Sonic Youth in Berlin
June 27th ( I know, it's been a while already) Sonic Youth played Berlin. I had never seen them live before, but I already knew the drummer, Steve from Hoboken. He is co-owner of Maxwells, a club compared to CBGB's. Steve comes to me for massage as well, so I was excited to finally see him in action. I also didn't know that Kim and Thurston are together and have a lovely daughter. So love can exist in a band (well, Pat Bennetar proved it too).
Kim enjoyed a massage before the show. What a sweet heart. Lovely feet 🙂
The lady can sing, dance and play a mean guitar. A rock and roll mom if I ever met one. Well, I suppose Sonic Youth would be classified as Punk, but on their MYSPACE PAGE they have "Rock/Experimental/Indie" listed as their genre'.
Lee had his son backstage, and Kim and Thurston had their daughter there too. It's really a laid back, family atmosphere backstage with them. They have been around for ages and their fans are shrewdly loyal. The show was beyond sold out. PACKED to the brim.
These lovely young folks, not mentioning their names as they are shy, enjoyed meeting Steve and said the show was "fucking intense".
My mate Steve took very good care of me, what a man! ^
I think Thurston is about 6 feet 8 inches tall. I think he looks a tad like a young Phil Lesh and could have been a NBA star at that height.
The manger helped me fill in some of the songs there as you can see but to be honest, I don't know their music well (yet). I do know the concert was extremely energetic and unique. The crowd REFUSED to let them stop after one encore. The roadies already broke down the mic stands and mic's etc, and the house lights were on for over 20 minutes and the crowd would NOT stop cheering "Zugabe. ZUGABE!" which means "Encore". Maybe if they fucking screamed in English the Bands that play here in Berlin that are English native speakers would understand them and come out quicker. heh heh. No, I'm just playing, it is sweet they wouldn't let them stop, so the band finally gave in and came out and did one last HOT number. The crowd tried again, but finally had to leave. I hope the band knows how much they are loved.
I love how Thurston circled himself in the autograph. As if one would over look the gentle giant. I am pretty sure that shot was taken in Hoboken. I can see the city in the background and they do have a studio in Hoboken and Steve, the drummer, lives there.
Jul 13 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago, Illinois
Jul 19 2007 Berkeley Community Theatre Berkeley, California
Jul 20 2007 Greek Theatre w/ Redd Kross Los Angeles, California
Jul 21 2007 KXLU Benefit at Urban Outfitters Santa Monica, California
Jul 28 2007 McCarren Park Pool w/ the slits Brooklyn, New York
Aug 15 2007 Paredes de Coura Festival Paredes de Coura
Aug 17 2007 la route du rock festival Saint-Malo , Brittany
Aug 18 2007 Pukkelpop Hasselt
Aug 19 2007 Lowlands Festival Biddinghuizen
Aug 21 2007 ABC1 – second date added Glasgow, Scotland
Aug 22 2007 ABC1 Glasgow, Scotland
Aug 25 2007 Archa Theatre Prague
Aug 26 2007 Openair at Arena Vienna
Aug 27 2007 INmusic Festival / Jarun summer stage Zagreb
Aug 29 2007 La Vilette Jazz Festival Paris
Aug 30 2007 Roundhouse – Sold Out London
Aug 31 2007 Roundhouse – Sold Out London
Sep 1 2007 Roundhouse – Sold Out London
Sep 2 2007 Electric Picnic Port Laoise, Laois
Oct 5 2007 Stubbs BBQ Austin, Texas
Oct 6 2007 Thunderbird Hotel Marfa, Texas
Oct 7 2007 House of Blues Dallas, Texas
Their tour dates ^
If you love wild shows, go see Sonic Youth. They are on fire.
The ExBerliner turns 5 years old (readers survey)
The English Berliner magazine called EXBERLINER, which I have been writing for, for 5 years, finally printed their reader survey. My column, "Ask Dr. Dot" won 80% of their votes, making my column number 1. I am really flattered and honored 
^ Top half of cover
^ I am in the top favorite and most hated list too. heh heh.
This is their web site, if you are in or heading to Berlin and want to know what's up in English.
Click HERE
Lisa hits Berlin
My friend Lisa , who I first met when I was 16 in Rockville, Connecticut, finally left the USA and came to visit me here in Berlin. It was her first time in Europe and we went nuts taking pictures. She took too many for me to post here, but here are a few.
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Can you believe these posers charged her 2 Euros for this shot? Capitalists.
