I am at the airport after a very rushed bus trip. IT was a bit stressed as the bus we take to Coimbra, where we have to switch, was running late and arrived 1min before the bus to Lisboa. If we missed that bus, Sue would miss her flight, as the next bus was not for 2-3hrs. We would have had to try to get the train. Anyway, we barely made it. Sue made her flight and I have 4 more hours to sit here at the airport and wait. I will have a beer around 16. It is beer o clock in Denmark, where I am heading at that time.
Setting up a tour these days is hell.
No one will offer you a decent fee to play. It is such a struggle and
the costs are so high when you come from Scandinavia. The van rental is
95€/day, the ferry between Denmark and Germany is 200€/each way, the
Estonia-Finland and Finland- Sweden ferry is 700€. So before we have even
started, we have expenses of just over 2000€.
IF you get 300€ gig, you need 8 gigs just to cover these costs and gas.
That leaves nothing for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and places to stay when the
venue offers you nothing. It is hell. Sadly, fans, this will be the last major
ØSC tour unless we can get a booking agent.
IT is too much work. I spent months and at least a hundred hours
probably and we will not even earn one euro. 2 weeks of playing and no money
for the musicians. Only the ferry companies, the promoters, gas stations,
airlines, nothing for the hard working musicians. Fuck….
The tour will be great fun and we will make some amazing music, despite
not having a full time synth lead player, and the shit economy, etc.
22/5/19
I spent most of the day with Mogens (our synth player that can’t come
on the tour) and we had a nice walk in the forest near the Herlev Bryghus
(brewery) with his dog. It was cold, windy and not so nice but it was beautiful
with lakes and we saw deer. Very nice.
Later, I had dinner and spent the evening with my daughter.
23/5/19
First concert of the tour. The Black Moon Circle guys arrive at lunch
time today, Jonathan and Tim come from Sweden at 17:30 and we will meet at the
venue, Lygtens Kro in Copenhagen at 18. Sabine will arrive with the van around
16. It is a strange schedule at this bar
with get in with the gear at 20, set up and soundcheck first at 22 and first
band on at 23, and this is a Thursday night. It will be very late. The place is
very cool but very small also. I think the main room holds max 40 people. It is
basically like playing in a dining room or living room of a small home.
14 I am about to leave Roskilde and the BMC guys are in Christiania
while Jiri fixes his pedal board and gets the gear ready for the van. Sabine
will arrive soon. The BMC 5CD box set
arrived in Hamburg so we will have it for the shows for sure! Things are
looking good so far. The mood is great as is the weather!
 |
| BMC |
Anyway, it was very late before we got set up and soundchecked. BMC
basically only got a line check after ØSC was ready and started a bit after 23.
IT was totally packed. This was the debut gig with the new drummer, Daniel. He
is a really nice guy. Anyway, the crowd
really liked the BMC set and Daniel was great and rocked harder than I
expected. Some of the BMC songs have
changed a few parts to fit a bit more with his style of playing. The band played: Plains, Stone Cold Killer,
Jack’s Cold Sweat and The Ghost. Øyvin
had some problems with the bass at the start of Jack so we had to really sort
of figure out what we wanted to do and just sort of jammed around it until he
sorted it out. Cool gig. People wanted
an encore but there was no time.
May 24th
We are on the road now to the ferry. We are about 90mins behind our
planned schedule after having to go to the rehearsal room to get a drum stool
and another amp for Vemund (he did not much like the Mesa Boogie). We also have
a problem with the window on the van, which it looks like someone tried to push
the window in. We have to solve this though as it barely closes. I would not
want to trust to leave anything in the van now. Jonathan and I spent some time
trying to deal with it but could not fix it. We might have to talk to the van
rental but it is like an hour from Sabine’s place.
Anyway, Sabine is feeling ill. Not sure why. Just lack of sleep the
past days (and last night) and too much stress. Hope it is better in a
while. Jiri is driving fast so we try to
make the 12:30 ferry. I will pay cash.
We will use up most of the Danish money from the gig.
We can start loading the boat at 17:45 but we need to be down there and
have the gear on the dock at 17:30 and we have to have had some food as well. The
van is nice. Jiri is playing some awful music though that no one likes but he
and Tim. Daniel listens to the BMC show from last night in the headphones. He
is rocking out.. Øyvin and Vemund are
asleep. They can sleep anywhere. Wish I could.
