We wrapped the Hanggai week with a massive feast the night before my departure; the band rented a huge circular banquet hall and JB and I, after 2 hardcore days of tag team production trying to get the vocals done before we all had to leave town, joined the band and their friends and family to a rotating selection of sheep parts and other delicacies...huge circular table with huge glass lazy Susan in the center. Sheep head with all the innards diced up inside...JB & I ate one eyeball each!
Wed. morning, I was a little beaten up by epic dining and my old nemesis Jacob's Creek. Flew home, watching movies the whole way (Air France really has a nice selection).
Upon arrival, I hung out with my family, opened presents, and fell asleep promptly at nine.
CRANS-MONTANA, 4/8
Good thing, too. I was up at 6 the next morning. As I prepared to head to the train, my family was getting up towards the end of the process. I was so sad to leave them so quickly after my arrival that I overstayed my goodbyes...and ended up having to RUN to Gare de Lyon. I made my train, but all sweaty and out of breath--which is what a Disciplines show is like anyway.
Some hours later, I arrived to Lausanne, and a driver picked me up for the two-hour run to Crans-Montana. I slept, can you blame me? Up in the mountains, it was sunny, I parked myself in the backstage and got organized. My bandmates, having flown in the night before, were soon on the scene and we did our soundcheck, had a lite meal (nothing but carbs on the menu, no thanks!) and waited around for show time...the band before us were these kind of JoBro's thing, playing the absolute whitest version of Chuck Berry's "Rock & Roll Music" I think I have ever heard...crowd loved 'em, of course. There were called Pegasus which I pronounced PeggySues when I acknowledged them.
So, our show: KM flown to get there: 10,000. Hours of travel from home: nearly 6. Hours of sleep: not enough. Elevation (this is a real killer when you are out of shape, and I am out of shape if we don't play a show every weekend): 1000m!!! Weeks since last show: 6. So, the fact this show was pretty damn good...well, it was a miracle we could do it at all. I can't say I had my all to give, I really tried, but just breathing was hard, let alone being 100% in control and feeling good. I was feeling fat and old, that's for sure. I probably WAS fat and old. But people loved it, and we made some real fans...and then the place filled up with Amy McDonald fans and we were history, haha.
Amy's show ended at 1, and we took the last shuttle to our hotel, some 20 min. drive away. The guys came back to my room, and much like the last nite in Beijing-- where JB, Jerome and I went to JB's room after the big dinner with a bottle of Great Wall, and in 5 minutes I was asleep during the conversation--same thing here. The guys respectfully left me there, passed out, not from drinking, just from pure exhaustion. The bottle we brought back to the room was barely consumed.
And at 4.30 that morning, I was out the door, for the 2-hour drive to Lausanne. 7.30am train. ooooooh. Got back to Paris and started right away on mixing Hannah Gillespie. Finishing up one song, and starting another, and then I went to bed.
Jet lag had me up Saturday morning at 6. So, I did a little more work on Hannah's stuff til my family woke up, so could say bye bye. And out the door at 8.
Flew to Seattle. LONG day. Long flight to New York, some 5-6 hours at JFK, nothing to do. Flight to Seattle took forever, too. I slept for like 2 hours, woke up and realized with horror that we weren't even a third of the way through. Fuuuuuck. Had a nice chat with the guy in the middle seat next to mine, a finance guy who had just been on a quick dash to DC to check out an Aston Martin in hopes of buying it. I love the Astons, and he was happy to talk about them--being quite the enthusiast--this would be his second. The time passed a little quickly too.
Landed, at 11.30--by the time I was at Brian's house, it had been some 25 hours since I left my flat in Paris. We had a celebratory bottle of Napa claret....
First day back in Seattle, Darius picked me up and we caught up and picked up tons of supplies for the recording and shows upcoming--different music stores, batteries at Fred Meyer. Always surreal to be back. Running into friends around town. And getting set up in our nice little practice room on Capitol Hill. Matt is looking wrecked--he wiped out on his bike in Palm Springs just before coming here, so he's got a big shiner and gouges all over...poor bastid. Jon looks good, we're sounding good--by now we've already worked up 4 excellent new songs. Had some incredible wine with Brian, in fact yesterday we visited my storage space and my wine storage, just down the road from Brian's place--I did some Navy SEAL worthy moves to get in and across the ocean of debris--my possessions--in my storage to wrestle out a guitar that I'm trading to Brian, and a big fluffy coat another friend wanted. We pulled out some treasures to enjoy from my wine collection this week.
Last nite we all went to see Beach House, they were excellent in their sold out show at Neumo's. Kind of a one trick pony but it's a great trick. Beautiful voice--very Band of Horses (I called them the Fleet Furnaces at one point). Enjoyable, then back to Brian's for a little dessert wine, and some bed.
It's grey and drizzly today. I need WARMTH.
Love
KS
Seattle
