Oslo

Matt and I had a discussion about our experience in Oslo. Should we tell the truth? Should we be selective in the truths we tell so as to lead readers into getting a skewed idea of what happened? I'll be pretty truthful.


This was our official gig in Oslo. It was a really nice small venue. We played some songs and finished quickly then left, because.. unfortunately, there were only about 2 people and all the people who would have been at our gig were at this one:

Frode Fivel and other bands. We stayed with Frode Fivel, and he was a really great host. We enjoyed his band too. We ended up playing 2 other gigs with them and some of the songs got stuck in my head many days later.

At this gig, in the breaks between bands, Elak Bingo performed. They were awesome! Who they are will become more clear in the next entry about Fredrikstad, hopefully, but they had 3 different costumes, and performed with dancing and props to their own pre-recorded silly/awesome tunes.

And then the night after, Frode's band was set to play at this other gig, which was apparently a party for someome, but I never discovered who it was. They said Matt and I could play too. There were some fantastic acts that night, including a bosnian folk/prog rock band that got the whole place pumping, I think. The funniest one was called the great gods of power. I needn't explain their music. I don't think its worth it. It was all very Oslo. In Oslo, people like rock, and they aren't really into quiet sophisticated pop. So Matt and I played last, when there were about 4 people left in the place. They liked it though.

But really, Oslo wasn't the best place for us. I had to explain to Matt that all the things I told him about Scandinavian people being into sophisticated pop music are true for Sweden, but not so much Norway. Except maybe for Fredrikstad.. (up next)

Wales

After Nottingham, I went back to Wales with the Hepburns for a few days. It felt kind of strange because it was like a new country for me, but to the others it was completely normal.

There's Mike explaining something to William and Molly, his 2 crazy kids, in sign language (they're both deaf)

That's somewhere around the bay south of Swansea, when Matt's parents took me on a nice little excursion.

This is apparently the second best icecream in the world. I'd believe it.

Apparently this is where Matt writes most of the songs for the Hepburns.

..and this is the shed in Mike's backyard where they have been rehearsing all these years.

gosh, wales, eh? Who would've thought?
and what does that even mean?
next up, Oslo!

Nottingham

The next morning, after breakfasting with Gareth's wife and children in Leeds, I got 3 trains to Nottingham. Trains in the UK are pretty good, but a little expensive and sometimes late. When I got to Nottingham, I had lots of time to kill until the gig because the Hepburns (who were travelling from Wales to play there) weren't arriving until the evening.

Gosh this is a boring blog. Why should I say everything that happened, its not even very interesting. I'm also feeling frustrated about the space bar on this keyboard that I'm using (typing from here in Llanelli, Wales). Lets cut out the boring bits.

Nottingham has a bad reputation for crime but to me it looked beautiful. That doesn't rule out the possibility of it being dangerous. I guess if I'm going to get robbed, I'd rather have it done in a beautiful city. Like how Pat wishes he could have got mugged in New York. Or not..

Everyone had a hard time getting around nottingham and finding the venue, but in the end, we played a gig and it was good. My set went over well, and the Hepburns set was plagued with technical problems. Matt's guitar was falling apart, then he fixed it with blu-tack, and the amp was buzzing really badly and sometimes not working, then he broke a string, so I lent him mine (it's happened a couple of times before), so I borrowed a guitar from the band rudolf rocker when I joined the Hepburns. Then it was funny cos my guitar (or the lead) wasn't working, so Matt abandoned it and I was playing guitar and he was just the lead singer, which was funny. See below.

This picture taken by my parents, who were in attendance, and enjoyed the gig. (They live in the UK these days, near Cambridge).
Gosh, this blog is still boring.
Anyway, next up is my visit in Wales.

Leeds

After I spent 2 weeks in and around Toronto (which was very nice and I had a good time, except that it was really cold), I went to England, on another aeroplane. Aeroplanes are not that fun, but this journey was 6 hours of sitting in a chair, not 12 or anything. I've also got used to emptying my mind of all thought, it makes the time pass quicker. It also makes me a more dull person, which is an unwelcome side-effect of doing boring things.


I stayed with my parents just outside Cambridge for a night, and I slept from about 7pm until noon the next day. partly because of jetlag and that travelling makes you feel tired, but also because the sun in England in the winter doesn't rise high enough for you to really realise that it is daytime.


Then I caught a train or 2 to get to Leeds. I found my way to the venue called the Packhorse, and met Gareth Cavill there, who is a very lovely guy. His musical project is called Cavil (with one 'l') which is a word that means to raise petty objections. Cavil and the other local group called 'at swim two birds' both play music which is both miserable and beautiful, which is not too surprising, since Leeds is the home of goth. It was a really nice gig. There weren't too many people, but the people that were there were very friendly and were really into the music.
During my set, a couple of drunken girls, drunkenly shouting how fabulous I am, tried to get in the room, but the door man didn't let them in, but I was saying that they could come in if they payed the 4 pounds door fee.
I really enjoyed Gareth's set because I knew (almost) all the songs really well, because I mixed his forthcoming album. But it was great to hear them stripped back to their essentials.

There's Gareth a.k.a. Cavil, playing and singing a nice song.

There's at swim two birds.

During their set, a guy dressed as santa claus opened the door, with a look on his face as if to ask if we want him to come in and spread some christmas cheer. The guy on the door shook his head significantly, as if to say that no, we're not really into your christmas cheer in here..