Surf Riot In Caserta

You gotta wear a lot of hats when your touring

Friday, June 29


The drive to Caserta is only supposed to take an hour and a half, but as soon as we get on the road the traffic is moving slower than the bronze tortoises on the statues. It's Sts. Peter and Paul day in Rome so most businesses are closed and it seems like everyone is leaving town for holiday. It takes us a full hour just to get to the edge of the city. At one point the heat gauge in the van is well into the red, and we expect the worst, for the radiator to blow. Lorenzo has to turn off the AC to reduce stress on the van, and we are sweltering in the little box. Luckily traffic lightens a bit, the needle moves from the danger zone, and we can put the AC back on.

We arrive at the home of Massiliamo and Igli Crispi. Massi is Amerigo's brother, and one of the guitarists in The Bradipos IV. They live in a building that was built in 1879, it's the style with a wide carriage entrance behind heavy wood doors, leaving a defensible area in case of home invasion, which is to say, the traditional architecture. Their apartment is on the top two floors, with a deck on the roof. Igli has designed much of the impressive tile work, and the home is decorated beautifully, a mix of Igli's taste for modern and balinese art and Massi's dedication to rock'n'roll.

We head up to the roof to stretch and lounge. Massi explains that someone in Igli's extended family makes grappa, and even though it's afternoon, he pulls out an unlabeled clear glass jug. As I have mentioned before, I have no taste for, but sniff it to be polite. Yes, it is rocket fuel. Then, out comes the bottle of delicious red wine, that was similar to a young cab and made by his friend, of which Massi pours a giant, bulbous glass and passes around for all to sample. Massi points out the sites– the palace with its 5km of public gardens, on the hill are the remains of old Caserta which date back to medieval times. Next door to his house is a former women's prison that once interned Sophia Loren for tax evasion. I ask if the marble quarries are still working and he says that the ones around the city have all closed because the dust causes lung cancer.

The club, Caffe del Centro, is in the middle of a block, the road in front a mere 25 ft wide. It should be pedestrian only, but cars are somehow parked on both sides, leaving an even skinner path for driving. The room we set up in is better suited for a two acoustic guitar performance. We squeeze in where we can with the assumption that some people will come in to watch us play. Facing the street is a double door about five feet wide. This is an important detail.

Before sound check the club owner takes us up the street to a restaurant for pizza. Though they have a Nutella pizza on the menu we opt for the savory, nine pizzas for nine people. All had mozzarella, but on the ones that had the mozzarella de buffalo, the cheese was not melted. They ran the gamut, from a DOC pizza, which was simply mozzarella and tomato sauce, to a Caprese, with mozzarella de buffalo, crudo (thinly sliced ham) and basil, to a Light, with bresaola, arugula and mozzarella, and finally the Diavolo, with spicy sausage, tomato sauce and, of course, mozzarella.

Meshugga runs through a few songs, Mel working on the tone for his new custom made Mosrite clone. No time for Frankie to warm up so we jump right into our set. People are curiously sticking their heads in the door to see where all the noise is coming from, but there is no room for them, so with my long chord like a tail, I walk to the door and look out to see a crowd gathering. Danny and Tony pop there heads out when possible, but are set up too far back to move forward.

For the TomorrowMen's set, Danny moves his effects rig into the doorway, so he can stay outside the whole time. And for Meshugga, Mel and Danny both squeeze into the portal. Unfortunately, the rest of the band behind them goes unseen, but the view from the street side is amazing. By the time Danny and Mel start their routines, there are several hundred people packing the narrow road out side the club. A dense ring of fans stands mere inches away from the front men, mimicking their dance moves and chanting and yelling "Hey!" at every break. The crowd must split like the Red Sea to allow the occasional passing of a car. I can't believe the road has not been closed off to traffic, it wouldn't take very much for an aggravated driver to take out dozens of people.

And what might get someone agitated? Perhaps the heat? At midnight its still near 100 degrees. The thick walls all around us have been soaking in the sun all day and are now radiating like a non-stop furnace.

Meshugga absolutely kills, the crowd loves them. Despite Mel's mild protestations about having to go on last every night, it's clear that they are the headliner. What a show!

After a long load out– Lorenzo has to navigate the van down the crowded street, and the GPS in Steve's car can't figure out the mouse maze that is Caserta's map. The boys move to their penzione and Massimiliano directs the van back to his house. Karen and I share a single pull out bed, and with the heat, we have to try not to touch each other or our skin will melt like paraffin.

Sorry for a lack of photos, I didn't take my iPad to the gig last night.

 

Rome, if you want to.

We drove south on the SS1, which sticks to the Mediterranean coast, occasionally dipping inland to allow room for tourist hotels and campsites. We had an uneventful drive, with a couple stops at the AutoGrille for diesel and caffeine. Leaving Livorno, we passed Califuria, the area of the Surfer Joe Festival 2009, but that was the last familiar site.

Four hours later we hit the outskirts of Rome, mostly a wasteland of industrial warehouses. As we enter the city center, the traffic thickens and gets crazier. Steve, driving the Peugot, sticks like glue to the tail of the Mercedes van. The roads pass under the brick fortifications of empirical era Roma, and I'm impressed with how many ancient landmarks stand. It must be hard for Roman city planners to do anything with so many sites to be preserved.

The GPS, "Jane," leads us to a B&B where the boys will stay. It's in a well preserved shuttered building, the kind with a retrofit, caged elevator up the center of a square stairwell. Marco, from the band Surfadelicas comes over, and takes us to lunch at a nearby pizzeria. Then he hops on his Vespa, 5 of us in the van, and 4 in the car, and Marco leads the way to the Coliseum. Amazingly, we find a parking place right in front, and decide to split up to explore the area.

Everybody who has ever been to The Coliseum has the exact same photo

We only have a couple hours but try to make the most of it, poking around the Coliseum and the acreage around the Forum. Sorry, there's just too much to see, guess I'll have to come back. Marco's girlfriend, Ilaria, joins us as we all come together.

Ilaria and Marco at the Coliseum

We can't load into the club until 6:30, so Marco and Ilaria, on their Vespa, lead us through rush hour traffic for more site seeing. This is probably the craziest and most stressful time of the trip, as Lorenzo, driving a huge van, tries to follow a weaving Vespa. At the same time, Steve has to follow inches behind the van so he doesn't lose us as all the other drivers cut in front of him in the traffic circles, and so he doesn't catch a red light, and lose us forever. Steve does an amazing job, displaying iron will, and incredible patience. It would be a ridiculous chase scene in a movie, but in real life, it was high anxiety.