17 We were very late and
stressed but arrived just at 17 and the boat was there, some of the fans as
well, and we got the carts and started taking the gear to the boat right away.
Poor Jiri he had to do most of the set up of the stuff himself it seemed. I think he was not getting the help he
needed. But anyway, we got all set up and tested a bit of levels and people
were able to get a bite to eat before it all started. They let people on a
little bit early and it was so great to see all the people. Geir came from
Norway again and a guy from France who took a lot of pics. Lot of lovely and
kind people. Even asking if we do the boat next year and we had not even done
the boat this year yet!! Cool…
 |
| Audience on the boat |
We actually started playing probably 5mins before the boat left at
19:30 and it was a very krautrock start with just Jiri, Tim and I and then
everyone else slowly joined in. Vemund was too low in the beginning and he had
to turn up and even move his amp to a different position to get a better sound.
He struggled to hear Jonathan (who had an amazing sound) and Anders on the
keyboards. He had a great set up with organ and Leslie, mellotron and an old
Korg synth plus a space echo and some other effects. Nice sound. The jams were
great. We played two sets, the first was about 75mins and then another set
about the same. Daniel and Øyvin joined for the start of the 2nd
set. Øyvin stated for the 2nd jam but Tim took over the drums again.
It was not super loud so Tim did not have to work as hard on the drums.
I felt if was an amazing concert with great dynamics. Wow. I had so much fun and the people screamed so much at the end. I was very humbled. This is what makes life worth living for, to play music for people like this and we don’t even have any songs!! Awesome night… Sadly, only 22 mins of the 2nd set got recorded but luckily, another guy, Holger, recorded the whole show and will give it to me in Berlin! IT is his recording below.
 |
| Tim, our amazing drummer. |
I felt if was an amazing concert with great dynamics. Wow. I had so much fun and the people screamed so much at the end. I was very humbled. This is what makes life worth living for, to play music for people like this and we don’t even have any songs!! Awesome night… Sadly, only 22 mins of the 2nd set got recorded but luckily, another guy, Holger, recorded the whole show and will give it to me in Berlin! IT is his recording below.
We were back at the hostel at midnight and could leave everything on
the boat. Safe…
May 25th
We were up at about 8 and feeling good. Weather is cool and grey. We
have to be back at the boat at 10 and people on at 10:30 and sails at 11. BMC
plays at 11…
Øyvin and Jiri got back with the BMC box sets, which look amazing,
about 10 so we were a little later than expected to the boat but all was cool
and people were waiting and set up, getting some food, etc. all went
smooth. There were nearly as many people
as yesterday. Weather was cold and gray but no rain.
 |
| BMC |
BMC started right as the boat was leaving the pier and Anders joined us
for the entire concert. We played Supernova, about 25mins version and then a
long and super cool version of Enigmatic Superbandit. The audience were really
into this one as well and Anders followed the changes and introduced great
ideas. It was amazing. We had 10mins left and decided to do Jack’s Cold Sweat
again, even though this is a tough one for Øyvin to sing. Crowd loved it.
Took 15mins and then ØSC hit the stage again and off we went. Wow… We
played two sets for about 2hrs 25mins.
There were about half new people from the day before and a lot of the
same of course. We played fucking amazing and Tim was just incredible with the
drum grooves and energy. Everyone killed
it. Jonathan and Vemund played killer guitar, Anders fit perfect and read the
changes in the band with perfection. Just incredible and the audience just
scream for more and more even though we are back at the dock. So amazing. Wow…
Chanting Dr Space… insane.
We sold like 1600€ in merch the two days for both bands. Not sure how many of the new shirts we sold
but maybe 20% of the audience had their old shirts on. It makes me very happy
and proud. A few people came up and commented on how great this line up of the
band is.
 |
| Indian Restaurant |
We were all very hungry and tired after the gig but also very happy. It
was about 17 when we finished everything and filled up gas and went to eat at an
Indian restaurant. We ate everything. It was 164€ for the dinner.
We got back to Sabine’s at about 19 and most people just hung outside
and smoked and drank beers. I crashed at 22 and Tim was really tired and not
feeling well so was in bed at 20. The others stayed up til midnight. Everyone was feeling great after these two
amazing gigs. Thanks to Sabine once again for an amazing spaceboat experience for the band and fans. Danke...
