SWEDEN AND POLAND

We’ve traveled through Europe so many times I can’t count, but I am always so grateful that music allows me this pleasure and adventure! Early on in my career I would get frustrated that I didn’t have more time in certain places to actually get to be a little bit of a tourist. But over time I realized that I needed to just digest whatever I could wherever I was, and that wherever I ended up when our days off occurred, that that is the place I would explore in detail. For instance, we must’ve played the NEW MORNING, in Paris, five or six times before we ever got to do more than drive in and out of Paris. Of course during these drives themselves we see what we see, but Paris was particularly frustrating because our route in and out of the city didn’t even afford us a view of the Eiffel Tower. Then suddenly the next time we toured throughout France, we had two full days off in Paris after our show at the NEW MORNING club. This meant rooms paid for, with a complimentary breakfast. So, on a budget, and therefore on foot, we spent two days walking to and from the Champs de Elysee, taking in the river Seine, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triumph and the Louvre! Just getting through the museum took hours and hours, and we had ‘em! This sure made up for all of our quick trips in and out of town, prior! I passed out each day as soon as we got back to our quaint little French motel, nestled in the heart of the Paris garment district. But the boys, I recall, went out again at night and took in the Eiffel Tower. Apparently nighttime is the time to go as they have it so beautifully lit up.

But I do digress, so let’s get back to our trip to Sweden and Poland of this year. The point being that this time over we had but two shows to do, both major festivals, on two consecutive weekends, and the rest of our time was our time! The two festivals were both awesome, affording us to play in front of many folks and to touch base with the musicians we hadn’t had an opportunity to hear yet, or hadn’t seen in quite some time.

The festival in Sweden was in the town of Umea at the Folkets Hus: a huge building functioning as the cultural center for the town. The Folkets Hus was multi-floored and multi-venued. We played on the big stage that was a theater, and we performed before Kim Simmons. This was my first opportunity to meet Kim, and as a fellow “Welshman,” we had some great conversation. Whereas he actually grew up in Wales and still has a place there, I have yet to visit my “homeland” so I was heavily coveting his descriptions.

One stage down in the “club,” performing with a Swedish jump/swing band, was my old pal, Otis Grand. So after finishing our set, I ran down the many stairways and hallways and through a kitchen, out onto the stage to sit in with Europe’s “Gentle Giant” of the blues. We had a ball, and I got to back him on his bad-ass version of Magic Sam’s “Boogie” during which he does some wild finger pickin’. I’ve never seen anyone get this like he does! The whole time the Swedes were dancing and partying right up against the stage…Skoll!

Meanwhile, as we were all staying in the same motel, Otis and I had plenty of time to catch up, share meals, and walk around town. Speaking of walking around town, we were right in the heart of “shop-till-ya- dropsville”…and yes I did…but fortunately, it was mostly window shopping! I guard the old credit card pretty carefully! But I did treat myself to another new hat. (How do you know when you have enough hats?)

On one of our days off our promoter, Anders, took us to a moose farm where we got to pet and mingle with the moose. The owner and operator of this farm was apparently Sweden’s “moose whisperer.” Then we were invited to his beautiful Swedish home while he and his wife, Monica, stuffed us with all kinds of savory foods, some Swedish, some Mediterranean. Their grown kids arrived and the party ensued. Anders has a killer ‘50’s juke box in his living room, and I couldn’t help but think how great it would look in my living room…

From ultra-sophisticated Swede we made our way to the old mining town of Katowice, Poland. Our promoter, Irek Dudek, a renowned Polish musician himself, put us up in a four star hotel with very high-end cuisine! We all attempted to try everything on the menu, working our way up to their special mega dessert (that feeds a family of four easily) and is brought to the table on a glass platter that is lit from the inside and thus highlights all of the items being displayed. It was wild!

For our first day off in Poland, we really wanted to get to Krakow, which is the closest major city to Katowice. I’ve always heard a lot about the beauty of this city as it is one of the few cities in Europe that Hitler didn’t bomb. It seems the Fuhrer had a special affinity for Krakow, and in fact kept a place there, so of course he wouldn’t want anything to touch it! So Cass, Don, and I headed to the train station in search of tickets to Krakow.

Man I was lucky, once again, to be with two New York City residents who really knew how to suss out train stations. You see nobody really spoke any English in Katowice except for our promoter and his wife so once we stepped out of our hotel we were on our own. Even the cab driver didn’t understand where we were trying to go until I made the “choo choo” sound. Then he took us right to the station, and amazingly, Cass and Don were able to figure out which train to take from which platform, and when.

Upon our arrival in Krakow we headed immediately to the old town area in search the old castle, town square, and ancient churches. All of the little streets and alleys are full of shops and of course they sell hot, freshly made perogies on every corner…and of course we had to stop and sample some after only walking a few blocks. Man, they were amazing, and now we were all powered up to hike to the castle and take in the town. At one point my dogs were really beginning to bark so I insisted we catch a ride for a bit on one of those horse drawn carriages. This turned out to be a great idea cuz not only can ya chill for a bit but the view of the streets is quite improved from the elevation. And we do have a few cool photos to share with ya’ll from Krakow!

For our second day off, Don was all about visiting Auschwitz, which was about the same distance from Katowice as Krakow, but we actually had some fellas willing to drive us there. I was originally gonna go, but as the day arrived, I had to bail out. Not only did my body feel like it needed rest, but I just couldn’t get up for it. As much interest and knowledge that I have in WWII, I didn’t feel I needed to see the exact spot where all of the atrocities occurred…actually I don’t do well when it comes to torture! I’ve seen tons of footage of the Holocaust, read extensively on the subject, and have a good imagination…too good. Cass had never wanted to go. So I was glad that Don had the guys to hang with for the trip. It turns out that most of the guys from the other bands performing at the festival ended up at Auschwitz also.

Meanwhile, the festival took place in a huge auditorium…Spodek Sporthall. The audience in attendance numbered about 4 to 5 thousand and as it was a non-alcoholic event, folks could bring their kids. Our promoter, Irek, had one of his bands open the show. Then Seth Walker and his band from Austin, Texas took the stage. This was my first time hearing him and I really saw the talent! Seth is a triple threat…a singer, song-writer, and guitar player! Very cool stuff. Next up was Samuel James and it was amazing to see how he could capture the whole room as a solo artist, but he sure did! And as the headliners, we definitely felt the love from all of the good folks on and off the stage in Poland. Thanks Irek, for, for turning Poland onto the blues!