One Week Later

Pics: Antwerpen State Prison show, prisonyard soccer no-no, Cowlick's farewell shot.

Back home now for a week, and I think I've cleared the second hand smoke out of my lungs, pores, hair, and clothes . . . What an experience this tour was. And I appreciate everyone's interest in my bloggings (is that a word?). For that matter, thank you to all friends, family members, and music colleagues for your encouragement in my multifarious music adventures over the years!

Our Antwerpen State Prison show was outrageous . . . really, to the point where we thought the authorities might not release us after the show because we nearly insighted a riot. In addition to Cowlick's originals, we played a bunch of covers Cowlick's style, moving from Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," to Sabbath's "Paranoid," to Petty's "American Girl," the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" (not really an option the prisoner's have), Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me," the inmates knew words, sang them loudly, while the female inmates in the back row nearly strip-teased, much to the other prisoner's delight. It was out of hand, then we played Prince's "Purple Rain" and, well, that's when we were getting serious about our exit strategy. They loved it all, and wanted all of Belgium to know it. I'll never forget that show. Look out Pelican Bay, here come the Cowlicks!

Antwerpen State Prison is a Class 1 prison, and most prisoners are awaiting trial. It was serious high security, encased in a very old brick compound in the middle of Antwerpen. While loading in, my eye caught a soccer ball stuck in the razor wire -- some unlucky inmate must've shanked that shot during their prisonyard game -- I wonder if he still has both legs . . . The brief discussion about the facility with the Warden was extremely interesting. He loves his job. We love ours, too . . . that is as long as we can come and go from places like that freely.

So many images, memories, sounds, and even tastes and smells left with me from this tour. I'll have fond memories of this first foray into Belgium with the Cowlicks. I was left with the general impression that the Belgians take their music appreciation seriously and, like their beer, they let you know when it's good and demand more and more until the tap has run dry. Encores were requested at every show and we were happy to oblige to keep the vibe rolling. It's not every year you find yourself playing music every night two weeks straight for rooms packed with happy cheering Belgians . . . or is it?

Thanks for reading along!

KEVIN

One Drummer's Perspective

Just as I'm getting used to a few things here -- the network of forested running trails near the house, the co-ed bathroom situation at the clubs where women walk past men at the urinals, sleeping from 3 to 10:00 a.m., the absence of SUVs on the road (gas is approx. $6 per gallon here) -- we have to leave. Today is our last day. Two shows, first at the Antwerpen State Prison, then in Goes, Netherlands. It's been a fun experience and again I'd like to thank my wife Karen for holding down the fort while I'm gone. Despite the fun, I'm looking forward to returning home.

The last few days took us to St. Niklaas, Turnhout, and Herenthout, Belgium, a couple other small towns, another prison, and Enschede, Netherlands. The pics of the perspective from behind the drumset has been my perspective for over 30 hours of performance on this tour. At an average tempo of 120 beats per minute, I've slammed the backbeat on my snaredrum over 100,000 times, and that's not counting all the grace note subdivisions or fills. Constant motion is my norm. I can't say my arms didn't get a workout.

I also want to thank Todd and Mike from the Cowlicks for asking me to join them on this tour. Todd, Mike, Josh and I had some great moments, musically on stage and just hanging out off stage. Music is a team endeavor, and it has been smooth and fun with these guys. And all the appreciative listeners in Belgium and the Netherlands were a great bonus.

I'll try to do a final wrap-up once back home. See ya.

"We want more, we want more!"

I've taken up smoking . . . involuntarily, and it's free! Actually, starting in January 2007, smoking in bars and restaurants in Belgium will be prohibited. I imagine that's some high-impact legislation for a country where it seems like most people smoke. Anyways, I'm feeling, smelling, even tasting the second hand smoke . . . It's OK though, for soon I'll be back in California.

This week's shows took us to Leuven Monday night, a picturesque university town, a small village of 3,000 people called Ottenberg on Halloween, then two shows on Wednesday -- Turnhout and Niklaas. The show in Ottenberg stands out from the others. Folks came from all over to join us in this village's main venue, a fancy barn-like setting, packed with people celebrating the fact they didn't have to work the next day, and very enthusiastic about the music, erupting in a chant of "We want more, we want more" to get an encore.

We've played to some big crowds and some small crowds, and all have been very attentive to and appreciative of the music, which has been great. The added bonus has been the beautiful locations, architecture, and finer details (did I mention Belgian beer yet?) of the venues.