May 26th
 |
| Breakfast |
We managed to get up, shower, eat a huge breakfast, coffee, etc. reload
the van with new merch, etc. and leave just before 11. We had to stop to let
Sabine vote, but that was close by. Then she forgot her glasses so we had to
turn around and go back but we had not gone far. Now it is 12 and the GPS says 238km,
2.5hrs.. If we don’t take too many breaks, we should arrive in time for the
check in at 15 and soundchecks, which we have until 18. Doors open at 18 and
Cosmic Fall is on at 19. BMC at 20 and ØSC at 21. Curfew is 21. I hope we have
a great turn out. Jeff, Brad and Siggi from Pothead are supposed to come. We
will see (they did not make it).
It is gray, cold and a bit of rain at the moment. I prefer the heat of
last year but I think the other prefer this weather. It was a bit too hot last
year though. We are listening to
Widespread Panic at the moment. Then Asoka and Fela…
16 We are setting up to soundcheck. Tim is really sick. Øyvin is sick. Sabine
is still not well. Not good. Janne (Ex-Hidira Spacefolk synth player) cannot
come until 20… Fuck… so he will not soundcheck with us… Place is cool and we are setting up. Only 40 pre-sold tickets.
19 Not many people. Food was
burned up so there was just fruit and veggies and some dips and later bread. So
we all had to go out and eat and pay our own again. We will not play Berlin
again under these circumstances. Sorry Henk. Last time. Sound guy was good but not as cool as Rasmus.
Some sort of attitude about him but he did a good job it seems.
Anyway, Cosmic Fall will start later. Jonathan is set up to multitrack
record.
 |
| Cosmic Fall |
BMC was on about 2030 and it was a short 45min set of powerful songs.
Øyvin is still sick so it was good he was not drinking yesterday or smoking
much. His voice is already rough and he still has 9 shows, including this one.
I am surprised he wants to stress and push his voice when he is sick. They
choose some of the most difficult songs for him to sing to play. Jack’s Cold Sweat, Andromeda, Stone Cold Killer,
and The Ghost. Powerful stuff. Crowd loved it.  |
| Sick Tim on the drums |
 |
| Jiri and Jonathan |
https://archive.org/details/OSC2019-05-26.FLAC
We sold 210€ and BMC 70€----Ok for so few people.
We got our 400€ and Henk lost money. IT was a hell at the end of the
night though as Tim was nearly dying and we had not totally safe place to part
the van, the hostel is far away, we had to take a cab (10€). NO idea what time
the others arrived or where they parked the van but we were back at 01----… I
was wondering if we should take him to the hostel. He was burning up, having
craps and feeling cold. Poor guy…. I tried to take care of him.
May 27th
9:16
We do not have far to go today but we have a lot to do. Jiri needs E
strings for his bass; we need batteries, and a few other things. Show is early tonight though and short sets. BMC on at 20 and ØSC 21 and other band Mr
Slipper and the Lazy Cats from Austrian on at 22:30.
We arrived more than an hour before to Ostepol. A very cool old house
that is the club. IT is all from the old East Germany, including everything in
the house from old toys to chairs, tables, paintings. IT is like going back in
time.
Anyway, the weather was excellent and sunny and we took a bit of walk
some of us and managed to find a music store but they did not have the strings
Jiri wanted. Øyvin bought some sort of cable.
Not a very cool store and the staff acted like we were not even there.
No movement at all to help or ask if you wanted any help. Strange??
Anyway, Robin, the cook and bar guy opened the door at 17 and the Austrian
band, Mr Slipper and the Lazy Cats, had showed up. They also played in Berlin
last night. Super nice guys and some of the guys from the club Graf Hugo in
Feldkirsch, where we had played many years ago. Super nice people. I talked
quite a bit with them. Their drummer was
older and quite a character…
Everything ran later today, which was a bummer. Soundchecks and setting up on the small stage
was slow and the Austrian band took a very long time. IT was time for the doors
to open and ØSC had not even set up yet. We did it very fast and then BMC was
as quick as possible but it was now 20 and this is when the show as to start.
They delayed everything until 21:15 so we had some pasta (vegan) with beer and
that was our dinner. There was some fruit and veggies and chocolate earlier.
Free drinks basically. Some of the
organizer people had seen ØSC at Heavy Days in Doomtown and were very happy
that we came to their town.
Our guest, Scott McClean, from Scotland, was a great guy. He had been
living in Dresden for 1.5 years. He had a compact synth set up and we talk a
bit. Very nice guy. We all got on well
with him.
