Peter Pricken
There is a funny smoke that hangs in the air in Amsterdam music clubs. Last Friday night, we played until 2 a.m. and could barely drive home. Jur, the Maloe Malo club owner, got up and played accordion and we had fun just getting silly and playing about every song we knew. Very fun.
On Saturday, we drove back to Dortmund, Germany to play a club called Subrosa. There was amazing local beer, and we were lucky enough to hit town when the local football (soccer) team was playing and winning, so the joint was packed and ready to whoop it up. We also got our butts kicked in table foosball by two nice local girls.
Things got a little more serious yesterday as we played the NPS Studio 6 radio show. This is a nationally broadcast radio show, similar to our NPR. These types of gigs are pretty nerve-wracking, as it's a live radio broadcast and you have very little sound control. Luckily it all came off sounding well and they gave us a CD of the show, not to mention two bottles of wine.
Here are some final thoughts on Europe. Artists are treated very well here, just like any other person with a skill/trade to offer. In America, I have often felt like a fringe/gypsy group when trying to make a living via music. The beer is also better -- and Wisconsin beer is the best I've had in the U.S. -- but it's amazing here. There's also too much smoke for me here, so I'm looking forward to Madison's clean air. I also like the fast highway driving ...a lot.
That's about it. I should plug a couple upcoming things back in the U.S. My new CD is being featured this Sunday, Apr. 14 on Rob Reinhart's