Mike and I trained into Antwerp one day and explored around, and today Josh and I trained to Brussels for the day, back by 6:00 p.m. for pick up for tonight's show (insert sound of whip cracking here). In Brussels we did a fairly thorough walk from Central Station to Le Grand Place (accidentally ending up in a museum with a public health exhibit about syphillis, complete with graphic models), then over to the Musical Instrument Museum, up past the Royal Palace, a couple large parks and through the EU district. The US Embassy was heavily enforced, but I won't digress into an international relations diatribe here, for fear this blog is bugged. Impressive architecture and big city vibe, very different from the country village vibe we've been experiencing alot.

Right now the band is relaxing in the upstairs loft above tonight's venue, the Crossroads, which is indeed at a crossroads somewhere in the Belgian countryside. I'm starting to lose track of locations. That's all for now. More to come. Unless I hear from you that this blog couldn't get much more boring . . .

The pics are of African Drums from the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, the Belgian Moon on Halloween night, and a back alley scene in Antwerpen.

Village to Village

We brought the California sunshine with us, and it lasted for two days, the first being the hotest day ever in Belgium this time of year. Then, as we adjusted to Belgium time, the weather adjusted too -- overcast, drizzly, puffius maximus clouds, but yet all still beautiful.

5 shows down, 9 more to go, 14 shows total in 11 days. While it is challenging for us to take in the traditional tourist sights because of our busy schedule, the silver lining is that every night we meet dozens of locals in their own town, their own element, helping to color their own local color by providing entertainment for them. Just tonight, a pleasant older man thanked us for "making his Sunday." So we'll see some sights, take in some history, but what we'll remember years from now will be the incredible Belgians we've met and the small towns in which they live.

Our first show was at Cul de Sac in Tilburg, Netherlands. Packed with an enthusiastic young crowd, it was a fun kick-off to the tour and ended with out-of-control dancers knocking gear over on stage. The next night was in Eeklo, Be at N9. A great club, stage and sound system, with a deep history of hundreds of international acts. The third day took us to another small village called Zottegen. We played at De Blauwe Wolk -- small room, but great sound and very enthusiastic crowd that demanded several encores. Two shows on Sunday, first in a village of 10,000 called Bonheiden, followed by Kid's Rhythm and Blues Kaffe in Antwerpen, which brought on more gear-smashing dancers. A busy day but fun through and through. Word is spreading from a handful of locals that Tuesday night's Halloween show in Ottenburg is going to be crazy, partly because Wednesday is a Belgium holiday, Day of the Dead equivalent, so noone has to work.

Did I mention that every beer I've tasted so far has been unbelievable? That's one difference from the U.S. Some others are, for example, public vending machines (such as in the center square in Lickstaat, the village we're staying in) that sell beer, candy, and condoms. Then there's the cigarette smoke in restaurants and clubs . . .

On sunday I was able to bike to the next village to check out their huge Pumpkin Festival -- apparently folks come from all over Belgium, Holland and even Germany to celebrate, drink pumpkin beer (sold by none other than the Belgian Girl Scouts to raise money), and see who wins the largest pumpkin award. Our host entered the contest with an approximately 800-900 pounder.

The pics are of Cul de Sac in Tilburg, the countryside around Lichtaart, and the Legend of Brabo statue in Antwerpen Old City Center in front of the Town Hall. This statue depicts how Antwerpen got its name -- There used to be a giant that guarded the river and collected toll from every ship until Brabo slayed him, cutting off his hand and throwing it in the river -- Hand Werpen (hand throwing) became Antwerpen.

Getting To Belgium

Pics: Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, The Band House in Lichtaart

J'aime Air France! I was a bit worried about enduring the 11 hour flight, but all went smoothly, although sans sleep. Two meals and some complimentary vin rouge didn't hurt. The X-men movie about mutants was ridiculous, but the Grisham book I picked up, The Runaway Jury, is good, as is the Lonely Planet's Belgium Guide and, when I'm more alert, Guns, Germs, and Steel. We're waiting in Charles de Gaulle, Paris, airport now, passing time until our train to Brussels rolls. It's a high speeder, rolls over 100 mph northbound through French countryside into Belgium. The adventure has begun, with really, at this point, no telling what surprises may lie around the corner, what version of an Iconoclastic Fury (the name given to the 1566 Protestant-Catholic clash and massacre under King Philip II) the Cowlicks my inflict on Belgium.

After 18 hours we arrived at our band house near Herentals, following two trains, the high speed from Paris to Brussels, then the local commute train from Brussels to Herentals. We were like the tourists with luggage you laugh at riding BART or CalTrain during rush hour in the Bay Area. Standing with our gear on the train, waiting for the door to open at our stop, wondering why it wasn't opening, weary of 18 hours of travel, until someone tells us you have to push the button to open the door . . . ah, a "special kinda dumb" as Josh likes to say about the Cowlicks finding their way through Flemish speaking Belgium.

