Stressechoes European Tour Update: Day 22 ----------

Day 22

Yet again bleary eyed, Tom, Alex and myself woke up on an apartment floor in Hamburg. After the obligatory debriefs from the night before, we grabbed some essential hangover snacks and hit the road, Bremen bound.

As we had our final recording session this day, we all made sure we were sufficiently rested and fed before heading over to the studio.

Once we had all got there, we attempted recording another new track ‘No Bonfires’. Being such as big song, we were nervous that this would require a few takes to nail down. However, it was the second take that we were most pleased with, as this just seemed to work. Andy and Alex set about cleaning up the vocals, while Steve and myself relaxed upstairs, staring out at the throngs of people jumping on and off the trams at the Waterfront shopping centre.

Pressed for time again, we packed away the kit and set off for our gig in Neinburg that evening.

After an hour and a half drive we reached the venue, a small bar/ restaurant called Maximillians. Upon arrival, the staff didn't seem to know that we due to be playing that evening. This was obviously disheartening after such a long drive. Eventually they confirmed our show and we began setting up. However, due to space, we decided to play an acoustic set. There wasn't many people in the restaurant, apart from a few men propping up the bar to watch the football.

Despite this, our performance was ok, and the small crowd enjoyed it. Also, the venue provided us with free White Russian cocktails and food.

Still all tired from the night before, as well as the lengthy day in the studio, we set off homeward to relax.

Day 23

As we all knew that we wouldn't have alot of time to relax in the coming days, we did the essentials, such as laundry and Internet updates at the Starbucks. Andy also arranged the hotel for our imminent Sunday night journey back to England (more on this later).

From here, Alex and myself jumped on the tram and headed into town to soak up Bremen city once more before we left.

We munched on Burritos and mooched around, before heading home, via the Lidls for essentials.

After eating/ napping for an hour or so, we then drove to Quelkhorn, a short while away from Bremen for our gig.

Once set up at the venue, we enjoyed the huge free pizza’s the venue, Bergwerk, had to offer. We then took to the stage for our penultimate performance of the tour.

Our set went well, but it was clear from the start that Andy was having problems with his guitar. The problem being that the sound kept cutting in and out.

This wasn't an issue, until 2 songs before the end of our set, when the guitar cut out completely.

Thinking quickly, Andy decided to carry on the set acoustically. So, we ended with a rather intimate stripped down version of ‘Alcohol’ and ‘Hold On’, which received a reassuring reaction from the crowd. In many ways this was the perfect way to finish our gig at Bergwerk as it not only provided a varied performance for the audience, but it also encouraged us to adapt ourselves, should we need to. This was certainly a testament to how much we had developed as a band over the 3 weeks.

As it was our last night in Bremen, we dropped the kit off at the flat and headed to the local club, Tower.

Tower was quite simply awesome! With grimey thumping hip-hop downstairs and chilled electronic hip hop upstairs, this club was really cool and full of people, purely there to have a great night out.

We all had a great time here, but I gradually became more tired and frustrated as I attempted to heighten my experience, and chat up girls, which in turn led me to pile a heap of pressure on myself. This sounds quite silly, lame and standard, but after a few too many beers, this naturally began to ruin my night. At this point, we all decided it was best to head home.

Day 24

Annoyingly, I woke up with a hangover at 9:30 on this Sunday, the last day of our tour.

However, there was no time to sit and wallow, as there was cleaning and tidying to be done at the flat ready for our departure that afternoon.

Once we were all awake and Tom had returned from Hamburg, where his gig had been the night before, we continued the cleaning and proceeded to eat all of the food out of our communal fridge.

Ready for our sound check at our final gig in Bremen, we collected our belongings, checked the rooms and said goodbye to the flat that had been our home for the last 3 weeks, and jumped in the car.

We got to the venue Club Moments, a kind of modernised cabaret music hall and began our sound check.

The plan was to play our set first, pack away our kit and hit the road straight after, Eindhoven bound. This meant that we only had a limited time to hang out with Tom Richardson before the show began.

At 9:15 it was time to start our final set of our European tour, and it was probably one of our best. We were really nervous at this gig, not only because yet again the crowd were attentive, but the crowd also consisted of many fans we had gathered throughout our time in Bremen, so the pressure was on to make it worth their loyalty.

However, due to the sheer amount of times that we had played together over the 3 weeks and the familiarity with our songs, our performance was tight and our songs sounded the strongest that had all tour. We were very pleased with this, but didn't have long to soak it up, before the set was over, the kit was packed in the car, and we were ready to leave Germany.

We said our goodbyes to Tom, Astrid and Heiko from Songs & Whispers, and the crowd and set off in the car.

We left Bremen and drove across Germany and into.........

Day 25

...the Netherlands to reach Eindhoven for 2am.

