Wednesday - March 31 - Berlin
Trouble is writing things up like this is I'm always on about
what happened yesterday instead of what's going down today. But
unless they invent the Time Tunnel - I used to love that programme
when I was a kid, it probably looks terrible if one were to see
a repeat these days - then there's no choice, is there. Unless
I carried a computer round with me and wrote everything up and
posted it up as they were happening. Which is a pretty daft idea!
So things will stay as they are… Unless anyone has any bright
ideas?
Well the artwork for Treasure Island is 95% finished. Egged on
by Hadley's suggestion of naked jass dancers that's the way it's
going. John, Stephane and I threw our pirate clobber in the bin
and dragged out some flappers and did the black bottom all across
the kitchen floor. Only joking! But the San Francisco part of
the sleeve hasn't turned up yet… Hopefully - and I'm always
hopeful - it'll be here in the morning.
This evening, since getting home from Stephan Schmidt's - where
we've been sorting out the artwork - I've been talking to my lawyer,
Dr. Johannes Delmere and reading through the distribution contract.
I love this kind of stuff… Or rather, I do it because it's
necessary. It's one side of the business - the business side of
the business - the side I don't like having to do. But I do…
I'd almost rather take up golf… But things aren't that desperate
yet… Thankfully.
The other day - March 29 - was my mother's birthday… Happy
birthday mum! At least I remembered to send a card… and I
rang her up. I'll find a nice present in Spain. That's the least
I can do for a mother who has done so much for me.
A few years back my folks were staying with me at my place in
Berlin. My mother says, "I expect you'll be glad when we're
back in England, won't you?" I replied, "Mum, if you'd
like to come and stay for one week a month, that'd be great…"
My dad mended things for me, changed fuses - all those kind of
things that dads can do. Mother cleaned the place from tip to
toe - and, of course, since they were coming to stay I'd made
an extra effort and made the flat as presentable as possible.
But that wasn't why I'd like to see them more often…
And it wasn't because of all the meals they invited Barbara and
me for… It's because they are my parents and both very cool.
They always supported everything that Epic and I did. Which is
something pretty wonderful. I always feel sorry for people (friends
of mine) who don't get on with their folks. Likewise people who
don't get on with their brothers or their sisters. Life must be
so miserable for so many folk… All the really cool people
I know always got on fine with their parents. In some cases their
parents don't have time for them, but that's different again.
It's those who so desperately pretend to be 'rebels' who have
these problems. The real rebels have got better things to revel
against. Think again…
I was just asked to choose my top
five albums of the past twenty years - this is for a Swedish alternative
magazine called Ettnollett. This may seem pretty easy at first.
But most of my favourite LPs came out way before 1984. As usual
I put the project to the back of my mind for a few days…
Then I came up with the following:
Screamadelica - Primal Scream
Bridges To Babylon - Rolling Stones
Unplugged… And Seated - Rod Stewart
Close To The Wind - Dave Swarbrick & Simon Nicol
Tawny Tracks - The Arrows & Friends
If I could have chosen some of my own records it would have been
easier. There's others I could / should have included… Bob
Dylan, Freddy Lynxx, The Fatal Shore, Ian McLagan… But the
list is done and submitted now…
Tuesday - March 30 - Berlin
What a day. I sat up all last night doing God knows what…
Decided to stay awake until the Russian embassy opened at 9am
- so I could call and find out about getting a visa. I fell asleep
thirty minutes before I'd planned to call - slept for an hour
and feeling totally shattered managed to stagger up and out of
bed and out of the house.
Well, I seem to have stirred up some response with yesterday's
comments about lack of feedback.
I don't really mind writing a few thoughts down each day - it's
quite therapeutic - and I always find if I have a few words about
a day in an old diary then I can normally remember most of the
events that transpired. Which is incredibly useful for writing
sleeve notes or my one-day autobiography, or whatever…
Anyway, next stop was at the Russian embassy to try and organise
my visa… Basically a waste of time - I need an invitation
from the folks at Rockmusic.Ru - which I later organised. Spent
most of the day running round before ending up at Duggald's to
do vocals on the Sudden / Fires duet, Alleyways. One line I came
up with is, My name is Nikki - which is true enough… Gotta
go back there in a few minutes to sing the vocal for Horse Blues…
Then to Stephan's for artwork… Then out to dinner… It's
a hectic life…
Monday - March 29 - Berlin - The Faces
/ Alan Merrill
I really like the way that now Dimitris is out of his eighteen
months of life in the Greek army - guarding the Greek / Turkish
border against pirates and brigands - he's taken nikkisudden.com
well in hand and is updating on an almost daily basis. While Dimitris
was legally kidnapped by the conscriptors my dear pal, Dave McNarie,
took over the daily running of the website, but Dave also single-handedly
runs the excellent Faces' site <the-faces.com> and has recently
set up Alan Merrill's <merrill.nikkisudden.com> site. Some
people collect stamps, others collect Rolling Stones' bootlegs
- Dave's passion seems to be organising websites for people…
And he works as well. Drives an hour to work each day - and presumably
an hour back… The boy needs a hobby…
Anyway, Dimitris is now free from enforced captivity - no more
falling asleep on guard duty allowed now! And the site is growing
daily. Every time I check in I first click on the updates section
on the title ('Enter') page and see what if anything, has been
altered. If there's something new to see I have a look - it's
always interesting to find out what I've been doing - or rather
it's interesting to find out what people think I'm doing…
Then I check into the forum - log in and see which, if any posts
have been posted since I was last there. I keep on finding stuff
like this out. If you're not registered on the forum you can waste
time checking through the various topics trying to find out which
people (Hi Kitty Willow, London Pony, etc.) have been idling away
their lives writing stuff for the world to read.
I always find it interesting how many people read my journal.
Within the first hour of posting it's generally about 8 or 9 of
you. 24 hours later it's crept up to around 25 or so. After a
couple of days it's hitting the 40 or 50 mark. Then it seems to
gradually creep up…
It's funny to think that all these
people - all you people - are going to be reading this in a short
time. I always check out Alan Merrill's journal on his site. Dave
M held this up to me as a glowing example of what I should be
doing and since I followed instructions / orders and began writing
this stuff direct to the forum I've tried to come up with something
most days. Alan's diary entries are generally pretty fascinating
and I hope mine are also a bit enticing.
Alan Merrill was one of The Arrows - co-writer of I Love Rock
& Roll - mid-Seventies pin-up boy. But unlike today's blander
than bland pin-ups he was an angel with a dirty face. I interviewed
him for my ongoing book on Ronnie Wood and he spilt quite a lot
of fascinating beans. I hope Alan and I can hook up when I'm in
NYC in May…
Anyway who are you lot who read my journal? And if you find it
interesting enough to read each day shouldn't you at least respond
in turn and write something erudite, or something well meaning,
or just something so I know that these hours spent one-finger
typing away are not being totally wasted. If someone like me who
is about as computer illiterate as they come can work out how
to register onto a forum or two - The Faces / Alan Merrill - then
it shouldn't be beyond you lot… Should it?
Sunday - March 28 - Berlin - Horse Blues
Yesterday saw the first (and last) gig by the Claudine Fires line-up
of the Joymentals. Claudine is returning to Memphis on Wednesday
- and isn't planning on coming back to Berlin in the near future.
So, after six months of rehearsal, they finally played last night
at the Butterclub. Accompanied by Carola on bass and Sylvia on
drums. Six months of rehearsal for one gig, though!
"Now we've got to find a new guitarist and rehearse for another
six months…" complained Carola.
I told her, "One gig is worth ten rehearsals…"
True enough, but I don't think she was convinced.
And the gig was a blast. A good ending to Miss Fires' Berlin adventure.
