachine, I'm sure they'd be happy to give you a bit of info....

vondomachine@googlemail.com

So far we have around two dozen shows booked in 5 countries over the next two months, with more to be announced along the way and a London tour finale being planned for the end of November. As always, I'm really looking forward to getting out there and taking the songs on the road. However many years I've been doing this, I'm still constantly inspired by the people I meet and the places I visit on my travels. Not forgetting the amazing music (and musicians) I encounter, many of whom I've never heard of, many of whom have written some of my favourite music. People often ask who my influences are and in reality it's these people - they are the real heroes of the music industry. Not the hyped-up super-celebs but rather the relatively unknown singers/songwriters/producers making music in their own time for their own reasons, real music that comes from real life, real experiences and offers a genuine 'x-factor' that the TV shows will never come close to reproducing. Not in a million years. And that's one of the things I love about what I do.

For the current list of the tour dates, best to check in with the facebook event page HERE. Or my website - www.rennyfield.com

In other news, I've recently spent a few days recording some new tunes here in London with my good mate and producer/multi-instrumentalist extraodinaire Andy Schrav, who some of you will remember played keys with me for the Fieldnotes launch at The Bedford last year. Very fortunate to have met Schrav over here, and he's been a big part of my London musical journey these past few years so it's been great to have him on board in the producers seat. A big thanks also to Emily Dolan Davies, Raff and Amber Wilson for giving up some of their time to come and be a part of the project. All in all a wonderful opportunity for me to work with some pretty amazing local musicians. We're still a little ways off having anything ready to release, and I'll have more to announce on that front in the coming months, but if you'd like to check out some of Schrav's music in the mean time, then here would be a good place to start.... www.schrav.com

So that'll do me for now, I will be attempting to get this blog fired up on a regular basis as I'm rolling around Europe, and will post the links on the various social sites etc..... Likewise will keep the gigs updated as best I can along the way!

Keep in touch!

Cheers,

Renny

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