4/29/14 day 22: Eislingen, Germany

A proper night sleep. Up before the alarm for breakfast which was fairly righteous. They even had tobasco, peanut butter, maple syrup... It was splendid.

After breakfast we all piled into the car and drove to Böblingen to pick up Peter and Emily's luggage that was stuck in the Zollamt. They were happy. They've been traveling the world for three months and were ready for a change of clothes!

Back at the hotel at 1 and met up with our awesome host Steffen. We discussed the plan for tonight's show. After that, we walked back downtown to a kebab joint and had the lunch of champions.

(Döner. This one was pretty damn good)

After lunch was nap time and then at 430 we met in the lobby and drove the 5km to Radio FIPS in Göppingen. Felt good to be back! Radio FIPS is an internet radio station with a couple studios and a little performance space where they do occasional shows.

Show time was at 9pm and was standing room only (roughly 45 people). We had a blast playing and we have a copy of the recording which I will post so everyone can hear it. Radio FIPS will also rebroadcast the show. Check it out: www.radiofips.de.

Many thanks to Steffen and crew for having us back. We love playing for you guys!

And like every year, we signed the guest book:

Night!

4/28/14 day 21: Eislingen, Germany

Sad to leave Öblarn, Österreich today. Caught a late breakfast at the hotel. While this Inn won't win the Best Breakfast of the Year Award, I still loved  staying here. It was kind of exactly how you'd imagine it to be: a little musty, huge wooden ceiling beams, freaky boars head on the wall watching you eat, etc.

I mean, come on, Michael the owner of the Inn stood at the door and waved goodbye as we pulled out of the parking lot. So cool. Maybe he was glad to see us go?!? No way! We were all buds! Although, he was probably a little glad the American tornado had departed. With us gone, the place was basically empty. He can enjoy the pace of a slow off season. I imagine he's jammed in the summer and winter months. I definitely want to come back in the Winter!! So bad ass!

Driving in Austria is a test of will; all u really want to do is look out the window at all the beauty but no, someone has to watch the road. So many beautiful colors in the valley. Imposing cloud capped mountains. Lazy little villages. It's pretty charmed. Very excited to come back and explore more in the future.

Made it to Eislingen, Germany unscathed in about 4+ hrs. Checked into the hotel and then we all walked to dinner. There is an Italian joint about ten minutes away. Enjoyed some baked Rigitoni with ham and peas. It was perfect comfort food.  Still a little shredded from all the Austrian schnapps over the weekend (all in moderation of course and I didn't want to be rude to our gracious hosts after all...) In any case, we all decided a couple large bottles of water were in order.

(Lamest. Prost. Ever)

Had a little band meeting back at the hotel and then called it a night. Luckily, there isn't much more driving this coming week but we still have shows basically every night. Need to get a good night sleep.

Loving this tour so far. So much fun and so awesome to see this music affect so many people. I'm honored and grateful for this opportunity. Trust me, I do not take these trips or my charge as an American musical embassador for granted.

4/27/14 day 20: Öblarn

Slept in and it felt so good. When was the last time I played music until 5am? Unreal. Epic. Say no more.

I got my ass out of bed (it was technically afternoon) and met Hans our host and the band downstairs for a late breakfast of sliced bread, cheese, and salami. We then all piled in his car and switchbacked our way to his cabin in the mountains. It really reminded me of the fjords of Norway. It was at times hair raising, at times rally car-esque, but we made it. First impression, a stunner...

(That's Hans)

We got to the cabin, he lit a fire for coffee on the wood stove as we ventured into the valley for a walk. By the time we returned to the house, the water was boiling and we had coffee and nut cake in his very rustic cabin.

(This is the view from his porch)

(The coldest, finest, Austrian Spring water you've ever tasted)

There was an acoustic guitar hanging on the wall (as was a trumpet and tuba) so we started to play some songs... Fast forward two hours, the coffee and nut cake was put away, and Hans busts out the schnapps and some local beers...

(The scene at the kitchen table; coffee, nut cake, beers, schnapps, chocolate)

(Super tasty brew)

We sang Moving in Slow Motion (which was one of Hans' favorites), barrelman, here comes the sun, crumble, among many others.. It was awesome! We had visitors to the cabin too. Friends of Hans that came to the valley for the day stopped by for coffee, so there was much merriment. We sat in this perfect little wood cabin, played songs, drank schnapps, and ate cake. It was really hard to leave. We all agree it's the perfect spot for a writers retreat at some point. We all bring guitars and write in the Austrian mountains. Yup. 2015. I'm down.

