paper made me poor

Solo

2012-02-18T19:52:00.001Z

A few nights ago, Aidan began a solo tour with A-Sun Amissa. It started with a really great show here, in Berlin, at West Germany. I wish I could share audio from the entire night here, on the blog. It was super great. Between sets, Helge dj'd a perfect mix and Aidan played in a super trio with Erik Skodvin & Andrea Belfi. Really only the third time - ever - the three of them played together, it was truly great and they've got to get that shit recorded. Seriously.

Aidan being on the road, I'm left at home to work and (grudgingly) make my own coffee. It's tough getting motivated when the workaholic I share my space with isn't around to make me feel guilty about loafing around, but I'm working on the foundations of what will be The Wunderkabinet's big project of the year. I've pared down from constant exhibitions to accommodate for tours and a trip back to Canada this summer. I'd also like to go as nuts as possible where the kabinet is concerned so focussing on one big project right now is the way to go. More on that later.

For now, I'm working through an immediate to-do list of things long overdue. Alright, I'm also crocheting myself a cape while watching episodes of Downton Abbey. This is the first thing I've ever crocheted using an actual pattern and it's a big project! It will be about hip length with arm slits and button-up. I thought I'd try to chronicle my progress:

Not so much at the moment, but more to come.

Domo arigato

2012-02-18T19:13:00.001Z

We went to Japan.

We toured with a really great band - that we also made a little collaborative tour cd with - called Vampillia. Not only is Vampillia a great band and NOT TO BE MISSED should they come to your town, they are hosts like no other and just very swell people. We came home to a frozen Berlin.

A small obsession with little trees.

2011-11-06T10:30:00.000Z

I've spent a lot of time staring out of car, train, and aeroplane windows, and it might be my years spent in the middle of Ontario forests with my family nostalgically catching up with me, but I've got hundreds of photos that I took from these cars, trains and aeroplanes of northern European forests. I love the way birch trees look in the snow and clumps pine trees look from the air. I even bought a giant piece of locally woven linen in Tallinn, Estonia last winter after I was inspired by the landscape of wintery Finland as we flew over it and wanted to embroider what I saw. Well, that or the icy water that clogged up the small channel that separates Finland and Estonia. I can't decide so that chunk of fabric remains in a box.

Instead, I've been doing a lot of this.

I sold a couple these before I could even photograph them - my own fault for archival laziness - but, I kind of love the way they're turning out so there'll be many more.

So Much Road

2011-11-06T10:13:00.002Z

Sometimes so much happens between the posts I make here that I find it a little overwhelming to 'update'. Sometimes I'd rather just go for a bike ride than unload my camera. I've really only done one thing since that September post, but it has left me with a million pictures I need to sort, an apartment to clean, and mountains of laundry. AND, I'm not quite finished.

This last tour had us criss-crossing Germany, in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, The United Kingdom, Norway, Latvia, and Lithuania. Next week we're off to Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary. Oh, and we'll be spending part of the first week of December on the island of Madeira. Our schedule has been a little mental, with just enough time in Berlin between trips for a nap in our own bed and a bowl of Aidan's comforting gruel. At this point, I would be wallowing in my fatigue had these last weeks not been very good. [knocking on wood] Also, I'm pretty excited as the rest of our time on the road this year has us going to places we've never been.

Here's just a few pictures from a few of those places...

in order: Kavka - Antwerp, Belgium; Kafe Kult - Munich, Germany; walking around old Nürnberg, Germany; Frappant - Hamburg, Germany; old fort ruins on the Baltic in Liepaja, Latvia; mossy ground swallowing me up in Durbe, Latvia; Durbe, Lativa; Aidan rehearsing with his Latvian band in 400 year old church; a piece of medieval Lithuania outside the cathedral in Vilnius

Hi, Again.

2011-09-13T14:55:00.000Z

I haven't been here for a while now. For most of the last few months, I've been spending 3 days a week over at the Etsy Labs tending to my little project, The Wunderkabinet/Reading Raum - you might have heard me mention it. It closed with summer, but my brain is still churning so it will resurface one day soon.

What else has been goin' on? Well, we moved from the crazy gentrification of Kreuzberg to the watery calm of Rummelsburg. Where's that, you say? It's (probably) east of wherever you are.

Moving also meant that coldsnap bindery got to have a studio again - this has meant that time at home has been spent in production!! All those books (and even more!) are going to be available at Renegade London this October. I'm going to share a stall with my super pal Tania! If you are reading this and you are in London this October (that is, the original one in the U.K., and not my hometown), you should come and say hello.

Let's see, what else? Well, tomorrow we leave on tour! This is shaping up to be a very busy fall as we're on and off the road for most of the next few months. We start off tomorrow in Amsterdam with our friends, Picastro! Speaking of which, you should totally check out a little record we did together.

I'll try to keep up with everything happening in the real world, in this one. Bis bald!

Where's Leah?

2011-08-08T18:52:00.000Z

HERE!

Of Boris & Becky

2011-03-31T10:02:00.003Z

photo by Becky Johnson

There are just a handful of people left in the western world that lead rare and amazing lives. Often, their sustainability is threatened by the forces of man, nature and sometimes both.

If you've ever brushed past the surface of this blog or my own life, you are no stranger to Becky Johnson. There are even a hundred (or so) Nadja fans out there sporting a Becky Johnson designed t-shirt. What many of you don't know is that Becky and her partner, the Reverend Aitor - another Nadja collaborator - do a substantial amount of their work on the road. In the past, they have criss-crossed North America in the crocheted-afghan-interior of beat-up Dodge station wagon, Boris Karloff, but like everything manufactured in the early 80's (take note 'Cosby' sweaters) expiration dates are imminent.

Along with working along and with the road, Becky also runs a blog that not only chronicles their life, but also serves as a huge resource to crafters, artists, and makers across the continent. The so so sad demise of Boris has put a serious kink in this year's schedule and help is needed to make sure The Sweetie Pie & Reverend make it out again this year. I could go on and on, but I think you should just watch this video and let Becky tell you all about it! Then, visit her Kickstarter project and back this project while getting something great in return!

Some Time

2011-02-12T20:48:00.000Z

I went to Canada for 2 weeks. It seemed like 4 days.

So many facets, so little time.

2011-01-16T23:33:00.000Z

My waking life is strewn in many directions, often all at once, so catching up on things and posting on others is a task often filed at the end of my to-do list. I'm working on a better organization system, but honestly, that's been in the works for YEARS.

That said, this week The Wunderkabinet IS my life, but not without a bit this.

By 'this', I mean, picture Aidan and I folding, stamping, and numbering these. All letter-pressed by the amazing Sabrina of small caps:

New-ish

2011-01-10T22:07:00.000Z

This is something new to me. Not completely, but mostly. What this also is, is just for me. Well, and Aidan when he feels like joining in. I'm not doing this for any other reason other than to do this for the sake of doing. Something I'm not used to doing.

That little wonder up there, found at a Berlin flea market, along with another little wonder arriving via post from somewhere in the Ukraine will be a wholly extra-curricular activity for A and me. This one in particular will have me unraveling 35mm film and rolling it into little cartridges to be usable.

Although this plan has been in the works long before this new year, it does come with a resolution: take fewer pictures.

Merry Christmas......Love, Mom & Pop

2010-12-25T16:24:00.003Z

This arrived yesterday packed full of food and a couple treats. Need I say more?

Pile Up...

2010-12-03T10:54:00.008Z

This happens every December - no matter where in the world I happen to be. As much as I would love to deal with the snowy one happening outside my window, I first need to tackle the one in my schedule.

Over the past few years City of Craft occupied this space in my mind and with my leaving that city for my adoptive new home, it's been a little sad to completely sever the ties. I won't physically be in Toronto this December, but a few little pieces of me will be.

photo by Danijela Pruginic

City of Craft is organizing two exhibitions and I'll be in both! The first is For Keeps: A Mending Show, co-curated by Jen who picked up one of my sad, sad attempts to salvage a favorite plate when she came to visit me this fall. From what I've seen, this show might make you look at the cracks and holes in your own belongings with a new affection. The opening reception caps off a mending session with a dance party! Attending could only make you feel better about yourself.

photo by Anja Haering

The pieces I've submitted to Love & Money, curated by the so very talented Tara Bursey, is handwork I'm a little more proud of. I also feel pretty honored to share the gallery at Ontario Crafts Council with the other incredible artist-makers in the show. There were some sleepless nights involved in finishing these pieces and some pretty serious self-doubt after endlessly scrutinizing every thread involved; it actually felt nice to release them.

In the city and space I physically occupy, I've been really busy teaching bookbinding to those that want to learn....in english. La Bastellerie has me booked for two separate workshops each month from the easy postcard book to more intensive hardcover-making sessions. Of course, you could always take the easy route to gift-giving this holiday and just buy one of my books directly from me at La Bastellerie's annual holiday edition of the D.I.Y. Trunkshow! Come and get drunk on Glühwein then lay down some dough on the great handmade stuffs on offer.

This craft life of mine isn't complete until it's jammed full. My other baby, The Wunderkabinet will be open during the Trunk Show so that you could get your drunken paws on some lovliness brought to Berlin from far and away.

I had very little to do with the actual happening of City of Craft this year, but to not have my mind occupied while it happens 6 time zones to the west, saddens me to no end. That's why I've signed my sleepless self up to one more market in this markt-crazed city. Coldsnap will be sharing a space with La Bastellerie for Handmade Supermarket. We'll be there on Saturday in the amazing Markthalle in Kreuzberg.

So, to my sisters and brothers in craft I say, here's to a liquored and restful night's sleep after your final show and/or sale. Wherever it might be.

Oh yeah...something else piling up in my mind is posting about 3 weeks we spent in Australia and New Zealand this past October. This trip took a lot out of me and digesting it has been a struggle. It'll happen, I just need a bit more time.

From the Vaterland to the Motherland

2010-09-13T20:39:00.006Z

photo by Olga Talalay, also pictured: Marusja in black and Bobby in green

It's been a week since we returned to Berlin from a 4 day trip to Russia - more accurately, we've returned from 4 days in St. Petersburg and Moscow. As much as I would really love to see a little more of that immensely vast country, it just wasn't in cards this time. It's also taken me this long to get over the trip enough to archive it here. It's just oh so amazing and just oh so exhausting.

I really love the chaotic energy of the cities - particularly Moscow - I guess I also love that I get to leave. However, another trip east means another Russian making fun of me. Last year it was shirt I wore and this time I looked like a "math teacher from the country side"...it was super hot and super sweaty on stage and my hair (and face) is prone to do that in damp circumstances!

I will say that I got to practice my Russian a lot on this trip and that was pretty fantastic - that's right Mom and Pop, thanks for forcing me to spend the lovely Saturday mornings of my youth in Russian school.

Of course, a tour in Russia is not without drama, but I'd rather dwell and dream of returning sometime soon. So I'd really just like to thank Marusja for being a great friend and keeping us company in both cities; two Maxims and an Anton for feeding, housing, booking(!), chatting and setting us up with some great music; Sabine for her warm hospitality; and to super sweet and sleepy Sasha for not only putting on an amazing show, but putting us in a cab with the most amazing driver! It was terrifying trip to the airport, but thoroughly entertaining.

Oh yes, if you want to see more pictures, click on THIS.

Slightly Terrifying, But Big...In a Little Way...

2010-08-21T21:46:00.004Z

Okay. So The Wunderkabinet has GROWN! To some of you with whom I've shared my big dream of spaces and future residencies here in Berlin, this is news of a giant step forward. Also, I'm taking this step far, far sooner than I ever intended.

What was a neato cabinet in a neato little shop, has now become a whole neato little room that I am now renting from the aforementioned shop. Legalities aside - who really knows? really(.) - The Wunderkabinet is a live and true THING!

Initially, this was a terrifying realisation at 4am - 6 hours after the meeting. Then the sun finally rose and I remembered all the great people involved on both ends. The final list is set to break over on the kabinet's page in the next week!

Okay, so still a little terrified, but pretty darn excited too.

