Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/23/14

Sunday, 2/23/14 – Eibergen, De Stier – This bar (De Stier is I believe “The Steer” or “The Bull”) is nestled in a very small town, actually rather charming and quiet. It’s a very high-ceilinged oblong-shaped place as so many seem to be, medium sized, with curtained street windows and unfinished floors, polished by many years of foot traffic. A surprisingly high stage was a bit challenging with several of our crew down with what appears to be the second half of a monumental cold…that we thought we’d shaken off in England, but now has resurfaced and seems to want to kill us all. Still, we got set up and soundchecked, and talked to the owner (a very pleasant guy) for a while over coffee…then he walked us down the street to our rooms.

Understand that last night, we’d been staying again at Henny’s, and Mike was not looking too well at all. And usually he has the constitution of a rhinoceros, so I could tell this wasn’t great. Today he was pretty quiet, and I sensed that he was just holding it together as well as he could. The bar owner got us to the B&B, and talked with the elderly proprietor, who only spoke Dutch. She directed Mike and Johnny to somewhere upstairs and away they limped into the darkness. Tanya and I were taken to a cinder-block building behind the house, which I guess was for overflow traffic. Where this traffic would come from, and why it would come into this obscure town, remains a mystery. But this rather strange woman (who was prone to speaking to us as though we could speak the language, and then bursting out into rather loud creepy laughter) left us to our rather strange home away from home, which I documented on a short film.

After cleaning up as best we could (I was not brave enough to use the shower), we returned to the club and went into the upstairs for dinner. This had been cooked by the owner…when we mentioned that some of us had difficulty with red meat, he assured us there would be none in the dish that he was making. What it actually was, though, was a very strange casserole, made with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, onions and…ham and hamburger. That was the entirety of the meal. I was too tired and ill to argue, just smiled and after he left picked as much of the meat out as I could. I actually really have trouble digesting red meat, but I also hadn’t eaten much that day.

It’s important to remember that we are on a really rigorous tour…we have 30 shows in 35 days! Our schedule has been so hectic, and we’ve been so focused on just getting the next gig, that most of our meals have been either at the hotels or clubs we’ve worked, or bought at gas stations on the highway. These highways snacks and sandwiches all seem to be made by the same company, all across Europe, and they all seem to be both expensive and either disgusting or flavor-free, sometimes both. So like many bands, we keep a box with the leftover stuff from the occasional backstage hospitality trays…usually we have some apples, or tangerines, and maybe some crackers or bread, as well as bottled water and sometimes beer. Often rather than spending $10 for a lousy sandwich, I’ll opt for a few bites of stale bread and an apple. Better and cheaper. Ah, the romance of the road.

  Poster from Skegness. We're in there somewhere.

Strangely enough, the show was really good! Quite a few people materialized, ready to party, and they certainly did, too. Mike, who I’d been kind of worried about, rose to the occasion. Ever the performer, he played to the audience, especially the pretty girls dancing in the front row, who I think really enjoyed the attention. The whole crowd was really festive, especially for a Sunday in a small town! Considering we were so spent, we rocked hard and had a good time…there were some really good moments, notably  during “Luv a Dawg” and “Motorcycle Blues”. But after the encores were played, and the equipment packed up into the bus, we were ready to sleep the sleep of the just! I grabbed my extra quilt (that I borrowed from Henny at the beginning of the tour, and believe me I’m really glad I did), and walked with the rest of the band back to the house of Laughing Grandma and my rather lumpy bed.  

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/21/14

 Friday, 2/21/14 – We stayed over at Henny’s place the night after our show in Hamburg…it really, really helps to have both an evening off and a good friend who’ll put up with you, after a string of challenging gigs with a band that’s fighting a pernicious cold bug. We got some rest, went out and ate at a decent Greek restaurant, had a couple of glasses of wine and some laughs, and a relatively early bed. I’ve been bunking in Henny’s office on the spare bed there, and the many shelves of books there are strangely comforting to me. Plus, I had both the time and the Internet bandwidth to Skype with Cynthia, which was also a huge comfort. It’s just so nice to be able to talk with her face to face! She’s holding up pretty well in the frozen north, considering everything…her car’s undercarriage BROKE IN HALF when she hit one of the many potholes that Michigan is sporting now. The auto is done in, I’m afraid. Fortunately my van is still working, so she’s got that.

On Friday the 21^st we hopped back in the van and drove to France…not a terribly long drive, maybe 2 1/2 hours…to Arras, where we were booked to play at the Blue Devils. Found the place to be a small shotgun shack of a bar, with the stage at the far end, and the bar itself along the opposite side. Kind of a drag to load in through the customers at tables and the taps, but we’ve had plenty of that. Even in a biker oriented club like this, people get out of the way, and a few smiles and “Excuse me’s” go a long way. The stage itself was really quite a mess…I hadn’t seen so much clutter on a working stage, well, maybe ever. Cords and mic stands were strewn around in tangles, along with paper trash and some broken glass. We took a while and straightened up the place, just to have some order onstage and a little space to put up the equipment!