She was also really pleased with the stuff we recorded this week
(see March 23). I'm listening to the rough mixes as I write -
and they do sound really smashing. I just finished the lyrics
for Horse Blues. As I wrote on February 28th - when I wrote the
song in Thessaloniki: "I wrote a twelve-bar called Horse
Blues. I'll never use it - if anyone wants it for their band just
let me know. The words are still kinda rough but a coupla minutes
of polishing will do the trick."
Well, the words took a while longer… But they do sound pretty
neat in a funny sort of way:
You can ride my horse, of course,
if you really want to
You can ride my horse round the lake if you really have to
But whatever you do don't crash into my car.
You can drive my car as far as
you really have to
You can drive my car as fast as you really want to
You can drive my car but don't crash into my horse.
You can fly my plane across the
sky if you really need to
Fly to Cairo and Baghdad and anywhere that you really have to
But whatever you do don't crash my plane into my horse.
You can ride my horse, of course,
if you've got the choice, boy
You can ride my heart to Plymouth or John O'Groats, boy
But whatever you do don't crash
But whatever you do don't crash
But whatever you do don't crash into my plane.
Saturday - March 27 - Berlin - It's A Small World…
Yesterday's journal entry was a bit terse. To tell the truth I
was dreading looking at those emails. Even if I can unplug the
phone - and ignore people knocking at the door - which, luckily
no one did yesterday - you can't refuse access to your email account
- or can you? Anyway things weren't as bad as they could be. Twenty
mails - and most of them fine.
Dave K wanted to know where Veldegem is because he can't find
it on any map of Belgium - unsurprising because it's a small village.
I mailed Geert, our friend who is putting on the show in his back
garden, and asked him to send Dave the details of how to find
his place. I know how difficult it is to find Veldegem - I've
been there many times and still often have problems to locate
it…
Another mail was about a couple of upcoming shows in Rome - the
last time I played in Italy was in 1985… Swell Maps did an
Italian tour in 1980 - The Jacobites toured in 1985 - I thought
"Great! I'll be playing here at least every five years…"
Newer done a gig there since… Really looking forward to going
back there. There's a photo of me on the road going up to the
Coliseum - it's in the booklet for the reissue of Jane From Occupied
Europe. The whole street was festooned with posters: SWELL MAPS
~ IN ROCK ~ New Wave From England.
The Maps were the first 'new wave' band to ever play in Italy.
The tour broke the band - we never played another gig… Well,
we never played another gig until the death of my brother brought
us closer together and we did two reunion shows - London and Berlin.
Both of which went incredibly well! Epic would have been proud
of us… It's a pity it took his death to bring us back together
again. But that's often the way things go…
Back to the present and Dugald just came round with the rough
mixes of Tuesday's session. The stuff sounds really neat. Horse
Blues - basically a twelve-bar - but I came up with a really neat
middle eight. In fact all the songs sound really good - even the
jam, which has the working title of Rockabilly In A.
Following the listening session when my flat was one again invaded
- well there were five guests - Claudine and I trawled uptown
to Quasimodo for a gig by Ivan Neville - son of some of the Neville
Brothers, part-time X-pensive Wino, and all-round great keyboard
player and nice guy. He signed my copy of his album, Thanks, and
we had a good chat. Strangely enough the Ivan Neville tour was
booked by my old friend from Salzburg / Ebensee Hubert Moser.
Hubert was talking with Konrad Wallinger about me a few weeks
back. It's a small world.
Friday - March 26 - Berlin - Sleeping
Away The Day…
Sometimes it's good to be incommunicado for a few days. To which
end when my guest left on Thursday morning I unplugged the phone
before climbing into bed. I went to sleep around 5am woke up around
5pm - went back to sleep a few minutes later - woke up again at
11pm - had a glass of apple juice. Then I slept again until an
hour ago when I decided it was time to face the world. So I got
up and had a shower. I feel fine & refreshed & healthy.
I should spend the rest of today tidying my flat…
But first I'll have to check my emails - go down to the post office
- go shopping - and I suppose I should eat something.
Wednesday - March 24 - Berlin - Artwork
A-Go-Go
Every month since last September I sit down one afternoon or evening
for two hours and write a 10,000-character column for the Russian
rock magazine, Rockmusic.Ru. The first one was on songwriting,
the second on Bob Dylan, Bill Monroe Johnny Cash and the Anthology
Of American Folk Music. Then a piece on being on tour, a look
back at our short Russian trip and lastly a rant about why I hate
'new bands'. I thought this last article might be a bit too much
but Grigory, the editor, wrote back telling me that it was brilliant.
This month I'm reworking my 'semi-classic' Robert Johnson article.
I wrote it in 1986 before any photos of Johnson had been revealed…
Time changes many things but the discovered pictures merely reinforced
the legend… The work was published in Italian, in Spanish
and in German during the 1980's - but I think it has yet to appear
in English. It definitely hasn't been printed in Russian before.
Haven't finished it yet, but I will do…
I was supposed to do a photo session today but I just couldn't
wake up… So that got rescheduled for next week… But
I did make a restart on the artwork for Treasure Island. My friend,
Christoph Hahn recommended this chap, Stefan Schmidt, to me and
this afternoon I went over to his place. We finished off the label
and got the LP cover together. The rest will be finished on Sunday.
Tuesday - March 23 - Berlin - Studio
Daze
I always like to go into the studio at least once a month…
The last time I did any recording was last December - the two
June Panic cover versions. So today's session with John Barry
and Chris Hughes for a single / EP by Claudine Fires was much
appreciated. As I wrote last Saturday, I asked Claudine which
numbers she wanted to record. She asked if I had any we can do.
I wrote a few that night and then last night I came up with a
few more. We recorded rough demos in the early hours and luckily
I wrote the chords down in my songbook.
A couple of hours sleep and I was woken up by a cup of tea in
bed. Staggered up and got dressed. A few minutes later we were
in a taxi - heading round to Chris' place to pick up him and engineer,
Dugald Jaymes. Last time Dugald and I worked together was on the,
as yet unreleased, Nikki Sudden / Phil Shoenfelt LP Golden Vanity.
We recorded the album with Carl Eugene Picot and drummer, Robbie
Schmidt during February 1998. It never got released because I
didn't like most of the mixes - one day it'll get a John Rivers'
remake. Anyway Dugald has improved immeasurably over the years
- and today's session was a gas.
Working in the live room at the Butterclub we put down five songs
and two jams: Broke Again; Horse Blues; Capo Heart; Alleyway;
Aeroplane Blues, a rockabilly thing and something else. Chris
and John both played together really well… And my guitar
was neat, as well. Everything fitted perfectly into place. Claudine
sang some guide vocals and bopped around rather fetchingly and
Dugald got a great sound.
Claudine has to write words to my tunes, overdub a few guitar
parts and do her vocals - she'll probably wait until the weekend…
Then she goes back to Memphis next week - so Dugald and I will
be left to mix the record. It'll be released on either Sympathy
For The Record Industry or In The Red Records - both labels run
by friends of Miss Fires.
Although two of the songs have got 'Blues' in the title and are
both twelve-bars in 'E' they both sound totally different. Alleyway
is a kind of tip of the hat to doo-wop while Capo Heart is a T.Rex
(vaguely) semi-ballad. Broke Again featured Claudine singing the
lyrics to my song, No Good In Heaven - why I'm not too sure…
I don't think she knows why either.
I asked her and she just said, "I liked the no good in heaven
part…"
I recorded a version with The Creeping Candies during sessions
for their third album, Upside The Town [Bader Records BR20011298],
which I produced. Our recording was included on the American compilation
Rock'n'Roll War Vol. II, something I've never received a copy
of - if anyone comes across one I'd be most happy to get it…
The chords are basically the same [Em / D / C] as the song, In
Your Life, which I sang on the first Candies LP.