In the Realm of the Handmade

2010-08-06T14:11:00.005+01:00

My life is spent floating between two worlds. There's that one where I strap on a bass - or accordian, or something else - and make (sometimes melodic) noise. Then there's the one where I run with a slightly different crowd. One where I spend hours and hours cuting, folding, and sewing hundreds of pieces of paper together making books. And one where I can't help myself but to start some new thing. It's in this other life where I met a photographer from Paris who sometimes lives in Berlin and happened to take a bookbinding workshop I was giving. She has a photo blog and took a few pics of the coldsnap home studio - look here!

I came from Toronto and a pretty darn incredible community of friends and makers so it's been an education these last weeks of how stuff works here. I think I'm pretty lucky to have found some people trying to make Berlin a great city for craft and as a result, this other life of mine is now pretty busy.

La Bastellerie is, itself, transforming these next weeks, but in the midst of that I'll be shilling Coldsnap wares out of a trunk - as the above image suggests - at their second trunk show in the shop. For a list of other makers and more info, check out their blog. I had a test run of selling in Berlin last weekend and I learned a lot! Enough for another post altogether.

Also, you may have already read it here, but my aforementioned 'thing' is called The Wunderkabinet and applications for unique handmade oddities are still being accepted for another week!

In further calls...

...my dear buddies in the City of Craft (Toronto) are accepting applications for 3! amazing exhibitionary extensions of the show. More conceptual than craft? Apply to the interactive Midway! Are you inclined to fix what you've broken? Apply to the exhibition on mended wares! Do thoughts of money and art and survival consume you? Apply to the Love & Money exhibition!

Last Fall

2010-07-14T10:25:00.003+01:00

Just before we left the continent last September, Aidan and I made a short stop in London to decompress before heading back to Canada, play a show or two, and record a li'l somthin' at Southern Studios for their Latitudes series.

Oh, and that little brick house you see there? Well, that's the fabled Southern Studios - upon matching it to the address we were given, we had a small argument about who was going to ring the doorbell and ask the little old lady who answers if there was a studio in her front room. It was a confusing few minutes until someone came along, unlocked the front door (which is actually about 8 inches thick), and revealed to us the front room which was, in fact, a studio.

It was a nice day and this is what the result was:

If you want it, we have it for sale over here. We'll also be playing Creepy Teepee in Kutná Hora, CZ this Sunday! We'll have it with us there, too.

Just, like, some stuff I'm doing.

2010-07-05T15:25:00.005+01:00

As my touring schedule is minimal these muggy summer days, I'm filling my time by embedding myself in things handmade.

First up, I'll be flubbing my way through a workshop on some simple bookbinding techniques with German kids (and not-so-kids) at La Bastellerie(Lausitzer 13) for some crafty summer boot camp action. I'll be there on July 13, but they've got great workshops happening all week long so if you're in Berlin, make a pit stop at the bastel lounge before your evening beer and frisbee in Gorlitzer Park.

Further, in my need to shove my hand into as many pots and, err, bottles as possible, I've started a wee project with the support of the good ladies of La Bastellerie. It is The Wunderkabinet - in all it's Deutsche-English confusion and beauty. This is something of a bi-monthly, curated exhibition-installation that will be housed inside La Bastellerie's lounge. As the above image indicates, submissions are welcome from near and far! Pass it along.

Over the next few weeks I'll 'renovate' this cabinet:

...into one of wunder.

Wunderbar! Ja?

Peeking out of Internet Exile...

2010-06-25T13:14:00.003+01:00

I know, it's been months! However, it's been a rather exhausting and mostly-internet-free months. I've got SO MUCH to inform you - whoever you might be - of, I'll start by putting out this announcement.

For a while, Aidan and I have talked about taking advantage of un-employment-by-the-Man and starting something that would act as production and distribution for our various endeavors - mostly music, but also other stuff. So we've formed Broken Spine.

Other stuff is also in the works. I'll write more on that in the coming week when we've been promised to get our long-awaited connection to this world...

How I Deal With Freaking Out

2010-02-23T21:04:00.004Z

I teach myself to crochet a hexagon and then I formulate an afghan pattern. I assume that I could just collect colour-corresponding yarn on the long, long road ahead of me and make the hexagons in transit as thousands of miles of autobahn zip past me.

I know to some of you - particularly members of my family that may be reading - this may seem like a waste of precious time while I should be doing a million other things, but it's been a tough week and there's a lot to be said for the meditative power of a single action repeated thousands of times in order to alleviate intense pain.

Pain aside, I'm a little tense these days as we pack up everything we own, once again, and head off to our adoptive home of canals, parks, and cheap beer. I should qualify that I'm pretty darn excited to get back to Europe just in time for the entire continent to bloom, but we still need an apartment (for May 1, if you know of anything) and we'll get back to Berlin just in time to rest up a wee bit before we hit pavement with our friends OVO and Thrones for a record tour - well, for us anyway.

If you live on that crowded little continent, come say hello should we shove on through your town. Here's the list:

31 Mar @ Paradox, Tilburg, NL
01 Apr @ DB’s, Utrecht, NL
02 Apr @ Magasin 4, Brussels, BE
03 Apr @ 4AD, Diksmuide, BE
05 Apr @ W71, Weikersheim, DE
06 Apr @ Molodoi, Strasbourg, FR
07 Apr @ Sonic Ballroom, Koln, DE
08 Apr @ Noumatrouff, Mulhouse, FR
09 Apr @ Les Trinitaires, Metz, FR
10 Apr @ Peniche Excelsior, Le Mans, FR
11 Apr @ Les Instants Chavieres
12 Apr @ Grrnd Zero, Lyons, FR
13 Apr @ Milk, Genova, IT
14 Apr @ Spazio 211, Torino, IT
15 Apr @ Magnolia, Milano, IT
16 Apr @ Almagia, Ravenna, IT
17 Apr @ Centro Stabile di Cultura, San Vito di Leguzzano, IT
18 Apr @ Parco della Colonia, Osoppo, IT
20 Apr @ Postgarage, Graz, AT
21 Apr @ Fluc, Vienna, AT
22 Apr @ Kapu, Linz, AT
23 Apr @ PMK, Innsbruck, AT
24 Apr @ IVI, Frankfurt, DE
26 Apr @ Hafenklang, Hamburg, DE
27 Apr @ K4, Nurnberg, DE
28 Apr @ UT Connewitz, Leipzig, DE
29 Apr @ Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, DE
30 Apr @ Lades Kælder, Copenhagen, DK
01 May @ Skånes Konsförening, Malmo, SE
03 May @ Truckstop Alaska, Goteborg, SE
04 May @ TBA, Stockholm, SE
05 May @ Blà, Oslo, NO
06 May @ Utmark, Bergen, NO
08 May @ 1000 Fryd, Aalborg, DK

Holy radishes!

Last in Love

2010-01-31T18:49:00.002Z

Okay, so that other big show is nearest to my heart, but Becky & Karyn's combined aesthetic and curatorial skills for putting together these lovely trunk shows are a definite spot of warmth in this cold winter city. I'm pretty lucky to spend my last show in Toronto in the company of this incredible list of people!

Static Winter Movement

2010-01-23T04:32:00.002Z

How is it that I fill my time in Toronto so completely and still feel like I do absolutely nothing...all the time. My family certainly wonders. I think it's January's lack of daylight hours and my own lack of a good night's rest. I'm just floating through space and time working my way through an enormous to-do list...of what?? I'm not even completely sure. Finding an apartment in Berlin, learning German, making books, felting dolls, fretting about various inadequacies.

Maybe I'll just be thankful that I've got the time to do these things right now without the worrisome burden of finding the time to do these things.

A-New

2010-01-02T23:41:00.003Z

I'm feeling a little unsure of things as the hammer comes down and there's no denying the new year. I think what to call it has a lot to do with it -- I don't like saying 'two-thousand-ten' and 'twenty-ten' sounds like it's over before it even begins.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not all down and out. Certain changes in the months ahead simultaneously buoy my spirits and terrify the crap out of me. Also, I'll feel a lot better when my calendars are in order for this mess of confusion we call time and space and 2010.

Time Slips, But There'll Still Be Trunks in the Afternoon

2009-12-20T16:21:00.006Z

Time slipped away from me this last month and City of Craft updates were relegated to instantaneous splurts on facebook. Once I get my act together, say...in the new year, I'll attempt to fill all kinds of holes I've left here and elsewhere...

For now, an attempt to prompt you out of your Sunday evening hibernation. My brawling ladies and I will be doing one last show of the season -- this might even be the very last show of the year! Those of you lucky enough to experience me in person in the days leading up to the megalopolis of craft might be wondering why I've thrown another one into the mix, well, this one promises to be a lovely sort of event with snacks and drinks and I have to do nothing but show up and hang out with a bunch of swell people. It's all happening at the new nifty collective Heartbeat 960 (that's 960 Queen St. West). Aside from things handmade - which will be plentiful, I'm also pretty excited about this show's promise of vintage and records!

Come and hang out! It'll be nice.

Thinking of Home in Homelessness...

2009-11-29T19:44:00.004Z

This year's City of Craft has a serious installation angle thanks to the amazing and very, possibly insane Tara Bursey. Not only did she reel in 14(!) artists from around the globe (okay, mostly North America, but there is one Berliner!), but she has also put together this group show that includes the work of some vendors and organizers that opens this week and that we'll be kicking off with a party this Friday (Dec. 4) at Cream Tangerine (Queen St. W. @ Dovercourt).

I have a piece (of various nesting pieces) that I've submitted to this and as I freak about getting things made for the show and finishing said piece, along with all the last minute chaos of the show, you're just going to have to come out to get a glimpse of it.

West is Best

2009-09-26T18:43:00.003Z

So we barely get a chance to our bearings back here in Toronto and in a week's time we'll be heading out on another long-ish road. One we must fly to, that begins in Vancouver.

If you are, or will be, there -- or, here, as it is -- come see us and say hello. It could be nice.

Oh yes! That lovely poster you see up there comes courtesy of Broken Press Design: www.brokenpressdesign.com

Oct 03 @ Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver
Oct 07 @ Open Space, Victoria
Oct 08 @ The Josephine, Seattle
Oct 09 @ Ella St. Social Club, Portland
Oct 10 @ tba, Eugene
Oct 11 @ The Hemlock, San Francisco
Oct 12 @ Vaction Vinyl, Los Angeles (in-store)
Oct 13 @ Synchronicity Space, Los Angeles (w/ Aidan Baker solo)
Oct 15 @ Terminal, Oakland
Oct 17 @ Anthem Records, Portland (AB solo in-store)
Oct 18 @ Dissonant Plane, Seattle (AB solo in-store)
Oct 18 @ The Comet, Seattle

CanCon

2009-09-11T14:20:00.004Z

It's not so much that I've been neglecting this here blog, so much as this last month has seen us leaving Berlin on an emotional, and often depressing road back to Toronto. We did some amazing things with some amazing people on said road, and I'll fill in those blanks really soon. Right now, my time is spent in a minor haze as I readjust to what it means to be a Torontonian.

More than anything, I'm surprised at how completely underwhelmed I feel being back here. This is sad, sad, sad. Not only for me/us, but I feel really cruddy expressing this to all my friends here. However, I'm trying to snap out of it by immersing myself in Toronto greatness - of course, a huge chunk of greatness that is also very near and dear to my heart is City of Craft. This is something that will utterly consume me, and very possibly this space, in the coming months.

Other greatness includes the serious glut of literary talent here and I'm starting with Maggie Helwig's Girls Fall Down. It's already tapped into my various paranoia, and it probably wasn't a good idea to start reading it on the subway (especially as the train approached Bloor St. Station), but it's scary and lyrical in the best way.

In further Toronto-centrism, the Toronto International Film Fest is on and as the city is beside itself with Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz watching, we made our way to the screening of Sook-Yin Lee's Year of the Carnivore. Actually, the film itself takes place in Vancouver, but it's the best kind of Canadian content - totally self-effacing, totally odd, and totally beautiful. Also, Aidan contributed music that was so well curated (is music 'curated' in a film?) throughout the whole film.

I'm thinking this is the best way to re-acclimatize. We're going to focus on what's really inspiring and try our best to ignore that other stuff.

The Violent Matryoshka Revolution

2009-08-14T17:45:00.003+01:00

Lost for almost a century, the brief manifesto that started the brawling revolution of the Matryoshka was recently found and will be published this fall by Coldsnap Bindery as part of it's new pamphlet series.