After an odd and scary encounter with a deer on the main road around Eindhoven airport (probably best you ask us about this in person), we reached the hotel and went straight to bed, after watching a selection of Missy Elliot and Ludicris videos on the local music channel. Our excuse was that we were tired, ok!?

After 4 hours sleep, we jumped back in the car and continued our journey through the Netherlands and into France to reach the Euro Tunnel for 10am.

After the essential browsing of the duty free section at the services in Calais, we boarded the train England bound.

The rest of the journey across England is kind of boring and pale in comparison to everything before it, but needless to say we were, in a strange way, looking forward to getting home, to our own beds.

At around 4pm on that Monday afternoon, we drove back into Cheltenham, along the streets we had left 3 weeks before, thinking of how best to adjust to our normal lives again. Our tour had definitely ended.

　

　

　

Epilogue

Last December, when we first heard of the opportunity to take part in a Songs & Whispers circuit, we had no real conception of what it would entail. We asked a few local artists who had done the tour previously what it was like, and all we heard was praise.

As the year rolled on, and the months began counting down over the summer, we all naturally began to formulate an idea of what a 3 week Stressechoes tour might be like.

To be honest, I envisioned us loving it for about a week, and then hating it, and then hating each other. All in all, I knew it would be fun, but at a price.

Ok, so i was wrong.

The 3 week European tour that we have just done, courtesy of Songs & Whispers, is arguably the best experience of our lives, especially as a band. It allowed us to play to a different crowd and gain exposure in a different country, sure. But more importantly, it allowed us to meet interesting people, attentive and respectful crowds, and to develop as a band. 

By this, I mean that it taught us that we can survive a gruelling and intense tour and still remain close friends at the end of it. We also proved to ourselves that we can adapt to any given gig situation, should we need to.

On a personal note, this experience allowed me to have a taste of the touring musician lifestyle, ‘rock star’ imagery aside (again probably best you ask me about this in person). The respect, gratification, and freedom that I was given has completely boosted my confidence, not just as a musician (erm, drummer) but as an individual. The fact that I was able to play to an applauding crowd, and have attractive women actually wanting to talk to me, has worked wonders for my confidence and how i place myself in daily life.

Ok, that last bit sounds a bit lame. But I genuinely believe that each of us gained a new found confidence from this experience, which has certainly changed us for the better.

At this point, we would like to thank Songs & Whispers, namely Heiko, Astrid, Monia, Laura for the tour itself and for the opportunity, as the whole thing wouldn't have happened if it wern’t for them and all of their hard work behind the scenes.

We would also like to thank Tom Richardson for, quite frankly, putting up with us for 3 weeks and being fucking awesome throughout. We hope to see you in Cheltenham soon! 

Also, thank you to Jens for having us play in your house, and for the excellent buffet that night!

And, to Jenny for being the winner of the competition for us to play in her house (even if she was the only one who entered), and for being such a great host and for hosting the best student house party ever!!!

Another thank you to all of the venues we played in, and the free food, beers and tshirts they gave us.

Finally, thank you to the German audiences who bought our cds and to anyone who put money into our ‘hat’ a the gigs. This, if anything, gave us the confidence to continue each night, and it kind of paid for the petrol.

Sorry if that all sounded a bit too ‘award ceremony’, but we genuinely mean it and often didn't get a chance to thank you alot of the people mentioned above.

We all started back at our respective jobs this time last week, the day after arriving back in England. As to be expected, we wer’nt that prepared to launch back into a daily routines and the settling back into our ‘real lives’ had a sobering effect.

A week on and the whole ‘holiday blues’ thing has kind of subsided. But our spirits haven't. We plan to use the confidence, experience and development we have gained from this tour and go further. Who knows, we might find ourselves back in Germany, or simply touring before you know it. If not, the memories will keep us going for a while yet!

So, all that's left to say is........

ZUGABE!!!!!!! ZUGABE!!!!!! ZUGABE!!!!!!

Stressechoes

　

　

Stressechoes European Tour Update: Day 18 - 21

Day 18

It was just another regular Monday morning, until we found the flat tyre....

As the car was vital to our experience, and for getting to and from gigs, this was kind of a big deal!

We were set to be at the radio station 'Jade' in Jever that midday. However, once the tyre had been fixed and the timing of our radio show rescheduled, we were good to go.

We trundled over the cobbled stones of the town of Jever around 4pm and found our way to the tiny radio studio. The station itself was situated on the corner of the street, with plain glass windows and a speaker blaring into the street.

As a result, our live show was then broadcast not only over the radio, but to the people in the street outside, who proceeded to stand and watch us play. This aside, the intimate radio show went well and we set off in search of food.

We stumbled upon a small café, where we munched on fish and chips/ curryvurst in the warm glow of the Monday evening.