Managed to set up the HD24 hard disc recorder tonight. Sound man was really cool.
When we were eating this older couple came in and apparently they come
to all the shows but the lady she made these loud yells every min or so. IT was
very disturbing and strange. IT was like a dog that barks every now and then.
You sort of get used to it. Apparently, they used to come to this club 50 years
ago and they still come today. Strange but cool.
 |
| Our guest Scott |
Mr Slippery and the Lazy
Cats was a fun band and put a lot of energy into their strange and twisted
garage rock. Two guitars and drums. They only played for like 15 people but
they had fun. Nice folks. I saw most of their show. I also multitack recorded it. 
We started to pack down and move our stuff right away so we could just
go get some sleep as people were tired from the day before and we also have a
long drive to Poland tomorrow.
Sold 35€ for BMC and 18€ for ØSC. Not good. Only 80€ from the door.
We were at the hostel place at 1230 so it was not too late. I think
some of the others stayed up probably til 2 drinking and smoking though. We
have to get up at 7.
May 28th
(Tuesday)
It was about 830 by
the time we really got going and headed out of town today. The goal was 8. It is 600km to Warszawa. We are almost always
late but the last two days it has been good and actually, on this tour, we have
not yet been late!!!
IT is 12 and we are about 350km from Warsaw now so it goes well. We
have been listening to Crosby Stills and Nash, Blackberry Smoke, Hendrix. (Blues). Battery will die soon on the Ipod. Mood is good. Now Vemund is the sick one but
he can sleep in the car and usually sleeps most of the day away every day.
It has been raining most of the day but it has stopped now. Yeah Right. We hit some of the most insane
thunderstorms on the drive to Warszawa.
It was scary as you could not see anything at all and Jiri kept going,
nearly full speed.
Anyway, we arrived about 16:45 after lots of traffic. It was a cool
club and the other band, Alters, was there. It was nice to meet Robert, their
drummer who was the one who booked the show.
They had 40 pre-sale tickets and expected about 100. Only 60 came out
though.
It all went pretty smooth with the line checks and Marysia, who played
with us, was very nice and cool. Alters
and BMC were the only ones to have a sort of soundcheck, ØSC only a line
check.
Afterwards we had some pizza but there was not enough at all. Jiri and
Vemund could have eaten twice as much. 4
big pizzas for 11 people. Anyway we got
free warm beers (Perla) and a case of water in the back stage. Nice people but
they did not want to give us any cold drinks. The lady at the bar was just a
nasty person and did not like us at all. They had a lot cool Polish IPAs and I
tried 3 of them. This Forest one was awesome.
15 sl each. I got the labels.
Anyway, Alters did not start until 20:30 and original schedule was 1930
and then 20 and then 20:15--- it always go this way and then there is a curfew
and ØSC does not get to play as long. It
was ok on this night.
BMC hit the stage as
fast as we could and opened with the Ghost and into Plains and closed with
Jack’s cold Sweat. Øyvin is still sick and Vemund was running a fever and
really not well but we made it through the set and rocked the place in like
40mins, I think. Vemund was very bluesy
today on the guitar. Vocals were a bit rough. People liked it.
ØSC hurried up and I
guess we played to about 40 people but they were mostly really into it and I
think we played an excellent show. Marysia
was cool to play with. She mostly played he Korg MS10 and also her Poly six
with some effects. Not a super solo
player but a good listener and some cool parts. I think her MS10 was out of
tune sometimes though. It was perhaps the best show of the tour so far.
I think we played about 90mins. IT was all recorded and multitrack
recorded last night. Great night. We
packed the van and went to the hostel around 1am. I had a lot of fun. Sold 1320 sl in merch.
May 29th
People got 8hrs of good rest. Cloudy and cold outside but everyone but
BMC is outside now or getting food. We
do not know what we do today except head east towards the next gig. We have
lots of Polish money now to spend on the next place we stay and food today.
It was a longer drive than I though to get to Augustow so we did not
arrive until nearly 17. It is a very beautiful area of Poland. We found a
hostel, got two quad rooms, had a beer in their backyard and then had dinner in
their restaurant. Real Polish food-
fried lard on bread with pickles, chicken breast with cranberry sauce; pirogues
filled with spinach, or cheese or minced meat. Salad, potatoes and 4 of the
guys even had a shot of vodka! They did not have any Polish wine so we split a
bottle of Hungarian wine. IT was not that good. 