Nice enough people (although the language barrier was a bit of a problem, they spoke enough English to get by), and a decent club really…just kind of run down and dirty. Funky, one might call it! But really, no worse than plenty of Blues bars in the States. The leather-clad, goateed owner had a friend of his cooking us dinner…not an appetizing meal, but I suppose there were essential proteins and carbs and such in it, so we managed. The gig itself was surprisingly good…by now the Helltown Blues Band is such a well-oiled, powerful machine that we can have a good performance wherever we are, I think. The PA was a bit of a problem, but we found enough mic stands and cords in that pile onstage that were functional, and the sound guy of the night was able to get us what we needed in the way of monitors and all, so we were all right. The crowd was happy and enthusiastic, which made the night much better! I was amused that after the show a male fan ran up to Mike, kneeled, grabbed his hand and kissed his ring…I always thought that stuff was reserved for the Pope. Must be a French thing.

One odd thing…the bar had no wine whatsoever!! We were expecting some plentiful delicious choices, it being France and all. Bee was just shocked. I guess if you weren’t drinking liquor, the alternative was Belgian beer, which seemed quite popular. I had one before the show, and two after…not realizing at the time that these were the famous deadly Belgian Tripel beers. I felt fine, but on the way back to Henny’s (we opted out of the rather mildewed hotel, although we did change clothes there) I was lying back on my seat in the bus, and looking out the window saw not one but TWO moons!! I knew something was a bit askew then. Closed one eye…one moon…both eyes…two. Dang. The Belgian Tripels made me see double!!   

Road Journal- Michael Katon Tour - 2/18/14

 Rockin' the Downtown Bluesclub.

Wednesday, 2/18/14 – Hamburg, Downtown Bluesclub – What can I say? I love this place!! Drive through lovely, crazy Hamburg…I wouldn’t call it downtown actually, it’s in an area near a large public park, in a fairly quiet neighborhood…and you see the place unfold in front of you as you come in through the ornamental archway. It’s a large property, which includes a really rather vast Beer Garden and several outdoor bars, a large indoor bar, at least two substantial dining rooms, and of course the Bluesclub. The Bluesclub is a big, high-ceilinged room, with tables and chairs on one side, a large bar on the other, a dance floor and standing area in the center, and a very nice stage on the end, about 4 or 5 feet high, well-appointed with good stage lights and a non-reflective floor, and a connecting stair that leads to the Green Room and to the load-in doors. The wall opposite the stage has large doors that lead to another bar and one of the dining rooms.

One really fascinating and lovely thing about this place is its many photos which cover the walls. The owner Uwe, a beautiful guy, was also a piece of Rock history…as a teen he wound up working for the old Star Club, that place of legend, and assisted the bands that were booked there…including an early rock band called The Beatles. He’s also a photographer, and while at the Star took pictures of EVERYBODY that played there! These pictures include local and visiting acts like Chuck Berry, Screaming Lord Sutch, Ray Charles, Tony Sheridan, Jimi Hendrix, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Pretty Things…and of course The Beatles. Many others, too. Just walking around looking at the photos was a big treat for me. Uwe was also a friend of Astrid Kirchherr (and still is, I guess…he said she stops by occasionally), and has wonderful huge prints of her iconic pictures of John, Paul, George & Ringo…and of course of her fiancé Stu Sutcliffe.

Really the best thing about the Bluesclub is the staff, though, and their wonderful hospitality! You could not find friendlier, more professional people anywhere on earth, I’m sure of that. We got there and several of them were there to help us with load-in, getting the heavy speaker cabinets up onto the stage and in position. All these folks are people I remembered from over 10 years ago, which says something for their dedication and Uwe’s managerial style, too. We got the gear up and soundcheck done in record time, thanks to their competence…and then a bottle of good champagne appeared, and we all had a toast to welcome a good night!! Michael of course toasted with sparkling water, but Johnny, Tanya and I all happily availed ourselves of the bottle. Actually there were two bottles, as I recall.

A quick stop to the hotel to freshen up and change, and we were back to the club for dinner. By this time Uwe had arrived, as delightfully cordial as I had remembered him always being. He has a first-class kitchen and we had a FANTASTIC dinner, while Uwe regaled us with tales from the old Star Club days. I have to admit I was totally fascinated. He’s such a nice guy and a good raconteur, but also, I mean, what a life!! I mentioned Rock History before, but really, the man was there. He had hilarious stories about the early Beatles (“At first, when they came here, they were a terrible band! They got better, of course”); Lord Sutch (“Very nice. Quite insane”); and Tony Sheridan (“If I see him in heaven, I’ll have to say ‘Tony, I loved you, but you were a pain in the ass!’”)…it really doesn’t get much better than this. After dinner he walked around the dining room with us, looking at photographs, commenting and telling stories. Quite a delight and a privilege to spend time with him!

 I have said this before, but it’s true…if you want a band to give a great performance, treat them as well as the Bluesclub does!! We got out on stage absolutely psyched to knock this one out of the park, and I think we really did. Mike, Bee and I were just a tornado of energy that night…the open sections were stunningly creative, with stylistic references to Hendrix and Cream flying back and forth; the complicated Katon arrangements were tight as a drum; and the boogie was shining off us like light from the Biblical saints. Mike took the dynamics down to a whisper, and up to a thunderous roar, tearing it up with his sweat-drenched Stratocaster. Bee and I were right with him. I don’t know what the audience was expecting, but they certainly seemed to think they saw something special…their energy was a big part of the performance too. There’s something synergistic about being in a concert, playing or watching, that I always love…the power and energy goes from stage to crowd and back again, building and building, making for experiences that leave you lamely trying to explain them later…as I’m doing now, I guess. Ah, hell, it was a great night, that’s all I can say!! I loved it, it’s why I keep wanting to do this stuff.