We drove on to Emden, where we would be playing in the Grusewsky bar.

We were greeted at the door by the bar owner, who bizarrely was the spitting image of Al Pacino as Serpico. He was a hell of a nice guy and made us some amazing cheese roll things. Nom Nom!

Tom played first, as he had to catch the last train back to Bremen. So we decided to play two 45 minutes sets of mainly original songs, with a few cheeky covers.

This went down swimmingly, and the small crowd in the Smokey bar seemed to really enjoy it.

Following our set, we got talking to the randoms at the bar and gained access to the bar’s Spotify, which gave the night a house party feel.

We said goodbye to our new friends and set off for Bremen. However, along the way, we were escorted off the autobahn by the German police.

What followed was a nerve wracking, awkward few minutes, while the police checked our passports etc and carried out the obligatory drinking/ drug tests on Andy (i.e. pissing into a cup under a road bridge). It transpired that they were merely doing routine drug checks on drivers, although they did keep asking if we had just come from Holland?!

Another standard Stressechoes night then....................

　

Day 19

　

We spent most of Tuesday relaxing from the previous nights escapades and stocking up on food etc.

In the evening time we headed for our gig of the evening at Kito, situated just outside Bremen. Due to traffic we were about 30 minutes late for this, so rocked up and set the kit up as quickly as possible.

The venue was kind of an arts centre, and we were playing in the uppermost part, aptly named ‘The Attic’. This was a very performance focused venue, with all chairs facing the stage. It even had a small ‘backstage’ area for us artists, which was quite exciting!

We played first, which was again nerve-racking, with everyone listening so intently. But overall I feel we played pretty well. After a couple of cheeky beers, we gathered round to watch Tom’s set, which again was great!

To be honest, it was always really hard to follow Tom’s act on any given night, simply because he always delivered an honest, entertaining and fulfilling performance that always intimidated us, in a good way. This is a sentiment that Tom also expressed, but we were always completely blown away by his show, and also thoroughly enjoyed spending time before and after the show with the guy.

At the end of the night, we shot across the yard to a restaurant and tucked into some nachos and hung out with Laura, one of the Songs & Whispers crew. Then, yet again, it was home time.

　

Day 20

　

One opportunity that we had been looking forward to and desperately wanted to achieve before leaving Germany was to complete some recording in the studio owned by Songs & Whispers.

This Wednesday was the first of what became 3 recording sessions in Bremen. On our first day, we laid down ‘Hold On’, ‘Keep On Walking’ and ‘You’re The One I Love’, quite successfully. We then swiftly disassembled the kit and set off for Slattery’s bar in Bremen’s neighbouring town, Delmenhorst.

This was another Irish bar, complete with blaring ‘Irish punk’ and Guinness.

I’ll be honest, this was not our finest show. There was hardly anybody in attendance, I think we only played to 6 people, with everyone else lost to a more popular birthday party next door. We also did not play at our best, which we attributed to having played vigorously all day in the studio.

With dampened spirits, we went home for some sleep.

　

Day 21

　

Day 2 of studio time went somewhat better than the day before. This may have been because we had decided not to pressure ourselves, after nearly tiring ourselves out the day before.

We managed to record new song ‘Lucy’ by the end of the session. We wanted to make sure that we had got the track just right, due to its delicacy, as we’d done with ‘Hold On’ and then ‘No Bonfires’ on Friday (story to come).

We finished at 4pm as we needed to head off to Hamburg; one gig that we were particularly looking forward to.

Even though it was night by the time we got to Hamburg, one could tell that this was a city of intrigue and excitement. We found the venue, which reminded us a lot of the old Slak club in Cheltenham, and began to sound check.

We again played first and were again astonished that so many people were listening in what was a busy and crowded bar. Today was Germany’s Re-unification day, so many people were out to drink and relax. We decided to follow suit by sampling the local beer, Astra, and enjoying Tom’s set.

Ok, so at this point the story of Hamburg, as it shall be known, kind of splits into 2. You see, Andy and Steve drove back to Bremen with the kit, whilst Tom, Alex and myself stayed in Hamburg.

　

1) Andy & Steve - We all loaded the car with the kit and Andy and Steve decided to head home for some much needed sleep.

After about an hour and half’s driving, the harsh realisation that neither had the keys to the flat in Bremen crept in. Sitting in a services car park at 2 in the morning, they deliberated between a) driving back to Hamburg and staying, b) driving back to Hamburg, grabbing the key and driving back to Bremen for around 5am, or c) sleeping in the car.

Ultimately, the decision was made to contact Astrid from Songs & Whispers and ask for the spare pair of keys to the flat. Surprisingly, Astrid was not annoyed and was cool with providing the keys in the early hours and the guys got to sleep in the flat after a very long drive.