Conte Staccio is in a weird little island neighborhood of nightclubs and discos. Later it will be populated with young people, many American college students, and at one bar, tall women with firm jawlines and way too much makeup. Conte Staccio has an outdoor patio, but we're playing inside. Nice small stage, with full PA; we all run through a few songs for sound check. Here's the rub for tonight, Italy is playing Germany in the futbol playoffs, so we can't start until after the game, around 11:00.

Italy wins, and everyone takes to the streets to party. Unfortunately, they stay on the streets and don't come into the club. However, the handful that do show up are enthusiastic and dance the whole time. After the Frankie and TMen sets, I go outside for some air, and it's a beautiful night in the city. There's a live video feed projecting the bands on the wall in the packed patio area. I'd rather be outside, too.

Me taking a picture of myself on the TV screen on stage

After the gig, the guys are confident they can find their way back to the penzione, so Lorenzo, Anne, Karen and I take the van and follow Marco and Ilaria to their apartment. Marco leads us around on the Vespa, showing us The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, fully lit up at night. We find our stay for the night, and are asleep by 4am.

 

Tony Bologna goes to Bologna

Today, Wednesday June 27, is our last day off. What follows is 11 straight shows and then a flight home, so we will be very busy and tired. It was fantastic to have the first five days in Livorno, and then a nice trip to the countryside. As I write this, we are back at the Gran Duca in Livorno for the night.

After our gig at Ungawa last night we drove back atop the levee to find our motel. Our hotel last night, hmmm... Imagine a La Quinta motel near Fresno, with a grand marble circular staircase. They spread marble around like butter on pancakes. Everywhere, I tell you. It wasn't a great sleep, the AC was broken and our room faced the two lane blacktop with trucks rolling by. I hope I don't sound like a whiner, I'm not, just reporting the facts.

Since we are tourists, we decided to drive through Bologna to see what sights we could fit in a couple of hours. First stop was a large restaurant where we were met by Amerigo Crespi from the band, The Bradipos IV. Everybody ordered something different. Danny and I split a Ensalda Nizzarda, and lasagna bolognese with spinach noodles. Several pizzas and other dishes came out, and everything was shared.

The real Merman, Neptune

 

Amerigo went back to work and we found secure parking near the town center. We wandered aimlessly, just picking up a feel for the old town and iit's ancient buildings. We happened to find the Jewish museum in what had been the ghetto during WWII. Mel took the audio tour and gave us the skinny. Last stop was a vintage music shop which had an amazing collection of funky old keyboards, all for sale, if you could afford them.

 

Amerigo invited us to his apartment for coffee, and while waiting we bought a watermelon, and polished it off in seconds. It continues to be hot and humid, so anything cool, sweet and refreshing is welcome. Amerigo arrived and we entered his building through ancient 10ft. doors, which led into a cool courtyard, then up one flight and into a modern, stylish apartment. We met his girlfriend, Annamarie, who lives in Palermo, Scicily but is visiting for the week. They produced a tray of sweets, and we shared coffee and talk for the next hour. Amerigo is from Caserta, but unfortunately he won't be there Friday night as he has to work, and saves all his vacation time to travel to Scicily whenever he can. His girlfriend is a talented singer with her band, the Tintinette Swing Orchestra.

This is what the next 11 days looks like this:

JUN 27 - ITALY - TBC JUN 28 - ITALY - ROMA - CONTE STACCIO JUN 29 - ITALY - CASERTA - CAFFE' DEL CENTRO JUN 30 - ITALY - PISTICCI (MT) - CIRCUS JUL 01 - ITALY - COSENZA - CITTA' DEI RAGAZZI JUL 02 - ITALY - CROTONE - COLUMBUS BAR JUL 03 - ITALY - LECCE - MOLLY MALONE JUL 04 - ITALY - L'AQUILA - TOWN CENTRE JUL 05 - ITALY - PESCARA - L'IPPOCAMPO JUL 06 - ITALY - MARINA DI S. SALVO (CH) - BEAT CAFE' JUL 07 - ITALY - PINETO (TE) - BEACH PARADISE JUL 08 - ITALY - LIVORNO - SURFER JOE'S DINER

 

A real Tiki Oasis

The whole gang met up, with instruments and baggage, at the Diner at noon. It's a fine art, packing the van, there's a lot of stuff for a very small space. Its like one of those interlocking cube puzzles, only one way to fit it together. It was hot in the noon day sun and cloudless sky, so after packing up we went inside for lunch.

Aqua blue booths, imported from the US at Surfer Joe Diner

At 2:30 we hit the road, Lorenzo driving the van and Steve driving the rented Peugot wagon. Immediately outside Livorno, we had the first AutoGrille sighting, though we just stopped for gas. Autogrilles will be our food, fuel and leg stretch stops for the rest of trip. Lorenzo is obsessed with them, at one time trying to figure out how to book an AutoGrille tour. One highlight for everyone was an aqueduct sighting. It seemed like it was in good shape, not ancient, but still, an aqueduct.

Northeast toward Bologna, the countryside is like an endless Napa Valley, the round hills squared at the ends where they have been quarried for centuries. Fields of corn, and a world's supply of sunflowers, their faces all tilting west in the afternoon sun. We passed many nurseries, with hundreds of lollipop looking trees. After long tunnels and many hills, the landscape flattened and we were in the North.


As we crossed farm country, it didn't seem like we were headed toward any kind of civic center or any town that could support a club. We turned off the two lane roadway and onto a single lane passage that was on top of a levee next to the River Po. We could see the clock tower of Berganino and had to make a sharp turn down off the levee. Berganino was deserted, the kind of town where you might expect a donkey to pull a hay wagon through the town center, or Clint Eastwood might saunter in, telling the carpenter to prepare three coffins. And then the clock tower bell rings the hour.

The best way to describe the Ungawa Tiki Bar is as an oasis. You walk in and see that every detail of the former English pub has been massaged into a kitschy tropical paradise. Bamboo and rattan, low brow art, 50's movie posters, hand carved tikis made from telephone poles and the owners', Lukino, special handicraft, mosaic tile everywhere. Instead of hung beads in a doorway, there are hairy dreadlocks. There's a stage inside, but we will be playing on the patio outside, under a thatched roof, in the cooler air.

Meshugga Beach Party is sound check

After load in, set up, and a brief sound check for all three bands, Lukino brought out dinner. Starting with prosciutto and delicious juicy melon, grilled panini, and risotto with julienned vegetables. The came French fries with spicy avocado dip, and pizza– basil, mushroom and cheese. He had a great selection of beers, especially Belgian ales but I saved myself for a Mai-tai, though is was a sweet Trader Vic style rather than my preferred island style. The clubs in Italy truly treat bands so much better than clubs in the US.