< I just bought this stuff and Lisa was the first to try it. Better her than me.
We HAD to visit the local Harley shop so Lisa could stock up on Harley t-shirts, etc, for the folks back in Vernon.
I brought Lisa to White Trash, we felt at home there. heh heh. ^
A somber place ^
Pascal, one of the only bikers I know in Berlin, having a brew with Lisa at the Hard Rock Cafe ^
He BARELY speaks English, so they had the biggest communication problem I've ever witnessed. It actually gave me a flaming head ache listening to them "talk". DOH!
The relentless and verbally abusive DJ ^ at Cafe Klo (he will rip you a new asshole)
Lisa at Cafe Klo (Klo is a nick name for Toilet in German). Those silly Germans & their toilet humor. Everyone there drinks out of Urinals; you know those tiny ones you pee in when you're stuck in bed at the Hospital?
Lisa, the man magnet, had fun letting the local guys try on her new Harley Jacket. Schwing.
< Lisa took this great shot of the "Siegessäule" which means "Victory Statue". The French gave it to the Germans as a present. Whatever.
Lisa in wonderland ^
Our pal Roar showed Lisa around to things that I probably wouldn't have, like the Olympia Stadium. Nice shot.
WTF? ^ Makeup your fucking mind. Are you a Zebra, Ant eater, Horse, deer, Hyena, Giraffe?….. Look at the cute Meerkat. I lingered here the longest, as I am a big fan of their show "Meerkat Manor ", they have their own reality- show! CUTE! 
I am torn. I love to see Lions, but when I see them like this, behind bars, my heart aches 🙁
< Knut with his caretaker
Lisa arrived during the Knut "mania". This little polar bear was abandoned by his mother and they Berliner Zoo was going to put him to sleep. So many people protested, they decided to let him live. When Shai, Lisa and I arrived at the Zoo at 3:45 pm, they told us, "Too late, no more Knut today" and we almost threw ourselves on the ground and had a temper tantrum. They didn't have that info on their web site (that you can only see Knut from 11am to noon and then again from 2pm to 3pm). We went in anyways (it cost about $20 to get in) and we had a lovely day anyways, so there.
Dj Big Bear . Our favorite Karaoke DJ in Berlin ^ He has NO attitude, No ego, doesn't hog the mic or sing unwanted back up and he has the biggest song selection around. LOVE HIM!
Lisa, after 6, yes SIX double shots of Jaegermeister and a few beers, me and Shai. Lisa is made of steel.
Lisa's karaoke set list: "wanted dead or alive", "I've got friends in low places" and "Born to be wild". Nuff said.
''
< HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
< Steph doesn't remember posing for this pic.
^ Those bikes are ALL over Berlin. You call the number on the bike, give the operator your credit card info, and they unlock it over the phone. You get charged per kilometer. Strange, but practical.
< it's love
Lisa made it home safe and immediately fell into the arms of her new Harley ($25,000 worth)
I am heading to NYC on Monday, yes! I LOVE NEW YORK
x
Placebo
I have been back in Berlin now for 5 days and I was already feeling like a stranger, amongst the bitchy Berliner's and the gray skies until I crossed the street near my house in Kreuzberg, heard "Watch out where the Huskies go" playing VERY loudly in an older man's car. I looked at him and smiled, then I felt ok again. Ok, I am not alone, I am not the only one listening to cool music here.
Little things about Berlin make it feel so far from home, like going to one of the biggest book shops here, on the MAIN drag, called the Ku'Damm (this shop could be compared to a big Barnes and Noble or Virgin Record store, on a main street which could be compared to 5th ave) – anyways, I went there today to buy a gadget that you can stick your iPod into and listen to it out loud (like the one Lemmy got from Phil in my Motorhead blog) and I was ready to plunk down a decent amount of cash for this thing and when it was time to pay, they said "oh, we don't take credit cards" (well, they said it in German ). I was like, oh you are kidding right? No, they were not kidding. A GIANT shop,with 3 floors, that has cds. dvds, iPods etc. and they don't take credit cards. WTF? No wonder Germany and Berlin in particular is in debt. Also, you have to hunt high and fucking low to find a fucking ATM machine (cash machine). Guess they really don't want your money, let them squirm. I said forget it, as I couldn't be bothered to go down 3 floors, and out side to the nearest bank to get cash.
