Canada, the sunshine coast and back again...

OK, I am finally home from the tour. I've been back less than 24 hours, my phone has been ringing off the hook and I am offically pooped!

Shambhala was an amazing festival! The music was incredible and the overall vibe was very special. Evan Bluetech asked me to join him on stage for two sets. We played a sunrise set and an early morning set to close the festival.

After the festival my friend Grig and I headed to the sunshine coast. It was so beautiful there. I really love Canada and can't wait to head back and see more of it.

One gig down two more to go...

So Steve and I played the Supperclub Wednesday night. It was a really good show but there was some juju with my first set. Somehow both my violin and cello were not going through the main system. They were set on two different channels and neither of them worked. We had to stop the music and I had to fix everything and then re-do our first set.

The Supperclub likes the musicians to do two different sets and only 15 minutes long. Each set is done with a course of the meal and then a DJ plays the rest of the night. People really enjoyed the music and we had an entire group in the audience clapping and dancing to the music. It was a nice shift from playing in San Francisco where people just stare at the stage. In all honesty, I really like playing two short sets. It keeps people interested in the music and you have the full attention of the audience for the time that you perform.

Tonight I play at Nomads which is a restaurant owned by the Supperclub and then tomorrow I play the Supperclub Cruise. It will be an interesting night because Saturday is Gay Pride in Amsterdam so the streets will be filled with thousands of people.

Amsterdam

So here I am in Amsterdam. It is unseasonably cold and wet. The rain just came in and it's 15C. When I left Croatia it was about 40C. It's nice to not be so hot but it is a big shift in weather.

When I got here yesterday Zjef from the SupperClub emailed me and asked me to play tonight so Steve and I will head down to the club a little early, get a meal and do soundcheck. It's nice that it worked out this way. Now I have my rides to and from the airport covered in expenses and the rest will be play money for Amsterdam. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to take some extra cash home with me. Not bad for my first European tour. :)

The last time I was here in Amsterdam, I got to see a lot of the city so this time I plan on checking out some museums. I've been wanting to see the Van Gough museum, so I think I will go there tomorrow. Sadly, I only have one day of sight seeing in Amsterdam and the rest of the time I will be doing gigs. Hopfully after my show tonight, I will be able to make it to see a live band play. The bands name is Plastik and they are a live broken beat/hip-hop group that has a live drummer and singer. It would be nice to check out as much live music as I can while I'm here.

The next adventure...

So here I am drinking my cappuccino waiting at the airport for the next adventure. Croatia has been so good to me. I did three full sets at the festival and they all went really well. Several of the DJ’s ended up spinning my record throughout the festival and it felt so good to have my music so well received. I can’t wait to come back next year to play the same festival. The people were so welcoming and helpful. They paid me well, feed me, gave me a room and filled my heart with joy. This tour was just what the doctor ordered. So far I have walked away with dozens of new contacts to record labels, a new booking agent who will help me book shows around the world, several new friends and the highest spirit I’ve been in for months.

I am very excited about Amsterdam as well. It’s been two years since I was there and the last time I was there I didn’t want to leave.

In some ways, it’s good that I lost my job. Now I can be free to travel the world. When I return from Amsterdam, I am booked to perform at the Shambalah festival in Canada and then I go to Burning Man. As they say when one door closes another one opens. I am very excited about having this chance to travel. It’s what I have always wanted to do but I was never sure that everything would work out. So I guess this blog maybe a long journal that lasts a few years. :)

So, here are the pictures I was promising. There will be more to come of the festival and also of Amsterdam. :)

Tales of the tour pictures