　

2) Tom, Ben & Alex - We all loaded the car with the kit and Tom, Alex and myself decided to stay in Hamburg. We had been offered to stay at a friend of Tom’s apartment so we proceeded to drink more Astra.

Obtaining bizarre confidence from somewhere, I began chatting to a couple of local girls at the bar, which led to further drinking and drunken dancing into the early hours. The other guys had headed to the apartment for further drinking.

It was around this time that I reached into my pockets and found a set of keys for the flat in Bremen. Ooops!

After several awkward drunken encounters, conversations and flirting, I said goodbye to the girls and got to the apartment and enjoyed some late night martini shots, before crashing on the floor.

Final part of the Stressechoes European saga to come soon..............

　

　

　

　

Stressechoes Europan Tour Update: Day 13 - 18

Day 13

An avid fan of Songs & Whispers had won the chance to have us play in her living room. As it turns out that she was the only one who entered the competition, hmmmmmm. None the less, we were all set for this off tempo show opportunity.

So, after a day relaxing at the flat, we set off on the tram across the city to Jenny's flat, anxious as to how our set may be received by students.

We were pleasantly surprised! The people at the house party welcomed us with open arms and were genuinely looking forward to having us play at their party. This led to copious amounts of alcohol, drunken playing, drunken conversations and high fives for no reason.

The guys at the party treated us like 'rock stars', which made us feel strangely welcome and relaxed.

Day 14

 

Very bleary eyed, only a few of us made it out of the house before midday. I'd never experienced waiting for laundry whilst hungover until that day, this was true hell!

However, we all attempted to drag ourselves to the nearby shopping centre, the Waterfront, where we would be playing on a small stage in the middle of the food court at 3pm.

After a brief delay setting up, we were ready to go. What followed ended up being the most uncomfortable show we had ever done.

For an hour, we stood awkwardly on the small stage and played to random shoppers and innocent people eating fast food, whilst images of us were played on rotation behind us. Nobody there held any interest in us or what we playing, which only fed our angst.

Once this was over, we jumped in the car and drove to Hanover for our gig that evening.

The venue itself was good and the food was great.

However, upon arrival, we met the sound engineer who persistently made awkward jokes and made Laura, a member of Songs & Whispers who was helping us with the show, feel uncomfortable by referring to her as a table dancer. In short, the guy was a fucking dick!

This really tarnished the evening for us and ultimately made this one of our least favourite gigs. This along with the Waterfront show and our hangovers, made this our worst day.

Day 15

 

After a much needed sleep, we spent the day resting and analysis the week ahead.

That evening we were to play a show at the venue Villa Sponte in Bremen. Upon arrival, this appeared to be someone’s house and not much of a venue.

However, the owners of the house had actually converted the house into a mini cultural centre, complete with a small stage.

After our sound check, we were treated to a lovely spagetti bolognese and free beers by the owners. This was a pleasant contrast to the reception we had received the previous evening in Hanover.

We were really nervous for this show as the stage was positioned n the centre of the audience, who were very attentive. This made us take our performance more seriously.

The crowd were also very generous and seemed to genuinely enjoy our set.

Riding the buzz of the gig, we headed to a nearby pub and had a few cheeky pints before heading home.

Day 16

 

On this Saturday, me and Andy headed into Bremen city centre to explore. We stumbled upon Tom busking in the market square and then headed for a spot of tea at the Alex cafe.

After having some food in the flat we headed to our gig in Wilshaven.

The venue was a rock n' roll bar, and happily welcomed us to play, especially the doorman, Ingo.

After a dubious kebab, we began our show, to about 9 people.

This aside, we actually had one of most enjoyable gigs and with several good comments from the audience. For instance, one member of the crowd commented upon how the track 'Lucy' made her cry. This was one hell of a compliment and put us in a good mood.

We left the venue happy and stopped at a McDonalds on the way home, where I had my first ever McRib (don't believe the hype!)

Day 17

 

This was another busy day.

Our first show was at a function hall at a hospital in Bremen with Tom. As there was no room in our car for Tom and his equipment, he was forced to hire an Audi Quatro convertible for the day, which he was very happy about.

The show itself was good and we all played well, but the turn out was poor, with only a few people in attendance.

When got home and relaxed for a bit and then headed to our gig that evening at Katakomben in Achim. This was a small indie bar and the owners were again immensely friendly.

However, the show again was relatively poor with not many people in attendance for both Tom and ourselves. However, we were provided with a vast amount of free beer, which saw us merrily on our way in Monday.