I am just happy the Holidays are over, aren't you? Jesus! All that pressure to buy shit for people you love, to prove to them you love them by buying shit for them. The Christmas trees, wrapping paper, all that food, the closed shops… I am happy the shit is over. It's all commercial brainwashing to get you to spend, spend, SPEND. It stresses everyone out and I just don't see why we buy into it year after year. If you are over 10 years old, you don't need a fucking present. Get over it.
Moving right along, last month I went to see and meet (and touch) Placebo. I wouldn't know a Placebo song if it came up and slapped me in the fucking face. But hey, I did have a look and listen to the show for about 5 minutes and they sounded great. I liked them better than Tool heh heh.
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< Nice stache
This pic ^ was taken before the show. Try to ignore the fact I am dressed like a Welches grape.
I was in the production office before the show, hanging with their tour manager, Quinner whom I have known for about 14 years and a couple German journalist from the dreaded "BZ" were suddenly alone with me in the office. They asked me if I was going to massage them and all that. Steph, the Swedish guitarist came in and sat down to do an interview with them. I sat there and listened. They asked him the dummest fucking crap I have ever heard. "do you like sex, drugs and rock and roll?" was the first one. "Do you like to have sex with groupies?" was the second one. The guy, Steph was like "WTF?!". He was trying so hard to be polite, but he is not the type to be overly happy-go-lucky and his patients was running thin. I felt so bad for him. The journalist said "we are sorry, but our boss said we MUST ask these questions". This was like the 6th interview they had given that evening and the dumb questions grow old fast.
It is NOT all fun and games being a musician on the road. I would say it's about 3 hours of fun per day and the rest is boring,tedious , annoying and hard work. Been there a bit with my band and I was like "uh, no". Touring is the worst, I feel so sorry for people who tour all the time, in fact, if you want to make any money in the music biz, it only happens with touring and merchandising. So I figure they deserve a kick ass massage. I didn't earn much that night but it was REALLY fun.
< The singer
I heard the singer is from Scotland and lived a long time in the USA as well, so he has an American accent but he said "only when I talk to you Americans". He was super polite, friendly and charming. I liked him. But by far, my favorite was the drummer, Steve. He is from Manchester, UK and has my favorite markings: light eyes, dark hair. He is mad into Hendrix and when he saw from my flyer that I had massaged Vinnie Colaiuta , he was very impressed. He said he was jealous that I got to meet him, let alone touch him. I showed him the videos I made of Vinnie during the recent Herbie Hancock sound check and he nearly fainted.
Oh well, I guess I should listen to a bit of Placebo before I meet up with them again, if you have any suggestions as to what their best song is or best cd, a starter kit or so, let me know.
I miss NYC badly, can't wait to return. I was only there for 10 days and went out 8 nights. I have to hang low and recover now. I am working on a monster blog, a NYC blog. it is taking FOREVA! (read that with a New Englander accent please). I have to get to bed and watch some more "Meerkat Manor", I am hooked… nite nite
x
< I guess this is their most popular tune (?)
Herbie Hancock is mad cool!
I have been ill since Halloween with Pneumonia but I finally got well enough to work again. My friend Nathan East, who plays bass (for many big names like Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Quincy Jones and loads more) suggested that I come to his gig in Berlin, as he is touring with Herbie Hancock now.
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^Herbie is a wonderful person
The last time I saw Nathan was about 8 years ago when he was on tour with Eric Clapton. I massaged them all back then and was amazed that Nathan insisted on riding his mountain bike from the Hotel to the concert hall, which was MILES away and in East Berlin. It was already (it gets dark early in the winter).. but he was confident that he could find it and he did. He is soooo outgoing and fun. Nathan is a perfectionist and you can hear that in his music. That's why he only works with the best musicians around. He has been called one of the best bassist in the world…You can read all about him by clicking HERE
After I massaged Nathan, we all met in the lobby to go to the gig which was at the UdK (university of Art) here in Berlin. I met their tour manager Phil and was told he is also Paul McCartney's tour manager, so we chatted about Paul a bit *sigh* I LOVE PAUL! Anyhow, next time Sir Paul tours, I may be able to massage him..yay!
Nathan introduced me to Herbie outside the hotel, he was super friendly and has a warm, contagious smile.
He was driven to the gig in a sleek black Mercedes and the band and I went in a van.
VInnie was so tired that he was delirious and hence, FUN. Vinnie sort of reminds me of Dee Dee Ramone; he is
funny even when he isn't trying to be.