You'll hear all of these songs one day. Maybe you'll have to wait
for the long-threatened Nikki Sudden box set… Maybe they'll
come along sooner.
Monday - March 22 - Berlin - Place Dropping
Claudine, Chris Hughes, John Barry, Stephane Doucerain and I were
supposed to be recording today. Claudine returns to Memphis next
week after a six-month sabbatical in Berlin. We wrote a few songs
together two days back and I offered her Horse Blues… I believe
we'll be recording one week from now.
Life's so relentlessly busy that yesterday I didn't even find
the time to write anything down. Well, anything apart from the
bundle upon bundle of emails I had to reply to. As you'll see
if you check out the news page at nikkisudden.com things are starting
to go totally insane. It always happens like this - you sit around
for months, doing very little - then everything happens at once.
In the next seven weeks I'll be playing in Belgium, Spain, Russia,
Italy and America. I also have to put the artwork together for
Treasure Island, the 'best of' Epic Soundtracks and Epic's Good
Things album. Not that I'm complaining - far from it - I'd far
rather be busy working, playing, travelling, than idling my life
away.
As long as I can get the Treasure Island sleeve / booklet done
before I go off on my gallivanting… As long as I do that
and get the parts posted off to the necessary recipients then
everything will be fine. The album itself has been ready for four
months - see the entry for November 15 2003 - but the cover is
taking it's own time. Michael Witte took the cover photos - four
days after the LP was put to bed and then followed that up with
a second session ten days later.
The original idea - well, my original idea - was to take the photographs
in the Caribbean. The budget swiftly curtailed that thought and
we swopped the sun-drenched, palm-tree laden beaches for the bitter-cold
rain-splattered streets of Berlin.
But because Michael and I were by last autumn really hitting it
off the frozen state of John Barry, Stephane Doucerain and myself
remains unseen. It's been oft said that the camera never lies
when what is often meant is that in gifted hands the camera can
create and sustain a magnificence that is not always there.
Michael and I had done three or four sessions prior to these -
the So Many Girls single cover came from one of these - but before
we'd never clicked. The three sessions for the TI cover were all
perfect…
So, if I can get the TI cover work finished that'll be great.
If I can also do the artwork for 'the best of' Epic Soundtracks
and Epic's new album, Good Things, then life will be a bit more
relaxing. TI will be a piece of cake - I have all the photos and
the brilliant work done on my behalf by Hadley Northrop and Sean
Vallely, the label, inlay tray and hand-lettering drawn by Trevor
Austin.
For Epic's LPs I have a good few photos sorted out. I have to
trust to luck and judgement on that. I also hope to get some shots
of Epic and Kevin Junior from my brother's last tour. These were
taken by the glamorous soul of Miss Karen Kiska - and I doubt
if I've ever had the chance to glimpse them yet… But I will.
One of the stranger things about writing this public diary - as
opposed to the private one I kept for years - is that people I've
never met before come up to me and say things like, "Have
you finished that song, Captain Pugwash, you were writing the
other day?"
"How do you know about that?" I respond.
"I read about it in your journal…"
It's probably best that I don't approach this online journal in
the same way one keeps a private / personal diary… Otherwise
god knows how the questions would run.
Saturday - March 20 - Berlin - Life After
Life After Life...
Sitting here with a few friends: Chris Hughes - drummer for The
Fatal Shore, Mentholated Spirits, Hugo Race & The True Spirit
and part time drummer with Rowland Howard's These Immortal Souls
amongst others. Chris plays on the original version of my song,
Penicillin and the recording of The Devil Took Me Down To Georgia.
Both numbers were recorded at a studio in Adalbertstrasse - just
round the corner from here - in February 1991. Chris and I keep
on saying we should do something together again - we played together
at The Butterclub during a jam session some months back. Now it
looks as though we, together with John Barry on bass, will be
backing up Miss Claudine Fires on some songs she'll be recording
on Monday.
At my place the other night Claudine said she wanted to do some
recording before heading back to Memphis. She asked if I'd like
to play. I said, "Yes!" and then asked which numbers
she wanted to record. She said, "Have you got any we can
do?" I played her Horse Blues and then we wrote one called
Alleyways. A few minutes later we had another two or three done.
Friends two and three are Gabi Bila-Gunther and her husband, Teo
- both essential parts of the Berlin scene. I first met Gabi in
town during the late eighties, before the wall came down - when
Berlin was still really cooking. We've stayed friends ever since.
Gabi organises 'happenings' once a month or so. In launderettes,
in theatres, in weird cafes… I quite often go along and play
a short guest spot. Every time I need some CDRs burned I call
up Teo and ask him. I still haven't got a CD burner - and even
if I had on it'd take me quite a while to figure out how to use
one.
Teo burned some copies of the upcoming Live In Moscow album and
then a few more of Treasure Island for me… Live In Moscow
sounds really neat - especially as John, Stephane and I had only
played one gig in the previous six months, no rehearsal, nothing.
Imagine how we'd sound if we rehearsed every week like Dave and
The Tenderhooks do? I'm trying to get a practice in next week
- mainly to run through some of the fifteen new songs I wrote
in Greece. To see how they'll work with the band… Whether
they'll sound the same in reality as they do in my head.
Last night's gig at Gluck 21 was a gas! First my friend, Thomas
Gunther, did an introductory speech then introduced his father,
Egon Gunther. Herr Gunther, senior, gave a fascinating talk on
Nietzsche, Samuel Beckett and others. I say it was fascinating,
but as it as in German I couldn't actually understand a word.
But all my German friends said it was very worthwhile.
A twenty-minute break for drinks and excellent pumpkin soup and
then our hero took the stage. Due to my recent Greek experience
I played a whole bunch of songs mainly unperformed in Germany.
When Angels Die, The Rolling Of The Hearse, All The Dark Rags,
Penicillin, The Last Flash Of The Cavalier Nation… those
sort of numbers. The sound was a bit rough and some folks were
talking at first… But by the end everyone was really into
it. I got two incredibly enthusiastic encores, sold a bunch of
CDs and got paid. So this morning I went down to the bank and
paid my gas bill! Only the phone bill to go and then I'll be fine.
Anyone with any surplus cash who wants to pay off deep held debts
owed to me is perfectly welcome to send money in my direction.
No, actually life is fine at present. The drags are down and the
ups are fine. Tonight I'm going to dinner with some friends, then
off to see Christoph Hahn at Mysliwska and then to hear Dahlia
doing the DJ slot at some club on the same street. If only I could
shake up this cold I woke up with this morning…
Friday - March 19 - Berlin Life / Berlin
Death!
As Bob Dylan once wrote, "He who is not busy being born
is busy dying." This is so, so true…
There were quite a few reasons for not wanting to return to Germany
too soon - and most of them came to pass last night. I'm sitting
at my desk in the main room of the flat. On the floor next to
me lie the still-sleeping bodies of two friends. I was woken by
Stephane Doucerain - Last Bandits' drummer calling to say he couldn't
rehearse today - the bodies kept on sleeping! And they're still
comatose two hours later.
I decided the best thing to do was to ignore them and get on with
life. Hopefully they'll come to before too long. I don't mind
the sleeping but the mattress is a bit annoying to have to keep
on walking round every time I need to get around the room.
Last night saw Sudden Mansions pumping with people - Jason Honea,
Claudine Fires, Axl van Windhook . Well three people isn't that
many but when they're all eating your food, demolishing your flat,
making free with your record collection, cutting their hair, more-or-less
finishing your three bottles of red wine, that kind of thing -
then three people can be more than enough.
Still, they're all good friends and the only reason I'm feeling
slightly grumpy today because I want my flat and the floor back.
