1.31.2005
RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET
I am on board the mega ferry, crossing from Helsinki to Stockholm, having (as recently as 12 hours ago!) rounded out another visit to that most extraordinarily KS-welcoming zone (well, probably they are just as friendly to everyone, but I certainly feel special there!)…Finland…I had the pleasure to spend two days there…and made the most of it…I played one concert with REM, saw two others, the Thrills and a living dead pile of pirate corpses known as Hanoi Rocks...both of the latter were witnessed at Tavastia, wherein I had such a transcendent musical night last month as to leave me boggled permanently…I ran into many fans who had seen the show, and was given some magazines with live reviews…that I can’t read…but…all in all, that night still rings in my head as one of the highlights of my musical life.
Also, during my visit I spent an hour or so in the living room of Lasse K., of Lemonator (who have just released a Best of called “Yesterday Was Good” on Universal Finland that includes the track “the Killer” I sang on) and my friend Markus, singing on a track for Markus’ thang, the Latebirds…I did whatever damage I could do in the time given…anyway, it was a great visit and I saw many bits of KS press with good (great, even) reviews and year end lists with Soft Commands….usw.
The days before Helsinki now seem VERY much a long time ago…there was some bar-hopping in Prague, which turns out to be pretty damn quiet on a Sunday night…a flight to Riga and exploration of the lovely home town of Brainstorm, with whom we have been on tour for the last couple of weeks. We were hosted at what is certainly the top restaurant or close to it in Riga, Vincent’s, in a welcome-to-our-town meal that was organized by the Brainstorm members, who, sadly had to be toasted in absentia as their bus had to pause in Warsaw to replace a mysteriously exploded window…we managed to find our way around town alright…a few shuddery shots of Riga Balsam and I was later found face down in the snow in a churchyard…seeking amnesty, I suppose.
Perhaps the most picturesque city we have visited on this tour was Tallinn, which looked a lot cheerier, cleaner, prosperous, etc. than when I visited there (with Lasse from Lemonator, no less) in 1996. The old center, which had received a generous helping of snow, is all eat up with quaint, and some fresh coats of paint. Kudos to the Three Sisters Hotel, which I unfortunately could only visit from 6am to 4pm the day of our show, but which wins my vote as my favorite hotel of the tour thus far…and REM always stays in the top hotel in town, so this is a well-researched and significant kudo! In fact, I think there is the head of a kudo on the wall in the Grand Palace Hotel bar in Riga…or is it a kudu…but isn’t a kudu the disease one gets from eating human brains…mad dude disease, or some such thing…
Ahem.
From Tallinn we had very much an adventure trying to make our show happen in St. Petersburg, unsuccessfully in the final analysis--
From remhq:
"After a great night in Tallinn and an all-night journey to St Petersburg in wintry conditions, R.E.M greatly regrets having to cancel the show tonight in St Petersburg. Lengthy delays at the Estonia/Russia border caused our trucks, crew, and gear (sound, lights, instruments, and so forth) to arrive too late to mount the show.
This is the first time since the widely-chronicled 1995 tour that R.E.M. has had to cancel a show, and it is a major disappointment for the band not to be playing this particular city. As Michael and the band told some Russian journalists at the hotel this afternoon, we are obviously sorry for all of the inconvenience this has caused for people who were planning to be there."
…suffice to say, my first visit to Russia was essentially just passin’ thru, stopping long enough to have a few pancakes and purchase a furry hat. Oh, and spend about 5 hours at various border checkpoints.
On to Sweden, always homey for KS as well…as we bounce over the slushy grey Baltic swells.
Love
KS
Viking Line, Gulf of Bothnia
1.23.2005
EAST OF ETON
Not that it rhymes, but...
I have found something: I love the East of Europe. It is surmised that I have blood of Czech (bohemian, they rhapsodize) origin in my veins, among other things...but even tho' i hate the cold...I love the warmth of the people I have been meeting from Ljubjana on down. Unfortunately my enjoyment of these places has been slightly dampened by a nasty cold that has been chewing on my lungs since Milan, but I have managed to get out and walk at least a little bit in these cities...in Ljubjana I hiked up to the castle on the hill, where one can view this jewel of a city...there are 3 bridges within about 20 yards of each other, like touching each other....I guess traffic was pretty bad in the 1800s there...in Zagreb, I had a delegation of REM fans (thank you Jo, Matea and sis of Matea!) to show me the town in daylight (Zagreb is also centered around an unassailable mount--methink there has been some hackin' and slicin' going on since the early days...)
By the time we arrived in Belgrade I was feeling well enough to meet up with my email friend, Popism Radio's Goran Obradovic (who gave me a CD of his band Popcycle, which is excellent!!) and then visit the legendary B92 radio, where I discovered there are Posies and Ken Stringfellow fans in place...outstanding! I did a brief interview but unfortunately I had to decline an offer to perform on air, as I was still afflicted with a deep cough. The next day I visited Radio 94.9 which is part of a group of stations nestled in the top floor Belgrade's highest building...think of the J.G. Ballard novel 'High Rise' meets the set of 'Alien' ... the director and I had a long chat, and he played me some tunes on his amazing speakers made by the in-house engineer in some previous decade. I did a brief on air chat and then lunched with Ivan and Svetlana from the station and Cepa from B92--who also took me out to a wonderful Serbian dinner that night. All in all, I was overwhelmed by the hospitality and musical savvy of all the people I spent time with there. I hope to bring the Posies/me there this year....
