ORDER MY NEW 7” – OUT NOW.
This week saw the release of a new vinyl single, a split with French songwriter Luis Francesco Arena. I cover his song “Waterlilies and Creatures” and he covers my song “The Lovers Hymn”. You can order it
here. Mind you--this is in French, and they don't have a link for shipping to the US, but you can drop them an email also via the link above, and get it sorted. The single is limited to 500 copies.
The week started with me up to my bloody elbows in the birthing process of the Cosmopolitants record. The last night, I started mixing the last song at about 2.30am, and finished it at 8. It was sounding pretty amazing at that hour…who knows what condition my perception was in at that point, but the studio people were all rocking out with me…also delirious and prob. hoping I would be satisfied enough to leave! They told us that Carlos Ann, an artist who co-owns the studio, was starting a session that morning at 8 and we had to be finished by then. In my state I grimly accepted the challenge…and then thought, what kind of musician, especially Spanish, is starting work at 8am? There’s no way this guy has even left the last bar he was in at that hour. But, I was in no position to argue. Surreally, in the last night, I was photographed and interviewed for a feature in the very slick and hip H magazine. I can’t imagine what state I was in.
I came out of the studio onto Gran Via at 8.15 or so on Tuesday morning. It was a gorgeous morning—amplified by the psychedelia of sleeplessness. It was already becoming light, with black trees making a pattern of cracks in the blue sky. I cabbed back to Natxo’s flat and crashed for a couple of hours, and then Jonat from the band picked me up—I gave him the hard drive and he gave me a ride to the airport. The day became as hot and sunny as any summer day.
I spent the few days at home recuperating, and reconnecting with my family. Last week we had Valentine’s Day, and Dom surprised me with our destination—it was
Dans Le Noir, in which the patrons dine in total darkness. Hilarity ensues. Actually, what ensued, once the initial panic subsided, was a renewed appreciation for the gift of sight, and a reevaluation of our connection with our senses, with food, with the person across from me (Dom and I touched noses and hands throughout the evening).
ESSEN 2/16
I was up at 5am. Or so. The night before was unusual in that Dom was out of town, so it was me, Dom’s mom, and Aden. Dom’s mom is very kind and made my favorite of her recipes, lapin moutarde. I went to the cinema, to see the excellent film The Last King of Scotland. I played (and played pretty well, considering the considerable rust) tennis with Remi (Cheap Star). And went to bed, but not sleep, at about midnight. So, 5 came up pretty quick-like. I tiptoed around the flat getting ready. A cab had been ordered the night before so I dragged my stuff downstairs at 6.15 and headed to Orly. Still completely dark outside.
The flight from Paris to Düsseldorf is under an hour—by 9.30
Carsten and I were having coffee at the airport waiting for his friend Stephanie to arrive and drive us and all my crap to Essen. Upon arrival we went to a fine little café in the former town hall of Carsten’s borough. On the way, we passed Henscheid, a remarkable store that advertises itself as selling “alles fur den Sport”. Evidently, to effectively cater to the sporting needs of that region one must stock crappy thrift store paintings, old tobacco pipes, kitschy statuettes, and tropical fish. And in no particular scheme of organization. At one point, a bulky man came out of the back carrying an old rifle, and I realized how French I had become—before I knew it, my hands were in the air!
I took a long nap in the afternoon and in the evening we headed for the site of Carsten’s party—the house where he grew up. His parents still live there, and upstairs, in a separate apartment, lives his brother, who donated the site to host the party. There was no PA, just a guitar amp. I rocked a seriously delicious DJ set from my Itunes over Andrew’s thumping stereo. At about 9.30 it was showtime. The 30-40 guests, incredibly on cue, all immediately sat down in one movement when I switched the music off. And no one made any noise during my set—they barely peeped up when I asked for requests (“ummm…no, I can’t say that I know anything by Dashboard Confessional”). I played my own stuff comme d’habitude, the odd Posies/Big Star songs, the usual Long Winters nod, and the special cover I had worked up for the night—knowing a Dylan cover would be too obvious, I pulled out “Communication” by the Cardigans from their best album (IMHO) Long Gone Before Daylight. How pleased was I that Carsten was wearing a Cardigans T-shirt that day!
I played for just shy of two hours I think? And then sold some CDs and my new single etc. and cranked another scorching set from my Itunes.
It all ended peacefully, Carsten making sure he was the last man standing, at 4. I wasn’t standing, but resting my eyes nearby…
MUNSTER 2/17
I slept in and in the morning Carsten and I were back at the café by his place. We went back to clean up things up at his brother’s place and then got the train to Munster. It’s a short walk from the station to the
Gleis 22, as it should be—the name translates as “Track 22”. This place has been the scene of an excellent Posies show (last year), the only German stop of the Posies acoustic tour (2000) and a White Flag/KS show as well (2002). The sound is excellent there, and the people are always cool, and they get great, musical crowds there. This evening I was the support for
Goldrush, from Oxford UK. Their set up is quite elaborate, 5-6 people onstage (sometimes their merch guy gets up onstage—and he’s often the support act as well!) playing guitars, horns, percussion, violin, keyboards, etc etc. Some of the songs are really good—I haven’t digested the records yet to get the titles from songs I remember but there were many great moments onstage. Really good stage sound, too—many times the sound was very much like a record (in a good way).
But, I also played—my guitar, and a lovely Kawai digital piano provided a local band called the Donots (thanks Donots). A typically great G22 audience, who had no problem giving me a whoop whoop. There was a kind of old drinky punk guy, who was standing by me, mumbling along while I played in the crowd sans mic, and even he was cool. He gave me quiet, drunken assurance of a sort.
At the end of Goldrush’s set, I hopped up and we did a slightly truncated version of ‘the Ballad of El Goodo’…after we sold boatloads of merch, and at 2am Carsten and I were sober and on the train back to Essen. I slept in til 12.30!
Carsten and I had lunch at an Italian place in his hood, where I had pan-fried rabbit livers on a bed of rocket. Stephanie returned to take me to the airport, and by about 10 I was having dinner at home…now all is quiet and the blog is be-blogged. Good night.
Love
KS
Paris