Oh yeah, finger puppets will also be available so that you could re-enact your very own brutal revolution.

Le fete de l'eté!

2009-07-18T18:43:00.003+01:00

Apparently, the grammar wasn't the only error on the poster, but they got our info correct and after a long and pretty good and very mixed evening we got up on stage around midnight and cleared the room. After a lentil heavy dinner (that everyone attending the festival was welcome to), the jimmy-leg inducing dance antics of Les Trucs and then the screamy and wind instrumented noise rock of Death Sentence: Panda! the room was spent and as Charlotte of Les Trucs later told me, the steadily increasing volume and temperature made her want to barf - I have to admit, I felt it, too.

Oh yeah, before the show we walked around the old centre of Dresden - the only thing I knew about this city was that it was fire-bombed in WW2, but apparently long before the allies thought it important enough to brutally decimate it was an important centre during the renaissance, huh.

Meltfest '09

2009-07-17T21:06:00.001+01:00

We took a short jaunt down to Nurmberg, picked up a couple friends then made our way over to Vienna, and then over to Budapest - where my well-being proceeded to become one with the pavement. We were feeling slightly more aw(ful) than (esome) as we arrived at the venue, but things instantly improved as we entered the cellar room - it would definitely turn steamy when full of people, but for now it was cool. I should also mention that our sound man this final night with Lusca was the best and craziest I've ever met. It turns out that this day gig is as a chiropractor - I wasn't sure where he was going when he told me to take two steps down and turn around, and as he then proceeded to embed his knee into my spine and pull my shoulders back - but, he assured me that he was a licensed practitioner. However, when he offered to crack my neck for me, I declined.

The next day promised to be as unbearably hot as the last so as Mike and Ingrid made their way to their train home in the early a.m., we got up to see as much of Budapest's historic centre as possible before noon. We mostly just strolled along Danube (we've seen a lot of this very, very long river over the last year) opposite the parliament for as long as we could stand being in direct sunlight and then made our way up to the castle district to take in the view.

Closer up...

I have to admit to disappointment as we reached Budapest's suburbs on the way in and out of town - they kind of reminded me of Oakland, CA as seen from the freeway...

For You! & You! & Maybe, Possibly You!

2009-07-04T16:12:00.005+01:00

I'm not altogether positive of the demographic that is readers of this, particular account of my life and doings, but I have big news for surely some of you. Maybe not for "you" you, but very possibly for you!

The weather is bordering on swelter, with a few hours of simmer thrown in each day, for most of the northern hemisphere these days and you might not want to think about things to come in December but I have to and as a reader, you will too.

City of Craft - my home within my other home back in Toronto has now opened the call for vendors and installations. The city has annexed (in a very good way), and installations are now a major focus of the show. Local and international proposals are certainly welcome. If you know someone who this should reach, please spread the word! To apply, go here!

Early Morning Amusement

2009-07-03T11:30:00.016+01:00

I can make excuses for not updating this here blog for some weeks - weeks that had me in Italy, France, and parts east, but it has come down to time and hundreds of photos to sort through. I will get it done, but I've also had company this last week and although the decidedly uncomfortable heat allows for little less than finding shade and drink, Jill and I got up really early this morning and trekked over to Spreepark for a little break and entry exploration.

Although the park is officially off-limits to the public, it's not difficult to break in and with a little bit of searching we found a well beaten path with a few inches of fence that could be squeezed through. It should also be noted that there has been reports of a security detail within the park on weekends.

It's a complicated and bizarre tale of how the park came to be, and if you click on the link above you should read it to the very end -- that's where the story gets especially strange. Knowing the story and walking the grounds early this morning felt eerie and not just a little creepy. However, as confirmed by the couple we stumbled upon making out in the overgrown grass, it's a kinda peaceful and lovely spot in the city.

It was a rainy day in Paris...

2009-06-09T10:48:00.001+01:00

But, first it was a stormy night in Lyon. We found ourselves back at Sonic and playing with our friends Troum. This is also a favorite venue of mine. The obvious reasons are that it's a boat in a really beautiful city with portholes that one could look out at the city through.

The other reasons probably have something to do with us playing with good friends here and Pierre, who's books our shows, is one mega-amazing cook. Inevitably, though, a night in Lyon means a night in Pierre's crazy apartment on the top floor of building that is older than Canada.

Next up, Paris!

We arrived a day early to our really great accommodations care of Ziad, who essentially gave us his apartment while we were in town. Also, just a few blocks from the venue, Les Instants Chavirés, where that night Peter Brötzmann and his pals were free-jazzing it. Lucky, as we sometimes get.

It was pouring rain as we attempted to whip around the city, but whip around we did to the basics, as it was a sad Monday and the museums were closed. Eric took some great pictures and you should look HERE for his account of how things went down.

The show itself was pretty great and the super soundguy even taught me a neato trick to keep my crappy bass grounded - I, of course, then worried about potential electric shocks; but then, I tend to create terrifying scenarios in my head that aren't likely to occur.

Riviera Riviera Pomodoro Tomate

2009-06-06T20:18:00.001+01:00

We left Genova and took the scenic coastal route along the Mediterranean - we had a bit of a rough start as the Italian Riviera is seriously congested with both people and cars and pedestrians think that just because traffic is moving slowly it doesn't mean that they will not walk into cars and freak everybody the hell out.

I was pretty excited to wade into the Mediterranean, but as we pulled over in Menton, FR and wandered over to the shore, I'll admit it was pretty icky. However, I was kind of determined so we found a rocky little chunk of shoreline that didn't have any visible garbage floating in the immediate surf and in I went, only to emerge with itchy legs...

I guess it's all pretty resorty along this coast, that is, unless you're 'that' kind of rich and we were not, so we moved along to stay with friends we've never met who live in the lovely country side of Provence.

I just have to say here that a day off with Jerome, Alex, Jules, Charlotte, and one crazy kitten was exactly what we all needed. We were met with good food and the sweetest, nicest family in all of France.

La tres jolie Charlotte was my stand-in as I took a couple shots of really beautiful and old Pertuis.

Bella Italia

2009-06-05T15:07:00.001+01:00

After a really dizzying drive over, through and around and around the Italian Alps, we arrived in Brescia (IT) to play a really weird show in a restaurant. We felt oddly unwelcome, but this is only because of the way things are done here and we were probably just as welcome as any band that comes here - I'm not exactly sure on specifics of how things are actually done, but it was strange and we slept in the restaurant owner's apartment, in the room next to his grandmother's. (Actually, our suspicions lead us to believe there was no grandmother on the premises and he just didn't want us to use his couch pillows to cushion the floor a couple of us slept on; but, I digress...)

We were fed really well and drank some great Campari cocktails. Also, we played pingpong.

I really sadly didn't get to see either Venice or Milan as we drove through Northern Italy, but we stopped for lunch in tiny town near a fountain and a church.

Our next stop in Genova was both a treat and possibly the scariest driving exercise I've ever had to endure. It's a really big, old city built on a cliff at what seems like an 85 degree angle. If you miss your turnoff, you have to drive up the mountain and then back down, all on really curvy and very narrow alleys - with really tight u-turns, all with a couple dozen death-wishing scooters buzzing madly around at all times. We finally found our way to Burrida, a huge old villa turned arts complex perched on a hill - but also down into a valley.

On a short walk:

Today, we set out along the Italian Riviera and into the French version making a pit stop in Menton, FR to wade into the surprising dirty Mediterranean before our day off in Provence.

Ciao.

Germany's Ottawa Equivalent & A Garden Show in the Southwest

2009-06-03T13:52:00.000+01:00

Left Berlin Monday morning after a power breakfast, but Eric is still a little jetlagged.

Our first stop is Frankfurt (DE) and I have to admit that I don't really care for this city. It reminds me of Ottawa in it's dull, concrete-ness with touch of self-awareness so they plant a few gardens and trees. We've also never had a good time in Frankfurt, whether we're playing a show or waiting for a train. However, this time seemed a little more promising as we were set to play in squat on University grounds - probably the only interesting thing to happen in Frankfurt was the formation of the Frankfurt School based within the University and probably the only reason a squat was allowed to exist on it's turf. This buoyed my expectations, but the show itself remained in the 'just alright' realm. You could look here for pictures of the show that an attendee took. The following is small sampling of the graffiti and a poster found at IVI - I could wax on and on about the politically contradictory holes one finds oneself in when not thoroughly thinking through a strong viewpoint, but I won't.

The morning aftermath was a pleasant and delicious breakfast under a tree and near a wall, this helped me feel the tour will only get better.

We arrived in Esslingen (DE) to find out we would be playing an outdoor show in a really amazing garden-house-thing. Villa Merkel is a gallery that co-produces shows in it's yard with a local youth centre. After last night's show, we thought sound problems would plague us for the rest of the tour, but these dudes knew what they were doing and it was all super.

This is thisquietarmy's set in the still sunlight.

It was dark by the time we played and Eric took this picture.

Drive, Play, Repeat.

2009-05-31T08:23:00.000Z

Poster by Hlg

There's a long, winding road ahead of us that'll take us to parts south, then west, then north, then east. It's all starts at IVI in Frankfurt tomorrow and continues on along these lines:

02 Jun @ Villa Merkel - Esslingen, DE
03 Jun @ Enosteria - Brescia, IT
04 Jun @ Burrida - Genova, IT
06 Jun @ Sonic - Lyon, FR
08 Jun @ Les Instants Chavirés - Paris, FR
09 Jun @ KAW - Leverkusen, DE
10 Jun @ DBs - Utrecht, NL
11 Jun @ TAC - Eindhoven, NL
12 Jun @ Markthalle - Hamburg, DE
13 Jun @ Schokoladen - Berlin, DE
16 Jun @ XT3 - Prague, CZ
17 Jun @ Klub Re - Krakow, PL
18 Jun @ Pod Minoga - Poznan, PL
19 Jun @ UHF - Warsaw, PL
20 Jun @ Club Ucho - Gdynia, PL
21 Jun @ Alter Ego - Szczecin, PL

If I don't pass you on this road, perhaps our paths will cross one day soon. (Did I just mix metaphors?)

Some Days w/ A Few Bakers

2009-05-26T11:19:00.000Z

So we had some visitors visiting with us this weekend - I guess that's what they do. It was a very relaxed few days filled with Aidan's parents - Tom and Anne, good food, drink, a few long walks, and a couple sites.

Having visitors gave us an excuse to approach some places we've procrastinated on seeing like the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag.

Our long walk through Treptow Park brought us to this monumental shrine to Berlin's Soviet past.

Thanks for visiting! It was a swell, über-long weekend.

Basteln, in a Brigade

2009-05-19T19:50:00.006Z

So I've inadvertently helped start a craft collective here in Berlin. Long story short, I was looking for someone(s) to maybe, possibly help put together a screening for 'Handmade Nation' because it's screening everywhere I'm not - including in Toronto by my dear City of Crafters. I found an amazing little sewing studio called Linkle just a few blocks from my apartment (my serious lack of German skillz kept me from going in for months), but now I had something to talk about so I mustered the up the courage and sent an email. -yep.

Anyway, so Linda of Linkle was totally into screening H.N. and she even thought she could others on board and it could be this great craft party! I was stoked, she was stoked, but anyone willing to help with funds (craft star docs come at a price) or, even enthusiasm was shortcoming.

The idea of the event was still kinda great and there were other craft groups and shops kinda willing to be involved and a 'craft community' is kind of non-existent here so we thought we'd go ahead and do it and maybe this would be a dawn of a new co-operative crafty era. Also, we gave this fledgling collective a name: Bastel Brigade.

The craft party will go on and instead of H.N., we'll be screening a Ein Traum in Erdbeerfolie - a documentary about the avant-garde, handmade, and improvised fashion scene in the former East Berlin. The craft party will be clothing themed with the opportunity to remake a piece of clothing you already own, or learn to make something new.

The collective mind for this event included Linkle, City of Craft, Stitchalicious, La Bastellerie, Eiszeit Kino, and Modular. I hope it doesn't rain.

Ahoy!