Exchange rate its 4.29… I thought it was 5 so things are not quite as
cheap as I had thought. The hostel was 114€ in the end but this includes towels
and breakfast.
After dinner we took a walk down to the lake. IT was beautiful and
everyone was in a great mood. High, feeling good and laughing and joking a
lot. We took some funny band pictures.
Afterwards, we went to the kiosk across the street and bought like 6
different Polish beers to try. Most are just pilsner style and not all that
interesting. There was on bock beer with a cool goat on the front. Not bad.
None of us much liked Perla. IT seems to be everywhere.
I crashed out at 10:30.
May 30th
I was the first up today at 7:30. Could not sleep more. A lot of
traffic and noisy on this side of the building where our room is. Tim was asleep, still not back to 100%
healthy. Vemund seems to be doing better though. No one is really sick any
more, just a few with small colds. Sunny
and nice today as we head to Alytus, Lithuania. Only 1hr or less to drive
today.!
The promoter will get the keys for the hostel at 12 today and also the
venue. He said he could not promise many people. We still get a little money.
70€ or something, place to sleep… No
guest synth player today. Elder is playing
in Lithuania tonight as well but in the capital about 120km a way.
Hope some of the guys are not too hungover!! I was surprised that
Vemund, Øyvin, Daniel and Jiri drank all those beers we bought last night We will see.
5 more gigs to go. One more day off when we take the ferry to Sweden
from Finland. Rock and roll…..
 |
| The elder men of ØSC |
16 We arrived at the cool little club in good time and the owner/booker
was there and so nice. He took us to the
hostel place and we could chill out for a while, as the sound guy would not be
there before 18. Beautiful area around here and we had a walk down to the river
and around a bit and then came back and he arrived with 8 pizzas and we
demolished most of them and then went to the club.
It was a 3 floor stage, quite interesting with the drums in a
cage. We all found out spots but
monitoring was a bit strange. We ended up using one of our own as well. A lot of teenagers hanging around in the
artsy backyard and playing the games in the bar. Nice upstairs for the bands
with big sofas, pool table, and bathroom.
BMC started about
2115 and played a short 45min set- Stone Cold Killer, Enigmatic Superbandit and
Andromeda, all songs we have only played once on this tour. Vemund was back on fire, as he was feeling
well. It was not a good gig for me though as no one could hear me except myself
so I played in a bubble. Pity… We played to about 6 people, who stayed in
the room all the time.
ØSC played for about
10. We played 90mins and it was a fun
show with some cool jams but Sabine later told me that you could almost not
hear me at all. This made me very angry that Øyvin, Daniel, Jiri, none of them
bother to tell the soundman??? IT made me feel like my contributions just don’t
matter to them at all. No one could hear me on the stage. Tim and Vemund are
the only ones who seems to care about this. They don’t even ask for any of me
in the monitor on their side, so why am I there at all??? Maybe it is better without
me… Made me very unhappy and I was very
down after this gig.
We sold 0 merch last night. That is the first. Dresden we sold 1
record. Doing very bad on the merch. Only sold 10 shirts in 8 gigs. We drag a lot with us but only in a few
places do we sell anything of significance- Berlin, Hamburg…
May 31st
Great weather again.
What at trip this was. We arrived at the school about 10.15 and had to
rush to set up our gear with the PA from the club (soundman from the previous
night was there to help and set up mics, etc..).. Anyway, were set up and at
11, the kids from the school came in for a special concert! BMC started and we sort of morphed into ØSC
as the other guys just joined it. Vemund and I tried to get the kids to come up
and play guitar and synthesizer. It was not so successful but they were more
successful getting kids up to play drums. I think the kids must have thought
what the fuck is this???? Like if Hawkwind jammed at your school in 1971!! We
had fun and played for like 45mins. It was crazy…
Afterwards, we had some fotos with the principal of the school, who was
super cool and totally into it. This was
the first time they had ever done something like this at the school
before. We also had lunch with here in
the cafeteria and then we packed our gear and drove off to Latvia with a smile.
It was a long day, as we did not arrive at the Fontaine Palace in Liepäja, Latvia until after 18. What an amazing music complex with a small bar and stage downstairs and one of the coolest venues you could image upstairs. Super high ceilings all wood on the floors, ceiling and the biggest stage besides Roskilde Festival I have every played. Great sound. The sound guy, Forest was the best we had on the tour and super helpful with everything including setting up the hard disc recorder.