This was the first real show of the tour with all three bands on stage on one night. One thing I was interested to see was what the crowd's reaction would be when they realized there was shared membership in the bands. They didn't seem to mind, we did change costumes, although tonight, far from the ocean breeze, everybody opted for shorts. This made the the TMen vests look pretty silly, but how much sillier could we look anyway? Another issue, which is mostly a concern to Danny, is how he will do having to play 3 sets a night.

Often when the club is empty, the owner will tell the bands to wait a few minutes until the crowd shows up. Generally, and perhaps especially with surf music, the crowd never shows, but by the time Frankie went on, the patio had completely filled up. Apparently it's OK to bring your kids into a bar, because there was a handful of youngsters. This made me a little sad because I miss my kids, even though they're grown up. But, anyway, Frankie & The Pool Boys had a good set, fresh from our "rehearsal" show at Surfer Joe. We hit a lot more of the tight cues, and it's satisfying to know that in a few nights we will be Swiss watch tight. Likewise, the TomorrowMen ripped through our set. I couldn't tell if the crowd was into the more progressive nature of the band, but they responded enthusiastically. After another costume change, Meshugga Beach Party came on, and with their high energy songs and stage moves, easily thrilled the crowd.

It's definitely weird to pull into a town as small and this and play in front of a packed house on a Tuesday night. Maybe they dont get much live entertainment, or maybe they know what an incredible place Ungawa is. Lukino is obviously a huge risk taker to open such a non-traditional bar here, and it's obviously a success. The night ends when Lukino brings out the Campari for a toast. He says if you drink six of them, you will see dragons. One sniff scares me away, but the hospitality is greatly appreciated.

 

 

Florence in 4 hours or less

Livorno sunset from Surfer Joe Diner

Tour books were consulted on the train and a few decisions are made. When you only have 4 hours and all the museums are closed, your choices get easier. First business of the train is the personal business, which costs 1 euro. "If I'm going to pay a buck," says Danny, "I'm going to get my money's worth." Steve and Karen grabbed tour maps and led the way. Steve is a history buff, so he's a wealth of information. Karen is an ace nagivator so we find our way to the Catedral de Santa Miara del Fiore and walked around the Piazza del Duomo, admiring the intricate adornments. We have a couple Jewish carpenters along with us, so words like balustrade, flying buttress, and other details like doors with exposed nails coming through the front door to prevent ramming with your shoulder are discussed and debated.

We made our way over Florence's famed Ponte Vecchio covered bridge and found a lunch place, that had AC. Mel, Steve and Stu had the wild boar with pasta which was tasty, and I will be ordering next chance I have. Danny had a dish with buffalo mozzarella. Buffalo is the cow it comes from, but it makes me wonder if the first people who saw the American buffaloes (outside of Native peoples) were Italians, buffalo does sound like an Italian word(?). We have been promised the best mozzarella in Italy when we get to Caserta, apparently it's so fresh, you eat it right out of the water, and it only lasts one day, so it can never be exported from the region. (Sorry for the mozzarella derail.)

After lunch, we walked by the river and the Forte Belvedere, then straight up the hill to Piazalli Michaelangelo, the main feature there was a huge reproduction of David, overlooking a spectacular view of Florence and the surrounding region. Of course the area was filled with vendors selling tchochkes, statue reproductions, meme t-shirts and posters of Marley, Ché, Jimi, Cobain and Heath Ledger in Joker makeup– all the modern Saints.

 

Back down the hill and into town, we did a little more shopping, and Danny and Tony wandered off to get an Internet fix. We wandered around Piazza Della Republica, but I heard more Americano than Italiano, so it was evident we were in tourist central. I also realized that you need a lot more than 4 hours to "do" Florence. Karen, Stu and I headed back to the train station to catch the 5:45 back to Livorno, which was, at this hour, a packed commuter train. Again, no conductor checked our tickets.

I wanted to meet with Lorenzo to discuss the rest of the tour. We took the #1 bus from the station direct to the Diner, where we saw the remains of the bleary eyed Festival staff cleaning up the final messes. The giant stage had been struck, and the gear for our tour organized and in road cases, ready for the load out. Lorenzo and Anne joined us while we ate. The good news is that all the "to be announced" dates have been filled except for one, so it will be 12 shows in a row after tonight. We also discussed the timing of our Tuesday morning packing. Trey and I will share duties driving the smaller car, so we have to go with rental agency to pick it up. As we finished our meal, Svetlana and Oleg came in, so we had a brief chat with them, inviting them to San Francisco, and hurried to catch a bus that never came. Our last walk back to the Duke.

The thrill of doing laundry on the road

A word about the Italian hotel bathroom. First I want to say how amazing it is for us to get to stay in the same place for 5 nights at the beginning of a tour, usually you land and hit the road running, you never get a chance to get bearings and overcome jet lag. It's been a great stay at the Grand Duca. About the bathroom, the most interesting feature is the small, 2' x 2' shower with sliding doors. Its so tight, I always imaging a really large person wedging in there, and the water not being able to fall to the drain, filling up above his waist, and pouring on when he opens the doors. It's so tight, you can't bend to wash your feet, but maybe that's what the bidet is for. No, as the old joke goes, an American tourists asks about the bidet, and the bellboy, who speaks little English pretends he is cradling a baby. The man says, "Oh, it's to wash a baby in?" The bellboy replies, "No, to wash baby out." But, it's great for washing socks and other unmentionables. Finally, il toileta, and please forgive me if I '"go there." I don't know if Italian anatomy is different, but it seems to me, imagine if you will, a space capsule returning to earth, and the angle of trajectory is too severe to make a correct splash landing. However, the beautiful, wall to wall, and on the wall Italian marble makes it all a pleasant experience.

 

Surfer Joe Festival 2012, Day Three

The LaGoonatics started Sunday's show at 5. They're a power trio, the guitarist playing his melodies with one or two fingers on top of chords giving them a rich sound. They kicked of their set with "Surf Party". We were shvitzing heavily after a long day, so headed back to The Duke for a shower.

 

An hour later, Karen, Danny, Stu and I waited for the Surfer Joe bus outside our hotel for about a half hour before it showed up. We boarded the vintage 1978 orange bus and were told that the driver was going to take a 20 minute break in the Grande Piazza for some dinner and a drink. We were pretty famished at this point, looking forward to food and music back at the festival, but what can you do. It was happy hour at a cafe in the Piazza, so we had a beer and grabbed handfuls of peanuts.

