February 15th, 2008

After our Portsmouth show, we hopped on the bus for a nice long drive to Paris, France. None of us remember crossing the channel on the ferry because we were all sound asleep. I’m so used to sleeping in my bunk on the bus that I actually look forward to it. The gentle rocking motion and vibration of the motor takes me back to my early days of the cradle.

We arrived in Paris parked right in front of the world famous Moulin Rouge. Sean, our bus driver, warned us to get our stuff together for a quick exit or he would get a ticket from the local police. Since Paris is limited on parking, he had to drive the bus to Euro-Disney for a fun filled day of sleeping in their parking lot.....I would have at least hit some rides and partied with Snow White. Today was a day off and we were staying in my favorite part of Paris, Montmartre. I explored the shops, checked out some sites, ate some Vietnamese food and then crashed in my room for a few hours to update S.O.D.s (skippyondrums....just in case you can’t decipher the codes). All of us except for Bobby surveyed the city later in the evening and finished the night with a fantastic meal compliments of B.F. at one of his usual hangouts. I love Paris, it’s a beautiful city spurring with life and energy....and if you’re lucky, you can catch a local Parisian urinating in the street.

February 16th, 2008

Show day at the Elysee Montmartre venue. I slept in....and it was needed after a late night with the crew....last night our dinner reservation wasn’t until midnight, and French meals are pretty leisurely. If I ate out in this town for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I’d never get anything done.....I’d have set up shop in the Brasseries and coffee shops.

The show was great. The opening band once again was Bobbie Peru,,,,Ding’s band. They were totally on their game and had the crowd going bonkers. I had the opportunity to see their whole set and it got me all energized to rock Paris. The stage was large and flooded with hot light. it sounded a bit dry behind the drum kit, but I was confident it sounded big out front. We played a good show and the crowd was real appreciative. After the show I went straight to our dressing room to ring the sweat out from my shirt. it’s amazing how much your body sweats from hot stage lighting...everynight I feel as though I just dove into a swimming pool. Afterwards, our friends Yann and Franck ...aka Ray la Manta and Jediroller from ‘Blackolero!’ interviewed Dan and I for their Frank Black / Black Francis fan site. These guys are cool and you should totally check out their site.....just learn to speak French first. http://blackolero.blogspot.com