Stressechoes European Tour Update: Day 8 - Day 11

Day 8 – Day 11

Day 8

Bleary eyed, we struggled through the day nursing hangovers from the night before and cursing the previous night’s hijinks. We decided that the best way to proceed was to head to the launderette and watch the tumble dryers spin round and round and round and rou…………… That night we set off for Sonnendeck in Dangast on the North Sea coast of Germany.  The venue itself is situated right on the sandy shore, with the bar acting as a beach hut. The staff were very accommodating – especially a lovely guy called Gordon - and the free pizza and beers were perfect after the long day of hangovers and washing clothes. I loved this gig and the venue as I got to sit in a wooden deck chair on a beach, in September, with a cold beer whilst the sun set to the west.  It was the most relaxed I had felt in the tour up to that point, and for a long while.

Our performance itself was ok, not our best, presumably due to the remaining dregs of hangover that was yet to leave our system (I wasn’t hungover cos I didn’t drink *smug* - Alex). Saying that, the gig was a lot of fun and the location made us feel really relaxed. It summed up the kind of opportunity that the Songs & Whispers tour has given us.

Day 9

It was Saturday morning, and we had the opportunity to do some casual busking in Bremen city centre. We headed out with Tom, while Steve stayed in bed. The five of us got to Bremen railway station at around 10:30am and proceeded to wow the passing crowds with our stripped down blend of Stressechoes greatest hits. As expected, this endeavour didn’t generate a large amount of money, but was certainly fun and different to what I’d usually be doing on a Saturday morning. After finding that all the best pitches had already been taken by early-bird musicians we settled for a crap spot which proved to be fruitless. Abandoning the busking idea  we settled at the Alex café for a bite to eat.

The show that night was at Harlekin Pub, again on the north coast. This was the furthest we had travelled so far, being over an hour and a half from Bremen. The pub itself was an Irish bar, i.e. the walls were plastered with Irish memorabilia, photos of U2, and provided Guinness. The crowd were really receptive and accommodating as usual. We were also treated to a marvelous German meal before our show, which included a scurvy-preventing side salad.

Day 10

It was Sunday, a week since we had been in the flat in Bremen, and we were once again up early for a gig. This time, the show was in a small café on the outskirts of the city centre, Glucklich Café, where local residents had gone for a quiet Sunday afternoon tea. We rocked up and played a stripped down set for the unsuspecting public.  The café itself was very small, which meant that we had to keep the volume to a minimum i.e. no bass guitar. As a result, the crowd were very welcoming and appreciative, and really didn’t mind their quiet Sunday lunch being interrupted. At one point a restless baby tried to join in on backing vocals. We headed back home for a rest before heading to our gig that evening.  The show was in the living room of a Songs & Whispers friend and fan, Jens Fischer. This was an odd show for us, and one that we had never done before.  The show doubled up as a house party gathering, with a delicious buffet, beers, and the German election on the television in the background. The crowd were very happy with both us and Tom and we sold a few CDs. Once again learnt how effective these intimate gig settings can be.

Day 11

Another Monday was upon us and we rejoiced in the fact that we weren’t at work but on our European Tour instead! However, due to a leaky wall behind the shower, we had to be up relatively early to welcome a local plumber and Astrid to the flat. Once this had been settled, we headed en masse to the soulless Waterfront shopping centre to visit the local Starbucks or, more precisely, steal their wireless internet.  Here, we updated our blogs/ tour video diaries, drank large teas, and ate chocolaty muffins.

Later we headed to the Bei Beppo bar in Oldenburg where both we and Tom would be playing.

Tom played first and the crowd were really receptive, singing along at all the right moments. A couple of die-hard Rom Tichardson fans appeared too, including a woman who had been at the café the previous afternoon. Our set went well, but I was slightly uncomfortable due to the heat in the corner of the room where we were playing.  Needless to say we all got a bit sweaty. We absolutely nailed our new favourite set-closer, ‘Hold On’, which resulted in one of the most enthusiastic round-of-applause's we have ever had.

Day 12

I woke up stupidly early on this day and headed in to the city centre to explore.  I have this thing where I really want to act like a regular tourist, but somehow not look obvious about it.  So, I grabbed a cup of tea and walked along the river watching the goods ships sailing up and down. I then headed into Bremen, where we had played at Litfass the previous week. This whole area reminds me of Jericho in Oxford because its carefree attitude and ramshackle appearance.

It was here that I met up with the rest of the Stressechoes boys and we explored further, after munching on the biggest burritos we had ever seen. We stumbled upon a record shop, which was quite small, but had an ample selection of musical gems. After splurging a stack of Euros in there we sat down for a spot of tea, before heading back to the house.