The post brought many things - stockpiled since I'd been to Greece…
Two new albums from my pal, Kevin K, a great sounding double CDR
set from Dave and my strange show at Bapsi's Pilsbar in Memmeningerberg
(see December 19 2003 entry). Photos of John Barry, Stephane and
myself from Stefanie Moloth in Bernstadt. Phone bills, gas bills,
photographer's bills. A demo album from Swedish band, Love Injections.
Lots of things to listen to. Lots of bills to pay… And there's
the rub…
Having returned from Greece with enough money to pay my (overdue)
rent and Michael Witte's photo bill - "You remember I already
paid you 150 Euros?" "Yes!" I had enough left to
buy some food and pay the second photo bill - Miss Moloth, let
me know when it arrives. I still don't really get the German banking
system. I could go into it, but…
Things could be a lot worse - I could have come back from Greece
with no money and then I wouldn't have even been able to pay anyone.
I explained the situation to The Guitar Doc this afternoon - after
the bodies on the floor had come to life - and he said, "Typical
musician story!"
That's the only trouble with living life this close to the edge
- sometimes the edge is a bit too close for comfort. But I've
got a gig tonight and then next month the world goes crazy again.
I'll tell you about that tomorrow.
Anyway, I try and spend my life being born. That's why I read
so much. On the plane I finished John Buchan's John Macnab. At
school we read Prester John and I always find myself returning
to Buchan from time to time. Next up on the reading list is Greenmantle.
I'd think twenty or more years have gone by since I last read
the tale. I like the way Buchan evokes his own period so finely…
Good stuff!
Thursday- March 18 - Back In Berlin (House
Cleaning Blues)
Why I didn't fly back on Friday is beyond me. What I should have
done is gone straight from the airport to Gluck 21 - done the
gig - got paid - and then got paid - and then gone home. Instead
of which I was picked up by the very wonderful Barbara Massacci,
fashion designer to the stars. She drove me and my bags, coat
and guitar down from Tegel Flughafen to Kreuzberg and home. We
followed this with a Greek style meal.
Later the doorbell rings - it's my American pal, Jason Honea -
Typhoon Tracy II. A few minutes later it rings again. This time
it's German photographer, Michael Witte who has turned up for
payment for the last photo session we did. (See January 18 and
January 11). I hand the cash over and suggest we go for a drink
at Bellman's. We do and Andreas, the owner, is behind the bar
tonight. We have a brief chat or two and he begins playing a fine
assortment of Nikki Sudden and Johnny Cash! I retire to bed eventually.
This morning I wake up early - yet again - and by half nine I'm
in the post office paying this month's rent. Do a bit of shopping
- the usual stuff. Pick up three films worth of photos from the
local place - mainly shots from Russia and the Nova Sound studio
session. I'll try and get some of the better ones up on the site.
It'd be easier if I bought a scanner…
Then it's back here to clean the kitchen floor - make phone calls
- and listen to the songs I wrote in Thessaloniki. And, despite
everything they sound great! Listening to Judas Iscariot's Chariot
(still the working title) as I write. I'd kind of forgotten that
one - just hope I wrote the chords down… The basic trouble
with writing songs is having to write the words down. Well, it
can be quite therapeutic, but it can also be a quite daunting
/ boring experience. But it's one of those things you just have
to do.
There are far worse jobs than being a musician! This is something
I've often thought about - a lot of folks ask their questions
and you just reply: "Being a musician is the nearest thing
in this world to being a pirate or a WW1 or a Battle of Britain
pilot. It's one of the few possibilities on this planet that still
has some excitement and some kind of edge attached. Some times
you have money, other times you have none. But despite everything
you're able to live life by your own rules. You can actually feel
as though you're alive if you're a musician! And that's something
worth living for…" Ain't it just.
Wednesday - March 17 - Larissa Goes Wild
Stefan and I spent a couple of hours running through songs yesterday
- we packed the guitars up in the cases and about five minutes
before we were due to leave we got a call from Costas in Larisa
telling us that we weren't playing in Platamon but in Larisa!
"Great!" sez I, ""Okay, but we'll need some
more money..."
"Okay!" sez he...
"What's the name of the club?"
He won't tell me but suggests we meet somewhere in Larisa."
The railway station..." I suggest.
Stefan and I wander down the hill to meet up with our chauffeur
(Panos) and Mrs. Drosinopoulos (Stella). We climb aboard and drive
down the dusty road...
En route to Larisa we stop in Platamon to visit the castle. A
few good Jacobite type photos are taken and we continue the extra
80 kilometres down the road. Get to the station at the appointed
time. Of course, there's no one there. Stefan shouts, "Costas!
Costas," a few times and after a five-minute pause a cool
looking rockabilly? Flaming Stars type turns up on a bicycle.
He introduces himself and we follow his pedalling feet down a
few streets and round a few corners.
We arrive at a cool kind of bar where they're playing non-stop
Greek rock music. I ask for something more suitable to be told
that they don't have anything.
Eventually we start the soundcheck. The pa - purchased yesterday
by the bar owner doesn't seem to work very well. Our voices are
far too quiet and far too distorted and the guitars are more or
less inaudible. After about an hour of this the sound gets sorted
out...
We go for a brilliant meal in an Ouzeria - place where they sell
ouzo - and drink Tsipouro. The food is wonderful and it kept on
coming. At the best of times I don't each much and this was ridiculous.
Greek hospitality! I love it!
Got back and played the show. The set included versions of The
Rolling Of The Hearse, Older Women, If I'm Crying, Such A Little
Girl, Chelsea Embankment, Basement Blues and Sea Dog Blues amongst
others. We also played a medley of my When Angels Die and the
Sudden / Schwerdtfeger composition Under The Walnut Tree - from
the last Big Sleep album. Stefan sang his Greek hit, Girl With
A Washing Machine. We went down incredibly well. What the bar
was called I have no idea but I will find out.
One strange thing that Costas said was, "Yesterday we wanted
to do an interview with you on the local radio station."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"We thought you might turn up a day early..."
I gotta go to catch my plane back to Berlin...
Tuesday - March 16 - Thessalonica - Salvation
Meets Victory
This will be my last day in Greece. My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon
- which is, all in all, pretty annoying. What I should have done
is flown back on Friday, then got a taxi from the airport direct
to the gig. Instead of which I'm going back two days too early
to a, doubtless, very cold Germany! Great!
By way of a farewell to Greece Stefan and I will be playing a
bar called Jam in a town called Platamon. I very much doubt if
anyone reading this will be there, except for friend of and chauffeur
to the stars, Panos D.
Christos from Casablanca said, "Why are you playing in Platamon?
It's just a village!"
To which I replied, "Because they're paying me, and because
that's what I do... I play gigs!"
To which I could have added, "Because I've heard there's
a great castle there and I love castles. They're particularly
cool for photo sessions...
Take one or more Jacobites. Find a fine antique castle. Position
the lad in front of the building. Snap away... and Bob's your
uncle...
Anyway here's my introduction to my dear friend Stefan Schwerdtfeger:
Stefan and I first met at a soundcheck at a club on the outskirts
of Munich ten years or so back. He'd recorded a version of my
song, Where The Rivers End with his band, Big Sleep. He handed
me a copy of the album, Moonlit Days, and I thanked him and said
I would listen to it. About five days later Stefan turned up at
another soundcheck and asked if I'd heard his recording. I hadn't
- mainly because I'd liked Stefan a lot and didn't want to be
disappointed. At his instigation I put the album on and heard,
to my complete amazement, a brilliant, fantastic and totally inspired
ten-minute plus version of my song.
It was the first cover version of one of my creations - and it
sounded wonderful. Dave and I started putting some of Stefan's
vocal twists into the way we did the song. And Stefan has been
a close friend since that day.