 This last one is a picture from summer...it was still a bit chilly for Beer Garden time in February!

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/17/14

  

Tuesday, 2/17/14 – Last night we were in Nuremberg, at a place called Degnitzbuhne – our smallest club yet on this tour!! Almost a closet, down in a basement. Filled with atmosphere, nice people and a very friendly cat, but very very tiny. I think there were 42 people there, and I know we played for the door…so what are Mike and Manni thinking? Well, a few of the guests are rather prominent journalists from prestigious Blues magazines, and I’m pretty convinced the strategy is to work this for the press. Which makes sense…Mike was on hiatus for around 4 years taking care of his father’s medical problems, and aside from a short tour last spring, hasn’t been out in Europe. Getting a good publicity buzz going involves more than just getting out and playing kick-ass shows (although that’s the main thing of course). There’s getting it out in print, or often these days its digital equivalent; and getting good word of mouth from music aficionados.  So rocking some of these smaller clubs is actually cool and smart!

And playing these intimate gigs is really fun, too…a different vibe, and one I’m used to from playing gigs back in SE Michigan. Fun to rock the house, no matter what size, no matter what day. Monday night in Nuremberg? Point me to the stage. Only 9 more gigs to go for the tour. In some ways I want this tour to be done, and in others I never want it to end – I love traveling and I love playing, even if sometimes the details are awful or hilarious, and of course they often are. But it’s also so much fun, and it feels like this is what I’m supposed to be doing, there’s a feeling of certainty about my direction in life when I’m doing this that I don’t find anywhere else.

  

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/16/14

 Lit by the flash of the camera...we're waiting for the power to come back on!

Monday, 2/16/14 – On the road to Nuremberg!! Last night at the lovely little Blues club De Weeburg, the power went out four times! The nice owner (who, by the way, had cooked a very nice meal for us herself, and was very kind and funny) apparently was having some serious trouble with the electricity for the stage, the lights, and the PA…well, actually the whole bar. Our first blackout was disconcerting, and the very full club had a slightly alarmed vibe, since we were suddenly almost totally in the dark. The sound man ran around frantically and after maybe 5 minutes (it seemed like more though, of course), got the lights and power back on. We started playing again, got maybe halfway through a song…and bam! In the dark again. A longer pause this time, and then light, and maybe a song and a half…and then once again, the night! At this point, the staff started to light candles for the patrons, and the little bar took on an intimate, eerie look. Everybody stayed around, though, and as the poor soundguy proceeded to troubleshoot cables in the ceiling on a stepladder, the atmosphere was actually quite cheery and party-like. I think the audience was happy that we hadn’t given up and just left, and we were happy that THEY hadn’t given up and left!

 Mike & fan, lit by candlelight and camera flash.

While the repairs continued we mingled and talked with folks by candlelight. Many beverages were consumed (I’m not sure how the staff were working, as the registers must have been shut down, but they seemed to be managing), many laughs were had. Then, hey, lights on! Everybody cheered and we jumped back onstage…for about one song. Shut down again!! But the tech kept at it, and wound up with this one long extension cord that had power. I’m pretty sure it was snaking out from a shop down the street!! So we had one tenuous line, which the amps, PA and one small table lamp were plugged into. The lamp wound up on the floor of the stage, adding yet more semi-dark eerie-ness to the ambiance, but the power held for the rest of the set, and we managed to play through our show and a few encores too. Actually I think we did a great set…something about having these difficulties and rising above them gave an excellent spark to the proceedings!! And the fact that the fans ALL stayed around and were so supportive and responsive made the big difference.

 Boogie in the dark.

The next night was at the Calluna, a club outside the city of Ommen. Kind of a charming big log cabin-y club sort of out in the woods of nowhere, but adjacent to a community of A-frame houses that I think were mostly summer homes for folks in town, with some permanent residents. And, not unexpectedly, one of these rustic residences was allocated for us! I think the owner of the Calluna also owned this of course…and while a little worn and a bit chilly (we got the heaters working though and cured that), not a bad little place. Once again, Mike and I got doubled up. There were only three rooms, and Bee has trouble sleeping at the best of times, let alone with snoring roommates…and Tanya was still recovering from the virus that we’d all been sharing. Pretty small bedrooms at the top of the A-frame, but hey, we’ve had worse.