 

Arriving at the diner a little later than we hoped, the trio Surfadelica (from Rome) were on stage. I got to hear their great version of Aha's "Take On Me" with Mel and Ralf singing along, trying, but not quite hitting the falsetto parts. I didn't watch enough to get a strong impression, as there was a Tiki Burger waiting for me. Steve commented that the rhythm section was really tight, allowing the guitarist, Marco, plenty of room to roam.

 

I also missed Bang Mustangs, but they reminded Tony of Los Twang! Marvels, if that's any help. They want to play at the SG101 Convention next year, but who doesn't? 

Here's something that drives promoters crazy: Futbol. There was some kind of tournament going on, and Italy was playing England, the game starting at 9. Lorenzo delayed the start of the Messer Chups until 10:45, and during the break, Unsteady Freddie took the stage to tell the inspirational story of his life. The game ended in 0-0, and went to penalty shots, with Italy getting the victory.

 

I have to say that I was really surprised by the Messer Chups (Messer Chups means "knife lollipop".) Because of their videos focusing on the dark beauty of bass player Svetlana Zombierella, I somehow missed the incredible talents of guitarist of Oleg. Their drummer Dennis has toured with The Toasters so he was a complete pro, and did most of the between song banter, including the deadpanned, "I haven't had this much fun since my wife died. Just kidding, she's in a coma." Oleg's tone from his Jazzmaster was just incredibly rich, and considering we were all playing out of the same amps, it didn't seem fair.

 

Frankie and the Pool Boys came on at 11:45, and despite starting late, we played our full set. This was our first performance with Lorenzo; most bands play their first show in a basement, we were the closing band of a three day festival. All I can say about our set is that nobody died.

 

Thus ended Surfer Joe Festival #7. Karen, Stu and I took the Surfer Joe bus back to the hotel. Mel and Danny stayed for the jam. Somehow Mel bloodied his finger playing a bass solo in "Baja'". What a strange sentence to write.

 

Monday morning, bleary eyed, we all meet in the lobby at 9am to take a train to Firenze. We tried to buy a ticket for the bus, but none were to be had, but it didn't matter because nobody asked us for the fair. At the train station, we pull out the guide books and the first thing we figure put is that all the museums are closed on Mondays. Oh well, on the train we trade stories about the weekend and all the interesting people we have met from around the world. We bought tickets tickets for the train, but nobody asked us for them. I'm seeing a trend.

 

 

Surfer Joe Festival 2102, day two

No soundcheck for the headliner, Meshugga Beach Party, today. They did have a nice long rehearsal inside the diner, but the first band, The Tonomats were starting at 7pm, so all we could do was get their gear near the stage. Karen, Stuart, Danny, Mel and I decided to leave the Diner grounds and look for Italian food. I didn't want to miss any bands, so we didn't search too far and chose the open air cafe next to the street in front of the diner as an OK choice. everything was delicious, but too salty, and service was quick. They had many fried choices on the menu but Everything we had came from the grill. Karen went for the local specialty, the cacciucco seafood stew, which had every manner of crustacean in a tomato sauce. The menu said it would come with garlic bread, but it didn't arrive, until, she dug to the bottom of the bowl, and found the bread sponging up the favors. It seems that while Livorno was under siege by the Moorish pirates, the Tuscans had to smuggle bread into the city in the bottom of seafood crates, and so the tradition began.*

I only caught the last few minutes of Netherlands's The Tonomats. The newest band to play the festival, it's alway great to see young people (in their mid twenties) attracted to our genre, which is so nostalgia heavy. It's fine to have respect for the oldies, but these guys are all about the energy. I think they have a great future.

The second band was called Dirty Fuse, a five piece with sax from Athens Greece, managed by Mike Pappagino from Green Cookie Records. Mostly originals plus some Greek standards, and a version Yuzo Kayama's "Black Sand Beach". They brought out a tzouras, which is similar to a bouzouki but smaller, for their last two songs. Unfortunately, their set was marred by some equipment failures causing loud popping sounds. I spoke with Costas (lead guitar) and drummer Christo, for a while. They usually play twice a month in Athens, and the shows usually don't start in 1 in the morning. They asked about the music scene in America, as their bass player had told them they should move to California, where they could become rich playing surf music. Mmmm, maybe not.

Between sets, I meet FaceBook friend Jordi Molinar, who plays with the Spanish band Five Fingers With Parasol. He hands me their new CD and full color comic book, that tells the "history" of the band. The story involves a forgotten band, some time travel, and alternate world and some surf music. I've heard that one before :)

 

Jaguar and the Savannahs are a four piece from Scicily, they drove 13 hours to get to the festival. They offered a car ride from the hotel to the festival site so I took the chance to talk with them. The band members are guitarists Massimo and Gloria, barefoot bassist Elias and the drummer. They had just finished their first CD, but it didn't arrive before they left for Surfer Joe. Their live set was all covers, and their sound falls into the power surf category, clearly influenced by Man or Astroman, and they did do a few MOAM songs. The arrangements featured a lot of guitar interplay and they weren't afraid to "go there" harmonically into the noise realm. Mexican wrestling mask wearing Massimo played the more blood and guts guitar leads, and Gloria was more of a finesse player, she took the lead role on two Slacktone covers, "Bells of St. Kahuna" and "Tidal Wave."


At 10pm, the sky had finally darkened, the moon shining as brightly as its slim crescent would allow. Up until now, attendance had been poor, much less than last night. It is unfortunate that Lorenzo must start and end his shows so early, as the Italians don't seem to wake up until 9, have an espresso, and get ready to party. Happily for the Kilaueas, the area in front of the stage filled up as they began. At this point these guys are old friends as the proved to be an awesome band and gentlemanly house guests on their USA tour in 2007.

 

A big change in the band is that Tom, the rock steady bass player, has switched to second guitar, and shared much of the lead duties with Ralf. For this show, and whenever he is available, they had Boris from Los Twang! Marvels, obviously one of the best and most solid drummers in The EU. The Kilaueas set tonight was mostly new material, as they have about 10 new originals ready to record. (I did propose to record them in San Francisco, an offer they took quite seriously.) As expected, their set was tight and punchy, and the crowd responded noisily. I think this is their third appearance at the festival, and they are audience favorites.

 

And now the moment we've all been waiting for, the first international appearance of Meshugga Beach Party! As soon as the 4 guys and gal came out in their full rabbinical shmata, the now capacity crowd went nuts, and expectations were very high. I'm happy to say they totally delivered. Mel and Danny kept the energy at maximum with their synchronized leg kicks and dance moves. Stuart was as flashy as I've seen him, perhaps giving it just a little more effort for the cameras. Steve and Karen were spot on, and were more gregarious than I've seen them before, completely engaging the crowd. And the crowd was going nuts, chanting the band name, dancing and there was one guy who climbed over the railing to dance on stage. After two encores, and past the 12am curfew, victory was declared and the stage lights dimmed.