Those of you who are interested should check out the Stefan Schwerdtfeger
/ Big Sleep official homepage: http://baronrouge.com/BigSleep/BigSleep.html
You can order copies of Everything Falls Into Place / Moonlit
Days - Big Sleep's first two albums re-released as a double set
- from Stefan at: sleep614@gmx.net.
He's a great songwriter and a wonderful songwriter and singer.
And as our mutual friend, the ever-radiant and completely gorgeous,
Miss Loukia Kinali of Kythnos and Athens says, "He's the
most beautiful man [she's] ever seen!" I can't really comment
on that... Well, I can, but discretion permits.
Monday
- March 15 - Thessaloniki - Greek Gigs & Greek Girls
It just gets better and better. Last night at The Residents was
great - both musically and financially. The second best Greek
gig I've ever played! The best one being the legendary Rowland
S Howard, Duncan Sibbald, Desperate, NS line-up back at Rodan
in Athens in 1988 or so.
You want classic rock'n roll gigs - that was one of them. If I
close my eyes I can still see the club, the red velvet drapes
/ stage lights. The audience, the whole caboodle.
We'd flown in the previous day. December in Greece beat December
in England by far... Beautiful sunshine, sitting in Monastiraki,
in the shadow of the Parthenon... You couldn't beat it. Anyway
the first night in town we ended up being taken to this really
cool bar called The Green Door. Free drinks, the lot! You know
how it goes. Rowland and I got talking to the DJ who was playing
non stop great music. He gave us a couple of black bombers each.
I asked, "How many do you take?"
He said, "I take three each evening before I start work."
"Okay," we said.
The next day - or rather, later the same day - we went to the
soundcheck. Walked into this massive place - a bit like the Town
& Country / Forum in London. We thought they were going to
take us to a smaller room in the same venue but, no, this was
the place. I was given a really cool Mesa Boogie amp. The only
trouble was it completely covered in controls. And if I have a
complex amp I'm totally floored. These days I use a Gibson Goldtone,
which has volume, tone and reverb - and that's it. Perfect and
sounds great!
Anyway Rowland and one of the local sound guys worked out how
to use the amp. We did the soundcheck and I went back to the hotel,
took a bomber and fell asleep. Next thing I know I'm being woken
up, "Nikki, it's midnight! You were supposed to be on stage
five minutes ago!" I pulled my boots on and staggered downstairs,
out on the streets and to the venue. The place was totally packed!
Made it to the backstage and feeling the need for something to
wake me up I took a bottle of champagne and poured it into a glass.
The whole bottle - one glass. Downed it and we went out. First
number was Road Of Broken Dreams. Second I have no idea. But after
the second number I turned to Rowland - who was in the same state
of me - and asked, "What shall we play next?"
"Do Road Of Broken Dreams... That always goes down well!"
We ended up playing the song three times during the set...
During Death Is Hanging Over Me I remember lying on the stage
and kissing the most gorgeous girl in the audience... Said I'd
see her later... The gig finished I went backstage and downed
another bottle of champagne. Went out to find the girl... Found
her out on the street outside the club the cool night hit me and
I passed out. Next thing I know I'm waking up in my hotel bed.
Rowland got off with the girl! Incredibly frustrating turn of
events. Maybe the old adage should read, "Beware of Greeks
bearing black bombers!"
Next day Rowland and I met a nice Greek chap called Furnace with
whom we had another adventure. But that's a story for another
day, as is what happened when we arrived back in London..
.
Well, I was younger then...
Anyway last night at Residents wasn't stained by the same ridiculous
turn of events, but it still ended up so cool...
I played for a good two hours - old songs, new songs, some unfinished
songs including the public premiere of Death Warrant and Slave
Trade. I did the whole lot... Started with Pin Your Heart and
When The Rain Comes. Played Treasure Island and Break Up off the
new album. The Rolling Of The Hearse (and I remembered almost
all the words) and When Angels Die from Old Scarlett. The second
ever live version of Missionary Boy - this was a request - and
I could only remember three of the verses. When I started playing
it I knew (just about) that the first chord was A. Hadn't a clue
what the second one was - I guessed at G and luckily I was proved
right. The chorus is an F / Em job. I should start playing that
one with the band.
I was going to keep the set list but Billy from Residents asked
if he could keep it. Panos and a lovely girl dressed in white
- with black stockings - both filmed the gig though so one day
I'll be able to recall it all.
The evening wound on and it was around 7am this morning before
I was finally dragged out of Lucky Luke (post-Residents bar) and
back to a friend's place... Later she told me I was the most charming
man she'd ever met in her life. So either she's led a very sheltered
life which seeing as how she hangs out in Residents most nights
is quite unlikely. Or I am the most charming man she's ever met
in her life... Which is quite a compliment to have thrown at you.
Better than a plate of grits, anyhow!
So after leaving by way of a small celebration I went out and
bought a cool 'rock'n roll star' belt, an Elvis box set called
Close Up and the Aladdin Sane reissue...
Life's good some days...
Sunday - March 14 - Thessaloniki
And after the question of what's the best invention of the Twentieth
century logically follows the question of what's the worst invention
of the Twentieth century? Well to me there's no thought involved
at all… Mobile phones! Even if every person in the world
has one I still won't! I like the fact that I'm uncontactable
at times… I know that you can turn the blessed things off
but people can still leave messages! It's bad enough having too
check your emails every day or two but at least people don't actually
know where you are - unless you choose to tell them.
I still like writing
and receiving letters, but this email thing is incredibly useful.
In the past few weeks I've been organising my gigging life mainly
via email… It also helps that people you've never even met
often contact you because of seeing an email address somewhere.
It's just that these bloody mobile phones are everywhere - and
most conversations seem to consist of:
"Where are you,
Pete?"
"On the bus / train
/ underground, Linda. I'll be home in five minutes…"
"Okay… Could
you pick up a packet of fish-fingers on the way. Keith and Karis
are really hungry and they some good 'ealthy grub?"
"Alright, dear.
I'll get 'em a packet of Smash as well, shall I?"
"Yeah! Okay luv.
See ya in a gnat's whisper…"
"Okay, ta ra Linda-pie…
Ta ra…"
Anyway, I far prefer
to remain a Luddite in such matters. The sight of thousands upon
thousands of people apparently talking to themselves is so off-putting.
Though the recent news that millions of Japanese thumbs are almost
falling off due to repetitive sending of text messages is quite
amusing.
Anyway, last night's
gig in Ptolemaida was great fun. They only had three of my albums:
Seven Lives Later, Old Scarlett and Robespierre - so I was asked
if I could play songs of those. I looked at the track-listings,
made a set list and answered, "Yes!" One particular
request remained unfulfilled - and that was Boutique. I claimed
I couldn't remember the chords - which as I found out a few minutes
later was blatantly untrue. I played a half-version of the song
for Dimitris, the barman while attempting to chat up Natasa, the
waitress.
The gig itself was a
gas! Some songs - When The Rain Comes; When Angels Die; Pin Your
Heart - went down incredibly. None of the numbers actually received
anything less than an enthusiastic response but for those three
in particular the enthusiasm was wonderful! The bar staff threw
hundreds of paper napkins into the air - coming down like a bright
orange shower. Drinks were drunk, cigarettes were smoked, glory
was passed out and gratefully received.
Today we drove back
through some glorious mountains - the ones above Veria - slopes
still covered in a scattering of snow. On one crest I spied a
derelict, abandoned house / chapel with among other things, the
word 'Niki' - Greek for Nikki / Victory - sprayed on one wall.
At my request Panos stopped the car and I hopped out to pose for
photographs in front of my misspelt name… Hopefully at least
one of the shots will turn up on the site.
Back in town Giorgos
from BTV turned up to interview me for a programme that'll be
based around last weeks show in Mylos - which was also filmed.
