I’m getting prepared for the summer rock’n’roll travels. Just all those small things that you will forget for sure if you wait until the last minute.

Necessary things.
Good things.
Unnecessary things.
Just stuff that will make life a little bit easier. :)

 Caffeine-chewing gums – to stay alert at festivals. Cause you usually get to bed around 3 am at the earliest, and then you need to be back before noon the next day- all ready to go. When I was 20 I could stay up for 3-4 days in a row, no problem. But now – nah. And since coffee has a way of making you need to run to the bathroom every two minutes, that solution is out of the question. Caffeine chewing-gums are perfect for a rock’n’roll traveler and festival attender.

Dextrose – for the same reason as above, an extra energy boost.

Regular chewing gum – keeps your mouth from getting dry without having to drink a lot. If you drink a lot, you have to run to the bathroom and if you’re front row, right at the barricades, you can forget about going – anywhere.

Rubber boots – no more unpleasant surprises like the Sonisphere nightmare in Stockholm last year. This time I’ll be prepared for anything from a heatwave to a tsunami!

Extra camera batteries + car chargers + USB chargers…

Power pack – smartphones are great, but the battery only holds for about a day. When you’re in the middle of a field somewhere, it’s good to have extra power. You never know when you’re gonna need your phone.

Memory cards – no more “oops, I ran out of memory while filming one of my favorite bands”…

Rain/water protective camera and cellphone-pouch. Perfect if it rains  – or when OZZY comes with his BUCKET or hose and does his thing… Well, you know the drill… Bring it on Oz!

A travel organizer – all my flight tickets, hotel reservations, rental car reservations, accreditations, tickets and addresses, phone numbers, e-mails, maps – all in one place.

GPS – I don’t have time to get lost.

A bunch of cheap rain capes – easy to pack, and if it rains – it rains…!

A new camera bag – everything easily within reach, no more digging for batteries, memory cards, extra cameras…
This one is big enough for my wallet as well.

Protein bars – unless there’s a free backstage catering, these are great. Festival food is expensive, so is airport-food and food at those economy-airlines where they charge you for everything. With these protein bars I always have food with me, saves me money. And I don’t have to stand in line to get a sloppy overpriced burger somewhere.

Earplugs – a must. I always bring more than one pair in case I lose one, which for some reason always happens.

Sunblock – my skin can’t handle being out in the sun getting fried all day long, without any kind of suntan lotion. I don’t think anyone’s can – you see people looking like red lobsters everywhere at the summer festivals, and you know that that HURTS. Well, not me. J

Sunglasses – but not the expensive ones. Anything can get lost in the crowd. Something cool, effective and cheap!

Battery-operated mini-fan – When it’s hotter than hell, you don’t have the energy to stand there and wave with a piece of paper or something. I’m getting one of those with a built in water-bottle that just sprays cold water in your face when you need it the most! J Aaah! Heaven!

 Small LED-flashlight – You always lose something when it’s getting dark, or you’re trying to get to your car, or tent or portapotty or whatever. And you know how it is at festivals – usually the only light there is at night is on stage or the food stands. So a small mini-flashlight will get me from point A to point B in the middle of the night without stepping in someone’s puke or tripping over someone who’s passed out (a very common thing).

Fanny pack – yeah I know it’s out of fashion and what you might see on an 80 year old lady from Florida, but it’s priceless when you need to carry your money, camera and phone around, but still need to have your hands free when it’s time to stand in the mosh pit when the band starts playing. All your stuff is there and you have easy access to it.

So I’m unfashionable – who cares? J I like making life easier for myself and fashion is usually about making things as impractical as possible. Not my thing.

And then all the stuff I need to buy when I get to another country – a prepaid local phone card. Using my Swedish cellphone abroad will result in unpleasant bills waiting for me when I get home. Not a problem with a local phone card.

Even downloaded a conversion app for my HTC, good to know what stuff costs…! And a translation app for when I go to Greece. I think I’m prepared for almost anything now.

It’s about preparing for everything and anything so that you can enjoy the music without being interrupted by rain, tropical heat, hunger, your stuff getting lost, ruined or stolen, tiredness or anything else.

I’m sure there will be a new experience somewhere along the way to add to my “preparations” for next year, but right now I feel like I’ve got pretty much everything under control. Now – could we please fast-forward to JUNE? J

Felt very stressed out when I woke up this morning. Just so much negativity, too many bad news and strange feelings, I had to get out of the house to stop the thoughts from spinning in my head. Called a few friends, wanted to just see a friend, talk, laugh, have an ice cream or something, enjoy the beautiful weather with someone. But they were busy with other things, so I wasn’t a first priority today. It happens.

Well, I’ve never been one to sit around and whine – so I got in my “spider-car” and decided to go for a road trip on my own.

Whereto? I had no idea when I stopped at the gas station, but on my way to the motorway, I knew where I wanted to go. The SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL area!
It’s more than a month until the festival, but I was curious to see what it looked like on a regular day. Besides, it was a beautiful sunny day, would be a shame to waste it!

It’s a 2-hour drive up to the festival, and it was great. The sun was shining, everything was green, there were horses and cows out there, and a beautiful blue sky with white, fluffy clouds. I found a radio station that played country music, and it kind of felt very appropriate.
Country music is a little bit like “Easy rider” – roadtrip+country, yeah, worked great.

I could feel the stress leaving me, thank god. Sometimes I just need to get away from everything. Driving is one of the most relaxing things I can think of – a road and a destination, that’s all I need to feel happy.

Got to the festival area, there were others there who had come up with the same idea as me, there was a German van for instance, and two rocker-guys walking around on the empty field. Next time I go there, there will be stages, a backstage area, food stands, merchandise and thousands of people there. It was nice to see it like this too – the calm before the storm! 

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Stopped by the hotdog-place where I almost always stop when I’m at Sweden Rock, it’s about 20 minutes down the road. But on the way home, I was singing to a CD just enjoying being in the car, when suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t been paying attention.
I was LOST! Had no idea where the h…. I was.

Unbelievable! I’ve been driving down that same road a hundred times, back and forth, since 1995 – EVERY single YEAR, I know it in my SLEEP! And I somehow managed to get lost?! Jesus Christ, don’t ever hire me to drive your tour bus. You could end up pretty much anywhere.

Instead of going to Malmo, I found myself going to Helsingborg, losing about an hour… But that’s okay, only more “adventure”, if you choose to look at it that way.

Just got home. Can’t wait for the summer festivals, I hope that time passes quickly.

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