At that point the huge crowd returned to the tiki garden and diner, and drink and bathroom lines were measured in kilometers. Lorenzo set up the inside stage for the late night jam, and Karen, Stu and I waited for a bus that didn't come. We walked back to The Duke and, adrenaline abated, were in bed by 2am.

And, awake at he crack of noon! Karen and I found a cafe near the Grand Piazza, and then walked around the Little Venice section of Livorno. On the canals we saw more than a few boathouses, with 4 man and 10 man longboats docked. Unlike Crew boats, these are really wide and heavy, and in the 10 man boats, the rowers sit in pairs.

Again, we walked back to the Diner, as Frankie was scheduled to sound check and rehearse on the big stage at 2:30. The rest of the boys were there, eating. Tony was writing in a journal, which is like keeping a blog on paper, and you can say anything you want and keep secrets! ;) Frankie warmed up– I'm still getting used to the sound of the Fender Twin, it has a distinct spike in the attack, and I prefer a more "womanly" tone, rounder. We are still working on the Morricone's "Titoli, Fistful of $" as arranged by The Bradipos IV, the did a brilliant job with it but every verse is different.

We stuck around the Festival site and watched the first band of the night, the LaGoonAs, then walked back to the hotel. It's a little more than a mile away, so faithful readers will note that we are getting plenty of exercise!

*I made up the part about smuggling the bread in the bottom of seafood crates.

 

Surfer Joes Festival 2012, day one

It's a big stage. Halfway between the Diner and the Mediterranean, less than 50 meters each way. Elevated about 1.5 meters and with a short fence around it so people won't, I hope, stage dive. Full, computer controlled lights, which creates a glowing dome in the humid air.

From New York City, MC Unsteady Freddie is introducing the festival's opening band, Les Chefs from Dunkirk, France. They are a trio, fairly subdued, but tearing their way threw mostly covers and a few originals. They have a wacky stage manner, but it's not an act, these guys are hysterical, but more on that later. Early on, the crowd is fairly sparse, but that's just an illusion. The stage is set in huge open area and I notice that while there about 100 people in front of the stage, there are another 100 sitting on the railing by the sea, another 100 at the diner, and many more roaming around the shoreline walk. It's only 9pm, which is very early in Italian time.

 

At 10pm, the crescent moon has just about sunk into the sea, taking her lover Venus along, and Los Venturas take the stage. It's clear that they are no longer adhering to the Ventures style sound of their early albums. Their "uniform" is 70's style polyester shirts in geometric patterns of pastel, tucked into grey slacks with a wide belt. They look like swingers from a HiKarate ad, and their new sound reflects it. They did a few surf standards, but of the covers I recognized, Tommy Roe's "Dizzy" and the theme from Lawrence of Arabia we're particularly brilliant. All the TMen were at the front of the stage, and getting a little worried about following them. I so look forward the Los Venturas' show at the Forbidden Island in August, and for those going to the SG101 convention, you are in for a treat!

They finished punctually at 10:45 (thanks to ace stage management by sound man Gulio and stage manager Tommy- who is also a member on Lorenzo's Buckaroo Banzai band). The TMen got all set up and tuned, then disappeared from the stage. In a tent backstage, we quickly changed into our new costumes. Are they ridiculous? You could say that, but why do something half assed when you can make be a total ass? What can you say about black and silver mylar space suits that were designed for teenage raves at burning man? As drummer, Tony is allowed to wear only the vest and shorts, but Steve, Danny and I have matching pants and black long sleeve shirts. To top my costume off, I'm wearing a child's mylar space helmet, which adds another 18" to my height. We got a great reception as we came on stage, but now we would have to deliver.

 

How did we do? I think we played well, and the energy was tremendous, we could play as loud as we wanted, and the stage gave us plenty of room to move around. I tried as hard as I could to work the crowd and get them involved. My guess is there were more than 200 directly in front of the stage, and another 200 in the shadows and at the Tiki bar next to the Diner. After an encore, and dripping with sweat, we left the stage at midnight.

 

In the small backstage tent, Les Chefs- Pierre (who prefers to be know as "25"), Bebe and Thomas were hanging out, and quite talkative. They had found some illegal substance and were rolling what rastas would call a spliff, a mix of tobacco and hash. While Thomas was telling me their story, which included the fact that all of their Grandfathers had once been prisoners of war, their day jobs, the birthdates of their sisters, and a treatise on the right wing government of France (clearly they identify more as Belgians than French). During an excited exchange, Thomas (pronounced Toma) dropped his rock, and most unfortunately, the floor of the tent was nothing but tiny multi-colored stones. Les Chefs scoured the ground searching by the light of the refrigerator, picking up every pebble for intense inspection, generally followed by an excited "yessss" followed by a grunt and a deep depressed exhale. This went on for at least 25 minutes before they admitted defeat, which was just as well because Les Chefs were well cooked at this point.

The Tonomats had started the surf jam on the stage inside the Diner, which was now wall to wall packed. I found Karen and we stayed mostly outside, saying hello to a few people, including our old pal from Belgium and SG101, Wannes Rombouts. We left at 1:15, though the party was clearly going to go on until early in the morning. We thought we might find a taxi, but hoofed it back to the hotel and were in bed by 2, a very long day.

Saturday morning began as a repeat of yesterday, an American style breakfast and rehearsal for Frankie. After practice, Tony and I went back to the Duke for a nap while Karen and Danny went back to the diner to rehearse with Meshugga. After a brief zonk out, I went looking for a panini and walked toward the sea. The Gran Duc is just across from the massive Livorno sea port, where huge cruise liners and smaller ferries are parked, all eventually headed for all Mediterranean destinations.

 

In front of our hotel is a monument from 1596 to its namesake, Naval Captain Ferdinando de Medic (yes, those Medicis, the Grand Dukes and protectorates of Florence and all of Tuscany). The well dressed Captain saved free trade in Livorno with his victory over Moorish pirates, who he captured and enslaved. It's pretty brutal, the naked Moors chained to the pink marble and bound at the wrists. Mr. Medici looks pretty happy though, but, I'm not judging.

 

Jet lag, American food, and loud music.