Tonight's our first show -- Tilburg, Holland. The basic itenerary is our tour van and driver will pick us up each evening here at the house, head to the show, then return at night. Daytimes we can adventure around via bike or train, exploring Belgium. Apparently the Blasters did this tour last year and stayed here at the Tour House as well.

I'd like to especially thank Karen for her support at home while I adventure abroad!

Hukilau Wrap-up, On To Belgium!

Hey All! Sorry for the delay in following up with details about Ape’s show with Billy Mure Friday night at the Hukilau in Florida a week ago. After a searing pure Ape set, Billy came up and we launched into Supersonic with him, which, believe it or not, he’s never performed live. His career was focused on writing, arranging, and recording in the studio and he never took a band on the road. Well, from what I was told, he had a grin from ear to ear the whole set sitting up in the middle of the stage with Ape surrounding him, rockin’ his songs like he’s probably never heard them before. Several folks filmed the show, so we look forward to the footage. The whole night was a pleasant surprise, a great time and adventure, including late night jecuzzi bronco ridin’ on an empty cooler . . .

Some beach time on Saturday, then an acoustic Ape set at the Mai Kai at night, followed by an unbelievable dinner and several other bands. Ape was happy to perform for all the Hukilau goers from around the country, many whom had never seen us live before, and we met so many nice folks . . . Thanks!

On To Belgium!

Launching to Belgium with the Cowlicks on Tuesday, 10/24. Here’s our tour schedule. E-mail your Euro friends and tell them to rail to Belgium or Holland for one of these shows! The details are fuzzy, even to us, so we’ll be keeping in touch as we learn more.

Oct. 26 Tilberg, Holland at Cul de Sac
Oct. 27 Eeklo, Belgium at N9
Oct. 28 Gierle, Belgium at JH Hoekske
Oct. 29 Bonheiden, Belgium at Den Bromfiets and Turnhout, Belgium at Wir War
Oct. 30 Leuven, Belgium at Blauwe Kater
Oct. 31 Ottenburg, Belgium at Het Zevende Zegel bij de Wimme
Nov. 1 St. Niklaas, Belgium at Hemelrijk
Nov. 2 Arnedonk, Belgium at Stekske
Nov. 3 Enschede, Holland at NIXX Blues Club
Nov. 4 St. Lenaerts, Belgium at Willem Tell Blues Club
Nov. 5 Antwerpen, Belgium at State Prison and Goes, Holland at De Pompe

Hukilau Adventure #1

Hey all! Travelling for music is always filled with surprises, some better than others, an adventure through new places and people, stages and sound systems, restaurants and hotel rooms. I try to keep that perspective so the bummers don't seem so bad and the good surprises seem great.

Day #1 at Hikilau in Ft. Lauderdale was filled with good surprises. First we rehearsed, acoustic style (I played only my log drum and cowbell), with Billy Mure in a hotel room and heard some incredible stories from him about his music career with RCA and other labels in NYC. He's a great talker, and an even better player! Again, check out the Billy Mure link in my previous post to read all about him.

Next, we ventured to the famous Mai Kai restaurant, effectively a Polynesian time/transport machine, for a back room tour with mangaer Kern (thanks, Kern!). Kern's uncle built the Mai Kai, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, and collected unbelievable artifacts to decorate the place -- tikis, weapons, even real shrunken heads! Following a toast with a delicious 18 year old rum in his private office/artifact museum, and a tour through the garden, we took in the Mai Kai's authentic Polynesia show. Having had no sleep from the redeye flight the night before made for a surreal adventure at the Mai Kai that I'll remember fondly.

Welcome!

Hi All! I thought an on-line journal would be a fun way to keep folks updated about my upcoming music travels to Florida with Ape and to Belgium with The Cowlicks. I'll post updates from the road and will look forward to reading any comments you might have. Please contribute!

I redeye tomorrow night to Florida for Ape's appearance at the 2006 Hukilau Tiki Festival at the famous Mai Kai Hotel, celebrating its 50th anniversary. We're headlining the Friday night show and special guest Billy Mure will be sitting in with Ape for a smokin' set of Billy's songs/arrangments from his heyday. Billy is 92 years old now and I hear he still sounds supersonic! Check this link to learn more about Billy:

http://www.spaceagepop.com/mure.htm

For more about the Hukilau, visit http://www.thehukilau.com.

See the Ape link to the right to learn more about Ape.

The Cowlicks tour to Belgium is late October/early November, so more to come about that. Check the Cowlicks link to the right for tour dates and locations.