Published: Monday - November 24, 2008
Words by Soulstice
Soulstice (Photo: Wandering Soul)
What's the word?
I always get asked how I work full-time as an engineer and still find time to moonlight as a touring artist. Even though I'm always doing one-off shows in various places, I really only "tour" for about four or five weeks out of the year. At least that's how it's worked out for these last few years. Still, five weeks is more vacation time than I get in a year and I still need to travel back to Chicago for Christmas, etc. So, it does require a little creative mixing of vacation time, comp time and, in this case, I'm going over Thanksgiving where we already get two days off. Tricks of the trade.
So here's the plan. Monday, I take a red-eye from Baltimore to Brussels, Belgium (with a few annoying layovers in between). Hopefully I'll sleep on the plane because SBe, my Belgian producer friend, is picking me up on Tuesday morning from the airport and taking me right to his home studio in Lede. There we'll spend the day working on our forthcoming Beyond Borders project, which I still haven't told you much about yet. On Wednesday morning, I'll wake up and take the train to Paris where my French friend Pitchh will pick me up. At 2 p.m. that day, we'll do an in-store appearance at Pitchh's record shop, at 5 p.m. we'll head to the club for a sound check, at 8 p.m. we'll do some interviews with local media, and at 9 p.m. it's back to the club for the show. From Thursday through the following Wednesday, we'll have a series of days much like that one with interviews, studio sessions and shows all around France (see the show schedule below and on the attached flyer). The only outlier might be that Saturday on which Pitchh is trying to convince me to run a 10-mile race in St. Etienne. Not sure that's gonna happen.
That next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I'll be taking a train from Montelimar to Amsterdam where I'll meet up with Amanda (who will have just flown in from Baltimore herself) and our Dutch friends Anne, Malika, and Ismail. That night I'll do a show at this cool club in Amsterdam called the Sugar Factory. Friday morning, the five of us, along with my Dutch promoter friend Momo and several other artists, will travel to Paris at which point Amanda, Anne and company will embark on a shopping trip that I'm a little scared of. Saturday I'll do a final show in Paris, and Sunday Amanda and I fly from Paris back to Baltimore together (this time with only one annoying layover). Monday we're back at work.
For those of you that might be in the area, here's the complete schedule:
SoulStice Tournee Francaise – November, 2008
Nov 19, 2008 - La Miroiterie - Paris, France Nov 20, 2008 - Le Shari Vari - Rouen, France Nov 21, 2008 - Le Caveau Jacques Higelin - Villefranche, France Nov 22, 2008 - L'Assomoir - Saint Etienne, France Nov 24, 2008 - Buddy Burd - Lyon, France Nov 25, 2008 - Le Lounge Marseille, France Nov 26, 2008 - Tapacos (Chez Zoo)- Montelimar, France Nov 27, 2008 - The Sugar Factory - Leidseplein, Amsterdam Nov 29, 2008 - La Bellevilloise - Paris, France
I'll let you know how it turns out, see you on the flip!
Editorials & Columns Soulstice From France Blog #3: Day 4 Embarking on a 9-show winter tour in Europe, one of my goals was just making it through the tour without getting sick. ... full story
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