Anyway, we had 3 free 50cm pizza coupons but we had pizza for the last
three days so we just ordered what we wanted from the menu and I paid for it.
It was 61€ or something.
Soundcheck went fine and we had some Mezpils, which was the local brew.
The IPA was really good. Anyway, BMC hit
the stage at 23 and there were perhaps 20 people but I don’t think any of them
came for the music. IT was just the coolest bar in town and the DJ was
good. Played mostly 60s classics before
and inbetween our sets and then a few 80s hits.
 |
| Vemund ripping it up. |
BMC Set: Machine on
the Hill, Plains, Ghost and Stone Cold Killer.
Jonathan and Tim thought were killed it. I think it was pretty cool and
they guys rocked hard. I was not so happy with my playing though.
https://archive.org/details/BMC2019-05-31.FLAC
https://archive.org/details/BMC2019-05-31.FLAC
Had 20mins to rest and then ØSC
hit he stage. Maybe 30. It was 36 paid people (I found out later). We played a short but pretty awesome show. I
think I was the weak link. I was just too tried and not inspired at all after
the previous night the lack of people and distance from them. We gave 100% and
Tim was killing in on the drums. Hardly stopping at all in the 70min set. We had fun and some people really liked it
like Forest the sound man, Edgars, the booker and a few members of the audience.
We sold nothing but then again, the merch was covered up with a red blanket the
entire night until after we played. So what do I expect?? Sabine was shooting
pics and filming the show. Tim is also
making films during the day and often of BMC. He wil edit it into some sort of
tour video. Fun..
It was 230 by the time I got to sleep and the alarm was set for 8, as
we have to be on the road by 830 for the long drive to the ferry in Estonia. We
have to arrive by 16 or we are fucked.
Gives us 7.5 hrs.. If you drive
with no traffic and direct you can make it in 6hrs we are told.
June 1st
We are about 150km away from Riga and Jonathan is driving. The Ipod is
on shuffle so we hear all sorts of stuff from Antibalas to Asoka to Brant Bjork
to Black Sabbath to Widespread Panic to Fela to Taste to CAN to Embryo to
Blackberry Smoke to Lonely Kamel to Crosby Stills and Nash to Jefferson
Airplane to Eye to Arc of Ascent… lots of great music.
Only 3 more shows on the tour. Wow.. Been quite the experience but I am
getting more tired each day now and this is the 2nd day with little
sleep. I have lost my inspiration for
playing as well. If I could sleep in the
van, it would help. Vemund, he sleeps the entire trip everyday and has never
seen any of the scenery for the entire trip. I think Øyvin is about the same. Jiri has done
most of the driving. The rest of us can’t really sleep in the van except now,
although Tim, Jonathan and Daniel get a few winks. 
It is mostly just green farmlands with patches of forest with pine and
birch trees all through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Very flat. Could be
parts of Sweden and Denmark quite easily but less density of people and farms.
12 We are totally fucked now. Jiri made us get off the ring road to
take some short cut thru Riga and we have been stuck in this town driving
around for an hour. We have 294km to go still and we stuck in traffic in
Riga. If the highway is 130, we have a
chance but I have my doubt. We have to arrive at 16:10 at the latest. I hope we
can make it. We will see. Next ferry is 2 hrs later and I hope our ticket will
still work.
16:30
Wow.. we barely made the ferry, 15mins to spare. I am glad we did not
stop for gas as it would have been quite close. I am so tired, really not
feeling well. Only had some chips, a croissant with ham and cheese and an
apple. I will lay down for a bit on the
boat. It is pretty full of people.
20 We are at the venue in
Helsinki now although we had to make a pit stop as Daniel was throwing up in
the van (in a bag) so we had to stop at the Apotek (pharmacy). We got to the venue, and they were way
behind. Octypus Syng was soundchecking so we just hung out in the
backstage. They had drinks, beers, coffee, tea, etc. some fruit. It was a very cool venue and nice people. We
spoke to the Jupiter guys a lot. Anyway,
Octopys Syng was supposed to be on at 2030 but did not start until 20.45. It
all went well and the soundman was great and helpful. There were not very many
people, maybe 20 for them. We heard that
Roky Erikson had died today. They dedicated their set to him.