Vinnie Colaiuta is on tour with Herbie too, playing drums of course. Vinnie has slept through his wake up call (he was napping) and was a bit tired, but perked up when he saw me and gave me a big hug. Last time I saw Vinnie was this past summer when he toured with Jeff Beck. Poor Vinnie, he hasn't been getting much sleep on tour, I feel really bad for touring musicians, no matter HOW cushy the tour, no matter how rich they are, it's still hard on the body. You hardly ever get a good night's sleep and the constant sitting (in the tour bus, on the plane, on the train, backstage) and irregular meals and meeting new people every day can be exhausting. If I could give them a gift of 8 hours sleep, I would. Massage does help, but nothing beats a good sleep.
Backstage, before sound check, Herbie asked me if I would like to join him chanting later. He is a Buddist
and has been for the last 25 years. I told him I was open minded and would love to try. I was thinking, maybe this
could be the answer to my nasty sleep disorder.
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During the sound check I got to stand on the stage and watch the geniuses in action. Vinnie is so exciting to
to watch, no wonder he gets so many hits on youtube.The last time I saw Vinnie was n the summer when he was drumming
for Jeff Beck. He said he was actually planning on a long break but "when Herbie called, well, that was a no
brainer, of course I said yes, he is one of my hero's."
Nathan had me film him while he sang "I just called" (Stevie Wonder) with his high tech camera during the sound
check. I am almost certain if he wasn't busy being on of the best bassist on earth, he would be a full time
photographer. He takes more pics than I do and he always makes sure the background, angle and lighting are right.
Nathan is also madly in love with his wife and super proud of his twins. He shows off pics of them so proudly. It's
nice and refreshing to meet a man in the music business that tours so often to still be so dedicated and in love
with their wife. In fact, I rarely meet anyone anymore that is so in love with their spouse. People usually moan
about how they wish things were like they used to be, in the beginning of the relationship, or the complain about
"the ol'ball and chain". My Father and Step Mom are madly in love STILL after 25 years and they were the only
couple I knew that were like that until I met Nathan. I thought to myself "all women would love a man like that".
Nathan is such a positive person and he radiates that. This man truly loves life. I love being around people like
him, it recharges your battery, takes away any jaded edges you have lurking around (well, at least for a while).
To top that all off, he can sing his ass off too. Herbie chose the best musicians for his quartette.
I was really surprised when Herbie told me he had never collaborated with Zappa. He said they had spoken a few times
about doing so, but things always seem to get in the way. I could tell he regrets that deeply, as he speaks so
highly of Frank, which just confirms how cool Heribe is.
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Herbie during sound check ^
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My friend Shai ^ arrived during the sound check. Herbie was standing on stage with a mic in his
hand and I introduced her to him. He spoke into the mic for all to hear "Shai? How do you spell
that?" Shai spelled it for him. "Oh, nice! Great name!" Herbie is so friendly!
After the sound check, Herbie invited us into his dressing room.
I gave him a quick back massage and they he asked us if we wanted to chant.
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He set it all up, and everyone came in to join us, except Vinnie, I think he was too tired.
Herbie handed us a booklet with all of the verses he was going to say and we were to follow. He has been doing
this every day for the last 25 years, so he doesn't even need to look at the book. It sounds Japanese to me,
and he speaks very fast, we got lost at one point and Herbie turned around, found our spot were we should have been
and never even missed a beat with his chanting. We were gob smacked.Amazed. He gave us a card with the web site
and info we need to chant. Almost every city has a Buddha center. It was so relaxing and calming, I find myself
chanting now, when I get stressed. You can read up about it online..Apparently Herbie is really famous for his
participation as I have been approached online by people who say they are also Buddhist and they have chanted with
Herbie too.Wtf? Small world.
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The show was long, well over 2 hours. It was amazing, sounded perfect.Herbie is really charming on stage,
he talks sometimes in between songs, and the people love it. He makes them all laugh. He needed help translating
something; he needed the German words for his song "Watermelon man" and I shouted it out in German for him
(note: I am NOT German, no German blood, I just have a flat here and speak the lingo). Anyways, Herbie
repeated it in German and it was super cute. If Herbie is to play anywhere near you, do check out the show,
the band is TIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!
After the show, my daughter Jasmine and her "friend" Julian, who is from Italy, came backstage to say Hi to
Herbie, Nathan, Vinnie and Lionel. Nathan entertained us with a few magic tricks, he is a magician too (jack of
all trades!). I am glad Jasmine gets to meet such musical legends, they are rare and should be treasured.
I was going to go to Italy and massage Herbie and co. at a few Italian shows but as I said before, the first
show was canceled and it just didn't work out. Looking very forward to seeing the lads again..
