Actually, these would be shows 2 and 3 if you count the show at Sweden Rock Festival as well…

Finally home, with access to broadband internet and everything. :) The whole trip went effortlessly, apart from a few smaller mishaps, but I can live with that.

The drive from Munich airport to Olympiahalle was a piece of cake. Beautiful day it was too. Stood outside the venue all day, nothing better to do – same old, same old… At least we got some free entertainment listening to the sound check that started shortly after 4 pm, and frankly, sometimes I enjoy listening to instrumental music more than with vocals. Not always, but it’s just a totally different thing when the instruments get the main focus instead of only being “backup” for the vocals.

The show was fun as hell. Call me childish, but I love that foam and water-splashing thing that Ozzy does! It just brings you into the right sort of vibe where you let go of all inhibitions and allow yourself to just relax and not think about how you look or act or anything, it’s down to basics. We all look absolutely ridiculous and we’re all laughing like kids. Can it get any better? :)

I had a discussion actually with a business-colleague, whether or not it was good for a professional to be seen in the crowd – whether that be someone from a record company, another band, photographer, journalist, manager…. I’ve battled with that throughout my whole career. That whole IMAGE-thing.

Yeah, I know it’s WAY more cool to stand somewhere on the side of the stage with a laminate looking important, but I’ve done that – and I hate it.

All you see is the band’s asses and you don’t get to experience the show the way it’s supposed to. It’s not that I can’t be that “cool professional”. God knows I have every opportunity in the world to get my ass on some guest list and talk my way to a pass.
But at this point, I don’t care what people think anymore. When I’m doing a job, I’m doing a job and I know how to separate one thing from another.

I loved this piece of news about LADY GAGA recently – to me, that says it all!! Lady Gaga ROCKS!!! :-))

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/05/28/iron_maiden_fans_were_kind_and_warm_to

Lady Gaga was initially apprehensive about joining the crowd at a recent Iron Maiden concert, but was surprised by the “kind and warm” welcome she received by the rock fans.
 
The “Poker Face” singer went to see the band at a gig in Tampa, Florida, last month and watched most of the show from a private box.
 
Towards the end of the performance, Gaga and her friends decided to brave the main auditorium – and the singer was overwhelmed by the positive reaction to her presence.
 
She tells Rolling Stone, “We went down during The Number Of The Beast. And when we got there… we just booked it into the center of the crowd. We were dancing and singing and everyone was just so into it. And it was one of the first times I’ve been able to just be at a rock concert in a long time.
 
“People did recognize me, but it was so kind and warm and awesome… I’m a pop singer – I didn’t know what it would be like in a crowd of Maiden fans; everybody was hugging me, high-fiving, fistpumps in the air… ‘Oh, it’s so cool you’re at Maiden.’ Jumping and dancing… I mean, it was like absolute no judgment, no prejudice, freedom and love for music. It doesn’t matter who you are… It was just awesome… Maiden changed my life.”

I’m 100% with Gaga on that one! :-) Very cool – how many other “superstars” would have done that, to me she is true to herself, even with the super stardom she has reached. I respect that.

I had my usual laminate when Sebastian Bach was playing Sweden Rock years ago, and I was welcome to walk around anywhere I wanted. Guess people would have expected to see me in the photographer’s pit but I thought it was so lame to be standing there on my own rocking out to Baz, so I went back to the craziness of the crowd.

I like to be right in the middle of it – hear people go crazy, feel every happy move from people around me jumping, dancing, headbanging, just creating that ENERGY that rock’n’roll is all about.

I also think that Ozzy is the perfect artist to be “uncool” for. The security guys in the front learned very quickly that there wasn’t much point being professional at an Ozzy concert. He hosed them down from top to toe, it was absolutely priceless!

After the show, I went back to the car with the intention of driving to Anett and Markus (Red Lion Music, Jon Oliva’s Pain tour manager on their last few European tours) during night. I figured there wouldn’t be much traffic but it was raining, and driving in rain and darkness gets you tired pretty easily, so I decided to stop somewhere and sleep instead.

Pulled into the first parking-sign space I saw, lots of trucks there, guess that’s where truckers get their rest between destinations.

I slept like a baby in that car! The seat could be stretched like a bed, and it was actually dark and quiet there so it couldn’t have been more perfect.

When morning dawned, I was starving and looked up to check where I was. When I drove in, it had been totally dark, now I could see where I was.
And it’s funny… when you travel like this, you eventually end up recognizing places, getting little Deja Vú’s everywhere!

 

This was a typical German Autobahn-rastplatz and I remember it, because I stopped at the exact same place last year after Zwarte Cross-festival where JOP had played, and on the way to Frankfurt where they were staying at an airport hotel before flying back home to the States the next day.

Had a tasty cappucino and a hot panini in the morning-dew freshness outdoors. Brushed teeth by using water from my Evian-bottle and well you know – sometimes you gotta improvise. :)

It was a 4,5 hour drive from Munich to Anett’s and Markus house, and I found it thanks to my beloved TomTom GPS that always brings me safely to my destination.

Was greeted by the biggest Dobbermann-puppy you could imagine – Slash. This killer-machine dog (ehm, according to some people…) is absolutely convinced that he’s in fact a chihuahua !

Spent all day talking with Anett, topics that are are not always to easy to share with other people. :) Tours, bands, management, all the drama that sometimes surround bands and the people that work for them and around them – there’s plenty of stuff for discussions for sure. And it’s nice, because again, there aren’t too many people you can talk to about those things that don’t need further explanations.

Anett was a great tour manager, very organized and very tough. Sometimes when you’re dealing with a bus full of musicians, you need to be a strict  “babysitter”, which is probably also why she was given the nickname “Mommypig”. :)

Had a few glasses of really nice wine, a few pastries, then when Markus came home, antipasti w. cheeses, salami, filled fefferoni, mozarella and tomato salad and bread, olive oil – very Italian style.

Walked it off by takin Slash for a walk down the meadows surrounding their house. The area would be perfect for a rock festival.

After good food, good wine and fresh air, I was done for the day – couldn’t keep my eyes open. Excused myself and pretty much passed out right away down in my guest room, next to the office. :)

Markus, Anett, Slash & me

Wall outside office:

Rained all night – perfect for sleep! :)

[Video from Rockhal Luxemburg. Not the best quality but I didn’t want to use my fancy camera as it would have been ruined with all that water and foam that comes flying your way when you least expect it. :)

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NEXT DAY…… LUXEMBURG… (COMING UP!)