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.