Set List: Amusement, Cuckoo, Candlelight, Spiderwebs, Girl Strange,
Mirror, Park, Moths
Jupiter was a very
special Finnish band. They have made a few records and been around for more
than 10 years. Anyway, a great trio with
an intense drummer and bass player. The guitarist was also cool and did the
lead vocals. Sometimes it was very metal and other times not but quite cool
songs. They got a good response.
 |
| Jupiter |
ØSC was on the stage
about midnight. IT took a while for Vesa and all of us to set up. I guess there
was about 50-60 people, less than half of what we had last time. There was a
lot of gigs recently and also this was school graduations. A lot of my Finnish
friends were there though: Eetu, Juha, Santtu, Jaire, Artsi, etc….
We played only two jams in a bit more than 80mins and then we took a
break. We came out and played one more 40mins jam. Sadly, the edirol only got
22mins but Jonathan mulitracked all 4 bands !
June 2nd
15:40
We stayed at Santtu’s parents place again and managed to get off for
some food around 13. Everyone got a shower and was in a good spirit. We could
check emails, etc… Now we are nearly at
Tampere and people are for sure more rested and Daniel is back feeling much
better. Cloudy, grey, sometimes rain. No so cold though. Had a lot of nice talks with Tim today. I
love this guy. Such a sweet and nice person and amazing drummer…
WE had a huge lunch/breakfast and the headed off to Tampere listening
to a Grateful Dead jam from 1974 that was 45mins long. Some cool stuff. It is
cloudy and cool and it rains every now and then. We arrived at the club at 17 but nothing was
happening until 18 when the soundman Matti was showing up. Donald was there and Vesa as well.
When we got back the van and band was gone. It was 18 now and we should
be loading in. The backstage it was sort
of the same food as last time, cold pasta, some cold sauce (looked a bit Thai
inspired with some tomatoes, and soy strips), chips, salad, etc…. hardly better
than last time. I ate a huge salad.
We loaded in fast and then I went off to a famous place just up the
street and ordered one of their famous dishes, schnitzel! 18€ but damn it was
good and the fries were excellent as well with a good spice on them. One beer but the Sandels beer is awful. I
don’t like it at all. I could not even finish one.
Soundcheck was complicated and we invited Donald to play Banjo with us
as well. We never had a banjo on stage with us before. Anyway, no soundcheck for BMC at all. Warp
Transmission set up and soundchecked but thought they were playing 2nd
so took all down when we were not looking and this set everything back 30mins.
 |
| Warp Transmission |
The ØSC set just sort of
started. Tim, Jonathan and Jiri were playing even before I could start
recording. IT was another 5mins before
Vemund got up there. It took a while to get us into it but then we played some
far out stuff. Donald probably joined for 45mins. Vesa left at first and then
joined again later and at the end Vemund and Jonathan had left and it was only
5 of us left.. to end the show. About 90mins…. Sadly, the audience recordings failed. I plugged the mics and recorder in the wrong places in the microphone battery box. Damn.
 |
| Psycho-space-abilly with Donald on banjo |
I think everyone thought it was a bit too much with Vesa. It was
difficult stuff he played for us to jam along to and too much like having a 3rd guitar, which we have tried but it has always been difficult. Super player and nice person but he should just join us as a guest guitar player next time. The sky at
midnight in the distance beyond the late was one of the most amazing I had ever
seen in my life. It never gets dark here at this time of year. Wow..
June 3rd
It was almost 1:30 in the morning when we got to sleep and up at 1030
when I got up. Had some breakfast and
tea. We hang out here until Vemund and I do this interview with Nina. She has a
PhD and is writing a book on improvisation and music. She is travelling here
from Helsinki and will arrive at 13.
We did half the interview at Donald’s house and then we went to the
venue and did the rest while the guys packed the van. Øyvin had some input and
Tim as well but it was mostly Vemund and I. That was very interesting. She is a
very interesting person. The book is planned for 2021. Kiitos Niina...
Anyway, we left Tampere for the ferry in good time and made one stop at
a place so people could smoke and pee, get a drink. We arrived in Turku with
2hrs to spare so we went to what we thought was a Thai restaurant but it was
run by people from Taiwan. Jonathan recognized a calendar on the wall as
Taiwanese. IT was 102€ and I paid but
the food was ok. Pad Thai was not Pad Thai. I had never had a version like
that.