My massage assistant in Italy, Melissa, got to massage them in Milan for a few days. She also chanted and went to see the Buddha center with Herbie. Mad cool.
TOOL with a dash of MOTORHEAD
I should actually be posting my Herbie Hancock Blog, but it's sooo long I thought I should post this short one first. I have been ill (Pnuemonia) since Halloween and just now feel better and of course as soon as that happens, all the work I could wish for falls into my lap at once. I am off to massage Herbie Hancock and his band (Nathan East, Vinnie Colaiuta and Lionel) this coming Thursday. I will fly to Naples then stay there for 4 days with them (well, I will share a room with my lovely massage assistant, Melissa who lives in Italy) and they she and I will head north to maybe massage them again in Milan or just wing it and tour around. I haven't been to Italy since I massaged Bruce Willis in 1999. Since I am 50% Italian, I figure I should go and refresh my memory as to how gorgeous it is there, while working at bit at the same time.
Anyhow, since I will be seeing Herbie and co. soon, maybe I will just wait until I get home from Italy to do one giant blog. Meanwhile, one of my closest friends in the Rock scene called me Sunday.. Phil, the guitarist of MOTORHEAD. In case you thought that all REAL rock stars have turned into PC loving vegetarians who are too domesticated to destroy things, I just wanted to let you know, Phil is STILL the real deal, the typical Rock Star in the flesh. He loves to shock people and NOTHING embarrasses him, so as you can imagine, it's tons of fun to hang out with Phil. One time, in Germany, he bought one of those candy bikini's and wore JUST that and a pair of snake skin cow boy boots and walked into the gas station and was browsing magazines and drinking coffee for a good 20 minutes. Every German who walked in almost shit themselves. Phil is HILARIOUS!!
Phil invited me (last minute as usual) to go with him tonight (well, Dec. 4th) to Lepzig to join him for a TOOL concert. He said he would be going on stage with them and playing one song with them (which would be the 2nd time this week he has jammed with them). I have never seen TOOL live, so even though I was MAD busy preparing for my trip, I agreed and Phil, his body guard and two German pals of Phil all crammed into a tiny ass car and drove from Berlin to Leipzig. We were told it was only an hour drive. WRONG answer. It took 2 hours and being cramped up like that makes me batty, but Phil kept us laughing the WHOLE trip.
Out of all of the bands I have met and massed over the years, I would have to say TOOL is one of the hardest bands to meet. I met them because Phil brought me backstage and introduced me as he and the guitarist, Adam went over last minute details. But most people will not meet Tool, it's just not going to happen unless you KNOW them. They love their down time and the backstage area is controlled like the press pit at a sold out Stones show, but tighter. I was wondering what the hell all the hype is about this band and tonight, well, last night, I was going to find the fuck out.
Phil is like a groupie for this band. He LOVES them. In fact, he said about a hundred times, that TOOL is his favorite band. Phil jammed with them during their 6th song, so before that we (Phil, his body guard- also named Phil and I watched the show). What pissed me the fuck off and annoyed me to bits was the singer. Sorry, no ass kissing here. He didn't look at the audience ONCE. He had this gas mash on that has a microphone welded into it. Hard to explain but imagine someone wearing a big ol' gas mask and then having half of a microphone sticking out of the mouth piece. He NEVER ONCE took that ugly thing off. He had a fake Mohawk on, no shirt and TIGHT, peg legged jeans with cowboy boots. EH? WTF?
He sang mostly to the back screen, which had images flashing on it the whole time. A mix of Grateful Dead hippie lights with nasty Marylin Manson type images mixed in. I know, I should be grateful that I saw their show for free,. blah blah, but this singer irritates me like a yeast infection gone wild. I stood part of the time next to the stage. Backstage but next to it, so you can see the show from the side. Guess what Mr. Slim Cut Jeans did when he was bored? He bowled. He had his assistants all decked out in scientists coats and one of them had the grueling task of setting up 12 (or 16?) plastic bottles of Evian like bowling pins OVER AND OVER AGAIN, the whole show long, so the singer could roll what appeared to be a white roll of electrical tape into the bottles. Naturally all of his paid help had to watch each time and praise him when he scored. Some people were moaning that Jennifer Lopez is a Diva because she hired a man to tweak her nipples during her video shoots to keep them perky, I don't see the fucking difference in Diva behavior, sorry. The band is talented… But the singer, in my opinion, looks like he just got out of the army and can't decide if he wants to play cowboy or Indian and I find it fucking arrogant that he never once faced the crowd or removed his mask. Whatever! Light show, well, it was rad, but I've seen it before at many Pink Floyd shows and in fact, the music reminded me of a mix of Pink Floyd peppered with Marylin Manson and Radiohead. NOT original at all.