The Calluna turned out to be a fun gig, although we got there exhausted and were grateful for the break in the cabin to recoup first. The owner Bert was a really nice, VERY enthused guy with a shaven head, long goatee, penchant for constant cigar-smoking and a pretty loud manner…boisterous but very pleasant! We had for an opening act a local band led by Cigar Box Henri, a cool gentleman who played, not unexpectedly, Cigar Box Guitars of his own invention. The band sounded great playing some very rootsy slide guitar based Blues Rock, fun to listen to for sure. We were entertained in the dressing room (well, OK, the kitchen) by Bert’s parrot, who was very talkative and actually a very friendly and cool bird. Funny as hell, too! I thought our show that night was great…I know we were all recovering from this strange virus that we got first in England and now has resurfaced again, but we rose above it and rocked the house. Fun place to play too…the log cabin, biker-y feel reminds me of playing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had a nice, if strange, breakfast of eggs and cheese on toast made by Bert this morning, and it’s back on the road.

 Calluna owners and band, after the gig.

Nuremberg is an unknown…we’ll see what’s up when we get there! And there’s another gig after that…but I’m really looking forward to getting to Hamburg and the wonderful Downtown Club, where they have always welcomed us in with hugs and champagne. Who knows what’ll happen, though? It’s the Road, baby.   

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/14/14

 Soundcheck at De Hamar.

Friday, 2/14/14 – Belfeld, De Hamar (Acoustic Show) – We’d known all along that our old friend Jean-Paul Geurtjens had booked an “Acoustic Show” for us at his local Culture Center, but none of us, especially Mike, were sure what that would entail. I’d been noticing that Mike would be playing acoustic as much as possible on the road, probably thinking of what tunes he’d do. It’s important to know, if you don’t already, that he’s a really amazing acoustic guitarist as well, with a very deep knowledge of and appreciation for Delta Blues and especially early slide playing. I actually wish he’d do a lot more of that, and this looked to be a good chance to hear him at it. We met Jean-Paul, as cheerful and fun a guy as always, and had an incredible dinner at his house with him and his lovely wife. Really nice to see them again, after all this time!! Then off to the very nice and nearly new Culture Center, a large and airy building with several beautiful performance spaces, including one next to the Center’s bar. Needless to say, we were set up there. I wasn’t sure if I was even supposed to be playing, but I wound up with a rented upright (which was totally unexpected); Mike had two acoustic guitars brought on; and Johnny brought out a truncated version of his stage drum set. The bass itself was OK, but unfortunately the pickup it came with was woefully inadequate and the sound people had apparently never worked with an upright bass before. The upright is a problematic instrument to amplify, though…had I known, I might have brought a pickup with me. After struggling with them and it for a good while, I plugged it into the small amp I’d been brought and hoped for the best.

 With Jean-Paul.

We wound up with a good crowd of happy and curious folks! Mike started the show out solo, singing and playing a tiny 3-string cigar-box guitar that someone had brought to the gig. If I recall, he started with “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” an old slide tune, and it sounded fantastic on that little homemade instrument. He proceeded to give a really interesting talk about the roots of the blues, interspersing it with various songs on both of his other acoustic guitars. I’d always known how knowledgeable he was about this, but it was really nice to see him talk about it so eloquently and to play this classic old blues so well. He could teach a university course on the subject! Some folks who have only seen his electric shows might have been surprised to hear him on some of this intricate fingerstyle and subtle slide work. After a while, he brought on a young player from the local area and had him sit in for a few songs, then brought me up to do some duo stuff. I played the upright for a handful of tunes, but after he brought up Johnny the sound was so problematic I switched to electric. With me on electric and Bee on drums, the “Acoustic” premise broke down a bit and Mike played pretty much the way he always does, albeit with many more classic blues and rockabilly tunes, just with an amplified acoustic guitar and not as loud as usual. But still pretty loud, though!! And everybody seemed to love it. All in all a very fun night, I’d like to see him do more of these.  

Michael Katon plays some acoustic slide Blues. 

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/12/14

 Cafe de Kirk, load-in and setup. Note available floor space on my side of the stage (which would be to your far left!!)

Wednesday, 2/12/14 – Boxtel, Café De Kerk – De Kerk means “The Church” and this tiny club is decorated with rescued and recycled bits of an old church that was being torn down – an old stone archway separating the bar from the performance room, stained glass windows, old beautiful woodworking, bits of the wrought-iron gates…lots of other items loaded this joint with real funky charm. Reminded my of Ann Arbor’s old Mr. Flood’s Party back in my yoof. The folks who promoted and set up the show had done a fund-raiser amongst the fans so that they could afford to have us come and play, which was very cool. Setting up in a space like that was a challenge…I sized down my amp to one cabinet again and squeezed out enough space so that I had a place to stand on stage, but it was a tight fit!

Writeup in the local newspaper.

 Although the place was about the size of my living room, it was a fantastic place to play and a fabulous time…wonderful people! I’m sure that they packed in what had to be well over the legal limit of patrons, it was absolutely jammed. If I wanted a drink, people would shout across to the bar and a beer would get passed through the crowd…I’m really glad there wasn’t any emergency, my only game plan in that scenario would have been to bust through a stained glass window, which I would have hated to do!! We had a great show, and at the final encore Mike’s amp (a Fender Deluxe Reverb borrowed from the promoter) literally burned up its transformer, giving a little smoke and excitement to the end of the night. Fortunately, the owner of the amp was not at all upset…perhaps having the Boogieman From Hell blow up your amp is a good enough story to justify the repair bill. He really loved Mike…everybody there did! It was a real Hooray Michael Katon fiesta!