The gig that night was at the Lox café in Bremen, where we had the chance to meet Heiko, our primary contact at Songs & Whispers. We played before Tom, and had a really good show. A request was made to sing Happy Birthday to a 9 year old girl, Lina. We did so, and Andy adapted our song ‘Lucy’ as a dedication. We received another very good reaction to our set, which put us in good spirits. We got sore wrists from signing CDs. The other benefit to playing first was that we had the opportunity to drink a lot of beer and watch a Tom Richardson master class. Tom’s set was well received, leading to 2 encores. We all had really good fun at this show and really lifted our spirits after a few tiring shows.

Stressechoes European Tour: Day 4 - 6

Day 4 – 6

Day 4

After a much needed sleep, we decided it was about time to tell other people about our exploits so far.  As there is no internet in our flat, we launched an expedition to a local Starbucks, located in Bremen’s Waterfront shopping complex.  The Waterfront is kind of like a Cabot Circus sorta thing, but with fewer dickheads. We relaxed in the Starbucks for a while updating the world on our adventures, before heading towards the Songs & Whispers Office for a catch up.

We knew the rough location of the office, which was in the centre of an industrial estate in south west Bremen, but still managed to get lost (because of Andy) around the goods yards and alleyways of the estate, making us 30 minutes late.  The meeting was a great opportunity to find out some information about our up and coming shows, but also to get to know Astrid and the others girls working for Songs & Whispers.

Heading back to the flat we stopped at a grocer’s so that I could buy some sugar. I had previously bought what I believed to be sugar but it turned out to be citric acid. It was ok, but I wouldn’t recommend adding it to your cup of tea. 

That evening we had a gig in the bar Litfass, near the centre of Bremen. The stage was quite small, so I was only able to use parts of my drums, and used two empty crates of Beck’s beer as my stool. This aside, the set up was really good and it felt really comfortable to play.  The venue itself was really relaxed and kinda made us feel optimistic about playing that evening.

Feeling slightly sleepy from my first pint of the night, I slipped out for a cheeky burrito.  It seems that when attempting to eat authentic German cuisine, I have consistently ended up eating a burrito of some kind, hmmm. Anyway, the gig went really well.  This was probably due to the fact that we were now suitably settled in our flat and had gained some sleep, but also because this was our 4^th show of the weekend and we had naturally strengthened our performance. We finished on our cover of the Gloria Gaynor classic ‘I Will Survive’, which was requested by the owner of the bar after hearing us play the track in our sound check.  Having obliged the landlady as we were then presented with a tray of free shots and beers, WIN!!

Day 5

Bleary eyed, we set off for the offices of a local radio/ TV station Radio Weser, where we were due to perform a live track and be interviewed.  This understandably was a great experience!

Due to space, we were required to play a more stripped down version of our song ‘Lucy’, meaning that I was playing tambourine and egg shakers, kindly provided by Tom Richardson.

This was fine, and the experience of playing the song whilst being filmed from different angles was fun.  I personally found the next bit slightly odd.  The interview was conducted with the four of us standing in a row, passing the microphone between us. This reminded me of footage I had seen of Radiohead during their Ok Computer tour, when they stand nervously while a spokesman addresses the people around them.  I always took their manner to be that of mild arrogance and frustration but now I think this was actually bewilderment mixed with a sense of insecurity towards the situation.  This was by no means a bad thing, it was just a strange experience which I guess you don’t really know how to react to until you’re in it.

We then went back to the flat, ready to make our way over to the Hafen Casino, where we and Tom would be playing that evening. The Hafen Casino is not a casino at all but a small café situated in the industrial estate, not far from the Songs & Whispers HQ. Again, we were stuck for space and sound, so I played our set with brushes.  We played first, which was kind of refreshing as it allowed us to relax for a bit after playing and enjoy Tom’s set. Once again, the crowd at this venue were highly attentive and there purely to appreciate live music.  This is great, but somehow also manages to add pressure when you know that people with ears will be hearing what you play.  But then again, I guess that’s the point. The venue also provided us with a meal, which was lovely.

Day 6

Our gig this evening wasn’t until 6pm, so we decided to take the morning off, slept in then headed into Bremen city centre. 

We first headed to the bar we had played at on the previous Monday night, Litfas, to see if they had Andy’s bag, containing a microphone/ harmonica/ note book etc.  Luckily they did!

From here we walked around the corner and stumbled upon a rather useful music store, before reaching a market square.  Here, various stalls were arranged with groceries/ cheeses and bread; your usual weekday market.

We stocked up on bratwurst sausages, gauda cheese and pastries and chilled for a bit in a market café, called Alex’s.

Having a few hours to kill before heading off for our next show, we separated and explored the city centre for ourselves. At this point we pretty much became your standard tourists finding nice patches of the city which we attempted to ear mark for a later date.

The time came to head back to the flat to regroup for that evenings show.  This meant traversing the city once more on the Tram system, which was fun! (insert “oooooo Ben, gonna talk to any attractive girls about trams again” quote).