2009-05-11T14:22:00.000Z

In keeping with the theme of boats this week, Aidan and I got the chance to play on a very special one last night. Based in Rostock, Germany, the M.S. Stubnitz spends most of the year docked in various European harbours. Currently stationed in its home port, we drove up with our new Aussie friends, Grey Daturas to play to a few locals, but mostly the boat's crew. Attendance aside - we did know what to expect - the time spent on board was great and I've never slept in a ship's cabin before, so that was fun.

ARRRRR!

I Kinda Wanna Live on a Houseboat

2009-05-08T10:30:00.001Z

I get to see a lot of cities, but mostly it's the immediate surrounding of a club and only for a couple hours. Since first visiting Amsterdam a couple years ago, I've been yearning to spend a little more time in town. There HAD to be more to the city than hot-boxed coffee shops and a million tourists.

After 2.5 days there, I can verify that there really is no short supply of either, but it's also a really beautiful city full of good food, great shows - and great friends that could get us into shows. We planned our trip around the Woven Hand and Andrew Bird shows at Paradiso - one of the lovelier concert halls I've entered on the continent. Roger swung it for us to get on Woven Hand's guestlist, but Andrew Bird was sold solid and it didn't look hopeful. That is(!), until we got a call a few hours before the show and by the most amazing fluke 2 tickets were available. Roger, you made my week! (The last time A.B. swung through Toronto I had a terrible flu...)

By further fluke (or, earlier fluke if you're able to follow my chronology), once the Woven Hand show let out, the Paradiso's smaller venue was hosting MEN - remember JD Samson? - and I had some pent up dance energy that needed release.

I was pretty curious to check out the cat refuge on the water, but it was closed to the public the day we went to investigate. I gotta say, I was a little relieved -- it seemed a little bit small and lacking in outdoor space (or even just windows). I have a small dream of having a cat sanctuary some day when I can afford a nice tract of land (or, rooftop) made ideal for feline frolic. I've developed this idea pretty far in my head, but I'll spare you of it for now.

We were a little concerned with blowing too much dough so we did as much free, on foot, exploration as possible in the windy and cold drizzle.

And yes, the idea of dropping anchor on a canal was very enticing.

& here's a pretty great statue of Spinoza -- the sometimes poster child for Dutch tolerance.

Burnt Roads and Woven Jacquard in the Netherlands

2009-04-26T18:27:00.016Z

This weekend we got invited to play the Neurosis-curated Beyond the Pale mini-festival within the annual Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. Phew. We played this festival last year and the whole experience was pretty overwhelming then. It might be the full year of touring since and all the people we've met and then ran into this weekend, but this year's festival seemed somehow much more manageable. Of course, having our friends Robert and Helge around certainly helped keep my mind occupied and anxiety at bay. Robert's putting out a 12" of ours very soon and we thought it would be a-okay for him to sell some records at the show along side our stuff - sadly, not so. I hope listening to the Big Lebowski in it's entirety on the drive home made the weekend worthwhile! I also opened myself up to very possible ridicule when I placed a small stack of patches on our merch table - demographically, the Swedes seemed most keen on them.

These guys asked us to play. They are legends and they are awesome. (Sorry for the crappy shot, but I am short and the room was packed...)

My new Berlin craft friend Linda told me about the Audax Textielmuseum in Tilburg so in the few hours I had before things really got underway at the festival, I snuck out of my music duties to check it out.

This place is both a museum and running Textilelab, so almost no machinery is standing stationary. In one room, raw fibre is transformed into heavy and beautiful wool blankets.

In another, some of them most amazing jacquard art is woven up on massive machines.

Photography was forbidden in Knitted Worlds exhibition, but check out their blog to see what some of the artists were up to. Some of it was pretty darn incredible. A couple of my favorites were Kelly Jenkins' massive and naughty knit magazines and Greetje Van Tiem's newspaper yarn.

Sneers & Kisses To You On Earth Day!

2009-04-21T17:48:00.010Z

Go hug a tree! Go ahead and fall in love with it! How can you not? They're just so very pretty.

The earth, or what I could see of it, looked darn good today. The thought of having a tree tattooed on my arm so that I could remember what one looks like 50 years from now makes me so so sad. So I did my conservation best today and I didn't wash any dishes, do any laundry, or bathe! Keeping that pace is very unrealistic, but water is where I think I am most wasteful so that is where my Earth Day resolution lies.

I'm not sure how to segue into hyperbolic crochet, but the environment is of concern here so that will just have to be enough keep you reading for lack of my writing skills. That [awkwardly] said, if you're in Toronto you should make your way to the Knit Cafe (1050 Queen St. West) where some of my pals have built a window full of hyperbolically crocheted sea life from plarn.

photo by Becky Johnson

photo by Angelune Des Lauriers

photo by Becky Johnson

This installation comes down tomorrow so make your way there, immediately! If you're wondering what the hell this mathy-sounding crochet is and what the hell is has to do with the environment, watch this:

Springtime Wilderness

2009-04-14T16:59:00.016Z

It's been very many years since I last entered a zoo. I have mixed feelings about the whole concept - animals locked up and caged in while children scream at them. On the other hand, here are animals that I can see and interact with (to a degree) without running for my life as I do so. The Berlin Zoo is also a famous zoo for a few different reasons. It's the oldest zoo in Germany; it's located in downtown Berlin; and, it's home to Knut - the world-famous polar bear born at the zoo a couple years ago.

I'm not actually sure if this is, in fact, Knut. But, he is a pretty young bear and he was the only one in site on this very warm afternoon. Knut's not much of a cub these days, but it's spring and there were baby animals everywhere!

Then we hit what instantly turned me into my six year old self - Hippohaus. Inside, you can catch glimpses of them in the water. Here's some baby fat for your viewing pleasure.

Outside, the fam went for a bit of stroll.

Other signs that it was Spring? Males were assaulting females everywhere we looked.

The ornithological sections of the zoo were especially distressing to walk through. Massive birds were caged in. This guy isn't much of flyer, but I still detected a little bit of pleading in his gaze. Others were simply taunted by herons hanging out in the nearby freedom of the canal and once in a while swooping overhead.

The other thing that dawned on me as we approached the hedge that separated us from the massive lion resting in the shade is that they probably sedate the animals here.

The monkeys (and their relatives) were a little bit more spazzy. This guy, however, was so chill and awesome, you'd never know who his neighbours are.

These guys lived next door.

This guy was also pretty amazing.

A Few Hours In Leipzig

2009-04-13T12:14:00.007Z

Last night we drove to Leipzig - one of my favorite cities - to open for what is probably the biggest, or, at least most legendary, bands we've yet been able to finagle our way onto the bill with: Earth. What made this especially sweet is that it all happened in what is probably my favorite venue, ever: UT Connewitz. It's a kinda beautiful, kinda delapidated old theatre with the backstage located on the balcony - incidentally, the best spot in the house to watch and listen.

I was pretty stressed out about this show. My feelings of inadequacy as a musician are sharply amplified when I share the stage with bands like this. It didn't help that I broke a string during sound check - without a spare, on Easter Sunday. UT solidified its favour in my books when they made a few calls and somehow delivered a string to me. My stiffened and stressed out body also disabled me from pulling my camera out as we ate dinner in a really lovely garden.

I found this in the basement. It looks to be 'former bloc' built.

--We played here 2 years ago and I took a million pictures of the place and surrounding neighbourhood. I assumed that these pictures were on my computer somewhere and I could post a few here - but they're on a disc, in a box, somewhere at home.

Becky's Brokeback Pontiac

2009-04-08T10:21:00.009Z

(click on me to see big)

The Pontiac in question has been a very helpful presence in my life. It helped me move, it got me to a few craft fairs. It even served as storage for my table for a little while. It was also a comfort to glimpse now and again outside my window - it let me know that my dear friend Becky wasn't far away.

However, it's seen better days and is now in need of some life-saving repairs. Becky's collected a stellar group of performers to entertain the caring folk that come out and there's even going to be a silent auction for stuff that you would otherwise pay a lot more for!!

Which brings me to something of specific interest to some of you. Maybe you are one of my loved ones (or, maybe you'd like to be) and maybe you only hear from me when I address the entire internet here on my blog and you'd like a little more personal attention. Maybe you're willing to pay for it! Well, my contribution to said silent auction is hand-made correspondence from Berlin to you and you alone! I'll include a little handmade gift that lets you know I'm thinking of you.

By all accounts, this promises to be a really excellent evening. Even if you don't care to hear from me, you should definitely go. I long to see that Pontiac almost as much as I long to see Becky again soon.

Facebookers go HERE.

Others go HERE.

Some Stuff this Saturday

2009-04-04T15:02:00.021Z

The weather turned so dreary and cold last week while we were on tour that there was little else I wished for more than a little warmth. Today, as I left the house sans sweater and with my sleeves rolled up, I realised that special care was needed whilst throwing wishes around.

It was a balmy 24 or so degrees this afternoon so I slathered on the sun block and made my way to my essential reason for leaving the house today.

More about these massive lovelies here.

Trend Mafia is a semi-regular craft fair that happens here in Berlin. I've been in a bit of a craft drought since my temporary relocation so I kinda just needed to be among handmade goods for a while. I've actually- and, *amazingly* due to my lack of German proficiancy and general shyness- instigated an upcoming event that I'll write more on when stuff is solidified next week.

The show was in a building at Moritzplatz- about 3km from our place so I took my camera with me and walked along Reichenberger Strasse and saw these in sidewalk.

I'm not sure what was/is here to reference these - I can just see the front houses so it's a bit of a mystery as to what lays beyond the courtyards. They went on for the entire block.

On the walk home I encountered what looked like an anarchist march, but they were blasting techno and looked too happy to be proper anarchists. I asked someone what it was all about- I felt as confused as the few Police did. It was a peaceful/street-party demonstration opposing a swanky (read: car lifts to your apartment and roof-top pool- inhabitants would never have to deal with the actual neighbourhood or even equally wealthy neighbours, while still claiming to be 'cool' for living there) and truly ugly building that has gone up on this street.

Kreuzberg is a really mixed neighbourhood that attracts artists and expats because it's beautiful and still relatively affordable - and there are more 2 euro falafels per block than anywhere I've ever seen. I'm not even sure that 'gentrification' comes close to what it means in North America where economic divides seem far more blatant. The first time we were in Berlin we asked a cab to take us to our friend's place in Kreuzberg and he looked at us like we didn't know what we getting ourselves into - he likened it 'Harlem' and 'South London'. Evidently he's never seen either. In any case, such a building really has no place here.

Anyway, this is what I saw today as I walked through Kreuzberg and over the canal to the edge of Treptow where we live.

Tonight, Aidan played a show waaay up in a neighbourhood called Wedding at Mastul - part cafe, part gallery - with touring Bostonian Animal Hospital. It was an intimate sort of affair, but the music was great and so was the locally distilled gin.

Experiments of the Green Variety

2009-04-02T20:44:00.010Z

I've never been good at growing things. I once tried to grow tomatoes indoors to strange results- the stalks grew up to the ceiling, but never produced fruit. Keeping houseplants alive was difficult due to Milosz's appetite for them. And, outdoor space capable of sustaining some sort of growth in Toronto comes to the lucky, or those willing to travel to garden. So our temporary balcony is pretty splendid. That, and hours of sunlight through the windows.

We'll see what happens. These were chosen specifically with baking and tea in mind.

Lavender:

If anyone has a good baking recipe for lavender, let me know!

Geranium:

Ginko:

Basil:

Sage:

Mint:

2 Galleries & A Former Squat

2009-03-30T21:54:00.000Z

We tore through Benelux these last few days - well, Bene without the Lux; and 'tore through' meaning trudged and dragged our stuff and slowly-disintegrating selves onto trains and over cobblestones.

Gent!

Things started out iffy as the owner of Croxhapox in Gent seemed to think that we were an acoustic band. He then showed us to two tiny speakers hooked up to a video installation and demanded that we return them to the exact position that we found them in by the end of the night. We did a mellow sorta set and nobody complained so I'll call it a success.

We killed the next day and few sunny and rainy hours before our train like this:

It's true, there was a lot of scowling this afternoon.

Walking by this:

Next, Antwerp!

