In Belgium, reliving last year’s Sonisphere-nightmare. What was supposed to be a sunny, fantastic day, has turned into one of those “it’s pissing down and it won’t stop anytime soon” days where you KNOW you’re gonna be walking in mud up to your knees. It was only raining a little bit yesterday and that was enough to make it muddish… Today is going to be “walk around in gruel”-day. Perfect. :-/
Not only that. Ozzy has cancelled. He is sick. I feel so bad for Ozzy, cause after having seen him a few times on this tour, I know that the man LOVES to be on stage, and I also know that he has defied doctors before and performed against their recommendations. So, if Ozzy cancels, it MUST be VERY bad. :-(
It’s no catastrophy for me, cause I’ve seen him and I will see him a few more times on this tour (hopefully) and I will get to see Gus who’s playing with Firewind early in the afternoon today. Trying to remember what Lips (Anvil) said in their documentary: “Everything went wrong, but at least there was a tour for things to go wrong on”. Same here. Everything has gone wrong so far, but at least I’m in Belgium and there is a festival for things to go wrong on. :)
Yesterday was an ordeal that I will write about when I get home. Right now I’m hungry, tired, thirsty and in desperate need to get some breakfast. So – more from what’s happening here tomorrow…
When I checked my YouTube-channel this morning, there was a message saying that my channel was on the Top 40 list of most visited/most watched today. :-)
That was nice. It’s actually been quite crazy with the traffic to my YouTube-channel the past two weeks. It started when I uploaded a clip after the Whitesnake-show at Sweden Rock with special guests Bernie Marsden and Adrian Vandenberg.
Not the best video in the world qualitywise, the stage is hopeless – cause with the catwalk-part, you can’t see what’s going on on all sides of the stage. That, and the camera-mic being too sensitive, picking up every sound from the crowd as well. But nevertheless, I must have been the first to upload something from this historic event. Cause over 11,000 people have watched it! In two weeks…. Crazy!
It was so amazing, I still get tears in my eyes when I see that, that was extremely touching, seeing these guys together on stage after all these years, and the love they had for eachother and the music – I mean, all of it was just overwhelming.
Then I uploaded the Judas Priest press conference and after that Zakk Wylde’s and Joan Jett’s press conferences – all of those also drawing a lot of people to the page. I guess it gives everybody who didn’t have the opportunity to be there, a chance to feel like they are participating in the festival-vibe in a way.
And then of course, the interview with Gus G. I have to say, I was really very happy about that. I think the guy kicks ass in every possible way – musically, on a stage, as a person. It also turned out to be one of the most relaxed and fun interviews I’ve done in a while. Very enjoyable – and judging from the amount of visitors in just three days, it is appreciated by his fans too. No wonder.
Hopefully even more will discover it, cause I for one feel so relieved to see that there are people like Gus in the business still, who focus on their music, love what they do, and don’t have any rockstar- issues or the bad attitude that sometimes goes along with it.
There is still tons of material from Sweden Rock that I think people would enjoy, but I haven’t had time to organize it or upload any of it yet. And now, it’s time for Graspop in Belgium. Leaving on Friday. Can’t wait to see Whitesnake again!! Priest, my favorite band of all time, didn’t impress me at Sweden Rock so I can only hope that they give a better show at Graspop.
I love that festival by the way. Last year was great, but that’s when I had the best VIP-treatment you could imagine, as a part of Jon Oliva’s Pain’s crew – but a guest.
This year, I “only” have press-credentials, but it’s okay since a friend of mine decided to join me on the trip. She just wrote this morning, and I can only agree with her words: “I’m really yearning to go to a concert again, the feeling of being one with the music, feel it with your whole body and get intoxicated by it. It’s pure, true happiness when you feel that you are truly alive, here and now.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Never mind all that other stuff, the hierarchy of rock’n’roll where the bands are heroes and the fans are worshippers – it all comes down to one thing, and that’s the love of music. Nothing else matters.
This day in Ozzy history, Blizzard of Ozz went platinum in the US, 1982. Today, 2011, Ozzy’s got something else that will also go to the history books of rock’n’roll: Guitar-wizard Gus G.
After Ozzy’s show at Madison Square Garden in NYC back in December, I was very impressed by “the new guy” whose fingers were faster than the speed of light. He was handling his guitar like nobody’s business, moving across the stage like a true Rock Star, with confidence but without the arrogance.
I made a note to myself that I would have to do an interview with this guy sooner or later. Six months later I finally did.
Gus took time to do this at Sweden Rock Festival, shortly before he was due on stage on June 11th. As far as I know, he didn’t have time to talk to anyone else that day, so I’m glad that all the pieces of the “logistics-puzzle” worked out the way they were supposed to. :)
It’s all true – the stuff that you’ve read everywhere – yes he is one hundred per cent down to earth, a sincere non-bullshit sort of person who takes his musicianship seriously, but not for one minute allows himself to forget who he is or where he came from. A star doesn’t need to prove anything, he lets his craftsmanship do the talking.
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!!! :-))
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. :)
Feels like I know every airport in Europe by now. Waiting for my flight here in Luxemburg, I actually like catching early flights, because it’s not so busy at the airport in the morning. You have plenty of time to have breakfast or check your mail – not to mention the check-in or security lines that are like a breeze when you’re one of the first to show up.
Returned my rental car, actually slept a few hours so I’m in good shape. That car was perfect for sleeping, I could stretch out, it was great! But I realize that I probably forgot my Whitesnake-CD in their player…. Oh well, hopefully somebody will be happy about that, I had to buy a new one anyway, it was scratched here and there.
As for the actual trip, the Ozzy-show, the visit to Anett & Markus and their dobbermann Slash, I’ll take that when I get home. Haven’t been able to access the internet or upload any photos or videos, so I have plenty of stuff to catch up with. Even still have shitloads of stuff from Sweden Rock Festival that I need to sort out.
Thanks for reading by the way – according to the statistics, the number of visitors keeps increasing, it’s up by 47% compared to last month, and it’s amazing to see that there are hits from every corner of the world, some really exotic places!
There will be a very nice surprise soon too. Did an interview at Sweden Rock that I actually had noted somewhere in the back of my head that I had to do at some point – sooner or later. I’m very glad that it was “sooner” and even more glad that it was a pleasure doing it – so… Not announcing what or who until everything is ready. But…stick around!
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 