Anyway, we set off for our show at Strandgelanda am Welchelsee, which was kinda of like a south cerney place man made beach camp. We played in the smocking tent outside.

After munching our way through the free pizza and beers, it was time to start the show, with Tom playing first.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but as part of our tour with Songs & Whispers, each act has a hat passed around the room towards the end of their set, in order for the crowd to make any suitable donations, as per their appreciation for the performance.  So far, we and Tom have been doing this at all of our shows.  This night, it was my turn to pass the hat.  This was an odd experience as it meant walking up to people and waiting for them to get money out of their wallets and donate.  I found this scary as you have no idea what people’s reactions are going to be to this method.  However, a lot of donations were made and the crowd were rather pleasant.

We then took to the stage and were feeling pretty confident.  The sound guy had spent a lot of time with us prior to our set and so we were happy to begin.

However, towards the middle of set, around the cover of ‘Come Together’ and our song ‘Shakey’, we began to make a few errors.  They weren’t hugely noticeable, but by that point, we had lost a lot of confidence.

The rest of the set continued on a slightly more tense tone, as we we’re all admittedly trying not to make any more errors.  Even so, we finished our set to large applause and were even granted back for an encore.  This also led to more rounds of shots, prost!

We left after speaking to the sound guys once more, as we felt that they had been immensely helpful, and cruised back to the flat dropping Deutsche Kind from the stereoeo.  A brother didn’t even have to use an AK, I guess it was a good day!

Day 7

Today, we ventured again towards Bremen city centre for a gig we were to have in a local school.

We arrived and the pupils were already in classes, so the corridors were empty.  Not knowing where we were going, we were sent to the music teacher’s office, and proceeded to hang around in the corridor, like naughty students.

Anyway, we found the huge school hall and did a brief sound check.  The sound technicians aged between 12 and 13 and we arguably the best sound technicians we have ever had, fact!

The bell for lunch time rang, and a flurry of students pilled into the main hall for us to start our set.  Now, this was odd, having not played in a school hall for about 10 years…..when I was last at school. Saying that, the pupils showed immense appreciation, which gave us back the confidence we had lost the day before and allowed us to perfect some of our songs that we needed to work on.  We then donated one of our t shirts as a mark of our appreciation, and also because we didn’t want to steal the kids lunch money.

Following this show we headed back to the flat for some food before gearing up for the second gig of the day.

The gig itself was in a tiny café just outside of Bremen. The surrounding area was apparently an artist community and the venue itself was relatively quiet.

We began our set tentatively, but naturally felt more and more comfortable.  Compared to the night before, we had decided to play a more laid back set and not to put huge amounts of pressure on ourselves.  This really paid off and the crowd were really receptive.

We finished our show feeling relieved but also happy.  It seems weird, but somehow this show was one of the best so far, largely as there was no pressure and that we were just being ourselves.

We set off back home and decided to go for a cheeky beer in the local bar.

4 bottles of Becks and 3 shots of Jeagermeister later, we stumbled out and went to bed.

Stressechoes European Tour: DAY 1 - 3

Day 1

Hi,

Our tour began at 6:30am on Friday 13 September 2013, outside Andy’s house, in the rain. Great start, I know. We loaded the kit and set off, Folkstone bound. We made a brief stop at Beaconsfield Services, as we were all in need of a quick breakfast fix, and Mini Cheddars.  Our next stop was the Folkstone Channel Tunnel crossing itself.  However, despite our best efforts, we had to wait an hour for an available train. This led to further sitting around in busy services food courts, drinking cardboard tea and eating muffins until, finally, the time came to board the train. The tunnel journey itself was pretty standard, apart from one hilarious moment where Andy found himself locked out of our train compartment after going to the toilet. This matter was resolved 15 minutes later when Andy tried the other door, which had been unlocked the whole time.  Once in France, we set our sights for Mechelen in Belgium, where our first gig of the tour would be.

What followed was not our favourite experience  so far.  We needed to get to the venue where we were playing at 7pm, but this became almost impossible due to a wonky Sat Nav, dodgy directions from helpful Belgians, and cobbled roads which had been partially closed for a market. I’ll be honest, this didn’t leave us in the best of moods and didn’t fill us with confidence for the trip ahead. We were all in the same situation together, but it was Andy who felt the most stressed by this situation, quite understandably. To have driven 12 hours, most of which on foreign roads and not being able to find the venue on a time limit would be almost unbearable, especially with the rest of us in the car to aggravate him, sometimes deliberately.