Johnny Bee and pal out for a ride.

I do a lot of reading on this bus…and in hotel rooms when I get the time. And yeah, I bought a tablet thinking I’d do the e-book thing, but when it came down to it I did what I always do…loaded my bag with paperbacks. I just really LIKE physical books, and they don’t run down my batteries either. Right now I’m reading Arms Of Nemesis by Steven Saylor, a good book set in Rome just before the reign of Julius Caesar. The institution of slavery is a big part of the story, and I’ve had some very interesting conversations with Henny Houben, who is a serious student of history, about this, since he’s taking an online course where he’s writing a paper about American slavery and Jefferson’s take on it. He had a document by Jefferson discussing this, and it was a fascinating read. Some very strange and conflicted ideas involved there, to be able to rationalize enslaving another person. But I digress…I have a fear of running out of books on the road. True, I know I can download something in a pinch, but still. I need the actual books. So I wound up buying another on the ferry back to the Continent…Dissolution by C.J. Sansom, which is set during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries of the Catholic church. A pretty dark period too, but it looks to be well-written. And that brings my total of unread books to 5, which should hold me through the tour!! 

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/11/14

 

2/11/14 – Bremen, The Meisenfrei – GREAT 1^st German gig, especially for a Tuesday!! We’d played here numerous times before on tours long ago, and it was wonderful to be back, especially with this new Super Band. It’s a good-sized club with a great staff, an excellent sound and lights person and a large stage that seems to be covered with a large sheet of a hard rubber-like substance. Times before that had been a problem with some soundpeople, since it’s designed to absorb sound to minimize reflection, and often if someone isn’t savvy to how this works it can make for a curiously dead-sounding band. Not a problem this time!! Everything on stage sounded fantastic, and it was just a delight to play when it’s that good.

 We’ve got lots of great friends from times past in these parts, who showed up VERY happy to se us…and we were happy to see them too! I think we played a really stellar show (all modesty cast totally aside), largely in part responding to a cheerful, rowdy crowd who were with us from the start. Mike in particular was really in his element, and his playing was on fire…although Bee was also amazing!! His spotlight solo on “Rip It Hard” was especially brilliant. And I wasn’t so bad myself. Really nice when all the elements come together and raise the thing to another level, and that certainly happened here.

 

Afterwards there was a big after-party drink-up at the adjoining bar that went on quite a while, with Johnny, Tanya, Bremen friends Hartmut, Bjorn & Flo and myself getting pretty celebratory along with many other partiers and well-wishers. A LOT of Weissbiers were thrust into my hands, and wound up inside me, too. I was a good bit overserved, but it was just so much fun. Johnny was dancing quite festively with a pretty schoolteacher in a bright red dress, and seemed in fine fettle himself…we all were. Mike of course wasn’t drinking, but he was having a great time too, I could tell.

 Checking out my room, minutes from my accidental lockout. 

Didn’t have quite such a good time later that night at the Robo Hotel. I should explain that these hotels (not really called Robos) are largely automated and don’t really have staff in them at night…you check in with a credit card at a machine, which dispenses your key card and opens the doors. Eerie. Tiny little rooms that seem to be made of plastic, with narrow little beds…strange to say the least. Anyhow, I’d gotten into my pajamas (well, sweatpants and t-shirt) and suddenly had the thought that I left a bag in the hall, so I went out to check…and the door locked behind me. Key card in my pants pocket! Well, hey, I was drunk. So I thought I’d go down to the lobby and see if I could get help there…and as I left my hall, the door to that locked too. No way to get back, or to knock on my bandmates doors! The lobby was empty…I wandered around, doors locking behind me, till I was in a deserted staircase. Finally I found a dropcloth some painters apparently were using and after some cursing, prepared to sleep on the landing under it. Pretty hard floor! I drifted off…just before dawn someone from the hotel found me and helped me get back into my room, for which I was profoundly grateful. I actually got to use that tiny bed for a few hours!!

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/9/14

 Tanya  and Bee share one of the many fine dining experiences available in England.

Sunday, 2/9/14 – Driving, driving, driving – well, I’m not, but Tanya is. She’s doing the hard work, and she’s sick, so I’m inclined to forgive her blasting “Smoke On The Water” from the radio for now. I may have to find a way to destroy the radio if this goes on too long, though. Now it’s “Rocky Mountain Way”. Oh God.

A quick, kind, overview of my room in Wales.

That huge, insane drive through the wilds of Wales cumulated with a gig at the Marine Hotel in Colwyn Bay, in a small hall there. Good playing from all, nice people, mediocre food and really pretty crummy rooms. Toilet across the hall, threadbare sheets, uncleaned sink and tea maker, and a smell of fustiness at best, and some true stomach-turning smells at worst…especially in the stairwell, where apparently something must have died and decomposed into the carpet. The hot water tap ran yellow and brown with bits of unknown particulates spitting down into the basin. Rinsed my hair with clear cold water, and forwent breakfast. They said it was built in 1840, and apparently they hadn’t cleaned the hallway carpet in all that time. It really did have an appalling stench.

Giant straw Dalek. 