Karen's keyboard didn't arrive in Livorno. We can't figure out exactly where it is but we are pretty sure it's at the Frankfurt airport. The Lufthansa agents were helpful but, no keyboard. Lorenzo and Anne met us at the tiny Florence airport, they look pretty happy considering how much stress they are under. We decided to wait an hour to see if the keyboard coffin came in on the next flight. It didn't, so we drove to Livorno, with a promise that if/when the the coffin arrives, Lufthansa will deliver it.

During the drive west, Lorenzo's phone is ringing constantly; band cancellations, police need to inspect the stage, lost musicians. To ignore the stress, we talk about what we are going to do when they visit us in August. I nod off for 10 minutes, my first sleep since San Francisco.

As soon as we make it over the last hill and descend into Livorno, the temperature drops 10 degrees and the sea breeze brings relief from the stagnant odor of the plains. Lorenzo takes us past the Diner, where we can see the scansions of a large stage erected, and directly to our hotel, Hotel Gran Duca. Easily accomplished goals of a shower and a nap are set and attained. Our rooms are great, large and funky suggesting centuries of unplanned remodeling and odd angles at the corners to keep ghosts at bay. This is a perfect place to stay for the first 5 nights of our tour.

Back down to the lobby at 6, we find the refreshed Tony, Stuart and Danny, ready to head over to the diner. A text message summons Luca, who also brings a big hug from an old friend. Our hotel is about 5 minutes north of the diner, or a nice 20 minute walk along Piazza Italia, the main seaside road. We can see that here is so much to explore.

 

The Surfer Joe Diner is beautiful and still has the sheen of newness. The booths are bright sea foam blue, the black and white tile shiny. The walls are covered with memorabilia from past festivals and tours. Beers and burgers arrive, comfort food. We discuss our travel misadventures, which thankfully are few. After dinner the group moves outside to sit under the newly constructed palapas in the tiki garden, and a beaming, smiling Steve Henderson shows up. This is such an rare occurrence that I have to snap a pic. He had a wonderful time while in London, and his jet lag has abated so he's ready to go. Mel is still a no show.

Karen and I decide to take a stroll by the Mediterranean, and there is a beautiful, wide mascagni following the coastline. Then a turn back down the main drag takes us into seaside Livorno, with attraction for kids like merry go rounds, fusbol and gelatarias. We are big kids so we have a chocolate coffee gelato which is so rich. In the summer night it melts so fast we lick most of it from the sides of the cup. We head back to the Diner to see what's going on. A band will come on at midnight, but we decide to go back to the hotel.

 



Friday morning we find Danny, Tony and Steve and head to the diner for breakfast. Maybe you think we're crazy for coming to Italy, but the foods great and it's comped. As we walked out of the diner the best news possible came in the form of an angel delivering Karen's keyboard. Wow, what great timing as the plan for today is to have Frankie practice at a rehearsal hall. So we drive through an industrial section of town and find a place that rents practice rooms, but it's unique as far as I know because the rooms are encased in glass. I'm sure there's a joke in here... Those who are rolling stones should not play in glass houses?

This was our first time playing with Lorenzo and he really did his homework and most of the songs were successful on the first try. I found it interesting that the songs that Lorenzo needed most work on were the new songs, as he had never played any of the material before, what difference should there between old and new. Well, the rest of us needed work on the new stuff, but overall, I was really happy with how it went. It's a lot to ask somebody to pick up a whole set, and he did it!

After rehearsal, Lorenzo picked up his sound permit from the police station, and we went to the diner for lunch. Lorenzo said that the TMen could run through our set on the indoor stage, so we did. It was about 4pm and the place was empty so we had a good long warmup for the night's show.

We decide to walk back to The Duke, and on the way out we ran in to Ralf, Tom and the rest of the Kiluaeas, and gave 'em a warm greeting. Well, it was really hot, so everybody got a warm greeting. Quick shower and change and back to the festival site for a sound check. The TMen ran through a few songs on the massive stage, with full PA and 4 way monitors. It sounds huge.

I hang with the Kilaueas for a while and the TMen do a brief interview. Karen and I go to find an authentic Italian dinner, which is pretty easy to do around here. Port town that Livorno is, we find a small outdoor seafood restaurant. We have smoked tuna on butter lettuce, speck and Gorgonzola penne, and a mozzarella salad.

As I write this, Les Chefs are on stage cooking up some surf music and the festival has officially started!

 

Travel Day / More Backstory

Yeah, we packed light!

Turns out the summer solstice is the shortest day of the year for us. Tony, Danny, Stuart and Mel boarded their plane at 8 this morning. Karen and I left at 2pm, though amazingly, our plane lands an hour after theirs. I think they make stops in Akron, Fiji, Reykjavik, and Capetown. Karen and I are flying direct to Frankfurt, and continuing to Florence. We tried to pack light, but have about 170 lbs between us. Her keyboard case is more like a coffin and will need a team of bearers to haul it around.

(**Reminder to self-- never get in a line with only one agent and a large family moving all their household appliances to Mumbai, and have not booked flights yet.) Resolution, Karen got out of our line, went to the end of another, and got to an agent before I moved an inch. The man in front of Karen told her we looked familiar. Yeah, he's a surf music fan and had been going to Pollo shows since '98. Small world. He's on his way to Greece, but has friends in Greece who are going to the festival. Smaller world.

Anyway, we are on the plane, but not sitting next to each other. I got a seat in an exit row with more leg room. We both have large, talkative German men sitting next to us. A tiny Asian woman runs through her tai-chi routine in the space in front of the emergency exit to keep her blood circulating. I wonder if the movies are better on Air France.

 

So, how did we get to this point? After the meeting in the restaurant with Lorenzo and Luca... Woah, massive derail! Ever see the movie Buckaroo Banzai? Dr. Banzai is a scientist, media sweetheart with a trusted fan club that he occasionally calls on to assist him with his many adventures. Of course, he's also the lead singer in his band, and if I recall he can play a killer pocket trumpet. The other members of his band are all specialists, nuclear physicists, theoretical mathematicians, you get the idea. While Lorenzo's band was staying with us, he told me that all the guys were involved in the restaurant. Luca plays keys and is his business partner, the drummer is the chef, and the bass player is the contractor. So maybe they aren't rocket scientists, but it was so cool that they were on tour and planning the restaurant.

Back to the meeting, after I told the plan to Lorenzo, and he translated to Luca, the ball very slowly started rolling. The Boss Combo went back to Italy, and while could not hold my enthusiasm, the only person I told was Karen, partly out of a superstitious belief that there was only a slight chance of it happening. Why get everyone's hopes up? The Valdambrinis went to work opening a restaurant, which is no easier in Italy than here-- building permits, architects, local bureaucracy (gotta grease the palms before you can grease the food.) I couldn't believe the time frame he was shooting for, everything had to go perfectly.