It's still up for debate whether we destroyed the p.a. at Logement in Antwerp, or if it destroyed us. It was a strange and chilly night with a definite streak of warmth making it all just a little blurry.

A short note on Belgium beer. These people take it seriously and they brew darn fine bier. For the most part- or, at least the better part- Belgian beers are unfiltered and one might find crud at the bottom of a glass now and again. Lots of Belgian beers are now exported around the world, but apparently they are brewed for export with more stringent filtering processing. So cleaner beer means fewer bugs and less taste. Think on that when you find yourself staring at $6 bottle of Chimay at the LCBO.

OCCII in Amsterdam was where we swept in and out of ever so briefly last night. We quickly departed that other European city I have trouble leaving early this morning on the promise that we'll be returning for a few days sans guitars for a little r&r. I'm so very tired.

Bucolic Kingdom of Books

2009-03-25T17:48:00.002Z

Wearied by the need for the tourist dollar and the concentration necessary to ignore every instinct you have about driving while simultaneously navigating this country's highways and country roads, we stayed in Bath for an additional night and I convinced Aidan that we needed to make a pit-stop in a legendary town- at least, legendary to a small group of book nerds- before returning the car to Nottingham and hopping on our flight to Dublin.

Hay-on-Wye is a tiny Welsh town home to DOZENS of second-hand and antiquarian book shops. If [stupid] RyanAir and their [stupid] luggage restrictions weren't lingering there in my next-few-hours-future, I would have stocked up.

Everywhere there's another book shop or stall. Even what's left of the castle has been turned into a home for books. Book shops are more of a 'purgatory' for books, but judging by the looks of things, I think a lot of specimens are there for good. This is for my fellow nerds (click on any picture for a larger view; that is, if you really need to see that marbled text block up close):

*I did buy a Dorothy Hughes book, long out of print that I've been searching for and some really beautiful old maps that if I can bear to cut will end up in some future book projects.

Romans, Pagans, Sheep & Various Waking Nightmares

2009-03-24T18:36:00.002Z

The shows were all (admittedly, unexpectedly) great as we criss-crossed the kingdom a couple times. England's charms were in bloom and the surprise attendance of our friends Rich and Chris (from Atavist) brought me round to the brighter side of this small island. I took few pictures as I was either concentrating very hard to stay on the right side of the road and reach for the gear-shift with the wrong hand (read: left in both instances), or constantly bracing for impact as Aidan drove. Okay, it was only terrifying for the first few hours- and then every roundabout we ended up on after that. I think they should provide a practice track near rental agencies so that drivers could get the hang of things before jumping on an expressway.

What helped me relax, and in turn annoy the hell out of Aidan, were the fields and fields of sheep! It took every bit of will I had to not commit some sort of lamb-theft. They wouldn't let me get too close to them, sadly heartbreaking, but if you're in Toronto you should make a trip to Riverdale Farm where the big old sheep there will allow you a pat.

After jumping from Nottingham to Cardiff to Leeds then to London, we ended up with 3 days off before making a brief appearance in Dublin a couple days from now. Leaving London a little late in the afternoon meant that we'd miss Stonehenge's opening hours (for real) so we headed a little further west to the massive stone circles of the tiny town of Avebury. I have to admit to my kinda, sorta indifference to stone circles. I've seen them in books and have found myself more drawn to the surrounding landscape, but as we wound up the narrow road and the scale of the circle and it's stones became visible, it was pretty incredible.

We thought we'd stay at the local Avebury B&B- it was a chilly March mid-week and there was no one else around so we thought it would possibly be affordable, but they take tourism seriously here. A lot more than we evidently do. We were tired and broke down at the first affordable hotel in Bath.

I've wanted to see Bath for a little while since someone, somewhere told me about this old Roman outpost devoted to hot-spring baths. It's a beautiful town and I was thankful for that, at least, as we tried to actually enter THE BATHS we were asked to cough up a ridiculously prohibitive fee. You can't actually immerse yourself in the original baths anyway so we tried to find a window somewhere...

This is where we laid low:

Happening(s)

2009-03-13T17:40:00.009Z

We moved this week and unprecedented in every other move of my life, it was done - unpacked and settled - in 3 days. It only took that long because we moved via our own slow-hauling feet and a cab ride. Also, Aidan's illness continues to plague him so we had to take it easy. (My last few moves took upwards of a year to get unpacked and settled.)

Two pervasive thoughts have rolled through my mind since moving into this new apartment: 1- I never want to leave and have to give it up. 2- I want to sit at my new work table and just make books for the forever that I want to stay here. It's so clean and spare and just begging to be sullied by my work habits. But, two other tasks remain at the top of my to do list until the end of the month. We need to finish some recording for our new friends over at Bis Auf's Messer, who with our friend Helge and his crazy incredible artwork we're putting together a 12" and some t-shirts; and, some recording stuffs for our dear friend, Drone Records. Whoa! Shop talk! What the heck, I'm on a roll so I'll brag a little bit about a li'l project that will be out everywhere in the world really soon.

So we recorded an album of covers. Everyone keeps asking about the logic behind our choices - which include golden nuggets from the likes of Slayer, My Bloody Valentine, a Kids in the Hall tune we've been playing for a while, and A-ha. Really, it comes down to a short list of songs that we like and that work. Mystery solved. Read further justifications from various interviews Aidan has been barraged with. The artwork for this crazy scheme (sampled above) comes courtesy of Matt Smith.

I mentioned Matt and his great illustrating skills a while ago - also, anyone a 'fan' of ours on facebook will also be familiar with his abilities.

If you'd like give yer ears a listen, do it here, here, and here:
A-ha cover on our myspace
My Bloody Valentine cover on Pitchfork
Slayer cover on Exclaim

We also set out on another short trip around England before returning to Dublin for an evening and then onto Antwerp, Gent, and Amsterdam.

Okay, that's enough self-promotin' for one day! I think the next episode of the Wire has loaded, gotta go!

For Realsies

2009-03-05T15:09:00.019Z

This is what I saw in the courtyard when I left this morning.

This is what I saw in the courtyard when I came home this afternoon.

This is some of what I saw in between. Taken along Modersohn Str. & Frankfurter Allee/Tor.*

*The tile buildings in decay aren't actually that old. They were hastily and shoddily built by soviets in the 1950s in anticipation of [I think] Khrushchev's visit.

Opulence in shades of red

2009-02-27T17:21:00.001Z

It's not so much that people remember things differently- certain generations will never forget certain generational markers, it's perhaps more a case of how memories are made public for the here and now.

Maybe that doesn't make sense so here's a comparative example. Berlin and Moscow were perhaps the most important political centres of the 20th century. What happened within the halls of government in these cities decided the fate of billions of people. On the whole, it was a terrible fate and pretty much the entire world lived with the consequences. In Berlin, Nazi locales are marked ever so modestly - often with just a small plaque. They're not forgetting, but they're not going to enshrine, either. In Moscow, there aren't any long queues for bread, but if you fell into a coma back in 1982 and woke up in Moscow today, you might think Communism simply melted into some sort of bureaucratic-consumerist hybrid of itself- and is a great success. Odes to Communism's opulence for the people - best seen in the Metro - are artfully riddled with insignia and what was, more or less, propaganda. Are Russian's today simply reclaiming these things from the days when they were used against them? Or, did Communism fall in a kind of half-hearted way? Remaining at the back of the collective mind as a 'plan B' should capitalism fail? Anyway, that's just some stuff I thought about as we walked through the chilly grit of the city.

One day I'd like to go back to Moscow and make a point of stopping in every metro station. On this trip, the incredible mosaics in Novokuznetskaya Station were my favorites. On the platform were massive moldings depicting ancient Russian military heros and along the ceiling of the hall separating the platforms were said mosaics with a more contemporary theme.

Chandaliers hung in some stations, others had these 'hammer-and-sickle' pendulum lamps.

We took a chilly evening walk around and through Red Square. Where, as our hosts mentioned, nothing really changed. Here's Aidan paying his respects to Lenin.

As you enter the square you are reminded that you are at the centre of the universe.

A shot overlooking the Moscow River.

Perhaps even the fathers of Communism had a 'plan B' at the backs of their minds as the many domes of ancient churches still stand on the perimeter. St. Basil's being an obvious focal point.

Our meandering through the city also brought us to the park on Bolotnaya Square, home to Mihail Shemyakin's 'The Children - Victims of Adult Vices'.

It was a battle getting here and we couldn't do it without these two ladies.

Big props and большие спасибо to Zalina and Marusja.

Serenades in the Ether

2009-02-22T15:20:00.008Z

Sometimes, like today, it's just so dreary outside that it seeps into my insides. Thank heavens for free video calls. I chatted with my sister, Esther, for a good hour and entertained her with some billowy chords on my little accordian.

She thought it hilarious enough to transcribe, then sent the pics to me.

Who's up for an online jam?

Angst is a German word

2009-02-21T22:30:00.014Z

I was really hoping Vice's 'DOs and DON'Ts' would be in German - the rest of the magazine is and reading trash is the best way to learn because it's simple and predictable.

Message driven lecture-readings are not the best way, but I hobbled my way through last night's by hardcore punk veteran, writer, and artist Al Burian. We assumed it would be in English as he's American and his last reading was in his native tongue, but this Chicagoan has really brushed up on his German. I've picked up a bit of German so I was able to get the gist of what he said- but, a lot was lost on me. I do however, hold some such writing close to my heart (Erick Lyle aka Iggy Scam is a bit of a moral compass for me) so I picked up his book.

I will say that I give him a ton of credit for addressing a German audience so completely in their tongue. He even put together a German comic zine and gave it out to everyone in attendance. Maybe penance for calling the ISBN the sign of the anti-christ, whilst having an ISBN-sullied book for sale.

Stuff I Made

2009-02-18T22:34:00.009Z

It seems another coldsnap has the city gripped in it's callous, soul-less claws. It snowed, so it looks pretty, but the cold is seeping in and we had to stay warm if we were going to get any work done. So I made soup. I'll admit that I don't usually cook. Aidan does 90% of the cooking, but every so often something motivates me to prepare our sustenance. This time it was a tetra-pak of coconut milk and the promise of two-days-worth of food. It was spicy and delicious and went really well with our daily weissbier selection. We're making like Beliners and ingesting a lot of local beer. So far, my favorite is a cherry porter (not a weissbier).

Also, my hands are cramping as I stitched up some maybe kinda silly new Nadja patches. Do they look even remotely sinister? The bat - yep, it's supposed to be a bat - is gocco'd and then I embroidered the rest. The fabric is either a piece of old curtain with a bark-like texture or bits of ends I picked up in the last month. The still need to be trimmed and backed, but here's a sneak peak.

One other thing I made this week: my first pony-tail in a long time. I've decided to grow my hair out because short hair is just too expensive and I'm too far away from one of the only people I trust to cut this mop.

Russian Saga

2009-02-12T19:00:00.003Z

Is there really any other kind?

Today we submitted our Russian visa applications so that we could re-schedule our show in Moscow for later this month. We tried to look serious for the photo, but the result shows the transparency of our true feelings- anxiety with the Russian authorities and this whole experience, in general.

There's relief in now knowing it's completely out of our hands and up to the various consulates, so we could concentrate on the other pressing matter at hand: finding our own apartment here.

There are no for rent signs here in Berlin. It comes down to agencies, luck, and nepotism. We've almost exhausted them all and we'll have to make a decision by the weekend, but we're easily swayed. Coming from more than a decade of Toronto-dwelling, neighbourhood snobbery has a foothold in my criteria. Almost everyone we know and have met in this city lives in either Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain. We've stayed in both neighbouring hoods since we arrived and we know our way around. The lady at one agency urged me to take a look at places in Pankow and Wilmersdorf- we did and they were just sooo far away- and too small to justify it.

Today, however, we took a look at something we both kinda love. A huge one bedroom with massive living room, sunroom off the kitchen and a balcony on the edge of Kreuzberg, near Gorlitzer Park (and a few other parks). It's in the process of being renovated and will have nicely cleaned up old wood floors, original doors and ceiling moldings (yep, I'm one of those people that cares about that), and pull out sofa bed in the living room. There's one catch. It's a little bit more a month than we were looking to spend.