After the interview Stefan suggested that I be filmed sitting
in my room - surrounded, as usual, by the chaos of my life - playing
a couple of new songs. I played versions of Death Warrant and
Slave Trade for the camera. The only trouble is that unless you
happen to live in Macedonia you won't be able to see the show.
I did ask for a DVD so with a bit of luck we'll get some songs
up on the site.
Saturday
- March 13 - Ptolemaida
Last night at Casablanca in Thessaloniki was pretty good fun to
a sometimes very responsive audience. Well, the first set was
fun anyway. Christos, the guy who organised the show came up to
me after an hour and asked if I'd like to make a short break.
I said yes and retired from the stage for 20 minutes.
That's when things started
to go wrong!
I regained the stage
to find the PA (such as it was) turned down to pretty close to
inaudible. All I, and the audience, could really hear was their
chattering. After twenty minutes of this Christos came up and
said, "Nikki, unplug your guitar and follow me - quickly.
The cops are coming!"
I was almost dragged
into this back room where I laid m acoustic across a table. Christos
said, "Stay here!" and went off. I ignored him and went
back to talk to some friends. Three officious looking police types
entered the bar and ignoring the microphone still positioned in
front of the audience went into the back room...
They stayed there for
a good half hour where doubtless a few backhanders were exchanged.
It transpired that some bod on the second floor had complained!
And the acoustic / vocal thing was a lot quieter than the music
they'd been playing before, between and after I played! God help
some people...
I ended up talking to
some chick called Maria who owned a bar - Yard Trip - where she
asked if I'd like to play. I said, "Why not?" followed
quickly by, "When?" She said, "Would you like to
come and see the place?" I said, "Yes, but I'd better
pack away my acoustic first..."
The police having now
left - as had a lot of the audience - funny how these things lead
to dissipation... Stellios, the half, or more-or-less totally
insane, but nice enough, gravedigger picked my guitar from it's
case. He handed it to me and requested more songs.
I sat on a barstool
and totally unplugged serenading the remaining tables for five
or six numbers. Then Maria and I went to Yard Trip where I appalled
her by watering down my wine...
"You can't do that!"
she exclaimed.
"Why not?"
I asked.
"Because you can't!"
I ignored her and carried
on...
Eventually she walked
me round to The Residents of which I can remember little... I'll
probably find out if anything occurred tomorrow. But I don't think
it did...
Got a taxi out of the
centre to Panos and Stella's place and fell into bed.
Today we drove for three
hours through the Greek landscape to the small town of Ptolemaida
- stopping en route for a gorgeous potato pie. And now we're here.
I've done my soundcheck - almost sold all the 60 CDs I bought
with me and now it's time to eat...
Friday
- March 12 - Thessaloniki
Some days it's difficult to be inspired. Or is it? No, that's
rubbish...
Start again...
Inspiration can strike
anywhere and at any time. Today Stefan and I were running through
a few numbers for a joint gig - well I was playing the guitar
and he was writing down the chords. Trouble is Stefan keeps on
suggesting songs I can't remember...
Anyway he left the room to play the record of Pin Your Heart so
he could work out how to sing the chorus part. Dave K normally
does it when we play live together - the notes are a bit too high
for me.
Pin Your Heart is in
G.
Riff: G / Am / Bm / Em / Am / D
Verse: G / Bm / Am / C x 2
Em / Am x 2
G / Am / Bm / Em / Am / D x 2
(Music - Dave Kusworth
/ Words - yours truly)
Anyway I was just sitting
there strumming away in G - the words fell into my head. I turned
on the minidisc recorder and they spilt out for twelve minutes:
I played the fiddle
for the captain
And the captain played dice for me
I ended up on the auction block
Condemned to a life of slavery.
That kind of thing...
Then I decided I might as well put it together with this other
song I've been working on for a couple of weeks / months now.
A song called Slave Trade or White Slave Trade. The chorus of
which goes:
I'm in the slave
trade, baby
You know what kind of man I am
I'll sell your gash for silver
And sell your arse for ham.
Well, it's not finished
yet!
There's a whole library
of other words but those are the ones I best recall at the moment.
I'm considering the
Gary Glitter version - surely it's time for the GG revival. He
may be a sexual-creep but he sure made some great records:
I'm in the slave
trade, baby
You know what kind of man I am
I'm the man who put the evil in silver
I'm the man who put the bang in gang.
Rotten dollars, whatever...
Then an hour or so later
I'm sitting in Cafe Casablanca where I'll be playing tonight.
Getting bored...
"We'll pick you
up at 3.30" they said...
"4.30," I
replied.
They picked me up a
few minutes earlier and drove me to Casablanca where I sat around
for the next two hours waiting for the soundman to turn up. Picked
up my guitar and started trying to glue the four different parts
of Slave Trade together. And it works. I grabbed my notebook and
a pen and wrote down a more concise version of the lyrics.
Yesterday Stefan was complaining / questioning / pointing out
that whereas the Stones - amongst others - always make a point
of having a chorus in a different key to the rest of the song...
"Well, sometimes..."
I said.
Many of my songs have
no actual chorus - and if they do they're often in the same key.
I pulled out a CDR of Treasure Island and mused this for a while.
"Well," I said, "Half of the songs have got really
strong choruses - and in different keys. One of the songs has
no chorus as such but has a strong riff and a near repeated line
/ motif. And yes two or three songs - Russian River for example
- are the same three chords for the whole song."
Russian River is a repeated F#m / C#m / Bm / F#m sequence throughout.
It's also most peoples, including Stefan's favourite song on the
whole album.
"So what does that
prove?" I asked.
"Nothing,"
he smiled. "It was just a question."
And a pretty good one
at that...
Thursday
- March 11 - Thessaloniki - Shoenfelt & Stones
After climbing back up the hill yesterday I asked Stefan, "So,
What's the best invention of the Twentieth Century?" He thought
for a moment or two and then replied, "The electric guitar."
So I'm not totally alone in the way I think...
Yesterday I finished the sleeve notes for the 'best of' Phil Shoenfelt,
Deep Horizon. All I needed was some kind of theme to base my thoughts
on and then I was away. Decided to weigh the balance between the
dissoluteness of Phil's character and the (apparent) purity of
his soul. God and the Devil... that kind of thing. I wrote much
of the piece the night before and then revised it yesterday evening.
Called the parfidad of Prague up at home and read it out to him.
He suggested a few changes - to which I willingly acquiesced.
The phone call over
I wrote another three-four hundred words and put the piece to
bed. Then I started on the introductions to my friend Nico Zentgraf's
<nzentgraf.de> 3 volume series of Stones Research. The three
volumes are called The Complete Works Vols I-III. This will be
their second or third update and reprint. Once again I had to
think of a perspective to start from. I put the matter to the
back of my head for a few weeks. Didn't write a word. But then
last night around midnight inspiration struck...
Even if you don't buy the PS double album set or the NZ books
you'll be able to read my scribblings in book form in the near
future. Last week a German publisher contacted me saying he would
like to do a book on me! Or should that be, do a book by me? I
wrote back saying, "Okay." So I guess my free time this
year - the little of I still have is going to become less and
less.
When I get back to Germany
next week - which is approaching far too fast - I play at gig
just up the road from my place and then, hopefully, I'll be off
to Munster or Bremen to finish off the artwork for Treasure Island
and also that for two Epic Soundtracks albums. The new one, Good
Things and the as yet untitled 'best of'.
Then John, Stephane
and I trek across Europe to play at my friend Geert Vanderckhove's
Treasure Island party. It's a real pity the album won't be out
in time but there's no way in heaven's deep that it will be. Then
I have to fly straight to Spain for a two week solo acoustic jaunt
organised by my great friend, Santi Rodriguez.