Location? They found a place right next to the Mediterranean, and right next to a large aquarium owned by a cruise line. The place could have an indoor stage and... a huge outdoor space for hosting the festival. There's also room for an outdoor tiki bar, which just opened last week. Surfer Joe's would be a 50s style diner, with checkerboard floor and milkshakes. Ther are lots of these diners all across Italy, Pollo Del Mar played in a few of them in 2009. These diners aren't just a novelty like in America, but centers for retro culture, and usually where the vintage car and motorcycle clubs have their Friday night rallies.

We kept in touch through the fall, just talking about general ideas, and the most important issue: $. Would it be possible to take seven people on a relatively short tour and break even. At some point I sent out a letter to all involved. The problem was that so few concrete plans had been made that all I could do is ask for a vote of confidence. The guys entusiastically agreed to forward motion.

The first draft would start us in Germany for a few shows, then fly or drive down to Livorno for the festival. Ralf from The Kilaueas was eager for us to play in Berlin, and that would have been incredible. One show was booked, but we had to cancel because it was obvious that there was no way we could pay for the travel from Germany to Italy. So, an all Italian tour was planned.

Lorenzo started booking the tour, starting with each band headlining a night at the festival. Frankie is going on Sunday night so we have three days to rehearse with our new drummer. Then it's into the van and all around Italy.

 

I started out this entry by saying that this solstice is our shortest day of the year as we are flying east, losing hours. I expected we'd hit nightfall, but as we are flying north over Greenland, and given our altitude of 37,000 ft, the sun is still high. Midpoint of the flight, halfway through the year. My friends in Finland and Norway are not going to the Surfer Joe festival because they head to the Arctic Circle to celebrate and watch the sun complete a perfect circle in the sky. Meanwhile in Marin, our transplanted Danish friends keep the viking traditions alive with a BBQ on the beach. As we flew above New England, I thought about friends and family figuring out ways to beat the heatwave. From this altitude, you can't quite see the curvature of the Earth, but it's easier to see it as a whole rather than parts.

 

Meet the Cast

Use this handy graphic to keep the bands and players straight.

You will be hearing a lot about these guys and gal over the next few weeks, so here's a Playbill.

Mel Waldorf

I first became aware of Mel through the music of his band The Mel-tones. I met him when he moved to the Bay Area in 1996. We started a band together in 2000 called The Mach IV, and at that time he was also recording the first Meshugga Beach Party album. He needed a band to perform the music live, so The Mach-sters donned the beards and added Karen on keys and we did a handful of shows before he decided to to put together a full time band. Mel is one of the most prolific musicians I know, with 4 Mel-tones CDs, 3 Meshugga CDs, and a Mach IV CD. Mel has taught me a lot of yiddish over the years, but I only remember the dirty words.

Danny Snyder
The first time I really talked with Danny was at Phil Dirt's retirement show in 2004, although he said we'd met at the Hotel Utah surf shows before that. At that point he was thinking about starting up a band after being away from music for 10 years or so, and he thought Surf music was his ticket to fame. Oh well, I'm happy he choose our little genre as has become a huge asset with his brilliant song writing and being an all around great ambassador. The TomorrowMen released their first CD last year and it's widely hailed for it's fresh and modern approach to the surf, while still having the energy and pounding beat of the heaviest trad style. This will be Danny's first trip across the pond.

Stuart Brandt
Stu impressed me so much when I first saw him with the Aqua-Marines. He holds his sticks the old fashion way and is probably the most authentic pure trad style drummer I know. A few years ago, Paul Johnson asked me if I knew a drummer that could back him up for a couple shows, and Stu was the man. Stuart gave up drums for long time before deciding to start playing again, and why a Jewish kid from Canarsie, Brooklyn would be so dedicated to surf music is beyond me, but I'll have lots of time with him in the van to find out. This is Stu's first trip abroad and he is looking forward to smoking Cuban cigars in Italy.

Karen Dobronyi
Karen and I have been married 20 years and it's always interesting, always something new going on. When Mel was putting together Meshugga he asked about a keyboard player and I suggested her. We bought a Vox Continental from Hank Maninger and she found her voice in it. She used to get really nervous playing shows but now she is a pro, and I'm very impressed. Karen is a "foodie" so I hope we explore the realm beyond what the clubs provide (salted pork products and bread). Karen is a little apprehensive about traveling with 6 guys for 2 & 1/2 weeks, but, I think her main job for this tour is to keep the groupies away from me. I kid...

Steve Henderson
It's hard to find a picture of Steve smiling, but I know he is on the inside. Steve has been Danny's musical partner in crime for decades, and they come as a matched set. They drive each other crazy in the most fraternal of ways. Steve is extremely patient. I don't know if it's OK to reveal his day job, but boy does he needs patience for it. While Danny was on musical hiatus, Steve played in some kind of death metal band, I think there's incriminating videos on YouTube somewhere. We'll have to do a little digging.

Tony Bald
I'm not sure if Tony answered Danny's ad on Craig's List or vice-versa, but wow, what a find! Tony played in ska bands in high school and his Dad was a fan of surf music, so joining the TomorrowMen was what he was looking for. When I first saw Tony, he was all about the energy, and in a few years I have seen and heard him mature so much. He still has the energy, but it's so focused now. When Frankie needed a bass player, Danny suggested tony, even though he had never played bass in a band before. He has also become a great power pop songwriter wit his band The Gregors. I think Tony is 25 now, so like a bunch of old vampires we feast on his energy.

Lorenzo Valdambrini
I can't remember when I met Lorenzo, which is strange because we've become great friends even though he lives in Italy. I think it was destiny, we've had a lot of fun in the few years we've know each other. The man is an octopus, all 8 arms handling some catastrophe; juggling a restaurant, a festival, a tour, his band, a booking agency, and making everybody happy all the time. Pollo Del Mar's tour with him in 2009 was an epic good time, everything went so smoothly. When we were putting this tour together I knew exactly who should play drums with Frankie– our man in Italy.

Your Truly, Ference Dobrinyi

I misspelled my name, just like everybody else does. I like instrumental music, particularly surf. I played with Pollo del Mar for 18 years before we decided to take a break last winter. I started Frankie & The Pool Boys to play in a less complicated, 60s vein. Hmm, what else? I used to be a graphic designer but now I work at a middle school, and I love it. I have been really lucky to work with so many cool musicians in the surf world, and that's one of the reason I'm so attracted to the genre. I have found that the more I give to it, the more I get back.

Colophon

Sorry, this entry is pretty boring, but some people might be interested in the nuts and bolts of blogging.

