3000 year old city...

OK, I am in love with Croatia. The people are so amazing and the country is just as wonderful.

Pula is a 3000 year old city. You can just see all the history in the town. The festival is at an old military base. I can not begin to explain how amazing it is to be in a place that once endured war and now there are thousands of young people dancing and enjoying themselves. There is such a sense of community amongst all the people as well. It is such a different vibe than the festivals in the states.

I have never been so taken care of. The promoters have rented three apartments that house all of the international artists. There are some of the top electronic music producers in Europe staying there. Yesterday several performers arrived from Germany, France, Italy and Sweden.

I was also asked to open the festival on the main stage which is one of the greatest honors. The President of the Croatian parliament was there and I played to a happy dancing crowd of several hundreds of people. I also did a set today and will do one more tomorrow with Bluetech.

Spending this time with Bluetech has been amazing as well. He has become one of my closest new friends and I feel very fortunate to have had this chance to play with him half way across the world. We also are planning an album when we both return from Europe.

I have tons of pictures and video to upload but I might not be able to do that until I get to Amsterdam.

Croatia!

Well, I have finally made it to beautiful Pula Croatia. Three days later several hundreds of dollars down from London, a missed plane flight and a five hour car ride from Venice Italy.

I arrived in London hassle free, got a great room in Hyde park and spent way too much money. I was 5 minutes late and missed my plane to Trieste. The next flight was not until the following day so I decided to fly to Venice because I knew I had to get out of London. Everything there is SO expensive. A meal and two drinks was $60. The airline charged me almost $200 for my cello and baggage. Luckily I can get reimbursed from the festival.

What a crazy mess missing my flight became. Dovla and Zrinka came to pick me up in Trieste but I wasnt there so they freaked out and eventually got an email from me that I was in Venice. Luckily they were very wonderful and patient. They drove two more hours to Venice to get me and we made it back into Croatia late last night. For us in America a 3 hour dirve is nothing. In Europe you pass through three countires and it is considered a long long way.

Everyone at the festival is so nice. I have never felt so welcomed. They rented a room for Bluetech and I in the town of Pula. Everyone has been so helpful and friendly. I was even asked to open the festival on the main stage! Luckily Bluetech and I have some cool ideas together so we are going to do two sets together. One will be my solo set and the other will be an improv set. I am really looking forward to seeing how my music goes over with the locals here.

There are also some great artists from all over Europe including Germany, all of Eastern Europe, Holland and more.


Zrinka in the long car ride from Venice, Italy.

The beginning of the adventure

Well here we go. Another tour, a new blog and a new adventure. In five hours and forty five minutes I will be on a plane to Europe. I am incredibly anxious. So far this trip has started with a lot of trouble. I lost my job at Digidesign and am very bummed out. In some ways I'm excited because this will be a new open door for me to step through. It's time now for me to work for myself and no one else!

So, onward with the journey. I start here in SF - Boston, USA - London, UK - Trieste, Italy - Pula, Croatia - Amsterdam, NL - London, UK - NYC - and back home.

Lot's of gear and things to carry. A cello, laptop, violin and a suitcase full of cables and gear. I just hope the cello makes it in one piece. The festival I am playing at is in Pula Croatia and I'm not sure if there will be a good Luthier there.

I will try to write more once I get to London.