However, it must be said that we would not have reached the venue at all if it had not been for the generosity of the residents of Mechelen and their help. One local woman was kind enough to hop into her car and direct us to the venue; a bar located at the end of a canal tow path. The small bar did not have a PA system, which meant that we would only be able to perform an acoustic gig, without bass and drums.  We were forced to change our setlist and play our songs differently, which proved challenging but exciting. So Andy, Alex and myself (playing a tambourine, and a child’s shaker from the crèche inside the door) played a stripped down acoustic set of 9 songs, while Steve filmed from the bar, camera in one hand, beer in the other. We were all weary from the journey, but felt uplifted by this performance.  We made our way back to the Holiday Inn relieved from stress, but in need of a beer or two. Day 1 of our tour ended with us sitting outside a bar in the market of Mechelen discussing the adventure ahead of us. We were also approached by a local woman who was all too willing to offer up her racist views on immigration in an odd attempt to make friends. It didn’t work. Some of us (me) drank a tiny bit more than hoped and stumbled to bed with spinning a head. A good way to finish the first day I reckon.

Day 2

After a hearty breakfast in the Holiday Inn, we hit the road to Osnabruck; the location of the gig on the second day. We stopped at a Burger King, to sample the local German cuisine, and got to Osnabruck at around 3pm. This time we found the venue straight away, but decided to explore the town/ have a cheeky beer. I decided to treat myself to a Darjeeling tea as I sat back and watched the world go by. We got into the venue, the Big Buttinsky bar, at 7pm and began our sound checks.  It was here that we first met our housemate and companion for the duration of the tour, Tom Richardson http://www.tomrichardsonproject.com/ . Tom is an Australian singer-songwriter who plays a mixture of electric blues with acoustic melodic indie. He plays largely his own material and uses a loop station with unsettling skill. Having not heard him play before, we were all surprised at his brilliant technique and he was definitely a hard act to follow. By this point we were all really tired after another day on the road. As a result, we didn’t exactly play to our best, but we survived. However, the show itself left poor Andy feeling drained and in need of his bed. We decided to leave the venue and head onto Bremen in convoy, with me and Tom leading the way.  This was great as it allowed me time to get to know Tom and share tour survival tips. We reached our house, a small flat on the outskirts of the city of Bremen, at 2am and decided it was probably best to simply unpack our luggage and sleep. This was a fantastic idea!

Day 3

Today, we awoke wearily at 8:30am, ready for our 10 o’clock meeting with one of our tour’s promoters, Astrid. So, we traversed the streets of Bremen and reached the Songs & Whispers office headquarters, where we had a chance to meet Astrid and pick up some kit.

Astrid traveled with us to the festival in Bremen and the lakeside stage upon which we were to play.  Half the city seemed to have been cordoned off to allow for stalls, street food, and live entertainment. The location was great and the laid-back feel of the event helped to relax us. Tom played first and brought a large crowd of hip young things and families over the lip of the hill to the stage. We came on shortly afterwards and played a much stronger set than the night before.  This was partly due to our regained sleep and optimism, but mainly due to the reception from the crowd.  We’ve found the crowds to be very welcoming and attentive ever since arriving in Germany. This is great because the crowds genuinely want to listen to our music and are willing to embrace new and unsigned bands. It has been very satisfying to receive this kind of respect at a gig and has really lifted our spirits after the hit-and-miss start to the tour. Following our respective performances, we headed to the nearby burrito stand, had a beer, and watched some of the other artists playing at the festival, including a trendy young German hip-hop group (hipster-hop?). Again it is important to mention that, unlike local festivals back in Cheltenham, the majority of the festival-goers were actively seeking out the live bands. Back home, it is often the case that the beer tent is the most popular attraction. We have spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around the house, eating processed meats, drinking tea, updating the current tour footage, and writing this blog.

More updates soon……

Ben

Stressechoes European Tour: Intro - 14 1/2 hours to go...............



Hi,

So, after months of practising/ live gigs/ writing songs and hard work, the Stressechoes European Tour begins.......tomorrow!

We plan to set off at 7am from Cheltenham on Friday 13/9/13 and embark upon our tour, courtesy of Songs & Whispers, which will take us through Belgium to Germany over the next 3 weeks.

With our first stop being Zennegat 13 in Mechelen, Belgium, we anticipate this being an exhausting, yet exciting and fulfilling experience, which we will never forget!

Now, I know I kind of said this time last year, when we set out on our mini European tour, that you would receive regular updates on this blog of our exploits........and then did sod all. Well this year, expect a more regular update, whilst we are actually doing the tour.  We will also be conducting a video diary, which will be viewable from our Facebook page. You can also learn of our shenanigans via the Guy Talk blog http://guytalkmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/guy-talk.html, who are planning to host our diary as it happens.  There may also be other treats popping up in random places.

Anyways, we're off to pack/ relax/ exchange sterling into Euros/ sleep.  We hope you enjoy our tour, as much as we will!

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! (with hands waving in the air and huge grin on face)

Stressechoes