I'm doing my blog differently this time. In the past (2009), I had a laptop, a digital camera, and a video camera. Writing the blog was easy enough but it was a pain to download the pics, resize then upload them to someplace like Photobucket, then link it in the blog. I didn't even bother with adding video until after I got home.

This time I will be using my iPad for everything. I'm still taking a camera and a video for hi-Rez stuff, but now I can take photos, edit them, and place them in the blog all from the iPad. However, I had to do a little research to get the whole system going. Google Blogger does not have a workable app, and using the web interface is lame, so I found this nifty app called Blogsy, which was highly rated and pretty cheap. It took me a few hours to figure it all out, but I'm really impressed so far. Blogsy connects directly and easily to Blogger for seamless uploading. I can upload pictures from my iPad to Picassa (Google's picture dump) then place them into the blog, as well as videos from YouTube. Five stars for Blogsy!

I really don't like the boring, flat looking pictures the iPad takes, so I thought I'd check out Instagram. We've all seen the cool looking photo filters, but I found out you have to join their social network, which some people swear is the next FaceBook, but who needs another Facebook? More poking around found BeFunky which is a FREE! photo editing app that will apply filters, frames and custom color adjustments to the pics on your iPad. And it saves the new versions as a separate file, so that when the retro look becomes obsolete, you won't have to apply a "modern" filter to your retro pics. Does that make sense? Kind of an anti-Ubik for you Philip K. Dick fans. Five stars for BeFunky!

Before:

After:

When I was a kid, I loved shooting movies with my Super 8. iSupr8 is a great app that simulates the shutter flutter, the slow frame rate (12 fps!), the grain and the blown out lighting of my old Yashika. I had the free version for a long time, but paid for the upgrade which allows you to shoot in 1080 (hi-Rez low-Rez, hmm, oxymoron?) and gives you more choices for film stocks and lenses. This video from a few months ago was created with the free version, but you can see what iSupr8 does. Yeah, five stars for iSupr8.

 

For some reason, I can't seem to leave a comment in the comments section! Tried on several different computers with no luck. Does Google not allow people to leave comments on their own blogs?

The Road Rules - A Touring Primer

Happy Father's Day!

Aside from Tony (drummer for the TMen, bassist for Frankie) and myself, no one else in our traveling group has done a band tour. Of course, going on tour is quite a bit different than traveling with your family. It's really different. Really. We have had many discussions over the last few months about how to function as a unit, exchange rates, flights, etc., but the real experience happens within the van, especially after the novelty wears off. You give up a lot of freedom traveling with a large group, and it can be stressful to deal with.

There have been lots of articles written about touring, but this guy "Thor" described it the best in his article “How To Tour In A Band Or Whatever”. You may laugh or cringe, but that's the truth right there.

My list isn't nearly as exciting, but this is what I sent out a couple weeks ago to the NorCal crew:

1. PACK LIGHT! - For so many reasons: cramped tour van, weight fatigue. Figure out exactly what you will need for 1 weeks worth of wear. We will be able to do laundry on our Monday days off. Pack light! If you really need something that you didn't pack, you can get it there.
2. Wheels! There will be instances when we are walking long distances carrying everything we have, or waiting in long lines at the airport. Please use a suitcase with wheels to prevent back strains and fatigues. (See my 2009 PDM tour blog for the story about walking a mile in the rain in Stuttgard at 2AM looking for our hovel.)
3. Ambien. I don't like drugs but getting sleep on tour, especially in the first part when jet lag is an issue, is crucial! Also, bring sleep ear plugs and eye shades as we may be sharing a room with bunks.
4. Putting an iPod on in the tour van means you need a little quiet, private time. This is great! We'll leave you alone.
5. Don't bring stuff that needs to get ironed. Forget it.
6. It's OK if your stage clothes get stinky, you only need to wear them for an hour.
7. Bring a separate suit bag for stage clothes. It'll be a drag if you have to root through your luggage for your stage wear. I can't guarantee that we will be in our hotel before show time.
8. Not everybody has the knack for loading the tour van. Please don't be offended if it is pointed out that you might be one of those people.
9. Everybody schleps everything. That said, you are responsible to make sure that your stuff doesn't get left behind. Triple idiot checks!!!
10. As we all know, "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." Definitely take a towel. I have one of the camping towels made out of micro-filament that dries almost instantly, because you don't want to have to pack a wet towel. Also, keep an old gym towel with your gear to dry off after performing. That thing usually gets pretty scuzzy, so that's why I bring a different one for showering.

I'm always amazed when someone says, "I don't need to take a shower" or "I don't smell." Or when they think that any of the other rules don't apply to them. Well, we'll see what happens with this, generally civilized, crew after a few days. But, that's what will keep this blog interesting to read!

Lot's more to come. Please hit the "Subscribe to" button below. Thanks.

Countdown to departure

Hello! We leave in four days for a nearly three week tour of Italy. By "we" I mean the combined membership of Frankie & the Pool Boys (aka Frankie), Meshugga Beach Party (Meshugga or MBP) and The TomorrowMen (the TMen). Three bands, seven people, eight counting Lorenzo who is our tour manager and the drummer for Frankie.

The concept for this tour began last August when Lorenzo toured California with his band Surfer Joe & His Boss Combo. (You will hear "Surfer Joe" referenced quite a bit as the name refers to a festival, a diner, a booking agency, a band, quite possibly a recording label, but it always refers back to the man who runs the show, Lorenzo Valdambrini.) I sat with Lorenzo and his band which includes his brother and business partner, Luca, in a greasy spoon on Haight Street in San Francisco. I explained how the three bands shared membership, and that a package tour would be a bargain. Lorenzo mulled it over then explained it to Luca in Italian. The astonished expression on Luca's face told me it was a winning plan.

Since then, there has been a lot of talk and negotiation to pull this off. First major problem was that Lorenzo and Luca had to open their restaurant, for which they didn't even have permits yet. But, everything seemed to fall into place for the lads from Livorno and Surfer Joe's Diner was open by February, with a full stage and Surf music shows scheduled every week.

The plan for the tour is that we will arrive before the Festival, with each band headling one night, then we will take the show on the road for the next two weeks, cover all of Italy, except the earthquake plagued northern region. For our last show, we will play inside the diner.

Here's a little road map I put together for the tour. Pretty primitive, as I used Adobe Illustrator for the graphics. One day I'll learn Flash. It looks much better in hi-Rez. The song is a new one from Frankie called "Paniolo".

Ok, that's all for today. Lots more back story to come before the real story starts next Thursday, June 21, when we arrive in Livorno.