So we've got to decide if we want to live the bohemian dream in a dream apartment while we're here in Berlin or take a little more dough home and end up paying double for a probably not nearly as nice a place in Toronto. hmmm...We've got a couple more leads to follow up on so I'll let you know by the weekend if you have a balcony to take your coffee on when you come and visit.

Riga, again (or, tracking nerd-dom)

2009-02-09T19:46:00.002Z

Miks, our super kind host not only promoted the show in Riga three nights ago, but then drove us to Tallin and back, and then put us up for another night so we could see some of the city before our flight back.

There was a very specific Riga souvenir I thought I might try and track down for my friend Becky, but it seems that it's just too elusive a prize. You see, there's a certain Latvian mathematician named Daina Taimina who discovered that she could better teach theories of hyperbolic space using crocheted models. Crochet as method is extremely sculptural as you're essentially building a form out of a series of knots. By exponentially increasing stitches, you can hypothetically recreate a hyperbolic space. Oh my, I can go on and on. Instead, you should look here for some stellar examples and here to learn more!

Now, where was I? Oh yeah. I found out that Professor Taimina hasn't actually taught in Latvia for quite a while. She did write a couple books and I was looking for either her original text book or a short essay she apparently wrote on geometry and aesthetics- fascinating stuff, for sure. Sorry I can't birthday surprise you with a nerdy treat, Becky. I haven't completely given up, though.

A trip to the university not in our cards (people actually answer phones when you call Riga University), it was time for some good old fashioned sight-seeing.

An evening in Estonia

2009-02-07T13:35:00.009Z

By the time we found ourselves on the street in Tallin(Estonia), it was evident that my Parker Brothers prejudice was way off. There's not a lot going on along the highways between major cities here- except some seriously precarious ice-fishing, but the city's old centres are pretty beautiful, and just plain neato.

On the walk from the club to our lodgings I was pretty mesmerized by the wintry ambiance of the old architecture in the city's centre. Every corner we turned was equally photo-op worthy.

Another full house of a show, but man, the pressure of expectant fans is really nerve-racking. Post show drinking continued until the wee wee hours for most people - light weights such as ourselves packed it in around 2 or 3. I learned my lesson of drinking on an anxiety-ridden stomach in Poland and I didn't want a repeat.

After a four hour bus ride north...

2009-02-06T22:54:00.002Z

Tonight, we played in Riga. Today, citizens of Riga got a heads up about our show in the local paper!

Miks, our gracious host, set the show up in the Eduard Smilga Theatre and Museum. This is place run by very politely stern elderly ladies- one of whom scolded me in Latvian for something, but I'm not sure what. Anyway, I rarely post stage shots because they're usually grimy and unbecoming; also, pictures of bars and clubs and the realization by my parents that that is where I spend a good percentage of my time probably doesn't sit well with them, so I give Mom and Pop this:

We, and locals Tesa packed this beautiful little room with tons of people and a whole heck of a lotta racket.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I built Riga up to be pretty great. Thus far, I haven't seen much but, we've scheduled time on Monday before our flight back to take in the city a little bit.

Warm hearts in the chilly Baltics

2009-02-05T16:19:00.001Z

For weeks I'd been anticipating our trip a little further north to the three capitals of Baltic states. From the little research I did, I knew that Riga (Latvia) was a beautiful medieval city that was later heavily influenced by art nouveau, but I didn't know what to expect when we touched down in Vilnius (Lithuania)- our first stop on this wee whirlwind tour.

(I should give you a little background on our states of mind as we took off from Berlin this morning. It looks like our show in Russia next week will be cancelled. We are both very frustrated and very angry about how it all went down. I won't get into specifics here, but it's an understatement to say that I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go Russia.)

It was nice then when we got shown to a great little apartment where we were fed and got a chance to talk with our hosts about something other than touring - we talked about poetry and zines, fun!

We took a mini tour of the city's centre on our way to the venue when two things struck me about Vilnius - the absolutely impeccable shape they their keep their oldest facades in and the number of churches (there's probably enough seating in Vilnius' churches for the entire population of Lithuania).

The oldest church in Vilnius was right outside our apartment. I took a picture of it when we got home after the show. Dramatically lit...

It's not all orthodox onion domes here, but, of course, there's some of those too.

One of the most striking buildings we passed was on the university grounds. The walls are pristine and the only clue to building's age are seriously patina-ed frescoes at the entrance.

The show was great with many people surpised at our presence in their ancient little city. One guy came up to the table where I was selling cds and asked which one was the most popular - it might convince him to buy one. He returned a few minutes later and asked, "You're THAT Nadja?" and then, "What are you doing here?", and then he bought four more cds. It was a good night.

Treptow Flea

2009-01-31T15:38:00.005Z

I got an extra special treat today. Hint: it's in the above picture and sings a sweet and melancholy chord. It can do no wrong and even persuades me that my clumsy fingers are doing something right.

Below, are two pictures that might make the indoor flea market in Treptow seem like a good idea. They are deceiving.

The Surreal East, (or an evening among some of my people)

2009-01-26T14:20:00.003Z

Our first time east of the European Union, proper, took us to Kiev, Ukraine. Where female Customs officers fully embrace their new freedom in a democracy by wearing their Bloc-era uniforms short and tight with the (apparently) requisite fetish footwear. They also embrace their sadistic roles and we were reminded that soviet habits die hard. When asked to produce an address to our Hotel (I can't help but mention the incompetence of booking agents now) we didn't have one and were essentially told to make one up if we wanted to make it past her. We did and I really do hope that the "Hotel Kiev" gets at least some of the business it's reported to get. (I really wished to get a picture of some 'officers' but I already looked like either a gypsy or revolutionary - 2 strikes any way you look at it - in the sea of Fendi, Prada, Louis Vuitton and didn't feel this was a good occasion to test my Russian skills).

We were quickly whisked off to a truly bizarre evening of fervent fans, photographers and post-show autograph session! We spent a good portion of the evening shell-shocked as every time we entered the venue we'd be flooded with flash photography and many thanks to Yulia and Sergei who took us out for borcht and blinchiki - neither as good as my mother's, but comforting nonetheless. I also think I may have shocked our hosts a little bit when some of them realised that I spoke Russian and could understand what they were saying. I mostly plead ignorance from then on out as we were pretty constantly surrounded by an entourage that talked about us amongst themselves quite a lot and I didn't want to add awkward embarrassment to their stress and eagerness to please.

The stage was, unfortunately, a 'floating' one so I had no where to turn. Among the photographers was Daria, who took a 13hour train to Kiev from Moscow to see the show with her Ukrainian friends. She sent us the above and following pictures:

We got a quick tour of the city - by car as it was raining and we were rushing to make a plane back Berlin. After much deliberating, it was decided that the best place to take us was a hill by the Philharmonic that overlooked the city and Dnieper River. I'm not sure of the reasoning, but Communist era statues endure including quite of few of Lenin.

the Philharmonic:

the banks of the River Denieper:

remnants:

The latter might be a ditched plan for an expressway - it was difficult for me to ask any potentially negative questions as I was met with concern when I snapped a picture of suburban housing in serious disrepair and asked to avert our eyes as we left the city's centre.

I grew up in chaotic household where we spoke Russian from an early age and ate thousands of blinchiki - to this day, it remains my favorite food. But, we were pretty removed from what it meant to be Russian, Ukranian, Armenian, or Jewish - my mother drilled into us early on that we were 'Canadian' and 'Pentacostal'. I wanted to see if there was any similarities to my family's world past this border to the East. There was a little bit - the ever-presence of chaos and proud self-delusion. That might seem harsh, but I think Slavic history is so awful and full of brutality that those things are just necessary to survive. I'll have to ask my parents to confirm this - I lived a comfortable life, relatively free of dictators.

Wurst Dom, Ever.

2009-01-22T15:58:00.001Z

Okay, we've been watching a lot of Simpson's episode's online.

We still haven't sampled the braut; however, we have wandered in and out of a lot of churches, and the one that takes the cake is definitely Cologne's Dom. On a train way back in 2005 we sidled up next to it and I was blown away. Not only is it massive, but it took hundreds of years of meticulous stone and glass work to complete. The builder's attempts at completion were foiled, off and on, by various wars and this is evidenced by the every-so-often change in exterior colouring.

Also, in a rare moment of exuberance, we decided to climb the claustrophobic, circling 500+ stairs up the bell tower. Three quarters of the way up I realized I might have vertigo and this was a stupid idea, but there couldn't possibly be much further to go. Our curiosity was rewarded and the detail carved into the structure way up high is incredible, considering they probably meant for very few people to ever go up there. But, I suppose, as with most churches of the Catholic persuasion, the building is meant to mirror their efforts in reaching heaven and these people were serious.

Rebel

2009-01-19T16:47:00.000Z

Hundertwasser Haus is the product of a crazy Viennese hippie artist who believed that straight lines were godless. I haven't completely made up my mind on what I think of this structure. It was interesting, for sure.

Time off in Austria

2009-01-19T13:14:00.000Z

Well, actually just an afternoon.

Our first stop in this country was Linz where we played a show at KAPU. This is one of those great European venues that feed you, understand you, love you, and give you a nice warm bed to sleep in - all without going outside or halting alcohol consumption. The artist apartment was cluttered with the ghosts of previous guests who communicated through their markings on the walls.

Linz was pretty the way you'd expect an old European city situated along the banks of the Danube River to be. In the antique shops we noticed more miniatures! I couldn't help but think that these were very adult artifacts people at one time collected to imagine an ostentatious life that was out of reach in reality. At this realization, I remembered the Philip K. Dick book I began reading off of someone's bookshelf back in England, The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch where the unlucky inhabitants of the future world use miniature mis-en-scenes and narcotics to imagine a world other than thier own.

This became slightly more plausible when we next visited Vienna, a very ostentatious city indeed.

It was, however, a really lovely day and my hangover had finally passed so our friend Kerr took us for a long walk through the city.

Sadly, it was a Monday and museums were closed so we couldn't get up close to any products from the city's famous sons - Gustav Klimt & Egon Schiele (I pretty badly wanted to see the latter's city/landscapes.)

As crazily ornate as most buildings are, the Viennese are an austere folk and besides the massive bronze statues of Goethe and men on horses, this was my favorite.

Eurotrip, Part Zwei

2009-01-17T18:58:00.001Z

To fund our bohemian life we recently set out on another 10 date tour. It happened dizzyingly fast - with long, treacherous stretches of road punctuated by the best highway restrooms in the world. I made notes along the way, but connections and picture uploads weren't always possible so here's some highlights of recent nights.

Our first show of the tour was in Frankfurt - not unlike Ottawa, a big city with that inescapable suburban feel. To be fair, aside from the train station and it environs a few times, the airport and the area around the club, I haven't seen tons of the city, but that's the impression it has left me with. The bill was varied with two post-rock bands made up of kids that looked very young and made me feel very old and one especially lovely Icelandic act know as KiraKira.

We have flouride filtered into our water and they have cute in theirs. She was a little bit noise and a little bit Bjork - how could she not be? Before departing she left a dvd/cd in my hands to deliver to an apparent aquaintance in Moscow when we're there next month. The connection seems dubious, at best, but I'll do what I can.

Prague came and went faster than I would have preferred, but it was snowing so after our awkward radio interview we set out for Wroclaw, Poland where we played a cold, cold, cold, but otherwise very warm squat-turned-semi-legit-arts venue called CRK. (They've posted a few pictures from our show on their site.)

This is a picture of the snowy 'courtyard' from our 'backstage room'. Warm soup and too sweet Hungarian wine helped get us into the mood of the evening. Later, we succumbed a little too much and although I was the only one to throw up, both Aidan and I suffered. Especially as we set off for our 600 km crawl south to Linz, Austria.

In talking small politics with Hubert, the cook and seemingly glue of the establishment, he mentioned something that I took to heart. Communal life in a squat is insular in the same way that artists live with limited contact to the world at large - minimally, however this way also tends to breed political complacency that in turn leads to ignorance and possibly, suddenly finding yourself far flung in more ways than just by your location. Living this sometimes vagabond life in a completely foreign place where the language isn't always clear to me/us, i/we tend to retreat into a hibernating bubble, completely ignorant of what's taking shape in the atmosphere outside. Thankfully, we've only ever so gently felt the effects of the global recession, but otherwise we remain unaffected. I barely even took note of Barak Obama's inaguration - aside from sometimes cynical/hopeful small talk for the future of our world, North American issues record hardly a blip on the cultural radar here. But I digress...

