Urban Voodoo Motorist

Next day we wandered with our host Reto across the Thun christmas market where we found among other things a donkey singing C & W songs. Which was obviously a highlight on this tour for Clark Nova.

Clark & Reto. You can see the donkey right behind Clark.

I bought a pair of smoked Swiss sausages and decorated my rearview mirror with them knowing I wouldn't have a lot of company on the way to the UK.

My new Swiss friends.

Feels as if this tour is now turning into a very urban voodoo motorist thing. Or how would you describe someone living more or less in a car, decorating it with pieces of meat as for to have someone to talk to and just get's of the vehicle to play songs nobody knows but him?










The duo gig with cello player Tobias at the arts gallery in Bruehl went down nicely but the whole scenery was sort of surreal to say the least. Right outside the door there was a traditional christmas market with all the features a christmas market usually has, inside the gallery mulled wine was served and the exhibition was, well, contrasting this all. Photographies of naked elderly and fat people in bondage, s&m gear, the whole lot, well, you name it. This with us two providing an almost

Tobias Stutz soundchecking in Bruehl.

chamber music style soundtrack to the scenery was for sure different to the usual shows I play.

Leaving Cologne early, cruisin through Belgium in snow storms, arrive in Dunkerque and off to Blighty. Will I manage with driving? Not too much choice, eh?

Found myself in Dover, slightly confused by a satnav that guided me almost to Canterbury before finally finding Barry's house. Barry booked me up a couple of times at his regular "Big Untidy" nights at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading, and now was my host and promoter for this first ever Maekkelae gig in Kent. On top of that he guested as my percussionist (well done, Barry! Honestly!). Place was a pub named The Louis Armstrong and as you might guess a pretty jazz focussed place. I had two slots during the regular monthly night of Zen Bicycle, a Dover based free form Jazz trio.
They were brillant (and i assume they're always), fantastic players and lovely blokes. Definitely a good one to start with. Next morning Barry took me down to the local community radio (DCR) he's involved in building up. Had a little live set and interview there of which you can see one song on Facebook. Must not forget to mention that Barry is quite good at making curries. Yummy.
A great surprise - really, it was like christmas - was the fact that a box with the cassette release from Stourbridge had arrived. What a beauty! Thanks Armed Within Movement Records! Will be hard to sell them. Want to keep 'em all.
  
3 December. Supposed to play the 12 Bar together with Janne Westerlund tonight. The first of five shows we're going to do together from today on. Drove up to St Albans, dropped my stuff at Grae's place there, got on the train down to London. The 12 Bar is on good old Denmark Street and like always I can't resist having a look at the vintage guitar shops and like always I wonder who for chrissake would pay bloody five-and-a-half grand for a Gibson Les Paul. Anyway. Good place. Here's pop history, this being the London Tin Pan Alley in the olden days. If you get down to London - have a look at everything down there. It's not very unlikely this all will be gone in a few years time in favour of another glossy shopping mall.

I think we done pretty ok that first night and Malcolm Kaksois (who booked us there) and his friend Allan even drove us back to St Albans. Really appreciate this. What just comes to my mind is: last time I played here there were those Korean girls who wanted a photograph of me with them and promised to send it... Never happened. So if you, unknown Korean girls, read this: send me that bloody photograph! I deserve it. I don't even mind if my head's not in the picture. I know you were few inches smaller than me.



Next stop Bath. Played there once in 2001 on the first Anglo German Low Stars tour and just remember it was a really lovely old town.

YHA in Bath

As the venue there doesn't provide accomodation we booked a cheap B&B which turned out to be a lovely little, pretty old building on one of the hillsides of Bath, with us having the room right on top of the little tower, overlooking the city of Bath. You can see it. We left the light on.

Failed with sightseeing though. Arrived there just after dark and had to leave around dawn for Glasgow. The show at the Bell Inn was a good one, opening with an intense guitar & bouzouki version of Janne's "Last Of Our Days Together".

I quite liked this one...

I must not forget to mention the fantastic Chicken Vindaloo we grabbed on our way back to our night place and the funny shops we passed by...