Again, the drummer, bassist and guitarist are outrageously talented, loved them…
The Holier then though sought after pass ^ and Phil, showing me his new Pirate style jacket ^
^ Phil has me in a head-lock…. and Adam (they are buddies). Adam was wondering if I would put him on my massage flyer. I told him "No, not unless I massage you".
I am wearing a Frank Zappa shirt that a girlfriend made for me. Thanks Ines. Last night, Dec 4th, was Frank Zappa's death anniversary:
(born December 21, 1940, died December 4, 1993). I asked Adam if he ever listened to Frank, he said "a bit". Phil is a Zappa fan. yay!
^Phil explaining how Ahmet Zappa wants him to play on his album and reciting some of the obscene lyrics 🙂
< Adam is very polite, nice guy.. (needs to dump that singer though)
It is now 7:35 am and I am STILL UP. Have to get up in a few hours and massage at the MOTORHEAD show here in Berlin..ttyl
BITCHFEST (our first gig went over well)
< Click to hear our band
We did LOADS of publicity stuff for our first gig in Berlin. Lot's of TV spots (some were dumb, they had me massage random people on the street in front of the club) but hey, sometimes you have to sing for your supper. That's Enno on the right. He is almost impossible to photograph, moves around so much.
Funny thing is, Sansi ^ (guy with hat and sun glasses) is our drummer, but they had him play guitar for this one TV spot. Sansi doing what he does best at our gig ^
;
< I was surprised how packed our gig was
From left to right ^ Vitri, Enno, me, Frank (bass), Sansi (hidden) and Thimo on guitar. ^Me with sexy groupies/dancers. I was singing Highway to Hell
The first two rows were just press. They stayed the WHOLE show. I poured a whole bottle of water over my head. I was like "fuck it, I'm wet anyways, let's just go for it".
I started with a Frank Zappa t-shirt ^ (this was made by a friend called Ines especially for me) then I changed into a Motorhead shirt that Phil (from Motorhead) gave me. I ripped it up right before show time. Then at the end of the show I put an Aerosmith shirt on, that was customized by Ines. I decided to just sing barefoot the whole time and I was afraid of getting electrocuted since I poured all that water on my head and there were wires and cables all around my feet, but hey, I'm still alive.
See that cutie in the shiny black rubber skirt? That is Vitri, my back up singer. Jasmine in the crowd ^ watching me belt out some Janis
< From L to R: Enno, Vitri, me, Thimo
^ The girls in action ^ ANOTHER change of clothes (fuck, I'm worse than Cher!
Not sure if you saw our Flyer but we had a Groupie Application form on the back. Jaeger Meister saw our flyer, found the idea amazing and said they will watch our show and they want to see how we do the Groupie competition. So what started out as just a joke, actually turned into a real Groupie contest. I had some of the girls come on stage and show their stuff. Literally. Our drummer, Sansi, got a lap dance while he played.
Christy came from far away to be there, I was really grateful. ^She shared her tattoo with the crowd and they went WILD!
^ Shai and Danielle were part of the groupie game, and made the after show party in our dressing room a men magnet.^ Christy with her brews
< Um, this fella LOVES feet.
I gave Danielle (who danced for me in our version of HOT LEGS) a nice foot rub after the show ^
I have been to WELL over 3,000 shows so far and I have to say, our dressing room party was one of the best I have ever seen. Not just saying that, it really ROCKED! It was packed until 6:30 am!! A few famous German actors popped in and there were loads of Brits raising HELL all night long. The venue is called "White Trash" and they loved us so much they asked us to play once a month starting in September. Bitchfest will play the first Wednesday of every month from Sept 6th on. I will be doing A LOT of flying back and forth from NYC to Berlin from now on.
< Finally some male groupies for us!
Like I said, our dressing room was PACKED! These lads kept pounding the SHIT out of the ceiling all night, singing soccer chants (yay!)
I have written a few songs for Bitchfest. I am good with words, but can't get a melody going. I guess I am too intimidated by my musical heros. I mean, how the fuck can you top
"the long and winding road"? . I come up with lyrics everyday, then send them to my band, and then they put them to melodies. Here is one song I wrote called "Adios Hedgehog" let me know what you think about it. I feel with a name like BITCHFEST I am allowed to vent and bitch in my songs if I want. We are not the Bay City Rollers ok?