In any case, let me know how you are.

Autobahn Awaiting

2009-01-13T20:40:00.009Z

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a 9 date tour, but I don't really feel like leaving the city. I like it here. However, to remain here I gotta make some dough and as I read of scaling unemployment rates in Berlin I'm grateful for my time as a resident.

It was a little warmer today so as I waited for my laundry to finish I took a walk over to the Oberbaumbrücke bridge where a forever game of rock-paper-scissors is being played in neon. Play spot-the-blurry-difference now!

Looking the other direction over the frozen Spree river is the t.v. tower at Alexanderplatz (as mentioned in an earlier post). There's been a recent visually-polluting addition to the city scape here in Friedrichshain called the O2- a massive new stadium with flashing billboards seen through trees 3 or 4 blocks away. I tried to avoid capturing it, but it's that glow on the right of the frame.

Along the shore at this point there also remains about 1km of the formerly East Berlin inner wall. The river, itself, belonged to the East in the no-man's-land space between the actual Berlin wall on the western banks and this inner border. There's beautiful spots all over the planet that harbour an ugly past and I've got to give Berliners credit for responding to it's history with art. This is evident almost anywhere in the city, every street and canal and even just glancing north from this spot on the bridge there's massive sculptures and installations. (We got word of an abandoned amusement park just north of where we're living so we'll be exploring the river banks a little more as the weather improves.)

In 1990, 130+ artists were commissioned to cover a portion of this remaining wall and today it stands as an open gallery known as the The East Side Gallery. Someone walked the length and youtube'd it here.

So yup, tomorrow we leave Berlin to go here:
14 Jan Elfer Music Club, Frankfurt, Germany
15 Jan Klub 007, Prague, Czech Republic (w/ aidan baker solo set)
16 Jan CRK, Wroclaw, Poland
17 Jan Kapu, Linz, Austria
19 Jan Rhiz, Vienna, Austria
21 Jan Sonic Ballroom, Köln, Germany
22 Jan Jubez, Karlsruhe, Germany
23 Jan AZ Conni, Dresden, Germany
24 Jan Schokoladen, Berlin, Germany
25 Jan Sky Hall, Kiev, Ukraine

chiz!

Show cancelled.

2009-01-07T17:55:00.008Z

I hate missing a show. Especially after a sleepless night before and hours (maybe not) of ear-drum shattering pressure changes. Also, I was really looking forward to seeing a tiny bit of Italy.

Our flight boarded at 5:30am, we were supposed to arrive in Milan at 7:40, but instead we just hovered over the city waiting for Milanese airport peeps to figure out what to do with the snow that apparently paralyzed the entire city (snowmaggeddon, anyone?) until we were diverted to Zurich where we sat on the plane for 3 hours before being told that our Italian destination was unattainable and we'll have to settle back in, buckle up and fly back home. I hate flying. I hate being on airplanes. As soon as I get on my throat dries up, my nose starts to run, my head hurts, flight attendants are irritated, passengers turn into douche bags, and I want so badly to drink some hot coffee to soothe my various aches, but oh, how I want to avoid that death trap of a bathroom. Also, did you know that most airline accidents happen upon take-off and landing? We did each twice in dicey conditions today.

They did this to the plane before we took off. Pretty neato. It was also slightly comforting that whatever it was they were doing to the wings, it was to avoid some sort of in-flight tragedy. The Swiss were thinking.

The one perk of this tour of European airspace was that we flew relatively close to the Swiss Alps. They popped up above the cloud line as we departed.

Recession fare

2009-01-04T18:10:00.005Z

Thanks to a tip from our previous subletee/landlord, after a cold and wet afternoon of poking around other people's junk we stopped into Restaurant Frarosa on Zionskirchstrasse. There's a set, but varied daily menu and open bottles of wine on the counter for refills. Price? PWYC, for realsies.

Also, it was determined that Aidan was no longer going to escort me on trips to flea markets. ugh. and, sigh.

Dreary Weary

2009-01-03T17:20:00.007Z

Didn't really feel like leaving the apartment today and after stocking up on groceries yesterday, there just wasn't any reason. Besides, I needed to store up energy reserves for tomorrow's dueling flea markets at Mauerpark and Arkonaplatz in Berlin's trendy Prenzlauer Berg. That said, we had to get the stoves going early. Trying something new today with heat circulation by leaving the doors separating the living room and bedroom open - some heat might also slip in to the bathroom this way. For anyone planning on visiting, you'll need to prepare mentally before attempting to shower. Still honing a perfect strategy, but so far plugging the shower in and heating it for 30-45 minutes then firing up the space heater full blast before jumping under the water works best. We've only been able to get 5-8 minutes of hot water, but at least getting out into a warm room lessens the barrage of swearing that followed my first couple showers. This might sound terrifying to some people, but we've experienced worse in Berlin - we stayed for 2 nights in an apartment that did have a shower, but it was in the cramped kitchen, between the fridge and stove top.

These two, kinda beautiful beasts are our heating devices:

What I did feel like doing today was making soup! Ingredients: onions, garlic, lemons, potatoes, chick peas, watercress, couple bay leaves, couple sage leaves, dash of apple cider, salt and pepper. It's a recipe based loosely on a soup my old buddy Michael used to make. The broth turned out okay - maybe I should have used more vegetables? In all other respects I think it was pretty good.

Lookin' Good for O Nine

2009-01-01T12:44:00.008Z

Four, or maybe five whiskey sours later it's 10 to 12 and everyone (really) in Berlin heads out onto the chilly streets, pulls out the arsenal of fireworks they had in their bags while they got drunk indoors and lights up.

This is a magical place where there is no fear of fire. We've so far witnessed lit candles on parched fir trees, we light a fire in a great big stove a foot from our bed, and people shoot fire crackers from their balconies. Here's some pictures of our neighbourhood as it went up last night. We survived the first few tentative hours so things are already looking up! Happy new year!

This poor falafel stand probably did some stellar business, but it was also ground zero for explosions.

Winterwalk

2008-12-27T19:56:00.009Z

We decided today to walk up to Checkpoint Charlie - the old American border checkpoint left over as a monument to remind Berliners and tourists alike that the free market is the way to go. To further remind any sentimental Communists who won that war, what you enter past the checkpoint and people fondling chunks of the Berlin wall is the formerly East Berlin borough of Mitte, a huge shopping district packed with people spending their Christmas cash.

We made it as far as Alexanderplatz and the t.v. tower seen just about anywhere in the city. I personally like the way it looks overlooking the Spree over in Friedrichshain, the neighbourhood we're moving into next week, but here's a shot of it next to the Berliner Dom and a ferris wheel - 1 of 2 within walking distance.

It was a pretty nice day, so cold my face froze, but relatively sunny for a while so I took some pictures along the canal. Walking down this same path a couple years ago is how I first fell in love with this city. Apparently, I'm not the only to feel this way, as it was jam-packed.

I also miss my morning walks along Lake Ontario and the two swans that hang out near the shore. So the dozens of them in the canal helped with that.

We also passed this on our walk. Possibly some sort of water pumping thing - deduced by the fact that it lay a few metres from the canal. It looks weird, but I'm sure that since it was built by Germans, it serves an oh so practical purpose and will last forever.

Holidaze

2008-12-26T15:26:00.004Z

This is how we’re spending our first couple weeks in Berlin. From Dec. 15 - 26 we rented this nice little loft in the area of Berlin known as Kreuzberg. We’re laying low, but we emerge in the last few hours of daylight (2-4pm) to find food and buy a mobile phone that we can’t figure out how to use until we repossess our German-English Dictionary - I realize how sad that last part is.

I’ve just finished Tree of Smoke by Daniel Johnson which gave me a few nightmares (not difficult, nightmares and anxiety dreams comprise 80+% of my unconscious life) and wasn’t brilliant, but pretty darn good. It won the National Book Award last year, but - and I’ve gotten this off my chest to Aidan so I won’t bother you with my full review - I think it only did so because it filled a void/shoved down the already overflowing gullet in North America's obsession with war, and only superficially at that, but enough to win.

Next up, I’m reading Gustave Flaubert’s Sentimental Education a recommendation from years ago and when I finally found it at The Strand, the clerk told me that it was waaay better than Madame Bovary. Having read neither, I took his word for it. I’ll let you know.

German Christmas

2008-12-25T18:14:00.000Z

Like most of Europe, Germans celebrate on December 24. Our friends Sasha & Marie invited us over for dinner and asked us to bring desert. I didn't really want to bring soggy baklava - specialty of the neighbourhood - over, so I decided to bake a flourless chocolate cake! It turned out ugly as sin, but actually quite delicious.

Today we saw our first glimpse at sunlight in maybe a month so we bundled up and walked over to the Judisches Museum to check out their Chanukka-Markt where we were promised to find quirky crafts and yummy latkes. Neither were found, but we ate what they had before we set out on the long walk home. We also got to get up close to another ego-inspired piece of architecture-gone-wrong by Daniel Libeskind. He's the guy who designed the R.O.M., forgetting that it gets cold in Toronto. In his defence, we didn't walk through the museum's interior - but you could have a look see on the website. Also, the outside garden is pretty neat. This is more a criticism of the exterior and just my general dislike of architectural 'stars'.

Aidan's wearing a hat I made for him and is too small for his head, but it was cold as we ate our latkes so he wore it, like the trooper he is. Speaking of things I've made gone wrong... I made these mittens on the road and didn't decrease properly - there was no pattern involved, so they ended up looking like lobster claws. However, they do get the job done.

Another Iberian Road Side Attraction

2008-12-14T23:12:00.000Z

I'll just say it: this was a rough tour. As we rode into week 6 and edged up to our 30th or so show, we were definitely showing signs of wear. In an attempt to avoid horrifyingly long bus rides, we decided to rent a car in Porto and drive the rest of way ourselves.

Things started well enough as we rode from Port to Bragança. We took a night walk with our host Solange (I probably just slaughtered her name, apologies) up to the town's castle. Unlike most European cities, people still live within the old walls. Here's a visual transcript:

Sadly things didn't stay all neato and photogenic.

Spain is a beautiful country and is best experienced very, very slowly. Everyone's on the same clock and if you're in hurry, running on touring time, you'll end up running against the grain and having a near breakdown in Madrid's city centre.

Once we left Bragança we drove the wrong direction in the mountains just north of the city for nearly 2 hours. I don't think I'll go into great detail about each date and show. I will say that we met some amazingly sweet people along the way - including Nacho in Aviles, the women of Utopia in Sevilla, Edu in Madrid, Artur in Bilbao, and the super nice couple that walked us to our venue in Bilbao.

Here's what we saw as we criss-crossed Spain almost 3 times.

Lots of this:

and this,

sometimes this,

or this,

in warm Sevilla this,

but mostly this,

and this,

Basque Country

2008-12-14T00:19:00.001Z

Since flipping through Mark Kurlansky's book a few years ago, I've wanted to see the Basque region of Spain. Also, the separatist movement is active and sometimes known to be violent, so there's an element of naive excitement in being here.

They have their own language and even their own font! It's seen on most Basque-owned establishments and government signs.

Geographically, we're pretty close to France and it seems this proximity has generously seeped into the culture. The pace is a little quicker here than other parts of Spain, the architecture is a little more baroque, and class lines seem to be drawn a little thicker than parts to the south.

Once again, we were short on time and had none to spend wandering in Bilbao. We drove past the Guggenheim in the pouring rain and I glimpsed just long enough to decide that it's Mr. Gehry's best work and I apologize for slagging his good name in an earlier post. It's just as strange in person as photo's would suggest, but between craggy mountains and a river and ornate buildings from the 1930s mixed with much older structures, it kind of fits perfectly.

Both Bilbao and San Sabastian are really beautiful art deco-heavy cities and the food was good! Fresh seafood tapas! Up to this point our diet was seriously lacking.