After the session, we rallied back down the valley to the hotel. We were all feeling warm and fuzzy, which probably made the exceedingly fast descent bearable. We made it back to the hotel where we are dinner; I had a steak with pepper cream sauce and tater tots (apparently in Austria they are fine dining). It was delicious. We all decided to split a dessert of apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce.

(Doesn't look THAT appetizing but this was pretty tasty)

Afterwards we walked nextdoor to the venue. Hans told us he was judging a shooting contest at the venue. Of course... Totally normal...

No shit. Inside the venue a shooting range was set up and people from town would come in and compete. This is a thing. Nora the bar keep for example had like a perfect score. Nice skill to have in her profession.

(The targets were on the stage where we had just performed... So odd)

We all entered the contest which consisted of five small targets and then three small 'animal' targets; paper targets with some sort of elk or squirrel with one small white bulls eyes over the heart. It's hard to explain, just ask me when u see me..... I'll tell u all about it.

Anyway, we all entered the competition and here is the standing (out of 80 possible points)

Jeff "The Vegetarian Sniper" Vallone: 69 

Brian "The Shit Talker" Chartrand: 68

Emily "Its a Beautiful" Day: 51

Peter "Where are my Glasses?" Day: 34

Peter drew blood on his first shot; a nice little cut over his eye from the kick back of the scope. He pushed on and tried valiantly but his focus was badly bruised.

Hans (our host) shot a 70. How do u think he felt when a couple first timer Americans buzzed on his Schnapps come in and kick butt?? He was smiling but on the inside I think he was crying.

The one with the lowest score had to buy a round in the bar, so we went next door and chatted with our friends Nora and Harold.

It's been an amazing time. Austria is bomb. Can't wait to come back. And we will.

Goodnight for now.

4/26/14 day 19: Öblarn, Austria

Up and out in Schwandorf at 10:45. It was a bucolic morning but we had to get on the road if we wanted to get to Öblarn w enough time to nap.

The ride was fine save the fine for driving on the autobahn without the right sticker. Apparently, u need a sticker to drive on the highway in Austria. We stopped for coffee on the highway and a van pulled up and issued us a 120 euro fine. Now I'm wondering if I should have played dumb American but Jeff made a good point, they might have charged us more. It's hard to hate Austria when it's so stinking beautiful; it was like a scene out of the Hobbit. Snow capped mountains, little villages nestled in the hills... At one point we were driving through more

Mountains than over. It was glorious. I was pissed, but not for long. It's too fucking beautiful to be mad.

We arrived in Öblarn at about 3. Luckily the venue is right next to the hotel so we checked in and had a beer and relaxed. I had just driven another 3.5 hrs. Ich war fertig. The hotel is an old Gasthaus, the rooms are a little bit of a time warp (think Austria in the 70s) but are spacious and the clean. Very Austrian...

(Prost in Austria)

(peter in repose)

I took a nap after that. A serious nap. A nap where u wake up and don't know where u are. The guys were kind enough to let me sleep it out. I got up at 6, showered and then walked over to the venue.

The room was really nice; an old 12th century brewery with state of the art sound system with a crew of cats who knew how to run it. Everyone was extremely hospitable. Quick sound check and then we walked back next door to our hotel for dinner. I had Beef Stroganoff, Em and Peter had steak, Jeff had a local veggie dish. Dinner was off the chain. I would've taken a pic but I was so hungry it was gone in minutes.

We hit around 820. The room had 50+ people. Super attentive and super appreciative. I felt good about the show: things are coming together. The new tunes sound great and we had fun.

After an encore of Bid You Goodnight we signed CDs for about 30 mins. Next door everyone was congregating at the bar attached to the venue. We rolled over and received a standing applause as we entered. After that, we mixed it with the locals. 

(Fans from the show)

There were tables of folks who where at the show so we meeted and greeted and shared some laughs. At some point Peter and I grabbed our guitars and then from then on out it was a sing along. The entire bar was singing and we literally closed the bar down. It was epic. We sang John Denver, Beatles, Eagles, whatever. One lady had a birthday, so we sang to her. Then a couple started yodeling. It was awesome! An amazing night of music and fun and laughs. Once all the patrons left, we played for the staff; Harold and Nora. It was awesome.