You see strange and beautiful things on the road – before I could get out my camera, we’d passed the 30-foot Dalek statue that was just standing in a field!! The fact that none of my fellow travelers had a clue as to what it was was strange. Oh, well, I can tell Cyn about it via Skype later. We’ve been communicating that way when we can, if I have time and a wi-fi available, all the way through the tour. Sometimes when there’s wi-fi but the signal’s weak we’ll IM on Facebook, which is fine. So much better than the old days, trying to make a phone call in the middle of the night in some booth in Germany…or sending postcards that arrive after I get back. My last tour before this one, there was Internet available occasionally in hotels, usually on a machine in the lobby. Even email was a luxury for staying in touch with your spouse. Really, the new technology makes touring and staying sane so much easier!

 Our Dutch brother and manager of Boogie Headquarters In Europe, Henny Houben.

And with luck we’ll be at Henny’s tonight! We’ve been driving 4 hours or so, and I suspect a few more to go before the ferry. At least we’ve got good clear weather! I wish we’d had it for our drive up yesterday, it would have been even more stunning in regards to the scenery. Wales is largely wild and quite beautiful. But I’m looking forward to seeing The Netherlands and Germany again – and I’d like to get some edible and healthy food, too! Then there’s Spain…that should be interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/8/14

 Saturday, 2/8/14 – The road tires me out and runs me over itself, but I kind of like it, too. Living on hotel tea and bad (sometimes REALLY bad) takeaway, there’s a similarity to the days that can be hypnotic. Is it Monday or Thursday? Hard to tell. Few real choices to make, our route is planned by the Tour Manager and we just jump in the bus when she says…it’s a bit like I’d imagine the Army being, except without the guns. And yet I’m always curious about where we’ll be next – Wales? Well, what’s that like, then? Apparently, really really beautiful hilly countryside, liberally covered with sheep, and towns and cities with unpronounceable names that seem a combination of lovely old architecture and contemporary urban blight. But there’s always something new, new country, new venue, new people, and it’s interesting. Last night a biker bar in Wales, tomorrow a ferry ride in a possible hurricane, and tonight…hey, all I know is it’s somewhere in Wales.

  

Riding through the middle of Wales…it’s beautiful, terrifying, mountainous terrain, really another country from anywhere I’ve been before. Driving through part of the British Super Storm, a hurricane-like system that’s biting it’s way through the UK, and I’m wondering if this was such a good idea. Tanya is driving very well, but also pretty fast, and sometimes I think she’s over-confident. Lots of hairpin turns and very few guardrails – and plenty of sheer drops down, way down, to the swollen rivers. The country is so flooded, it’s incredible. And yet the countryside is so beautiful and the villages are so picturesque, even in this crazy rain. We stopped at a B&B for lunch, at a very nice place, but the power kept going out, and then back on, and then out again. Poor woman couldn’t even open her cash register!! Couldn’t even make change. We gave her a little bit over to help her out, which she appreciated – still, kinda crazy. She said this kind of thing never happened usually, it must be the storm.

This is a very long drive! Apparently we're going from the south of Wales all the way to the northmost point, or close to it, in Colwyn Bay. And we're on a two-lane highway which is not fast going even with Tanya's expertise. Hopefully we'll be there in time for the show!

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 2/6/14

Down the street from Colin's in Stoke-Albany. I was feeling a little better, so I managed a stumble down the block and took a few photos. Beautiful place.

 

Thursday, 2/6/14 – Well, I’ve been sick since Sunday, really. Sick is pretty uninteresting, so I’ll leave that out, except to way I’m very glad we had a couple of days off for me to get over it, and we had the hospitality of our friends the Watts’, who put us up again. They’re such nice people and they made it so very much easier.

Resting up from this virus the other night when I heard an awful, amazing racket! Went downstairs (this was around 2 in the morning) to find Tanya, Bee and Colin Watts all playing his collection of Claxtons and Car Horns, marching around the kitchen and laughing hysterically!! I have no idea what brought that on, except maybe a little red wine and the punch-drunk goofiness that happens in the middle of tours. Somebody passed me a horn, so I joined in the orchestra for a while and had a half-glass of Cabernet, then went back to bed. Somewhere there is a photographic record, but I’m pretty sure it will never be seen. Just a silly moment.

I was much better, if not 100%, when we played The Talking Heads in South Hampton. At first the place didn’t look like much from the outside, or even seem that it was a working business, but once inside it was fine and the people, the owners, and the opening acts were all very nice. Dinner was a “buy-out”…they gave us some money and pointed us at the only restaurant around, a Chinese take-out that served me some completely inedible meal…probably the worst I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something! I mean, I’m not Anthony Bourdain, but I do know chicken should be cooked all the way through. And that bright orange stuff on it was really hideous in every possible way. Wow. My playing was all right but my head was spinning from an antihistamine – I made it through, though.

The tourbus' equipment section. Not completely packed yet...more gear to come...but you get the idea.

 Dream # 1 – Sort of a Harry Potteresque dream. These young people were finding strange powers through these ancient stone masks. You could layer the masks up to do different things…travel through time & space, fly, etc. – kind of cool.