And then, pausing for
a slight breath, Dave Kusworth and I - better known as The Jacobites
- have been asked to play a handful of Russian gigs towards the
end of the month. Moscow and the Ukraine have been mentioned so
far. I had such a great time there last Christmas. Just hope the
weather will be warmer this time. Boxing Day saw temperatures
plunging to minus twenty! But the girls were gorgeous, the food
and drink were great and the company and the audiences were wonderful.
Then I think I might have a day off before John, Stephane and
I play the Junction Bar in Kreuzberg on Berlin's Gneisenaustrasse...
And then... I have to fly to England to master the two Epic albums,
do some mixes, that kind of stuff. It always comes at once. You
sit around doing nothing for months then the whole world explodes.
Here in Greece the days
have been whiling away for two or three weeks and I've played
three shows. Now it looks as I'll be playing five shows on the
last five days of my stay. At least I'll be able to pay my (overdue)
rent and the latest photographer's bill - Hi Michael - when I
get back.
Wednesday
- March 10 - Thessaloniki - Electric Guitars & Coffee Pots
So, as I was walking down the hill this morning I was thinking
an oft-thought thought... This being, "What was the best
invention of the Twentieth Century?" My answer, as always,
is the electric guitar. You could say the tape recorder, but recording
equipment was already in hand in the late 19th Century. Edison?
But then the worst invention of all time possibly has to be electricity.
Very useful, an' all that - but without it the world would still
be a finer, richer place. But without electricity we wouldn't
have any recording studios. You could still hear recordings on
wind-up gramophones or on scratchy old cylinders, but...
So it's a bit of a problem. Without electricity there would be
no computers - which would make my life a lot easier... (Sorry
DD & DM).
I've got six minutes left before I have to meet Panos to discuss
the club where I'm playing this Saturday. Some town 200 kilometres
from Thessaloniki. But if he's typical Greek then he'll be late.
When we turned up for lunch with Giorgos Christianakis last week
he arrived around an hour or so after the meet up time. Trouble
is I think that Panos is a bit more reliable. Otherwise I could
just write away for a while more.
Anyway, electric guitars it is. If you can think of anything better.
And don't say a dishwasher or washing machine either.
This morning I woke up far too early and then after a quick bath
sat down at the computer and did some work on the sleeve notes
for the 'best of' Phil Shoenfelt album that some company or another
are releasing in the next few months. Phil asked me if I could
write something suitable back on the day I arrived in Greece.
Instead of asking, "How much do I get paid?" I nobly
replied, "Okay!" Wrote three lines then forgot about
it till last night. Started cobbling something together. Half
an hour later the phone rings, "Hi Nikki, it's Phil here.
You finished the stuff yet?" "I was just writing about
you a few minutes ago..." Turns out the deadline is now.
Thanks for telling me, Phil! At least I know now... Almost got
them finished this morning. All it needed was a theme to work
on and I decided to waver between the dissoluteness and the purity
of Mr. Shoenfelt.
Tuesday - March 9 - Thessalonica
Another day in town. As I woke up the day is still overcast but
not bitter as of yesterday. Giorgos told me that the weather would
change. So roll away clouds… Go off to Manchester, or somewhere
you're more welcome… Nothing changed…
Stefan and I went down
to the market to buy his supplies and I wandered off to an Internet
cafe where I ended up spending the next four hours of my life
(and 7 Euros). Reading my emails I realised I was getting a blasting
from Big Dave - Mr. McNarie to you and me - about the way I've
been conducting my life of late. First, back last year - in June
- he tells me that I should write a diary / journal of my days
- I did this daily for many long years before stopping two or
three back so the idea appealed anyway. A while later after the
Forum is up and running he tells me that I should concentrate
on the Forum entries. So probably the journal as such will read
differently from the forum journal, save on days when I'm at home
and able to combine the two. Otherwise you're just going to get
piecemeal stuff from the Internet cafes of the world. And try
finding an Internet cafe in some of the places I find myself in.
Maybe I should get Dave
to manage me - maybe we should actually meet one of these days…
Trouble is, he lives in Salt Lake City - I live in Europe - and
there's a whole ocean of misunderstanding in between.
Anyway, four hours - well, three and a half hours later I finally
leave the place. Carrying my essential purchases in hand - baked
beans, cheddar cheese, soya milk, mini-discs - I traverse the
dull Greek streets and on, on and up, up and forever on…
make my weary climb. Arriving I cook a much-needed English-style
meal of mashed potatoes, soya chunks and baked beans. Eat the
'best' (debatable) food I've had in this country then retire to
my room to transcribe two of the songs Stefan and I conjured up
yesterday. Listening back later they all sound great but Take
Your Clothes Off is my favourite. Well that and another one with
no title as yet - it's a two-chord thing that goes up two steps
with every verse. Stefan really likes it. Four pages of lyrics
later inspiration strikes again - I turn on the recorder and sing
a T.Rex style number with lines like:
On the road to Damascus
They could never have passed us.
Working title is Judas
Iscariot's Chariot - which sounds a bit too twee - nice idea though.
He must have bought something useful with his thirty pieces of
silver, now, mustn't he?
Then I finally remember that Phil Shoenfelt <www.geocities.com
/ philshoenfelt>had asked me to write sleeve notes for
his soon-come 'best of' set. He called up on the day I arrived
- eighteen days back. "Okay!" I said… What I should
have said is, "How much does it pay?" But that's not
the way it goes. I wrote three lines then stopped. Tonight I started
writing… Half an hour later the phone rings, "Hi! It's
Phil calling from Prague…" "I was just writing
about you…" "That's good. Is it finished yet?"
"When's the deadline?" "Now! But if you get it
to me in a week that'll do…" "Okay!"
I've also agreed to write introductions for Nico Zentgraf's <www.nicozentgraf.de>
Rolling Stones - Complete Works. Nico's instructions were a bit
more specific than Phil's, plus he told me when the deadline was.
"One page for each volume, you can decide yourself how many
words you want to write as long as they fit (just rule it out
with the layout). Deadline should be 31.3.04. Volume 1 1962 -
1975. Volume 2 1976 - 1988. Volume 3 1989 - 2003." I suppose
I'd better start on those in the morning!
Monday
- March 8 - Thessaloniki
A good night's sleep. Another day. Rain fills the town - I get
wet. Find a shop with a good, cheap, if small, selection of English
books. "I've bought us a library!" I tell Stefan on
re-entering the flat. We spend the next few hours writing songs
together: Sex Toy, Take Your Clothes Off and others as yet untitled…
Later in the day we trawled down to Carpe Diem - I watched Stephan
and Zeid's first set and ended up playing the second one with
Zeid with Stephan shouting out requests. Then we went down to
Residents…
Sunday - March 7 - Thessaloniki - Caught the express train back
- does the journey half-an-hour quicker - for over double the
price. But it was the only place I could get, so… I read
Terry Nation's book, Survivors. Terry Nation, as well as having
a great name (a bit like Steve Race) wrote the screenplays for
most episodes of The Saint, came up with the idea for Doctor Who…
and the Daleks! A great man! The BBC was made three series of
Survivors - I never saw one programme! Well, in 1976 I was living
in London, seeing T.Rex, The Pistols, Pink Fairies, etc. One thing
I wasn't doing was watching television.
It took a good half hour to catch a taxi from the station. In
Greece you wave every taxi you see down. If they're going your
way they'll take you. If not you have to wait. A Greek taxi will
pick up anyone going in the same direction - a good idea - so
quite often you'll end up sitting with three people you've never
seen before, you can't speak too (unless you speak Greek) - but
you get where you're going in the end.