Budapest I was more or less resting after going for it (i.e., getting out of bed) in Belgrade...and I slept in til 2 today in Prague...i hope to get over this feeling of my head being stuffed with old socks soon.
this was written quickly on a laptop borrowed from Mike Mills--much thanks
Get well soon Bob Weber
Love
KS
Prague
1.17.2005
TWO WEEK TO WEEK TOO WEEK
Whereas I cannot say that there has been much news of a Ken Stringfellow content-bearing variety, I can say that the REM tour has been marvelous...I think every show has been sold out so far--and the audiences being as enthusiastic as they have been have made playing at a very high level not very difficult to achieve. They act like a kind of safety net...you know you could fall and be forgiven, so you relax enough that falling doesn't occur. But 'falling' musically is generally not as dramatic as someone slipping off the high wire...generally mediocrity is a fungus that grows on some moldering psyche, by the time you've discovered it you've already been consumed. No threat of it taking hold on the 6 of us in the REM band anytime that I can imagine.
We visited Marseille, the second largest city in my adopted country, where I had never been before...we wound thru many mountains in Italy and Switzerland...Milan was a fabulous show, and I have to give a shout out to Roberto and Roberta, for providing enough hospitality to kill any man, and for making sure I didn't end up face down in the gutter as a result...I revisted the venue from the KS tour, La Casa 139, two nights in a row (the aforementioned Roberto is the proprietor) and on weekend nights as it turns out it is a roiling scene with DJs and sweaty walls...and an excellent, helpful staff. Argh!
And now we face the uncharted (for me) lands of eastern europe...I am sure to be discovering many sights and faces...and avoiding grappa-like beverages at all costs. Eastward, ye!
Love
KS
Ljubjana
1.09.2005
IF YOU LOOK YOU CAN SEE MY UNDERWAY
REM tour began Friday in Lisbon, where we spent a week rehearsing, it was great to get to know the city...I love a place that's sunny all the time and has a rock audience that tends to go apeshit on cue...but then again, that could describe all of Spain as well (well, it's not always sunny in Galicia, is it??)In any case, we can conclude that playing music on the Iberian peninsula is a craft rewarded with love...fervently! Also, my friend Rafaela was kind enough to show Dominique and I the sights--thank you...Lisbon was followed by an outstanding night in Madrid, with an intense, sold-out crowd. In Barcelona's main newspaper this weekend an article I wrote detailing the history of me being a fan of REM appeared--a full page piece with color photos...I am honored to be officially translated into another language for publication...I can say on my next CD sleeve 'Ken Stringfellow has been translated into over 1 language'...only if you count the fact that I have been translated into Canadian.
This week on Itunes Universal Music will offer a sampler of their download-only artists, a bunch of tracks for the price of one track, including one of the songs from the KS-WaFlash EP. It will be available starting Tuesday January 11.
Love
KS
Barcelona
1.03.2005
AND THUS IT BEGINS
A new year is born...unfortunately, it begins with the aftermath of the death and destruction of the the Indian OCean tsunami...amazingly, any friends that I know of in the region appear to have been spared but seeing the anguish, confusion and grief has been affecting me at all hours...it's hard to watch and impossible not to watch the coverage...and of course, whether you knew anyone or not in the area, this is something with impact that affects everyone..whether they acknowledge it or not. As for me...I donated some $ to www.nwmedicalteams.org/ and also my show in Madrid was a benefit for Oxfam. In any case, an event like this would be a worthy test to see if your rusty heart still has functioning gears...timed with the New Year's opportunity for reflection...this is an opportunity that arrived wrapped in a tragedy. I leave the interpretations for you to conclude.
In line with tradition
Valencia, 12/28
There I was, up at the crack of dawn again...(I thought being home with a baby was when you were supposed to be going for days without sleep?)...flew into Valencia to find that I had actually *dreamt*, in between snooze buttons, that I had packed my sunglasses in lieu of actually doing so. This day I spent in the dark hotel room watching CNN, as the tsunami reportage was really only just beginning to hint at the magnitude of the disaster (in fact, relatively little was known until about a week had gone by). I found a curious bar/cafeteria that would make an outstanding TV series' setting, and in the evening sometime, made my way to Sala Matisse. Very similar in appearance externally to, and just a few meters down the road from, Wah Wah, the club I was originally rumored to play (I guess even the promoters can't tell them apart?) and where I opened for White Flag in early 2003...the christmas break had given me just enough rust that I can't say this was a spectacular show, but it was more confident than say, Paris, by about, oh, 15 shows' worth. There were some good bits. Folks shied away from 'meet the audience' tho'. OK, scratch that from the act in Spain!
Barcelona, 12/29
A lovely evening, I knew it was going to be good from the moment I opened the tiny door that opened directly onto the stage from the dressing room, and saw the place packed with friendly faces...nothing wrong with this gig...and thus I celebrated by staying out til 8am...rumors abound, none *exactly* true.
Madrid 12/30
This is another show impossible to describe. A night of intense passion, joy and effortless musicality...one of the mysterious synergies that seem to bubble up under me whenver and with whomever I play Madrid. A packed house, my compatrtiots McCaughey and Mills, the familiar-as-my-living-room-if-not-more-so environment of Moby Dick, and that thing that I can't explain but would never dare question that happens in Madrid, that I just end up playing I think better than I thought I was capable of...I can give credit to the people of Madrid, and perhaps the ghosts that underneath that city stir...but what a collision...bravo
I spent New Year's Eve at home with the girls and massive Cote Rotie...and after some travel shenanigans, find myself in Lisbon, ready to undertake the REM tour of Europe and parts very south and very east....
In other words, see you soon comme d'habitude
KS
Lisbon PORT.
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