(Jeff, peter and Em having a moment)

(Peter and Emily having a moment)

(This is schnapps made from a specific pine tar. I'm bringing a bottle home. That's all I know...)

Tmrw we have a night off so we are gonna check out the neighborhood and roll into the mountains for a look see. But first, Looking forward to a solid night sleep! No alarm. Gute Nacht!

4/25/14 day 18: Schwandorf, Germany

Holy long day batman.

Hit breakfast at 930. Standard fare; bread, cheese, meats, yogurt, strong coffee. We hit the road at like 1030. We had a long drive (5+ hrs) ahead of us and we all wanted a little RnR before the gig.

Everything was cool until we got outside of Stuttgart. There was a big accident on the autonbahn. Literally, traffic stopped. A chopper landed on the highway to cart some poor folks to the hospital. There was a very serious three car accident. Traffic stopped for miles. We turned the car off and stretched our legs and had a dance party.

We didn't arrive in Schwandorf which is deep in Bavaria until 5:45. From the sliver we saw, it looks like a very nice town. There is a river through town, nice little Marktplatz with restaurants...

We checked into the hotel over the hill, dropped our bags and headed directly to the venue. Felsenkeller is an old limestone, beer storage cave. It's on the side of a mountain. Very cool. Very vibey.

We had a quick sound check, and then walked back down the hill to Schmidt Bräu for dinner. Emily had Cordon Bleu, peter had schnitzel, Jeff Käse tortellini, and I had pork chops in a mushroom cream sauce. We devoured our meal in 20 minutes and had to get back to the venue for an 8pm start.

80 people jammed into the venue and vibed out with us for over two hours. Highlights were an unplugged version of Printemps à Paris, the new tune Crumble, Here Comes the Sun, and Moving in Slow Motion.

Great night. Really special. I quickly forgot how tired I was once we started playing. Music heals and I believe it.

Afterwards we chatted w the patrons and signed CDs. A local cat from the paper was there and will be writing a review of the show. He bought all the records. I think we will get high marks.

Had a proper double encore. We finished 1000 Little Pieces and the folks didn't stop clapping. We sang Bid You and then walked out of the room. They kept it going until I got up and fired a solo acoustic Blackbird across their bows. It was great. Special moment.

Now bed. Oblarn Austria tmrw. Need rest.

4/24/14 day 17: Solothurn, Switzerland

Not gonna lie, I had to peel myself out of bed for breakfast. After the gig, we ended up singing for hours in the restaurant after they closed. We played John Denver, Nirvana, Beatles... It was a little bit of a scene in the best way possible.

Made it to Solothurn by 2. Crashed in the hotel for an hour and made it to Altes Spitel by 5. Quick sound check and then dinner with the staff and the other band.

(Family style dinner including fried shrimp and calamari, bread, grilled chilled and lamb, and a potato quiche type situation, oh and wine)

(Giverny works in the club. She was there last year too. She rocks)

(Even the views from the bathroom are stunners)

We had an opening act who was awesome; Pink is the cats name. Stellar band, great songs... Like a Swiss Elvis Costello. The place was completely packed. It was an amazing show. We had Oliver, the guitar player for Pinks bad sit in on Ghosts. Great vibes. 

We love it here. Chris, Eva, Giverny, Martin all take great care of us. Wish we could stay longer!

(70 people in Alte Spital feels like msg; such a great night. Pink Pedrazzi Band)

(TSR set)

4/23/14 day 16: Herrenberg, Germany

Show day! Up for breakfast and one last rehearsal.

I napped in the afternoon to refuel the tank for the show while the others wandered. 

Met at 445 in the lobby and walked a couple blocks to the venue. It's a beautiful old church converted into a restaurant and venue. Family owned. Really amazing attention to detail; from the light fixtures to the sound system.

They served an amazing dinner at the restaurant too. Thai Chicken Curry and a an amazing desert. Half baked chocolate cake and coffee ice cream.

Had a great show. Felt really juicy and comfortable. Had a great acappella encore and signed CDs for an hour after. Once everyone had left we had an intimate sing along w Johannes the owner and his friends.  Cheers to a great night!