Hey Mr. Bait and Switch, you psycho son of a bitch,
you are shorter than me, that just won't do. Only thing you could do was massage and screw,
and that's just 'cause I taught you to.
Only takes the girls weeks to escape from you. Locking them in your house just
won't do. I hope when you hear this song you start to shake and bite what's left
of your nails, get nervous like you do.
*chorus:
I'm glad it's over, finally sober, not drunk on your lies anymore
This parting has surely inspired, you say there are ten men
at my door? Send one home, I'm tired
Your music bores, so save your pennies for the whores. Such a fibber,
pretentious Indian giver,
Remember this sound: What goes around, comes around, you vicious little troll.
Goodbye insecure tiny scammer, I hope they toss you in the slammer"
*chorus:
Move on shorty, it's over, won't take your stalkin' anymore
This parting has surely inspired, you say there are ten men at my door?
Send one home, I'm tired
A few days after my gig, I got into the Football mood (soccer for you yanks) and went out partying big time. I passed by this bar on Oreinienburger strasse in Berlin
and saw everyone toking off this massive pipe and had a go. It's NOT grass, it's scented tobacco so I spat it out right away, ew! It is a very popular thing here to toke for hours off of these
"Shisha" pipes, the bars and cafes hand them out, it does smell better than cigarettes.
John from Belfast, me, and Rory enjoy a crowded as FUCK Ku'damm after German just won a world cup game. Here were are again raising hell ^
Christy took this ^ shot of me spitting off a very high balcony at Tacheles < click to see picture
Next day Christy and I headed to Fan Mile to watch England play against Portugal ^ (photo taken by Rory)
We were GUTTED when England lost. I feel they had no chance with an Argentinian ref, but what's done is done. We got TONS of shit from German fans the
rest of the night. They were hissing and boooing at us and telling us "Englanders" to go home. Even though we aren't English, I still got defensive at the seemingly
racial tension going on. One guy even tried to start a fight over our English shirts. 'Hello, calm the fuck down', was my attitude for the rest of the weekend to say the least.
Rory's photo of me supporting England ^ the final world cup game when Italy won ^
^ Rory took some amazing pictures of the whole world cup Berliner scene, thanks for letting me use them for my blog 🙂
Mr. Paul Weller…….
I finally had the pleasure of not only seeing Paul Weller live in Concert, but getting to massage him as well. I have heard about Paul for years, most of the British bands I have massaged all rant and rave about the man, especially Oasis. They must be his biggest fans. When I massaged Oasis, they played the Stones, Beatles, but most of the time, they had Paul Weller on. Noel told me all about him, as I had never heard of him before. I have heard of his former band, The Jam, but have to admit that I don't have any of their records.
Some call him the MODFATHER of Rock and Roll, as in, his music is very MOD. The band he is touring with presently are incredible. When I first walked backstage, the bass player, Damon Minchella yelled "I met you backstage at Live 8!!". He was playing bass for the Who and I was massaging those guys that day.. Then the Drummer, Steve White said the same thing. He is the brother of Alan White, the former drummer of Oasis. You see, the Rock and Roll world is very small, so don't piss anyone off, especially me heh heh.
I was in the production office, waiting to see who would want a massage first and I noticed that every one kept coming in and ironing their clothes. The whole band was busy getting their kit ready for the show. Paul came in and said hello. He said he wanted a back rub, so instead of getting on my massage table, he just sat his gorgeous self down and I started his rub down right there. He is in no way snobby or arrogant, he is really down to earth and cool. He was a bit sun burned as they just got back from Spain. I asked him casually what he thought about Frank Zappa. He said "I have no opinion about him at all, I have maybe heard one track of his my whole life, you see, they never played him on the radio in the UK, so I have nothing to say about him". I think that is the first guitarist I have ever met who hadn't anything to say about Frank. Like Frank or not, everyone usually at least knows his stuff and has respect or at least an opinion about him. I was on a mission from that point on.
He over payed me and was very grateful for my massage. Then he got out a piece of paper and wrote the set list for the evening. I have never seen an artist write their own set list (some type it out) . His tour manager, Ken, who has been with him for years and years told me he does it every night and the set list is different every night, depending on his mood. Ken made me a copy of the set list:
Yes, those are the treasures that I love! ^
After a few songs, my friend Martina came to the show and I got her backstage. We went to the front row and watched in awe.