Anyway, we made the ferry with no hassles. It bordered at 2055 and
would arrive at 6:30 in the morning. Sabine and I went to the rock bar for one
beer and the others I thought would meet us there but did not. Jonathan and Tim
just went to sleep, while the Norwegians; they stayed up drinking and closed
down the bar so only got 3-4 hrs of sleep. They will sleep in the van and at
Jonathans.
June 4th
When the ferry arrived we went straight to Jonathan¨s apartment, and
his lovely wife and bought bread, 3 kinds of cheese, ham, salami, blueberries,
museli, etc….. and lots of coffee for people.
After some food most everyone except Jonathan went to sleep for some
hours. Vemund did not get up until 1330. The guys had a lot of fun trying out and checking out all the cool instruments that Jonathan has. 
At 14, we went into Stockholm and visited a guitar shop and café called
Twang. Jonathan knows the owner. IT was closed until 16 but Jonathan called the
owner and he came and opened the shop early so the guys could check the
instruments. I went to a cool record
store called Pet sounds but did not buy anything. I asked about the new GONG
but they did not have it.
It was around 1615 when we arrived at the Melody Box club. They were
already open and the soundman was there. They are such nice people. Soundchecks
went pretty well but soon after all the troubles began. We were told we had to
buy our own food (they gave us some beers and water) and also pay the sound man
1000kr, as well as work the door ourselves. We should have charged more than
100kr at the door since we did not find this out until later. The pizza was 770kr and it was actually not
enough. Tim got stung by a bee on his forehead, only got two pieces of pizza.
Then Øyvin said something to him that pissed him off so that was not good.
 |
| BMC with Jonathan |
I got to meet one of our big Swedish fans, Dan Nordloff. He was so
cool. I signed a hat for him. Pity we did not get to talk longer. Also, Anders
from Domobshawa was there. Super nice people.
The BMC set was: Stone Cold
Killer, Ghost, Supernova, Enigmatic Superbandit with Jonathan on violin.The small crowd of 30 really loved it. Vemund was on fire. Whole band
played well. I did not like what I played on Ghost though. I have done it much better. Recording was
like 52mins.
ØSC set I was a bit
of a disaster as Jonathan was having a lot of trouble with his amp and feedback
and was just pissed up. We played some incredible jams anyway and but stopped
after 50mins or so and he changed the amp but the band vibe was not very good
anymore. It was great to play with KG
again. It had been since 2017. He was looking great but was missing India. I think the 2nd set was like
40mins. Audience liked it a lot.
I was in a bit of a rush to get some sleep after the gig as my flight
was at 10 the next morning and I had to leave before 7 with the subway and
train Jiri had an even earlier flight at 8:40.. We both made our flights fine
but I was very stressed to make sure I did not forget to do anything. Jonathan
was stressed about getting home with all his stuff. Tim and Sabine have to
drive the van back to Malmo and then Sabine alone to Hamburg. Still many
expenses with the bridge, ferry, gas..
It was a great tour but people were pretty warn out at the end and
people were tired, frustrated, etc….
Tim and I talked a lot and there is no way we would do such a long tour
again. I think one week max.
These tours are always a challenge. It is just too much to arrange and
we don’t get paid enough, etc.… It is just too hard. The spaceboat is the only really good paying gig and the whole tour would be totally impossible without it. We are indebt to Sabine, our most loyal and amazing fan and friend.
We deliver the goods every night and the musicians are fucking world class so people get a master class in drumming, bass playing violin, guitar solos. A bit sad to call it a day from touring but that is where we are at in reality. We are just not a popular band. We just have to live with that. We have a lot of multitracks from this tour to share with the fans.
We deliver the goods every night and the musicians are fucking world class so people get a master class in drumming, bass playing violin, guitar solos. A bit sad to call it a day from touring but that is where we are at in reality. We are just not a popular band. We just have to live with that. We have a lot of multitracks from this tour to share with the fans.
Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, Latvia. Helsinki, Tampere…
A huge thanks firstly to the band. I can not thank you enough and tell
you amazing you all are and how honoured I am to be on stage with you. 2nd
to Sabine, who without her help with just about everything, we could never manage. Danke.. 3rd
to the promoters who book us and finally to the fans who showed up and enjoyed
the shows and bought some merch. IT was our worst merch sales on a tour ever
though. No one was buying much except in Hamburg and Helsinki. Pity. We had an amazing time but in the end we lost about 800€..
Tusind tak. Obrigado, Danke, Merci… All fotos by Sabine or Scott.
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