After playing our final in San Sabastian last night, waking up felt so good that it warranted a walk on the beach before driving back to return the car in Porto. It was blustery, but thoughts of tomorrow trip to Berlin and the little loft that awaits us kept me warm.

Lovely Lisboa

2008-12-04T21:19:00.000Z

There's a huge Portuguese community in Toronto - I lived smack-dab in the centre of it for a while - but, absorbed next to nothing of the culture. I knew we were in for a change when we left the U.K., but as the plane approached the coast and Porto's airport we saw different world. (I later felt a little guilty when someone told us the story of how a touring American band referred to their location as South America, but after being in cold, cold England, it really does look like we're possibly arriving in Argentina) Porto, in particular.

Lisbon, though exotic, is a very European city. It's also a drop dead beautiful - in any light. Time stopped sometime in the 1950s here, but it somehow persists at being a modern city with a pretty darn rich art scene.

We played and stayed in the really nice ZdB complex that was partially outdoors. It was chilly evening, but everything just looked like it belonged in warm climate and that was enough to comfort me at this point in our wintry tour.

We woke up early so we could take a nice long walk through the city. I also went a little snap-happy...

-click to enlarge

And one for mom...

Porto on the edge of the World

2008-12-03T23:18:00.003Z

It's a bit hazy in my memory, but here's evidence that we were here and saw roses blooming in December:

Ireland!

2008-11-29T17:59:00.002Z

Moving through Irish customs and getting our green stamp of approval - with a smile, I knew things were going to go well.

We started in Cork where we played to a full house of appreciative fans. I was put into a few headlocks and photographed by some that had a wee bit too much to drink. I haven't seen the evidence and am still waiting for them to surface somewhere on myspace.

The next day we drove to Dublin where we played a strange show in jam-packed pub with Romanian headliners that I think either hated us (Nadja) or us (Aidan and Leah). Regardless, the evening was pretty great and here we are surrounded by super nice Polish and Irish metal dudes with a fresh pint of Smithwicks in hand! This one comes courtesy of the shy one in the back.

We had a day off in Dublin where the impending holiday season slapped us back to reality. People were chaotically shopping and clogging the cities pedestrian arteries and as we searched for evidence of Dublin's literary legacy I soon realized that Beckett was replaced with cheap Scandinavian fashions in the mass consumer psyche.

5 Days & 5 Lads

2008-11-26T15:56:00.001Z

I'll admit that I truly struggle to love England. I'll only admit so much, and say that we warily* set out on a 5 day tour with Manchester doom metal-ers Atavist beginning, not in England but, in Edinburgh.

Off the plane and I instantly fell for this magical, kind-of-haunted-feeling, thistle-loving town. We only had a couple hours before the show so we stowed our luggage and climbed the hill to the castle.

Where we got a nice view of King Arthur's Seat.

It also very quickly became apparent that our companions - Chris, Rich, Si, Ollie, and token-football-hooligan Matt - for the next few days were actually the most charming, young Britons I'd ever met. Added to this lovely mix were Jo, Justin, and Neil of Cold Spring Records and Satori, respectively. And as we ambled through the Lake District the following day, stops were made to pose for pictures. I love these boys!

The night that followed this day didn't inspire me to take many pictures. Especially as we all sat huddled under sleeping bags, trying to stay warm and out of the freezing and slushy rain as we waited to get towed into a running start at 3am. Later - 3 hours later - we really would need to get out and push a van full of gear. Needless to say, the rest of the tour needed to be rethought and after a small, necessitated, but rewarding collaboration in Bristol we had a van rented and the rest of the tour would go on.

I sadly have no pictures of the boys in their briefs as they played to 4 people in Coventry. But, the opening picture is the band in a high note at our final show in London.

*The United Kingdom is a little notorious for being a cruddy place to tour. We left the continent warned by more than a few people. It turns out that it's not much different than touring the United States.

The end.

2008-11-19T22:32:00.004Z

The first two weeks of our tour are coming to a close and the weariness in the air is palpable. Last night we were in Hamburg and tonight is Berlin, our last show with Picastro.

High hopes were not on the table last night, but the show sounded really great - thanks to our very attentive sound woman - whose name I've forgotten, I'm sorry.

It's smoky and I'm a little cranky tonight at West Germany so I didn't take pictures of the show, my bad. The massive skull ceiling ornament and the following were taken at Hafenklang in Hamburg.

Auf wiedersehen Liz and Brandon! Have a safe journey home and we'll see you on the flip side back in Canada.

Bathroom Graffitti - Germany

2008-11-19T22:11:00.000Z

Germany has a checkered past. Acknowledgment of this runs deep in the politics of everyone here and it seems that a lot of people only feel comfortable airing their various grievances in the privacy of bathroom stalls. Or maybe the authors just hope that as you squat there, you'll consider their opinions.

Here's a sampling of what I've seen so far on this tour.

Religiosity and weefee

2008-11-16T22:50:00.005Z

This entry is written after the fact. I just neglected to make notes, but this is how I remember it.

Strasbourg, France is kind of a dull place on a Sunday afternoon. I gather it's a town that takes is religion seriously as it's dominated by a massive cathederal - too big to get in one frame so it looks a little scarier in pastiche than up close, but daunting nonetheless.

It was very nice then when Molodoi was good and full for our show. Stephane, the promoter, produced the cutest poster we've ever had and I loved it- it had absolutely nothing to do with music, unless one was to compare the stuff we do with a dial tone. There's probably someone out there that would. The picture of Aidan and I is one that Matthew Smith initially drew of us as an avatar on a web forum. He's also coming up with some complicated artwork for an upcoming album of ours.

Whiling away our hours in the club we inquired about wifi access and nobody had any clue as to what we were looking for. That is until Stephane made the connection - "ahh...weefee?"

Bavaria

2008-11-15T20:14:00.004Z

Southern Germany is neat and olde worldy and they embrace a frightening version of Christendom that, as Canadians, we rarely see. I guess I experienced some scary Christianity as a youngster, but that's way beyond what I'll get into here and save it for some future therapy.

First was Augsburg, where we played the Lab 30 festival. This was a multimedia & music festival that also featured our good friends Troum. Also playing was Tamagawa - one French guy performing all-enveloping guitar drone under a Japanese-y name. Hard to follow, but it was 3am and we were up next.

There was an exhibition, but upon inspecting the website it seems I missed a lot. From what I did see, big props out to the people who created the machine that transformed your credit card info into a knitting pattern featuring a Space Invaders theme and then stitched up right there in front of you.

In Nuremburg, we had some time to spare before the show so we took a stroll through the Christmas market, picked up some super delicious gingerbread, witnessed the next big thing in craft: hedgehogs, and climbed up to the castle. Being on a budget, we hopped the turnstile to the tower and were rewarded with some amazing views of the city.

Also stumbled upon this paper cut studio - that was closed... Sadly, nothing spectacular in the window, but I sensed that there was some awesome paper cuts beyond my field of vision.

That night we played with this insane Japanese band called Birushanah - 1 taiko drummer that also played bass, 1 drummer on a kit, 1 drummer on various metal things, and crazy guitarist/singer. They were pretty unbelievable and for the complaining I do - not here - about cruddy line-ups, sometimes we get lucky.

"I think it's so great that people like you, makes music like this." - Michi, Basel

2008-11-12T19:06:00.005Z

(click on the picture for a bigger version)

In Switzerland, they kiss 3 times (if they're French-Swiss, German-Swiss don't touch you). Also, all across this tiny nation the people are incredibly warm - regardless of cultural leanings - and even the shows held in scary, fortress-like squats where almost no one shows up end up feeling more like a nice evening than a total waste of time. Okay, maybe “nice” is the wrong term, but everyone there was.

Also, since our time is Switzerland is brief with 3 shows in 3 rainy days and highway shots are a little boring, I'll actually post some pictures from our show in Geneva.

Yes, that's Aidan playing with Picastro - he played twice each night of our 10 date tour with them.

We did actually get to Lausanne a little early and we made our way over to L'Art Brut. If you ever find yourself here, go here. It was overwhelming and inspiring and so, so depressing.

Photography was strictly prohibited, but I kept coming back to look at the needlework of Jeanne Tripier. Her 'spirituality' sent her spiralling and her embroideries were the channel. It's hard to find anything about her online and in English, so I leave it to you to search if you want. L'Art Brut's website is a nice resource. While you're there, also look up Alexander Lobanov. His obsessive anxiety put on paper kinda got to me, too.

Lyon, France

2008-11-09T15:06:00.011Z

The problem with touring is that your schedule generally looks like this: wake up around 10/11am, try and eat something or find coffee by noon, be on the road no later than 1 to make your “load in time” of 5pm (completely useless in more ways than I care to get into here, but every promoter insists on it and everyone else is worried about not being on time), sit around and wait for your sound check to start, sit around some more and wait for the doors to open, sit around even more and wait for your turn to do your thing - then, it’s either 2am or you sit around and wait for others to do their thing until 2am, then you hope that there’s a clean bed somewhere waiting for you - or, whatever, really just as long as it’s not freezing and there’s a shower with hot water in the morning. Then, you do the same thing again the next morning.

We all slept in this room. Not so bad, that's a papyrus plant! This was the view out the window:

Sometimes, you get lucky and you arrive in an amazingly beautiful city and the club you’re playing is a boat, with portholes, called Sonic.

Sometimes, you get even luckier and you only have a 3 hour drive to your next show and you get to explore this beautiful city.

Lyon is the second biggest city in France and it's similarities to the biggest are striking. It's just a little hillier. Also, and they might have one of these in Paris - I don't know, but miniatures are huge here and we stumbled upon a miniature film set museum. Pretty amazing.

Alright, wipe that cheese off you shirt, Liz! We've got a show somewhere in Switzerland tonight.

Tank you for making the conzert

2008-11-08T17:03:00.003Z

It's an odd sensation when strangers in a strange and small town (known for it's knives) know who are. We've played in Europe before and I've experienced it in the past, but it's hard to get used to.

It was lovely to meet up with some not-so-strangers today as we began our 2 week/ 10 date tour with Picastro. Opening for us in Solingen, Germany were some chubby local teens/young adults who drank as if it was their first time in a bar - though, I doubt it - and made all the food inedible by end of the evening. The show itself was alright, but far louder than it should have been for the space we inhabited.

Next up, was Metz, France. This was a beautiful town with equally kind hosts who fed us well and made sure we were hydrated with very good wines.

That's Liz Hysen and Brandon Valdivia - the two members of Picastro travelling with us - on the left relaxing before the odd concert

Metz is also where I had my first violent outburst on stage. I spun and whacked a local drunk with my bass who imitating my movements inches from me and who Aidan thought would attempt to grope me and had already pushed back more than once. People working or associated with the bar did nothing until they saw that I was getting quite angry. I understand the tolerance of a local idiot, but the guy was ON STAGE! (there actually wasn't much of a stage, but still). Anyway, enough of that. The food and wine made up for everything.

O yeah.

2008-11-07T18:15:00.002Z

I forgot to mention this in my earlier 'Amsterdam' post, so I'll do it now as I sit waiting for a soundcheck that may never happen in Solingen, Germany.

My camera was stowed deeply so I couldn't capture this pretty amazing and strange scene unfolding in front of me as I sat with our pile of baggage at the entrance to Amsterdam Centraal Station and Aidan was off searching for a non-existent pay phone to connect with our buddy Roger.

We heard the results of the election via our pilot who announced it to cheers on board our flight, interrupting my viewing of the very awful new X-Files movie (I know, there's no surprise, but I couldn't help myself); however, the European print media was already being distributed and no results were printed. At 4pm, as I waited, the Amsterdam METRO News started putting out a special afternoon edition declaring Barak Obama as the new President of the United States. Judging by the crowd picking up these papers 2 things became evident:
1. People in Europe were not anticipating the election results with the same level of stress I encountered in my American friends and family. It seemed they pretty much forgot it even happend. That is until...
2. The general populus, or the small sampling of a few hundred Amsterdam citizens that I witnessed that afternoon, is very pleased by the results.

It's hard to describe, but as people looked at the cover of the paper and then up at the crowd more than a few dozen looked so very elated(?), or maybe they were just looking for someone to share a celebratory nod -- or possibly drink, with. It was strange and kind of encouraging in a far off, language barrier way.