Dream #2 – I had some kind of cooking show (maybe because of the bad chicken) and I was talking about food. At the same time, I was getting my new studio together, which was very nice, large and airy. I had some professional helping me, a small Puerto Rican guy who was assisting me in getting everything organized. I remember being so pleased at having staff! A good dream.

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour -

Michael Katon, midsolo.

Saturday, 2/1/14 – A couple of days, 2 gigs, 1 night of strange dreams. Thursday was the Beaverwood Hall in Chislehurst – a soccer team’s hall that has frequent Rock shows. Dressing room next to the stinky toilets, very cold and gnarly. Good folks working there though, some sandwiches and an ale (or in Johnny’s case a glass of wine, and of course a soda for Mike) took off the edge and cheered us up. A small turnout but a happy crowd – the opening band was the Dave Jackson Trio, a real nice bunch of people and a cool band. And Mike is sounding great!! One of the great things about touring with him is just getting to watch him play, and he’s really kicking it out this time around, too. His solos are amazing, especially some of his slide work. I don’t know how to convey how much fun it is to back him up when he’s rockin’ out.

Dave Jackson Trio.

 Next gig was down the road  in Sutton at the Boom Boom Room (love the name), another soccer hall, with the same support act – booked by the same promoter, surprise! A bigger room, better PA, nicer dressing room and much larger audience. I was extrapolating on the bass lines in the tunes, playing more melodic licks in the more static numbers, developing ideas to make them more exciting in the low end. And nobody yelled at me, so I guess I’m doing all right. Plus, Mike’s been giving Johnny a solo in “Rip It Hard”, and the other night after the drum solo he gave me the nod to take one…so that’s been in the show, too. I had to wing it at first, just because that’s the Michael Katon onstage way, but by now I’ve got a better idea of what I’ll do with it…where I can take it to…not that it’s ever gonna be the same every night by any means. But I’ll tell yah, following a Johnny Bee drum solo ain’t easy!! He’s really been tearing it up, and he’s so musical and high-energy…it’s a treat just listening to him go. They're not just solos, they're like complete percussion compositions, spontaneously done. Pretty remarkable stuff! I have to take the vibe WAY down at first when I start out, just to give some contrast and let the song breathe a little. I get busy later, and it seems to work, people get rowdy and clap along and shout so I must be doing something right…but man, following Bee…it’s good for my character, that’s for sure. 

Mr. Badanjek on the groove.

 

Another IM session with Cynthia after the show. Even with the Skype unavailable and me typing on this teeny keyboard that makes it hard to do apostrophes or capitalize anything (my replies look like I’m Archy from Archy & Mehitabel) it’s a huge comfort to be able to talk (or write) with her. It’s still freezing subzero cold there and she’s cutting her way through chest-high snowdrifts…I feel guilty I’m not there to help her out. She’s doing all the hard work and I’m just being a Rock & Roll Bum.

Dream # 1 – I’m at a bookstore, and I find a series of comics with beautiful illustrations. There’s no dialog, just pictures – but they’re so amazing that I’m actually transported into the drawn scenes, and then back when I close the book. I’m thinking, “That’s pretty cool”. Then I go into a record store and see the same comics on a rack. I also see David Bowie, who’s standing there, so I walk over and introduce myself. He’s really nice and friendly, and we’re talking about his work and the fact that he seems to listen to everything, that his music seems informed by all the other music that’s cool and happening at the time. I’m saying, “How do you ever have the time” – and then our eyes meet in instant amused understanding – “Or do you have some researchers who listen for you?” He’s laughing and nodding, and I’m telling him that that’s gotta be a cool job, and that he should hire me, too. Then I wake up. A good dream.

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 1/30/14

The MAN, Michael Katon, in his customary Shotgun traveling spot.

 Thursday, 1/30/14 – Riding through the wet and fog (well, it IS England in winter) towards Chiselhurst to The Beaverwood!! Really, I couldn’t make up these names. It’s a British thing. Tanya, our intrepid Tour Manager, is as usual doing a fantastic job getting us through all this. She’s ultra-competent and a lot of fun to travel with, we’re really fortunate to have someone like her.

Tanya attempts a little-known German driving technique.

 

A good gig at the Robin 2 in Wolverhampton (there you go again, UK!), a large venue where we were treated very well (although, as with all other UK gigs so far, no load-in assistants). Interesting…over 10 years ago I played at the original Robin. I noticed on a poster there back then that the next week, Jack Bruce would be playing. Of course, I was impressed! I mean, you know, Jack Bruce. Flash forward to now, at the Robin 2, and I’m looking at the posters, and I see playing next week…Jack Bruce!! Coincidence? I think not. I think Jack must be stalking us.

I try, every time I’m on a tour like this, to develop a part of my playing that I want to further, to improve the music and keep things exciting and fresh. One thing I was working on before we went out was my pickstyle playing…I played for years with a pick early on, but haven’t done it as much recently. And much of Mike’s music lends itself to that technique…he writes and records all his bass parts that way, so it’s part of the sound. And it’s appropriate for this aggressive style, both in tone and also for playing certain idiosyncratic rhythms; things just fall better playing that way. I’ll ditch the pick for the more Bluesy numbers or when I’m channeling (ahem) Jack Bruce, but I’m using one for a majority of the songs. 