Saturday - March 6 - Athens
- I needed rest, but what did I get? Students banging
on doors, playing MTV incredibly loudly, shouting in the corridors
- and all this just outside my room! I drank some ouzo and read
Captain Fantom. Slept for half-an-hour and then the students returned.
This comedy of errors continued till almost dawn! And I'm paying
55 Euros for this? Plus the sink was blocked. Later that day I
got moved to a quieter and better room - and it was bigger as
well! Walking down to reception after the change I asked two of
the Italian students if either of the had a light for my cigarette,
"We don't smoke," they retorted, "It's dangerous!"
That evening Loukia and I met up with Dimitris at a bar called
Decadence. Totally packed but good music in the downstairs part.
We had a few drinks then we split.
Friday - March 5 - Athens
- Woke up, called Dimitris
who came to the hotel and introduced me, once again, to Athens.
We walked round the shops of the centre, went to a cafe, the usual…
Then we walked down further to Monastiraki - for want of a better
description the Camden Town or the Portobello Road of Athens.
We had a meal in a vegetarian restaurant we found in the shadow
of the Acropolis. This part of Athens is particularly gorgeous
- filled with lovely old houses, rotting old buildings. "It's
very expensive to live around here," Dimitris said. One agreed,
but by now I was in the grip of a very nasty flu virus - the same
one that Stefan has been suffering for the past fortnight. Great!
We went back to Monastiraki and Dimitris introduced me to a massive
basement second-hand bookshop. This was great… I pulled out
six paperbacks and took them up to the counter, "Twenty-Five
Euros!" the chap said. I put five of the books back and ended
up with Captain Fantom, a work accredited to Charles Underhill,
though seeing the credits read © Reginald Hill one assumes
that Underhill was chosen, like the alias of Frodo to ensure privacy.
The book is a Flashmanesque work - Carlo Fantom fights, brawls,
pillages and lusts his way round 16th Century Europe. Good stuff!
It kept me amused for most of the ensuing night.
I'd intended returning up north the following afternoon but when
we went to the station to book my ticket we were told that all
trains to Thessaloniki were totally full for the next four days.
This was fine except for the fact that I was fast running out
of money. By luck Dimitris persuaded someone in one of the ticket
offices to issue me a seat on the next train out. We went to a
bar to wait for the train. I had a couple of glasses of Tsipouro
and, funnily enough, started to feel better straight away. Loukia
joined our little party and the conversation flowed. Dimitris
went off; I decided to stay another night. "I'll help you
to find a hotel," Miss Kinali said. We walked round the corner
to the nearest one she knew. Went in. The place was really noisy
and too expensive. We walked out. "I have to go now,"
she said. I staggered down the night time streets of Athens, guitar
in one hand, bag on my shoulder in search of shelter…
Thursday - March 4 - Athens
The journey across Greece from north to south is a pretty enjoyable
one - the train traverses the mountains for hour after glorious
hour. Today saw snow on the highlands. Something very rare in
this Mediterranean land.
Arriving at Athens station I was met by Dimitris Douranos, the
begetter of this web page. As you may have noticed Dimitris, a
few days after getting www.nikkisudden.com up on line was conscripted
into the Greek army. He finally got out a week or so back. Dimitris
was to be my guide for the next few days.
We plunged into a taxi and took the traffic-jammed streets to
the aptly named Small Music Theatre in Koukaki. Went for a meal
then soundcheck. Stefan's friend, Loukia Kinali, arrived looking
radiantly glamorous as always and the three of us sat and chatted.
Loukia did my make-up… Later I played… So today in Athens
after the 6-hour train ride I wrote the first line of each verse
of Farewell My Darling on a piece of paper and more-or-less remembered
the rest. The song is quite popular so I assume I'll have to learn
the words… The evening's funniest moment was when Loukia
shouted out a request: "Stained Sheets" "Oh, it's
that's time of the month, is it?" I retorted. The audience
actually laughed at that one!
Wednesday - March 3 - Thessalonica pt.
II
I met up with Panos downtown by Navarino and we took a taxi out
to his part of town. After I'd been handed back my errant guitar
a gorgeous meal followed and then I met up with Christos and got
dragged back to Casablanca. After two hours of suffering MTV I
got a lift back to Makedonomachon in time to put new strings on
my guitar and then attempt a short pre-gig rehearsal with Stefan,
my 'special guest' for the evening. The trouble was, I was so
tired, I was almost falling asleep in the middle of every song.
We persevered for a good forty-five minutes before I collapsed
into bed to try and attempt to sleep for a couple of hours - no
luck! Around 9.30 we walked down and caught a taxi to Mylos -
quick soundcheck - a slightly more leisurely meal and then the
gig.
Once again I played The Last Flash… and Pirate Girls. A girl
called Maria - now there's a rare name in Greece - requested Farewell
My Darling. I apologised and explained "I can't play that
one 'cos I can't remember the words…" "Play it
anyway!" some fool shouted. I tried, and I failed. After
one and a half verses the song petered out. Maria jumped on the
stage and gave me two kisses. Ever the gentleman I pondered out
loud, "What would I have got if I'd have played the whole
song?"
Then after explaining the circumstances of the past few days I
played a snatch of, "A new song - it's called I Left My Guitar
In A Greek Taxi!" Which the assembled audience found funny
enough. The song seemed to go down well enough anyway and that's
what counts. I finished eventually - after around forty / fifty
minutes of encores - waited round to get paid and then took to
the hills for sleep amidst the uncommon Greek rain.
Wednesday – March 3 – Thessalonica
Woke up, had a bath, phoned Panos and Stella and was given the
good news that my guitar was at their place. As my German pal,
Hans, would say, “Some guys have all the luck!”
Tuesday – March 2 – Thessalonica
Lost a day somewhere - lost my guitar in a taxi last night. No,
yesterday was a good day spent pleasantly with a few friends…
Stefan called the assorted Thessalonian taxi companies to be repeatedly
told (in Greek), “No, we haven’t found your guitar!” I call up
Panos and leave a message asking if I can borrow one of his guitars
then walk down the hill to buy a couple of pairs of trousers.
I return, having failed to convince a taxi driver that would be
his best interests to drive up to Makedonomachon - I walk back
up the hill, buying a bag of mandarins on the way. Stefan says,
“Panos called and said he’d spoken to the taxi companies and he
thinks he’s found your guitar!”
Monday – March 1 – Thessalonica
The old saying goes along the lines of, “Beware Romans / Greeks
bearing gifts of friendship,” When it should be, “Beware of Greek
hospitality!” Personally I blame the five or six, or more, Jack
Daniels shots that were so generously proffered in The Residents
and then later in Lucky Luke. I woke up still feeling drunk, and
this is something that rarely, rarely ever happens. I didn’t wake
up alone either, but that’s another story… At least I woke up
and having done so ventured into the midday sun-drenched streets
of downtown Thessalonica and after a while succeeded in flagging
a taxi down so I could go back up the hill for a much-needed change
of clothes, clean of teeth, etc.
Giorgos Christianakis, as well as being one of Residents’ owners, is a
popular Greek composer / musician and he’d invited Stefan, Maria,
and myself to lunch that day. We dined in a great Cretan restaurant
owned by a friend of Giorgos and Stefan – dined on farva, spinach,
potatoes, lentil soup, cheese pies, and sipped away at red wine
and Raki. The meal drew to it’s natural conclusion and we walked
back to The Residents, where I picked up my guitar. A short while
later we caught another taxi back up the hill. Stefan paid; we
got out and went upstairs to the flat. A couple of hours later
I suddenly thought, “Where’s my guitar?” We looked round the flat
and realised that I must have left it in the boot of the taxi.
And after realising the guitar was missing, I pulled out Stefan’s
acoustic and came up with a song called I Lost My Guitar In
A Taxi – something good always comes out of adversity.
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