< Paul in concert
Most of the audience here in Berlin were Brits that live and work here (some Irish as well) . The place was heaving and in heaven. Paul was in a great mood and on the ball. He gave it his ALL!!!! I knew then what Noel was on about, how great he plays and his voice, oh God , how SEXY!!! It's a tad like Joe Cocker and Rod Stewart, but unique. An English bar tender I know here in Berlin was standing next to me, he pointed at Paul and said "He is the sexiest man on Earth!". I know DAM WELL the bar tender is married and far from gay, but Paul has this aura, like Bowie, that draws even hetro men in. His music and voice are THAT good. At one point his leather guitar strap broke, but he just carried on and held on and played the best he could until his guitar tech came on stage to sort it out. It seemed to me that the whole band never stopped smiling once. The guitarist, Steve Cradock, who also plays in the band called Ocean Colour Scene has every good reason to smile. His guitar solos were so sharp and tight, he sometimes stole the show. Don't even get me started about the bass player. Paul obviously knew what he was doing choosing that band to tour with. The bassist & drummer are in a band called The Players Lounge as well.
Paul and I (he is mad cool!) ……. Giving him some deep tissue elbow action ^
Steve White (drums) getting his hands done… ….just like his brother did years ago when he was with Oasis ^
Note: in that pic of Oasis, I have Alan Whites hand in mine, massaging it, that chick in the red dress is a belly dancer, she was dancing for the opening act. Noel said "Dot, there's some old Slapper out in the hall, she speaks German, I can't bloody understand a fooking word she's on about, can you translate?". She asked if she could pose with the band. They said ok, but when she sat down next to Alan, her sequins pulled a few threads from Alan's sweater, he was not amused and that is why the chick has such an apologetic look on her mug. If you look closely, you can see the magazine cover that I had the band sign, which is now proudly displayed in my autograph section.
Steve the guitarist getting a rub down after the show ^
< Martina was lovin' life
Ok, after the show, Martina drove me home to drop off my massage table and to change. I grabbed a copy of Frank Zappa's cd 'Joe's Garage' which is a good starter kit for someone who doesn't know Zappa. I also grabbed a copy of my Bitchfest cd heh heh.
We arrived at the bar they were at and Steve, the drummer was talking to fans, I slipped a current copy of VIZ in his hand and his face lit up. He stopped talking to the fans and started going through the issue. Paul greeted Martina and I with a peck on the cheek and asked us what we wanted to drink. I was really tired and said "a Martina, no ice, no salt". Paul and Martina both said "WHAT?" and laughed at me. I was like OH!! Dam!! I mean a "Margareta, no ice, no salt" what the FUCK?! Martina on the brain!! Paul was so sweet, getting everyone drinks and even bringing them to his guests, like a good host does! I slipped the Zappa cd in his hand and said, I hope on tour you find a chance to give Frank a listen. He was really please. He assured me he would. The drummer and bass player are madly into Zappa, but Steve the guitarist and Paul both needed the started kit. After a couple drinks, I got the balls to give Paul my Bitchfest cd. I told him it's no big woop, just my cover band and to please listen to it when he was alone. He said "NO WAY! I will play it for the whole band and crew, really loudly"! ha ha.
I asked Paul if he checks his myspace.com page. He said "WOT? Never heard of it". He said he doesn't spend time online. I told him myspace may seem like a silly concept, but if the radio doesn't play his music, how are young people supposed to know about it? Myspace is the perfect way to get your music out there for all walks of life to enjoy (or loathe). He agreed in the end, but still, he does NOT have anything to do with his myspace profile. Some artists on there are really on there, but Paul is not one of them.
Steve the guitarist ( I have to keep saying that cause the drummer's name is Steve too). Steve got a foot rub in the bar and then decided it was my turn. I tell ya, guitarist of any kind always give great foot rubs, don't let them tell you otherwise
< My favorite thing on EARTH! FOOT RUBS!
You see, I let Steve off easy with the price of his massage, so I guess he felt obligated to rub my feet YAY! 🙂
< Last but not least, Damon.
What a cool Mo Fo he is!! He LOVES to talk about music, so we just went on and on… Try to catch these guys live in concert if you can, you won't be disappointed.
Open minded (or just plain naughty?)
I was walking around Berlin the other day and couldn't believe my eyes. You know they take this open mindedness a bit too far sometimes, I mean, just look at some of the Architecture….
But then again, my blog is sometimes too "open minded" as well…