 I think this is the Robin 2. Hard to tell from this shot!!

Johnny Bee has finally got some food to his specs, so he was pretty happy. Bee is a sweet guy, crazy as a loon in the best possible way, a fantastic drummer with a wealth of stories from his extensive and impressive life as a Rock musician (I mean, just his recording credits alone – Alice Cooper, Edgar Winter, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Dr. John, The Rockets, Montrose, Nils Lofgren…and that’s just for starters…) but he’s very sensitive about his dietary needs! He has some very pronounced opinions on what he wants in the way of food, and he’s worried about keeping healthy if he can’t get some rather specialized items. I can understand, it’s difficult eating right on the road, but I tend to just try to make the best choices from what’s available. I know Bee is used to a more high-end touring lifestyle though, and he’s a little older than us (though not by much!) and I’m a little worried about whether he’ll be OK on  this rather rugged trip. I guess he's seen lots worse though! We’ve all been challenged with sleep-deprivation and, indeed, with some occasionally inedible meals. So far, so good, though…we’re holding steady. And having some fun doing it, too!! Really, I think it's gonna be all right.

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 1/29/14

Groovin' at the 100 Club, London England.

Wednesday, 1/29/14 – Played last night in London at the famous 100 Club!! This joint has been in business since the mid-40s, and has hosted everyone from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to The Sex Pistols and The Clash, as well as lowlifes like Motorhead, The Who and Paul McCartney. Amidst others way too numerous to mention. A heck of a stage to play on!!

We had two opening acts working with us – Rev. Farriday & The Longdogs, a Guitar/Harp/Drums trio with slide guitar and a cool rootsy sound; and Vdelli, an Australian rock trio, also very energetic and good. We played well, aside from a few glitches – probably only known to us – and got a good response from the crowd. This thing has tightened up tremendously in just a few gigs, and it’s turned into a powerful show. Really fun to play with Johnny Bee now, we seem to have achieved that intuitive rapport that’s so essential, and he’s just a drummer of such high caliber, as well as being a great guy and a lot of fun. And Mike…I’ve played with him a lot over the years, but he’s just extraordinary right now. Really playing at a whole other level, and obviously having a good time doing it!

 And I’m having a blast playing too…I know where I can stretch out and show off and where I can lock in the pocket (sometimes both at once!), and helping to drive this band is a gas. I’m pretty jazzed with the night…and being up on that historic stage was both a privilege and a huge charge. This is really what it’s all about for me…playing with a great band, immersed in the music, in the groove, in an amazing venue with an audience that’s totally with you on the ride. Some really delightful folks in both the supporting bands and in the crowd, everybody seemed to be having a great time, and I was as well!! Met some interesting characters backstage, too…strange, there always seems to be at least one very self-important promoter in the dressing rooms being unintentionally hilarious, and this place was no exception! Ahahahahah. Spinal Tap’s character Sir Eaton-Hogg was not so far off the mark at all, at all.

Slept really well after the show! Sounds uninteresting, I know, but man I needed it.  

Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 1/27/14

Pre-tour rehearsal.

Monday, 1/27/14 – We wound up stopping and relaxing for a few hours in Stoke-Albany at our friend Colin Watts’ house (who treated us, by the way, like royalty), then drove to lovely Oxford, where we loaded-in up many a flight of fire escape stairs to the second floor of the Jericho Tavern. Our “Two Strong & Sober Men” who were specified in our contract’s rider never materialized, although one of the sound people did help us out coming in. I’m glad for many reasons that I talked Mike out of renting the refrigerator-sized (and weighted) Ampeg SVT, and into the somewhat lighter and more portable GK amp. Actually a more powerful unit, and with one 4X10 and one 15 cabinet, and a LOT easier to move! Sounds great, too.  We only took up one cab for this show…there’s a bunch of stairs, and it’s a small club. Still PLENTY loud! 

This gig is the retirement hobby of famous music promoter Phil Guy-Davis, a bit of Rock history himself and a charming geezer. There wasn’t much of a turnout, though (well, cold rainy Monday and all that), and although our set was good I felt that I was just banging out the riffs on some of the songs. Perhaps it was the dreary weather that was affecting my mood. I’m still working up variations on some of the material, trying to find things I can do to open up the tunes and build the dynamics. There were some really good moments – Mike’s solo on “Red Moon Rising” was kick-ass, and several of his slide guitar numbers were too. Load-out down the slippery fire escape in the rain, helped by a friendly Rock musician from the audience. A somewhat dispiriting gig – but interesting.

Trying out SX basses in Dutch music store. This one went with us on tour...not a bad little bass at all!

 

Talking to Cyn tonight via the Interwebz…well, actually Instant Messaging, since the wi-fi signal at the hotel is not strong…good just to be able to connect and have a conversation with her! But I find that the bad weather I left behind stayed around…it’s still around 14 below zero!! With more snow predicted, too. I really thought that we were done, Michigan usually only has like a week of really cold weather and we’d had that, when I left it had gone back up to 30 or something. Jeez. Here it’s just rain, rain, and more rain…a lot of flooding in the SW of England, some pretty devastating weather for folks there. But no 5-foot snowdrifts!!