“Well…”, then he paused. “It was great. Tiring at times. It was essentially work. But it was a ton of fun. I mean, we did it just about on our own. Got lots of advice and help booking a couple of shows via promoters we met. But it was a real indie operation.
Yeah, it was hard at times…10 shows in 16 days. The last stretch of 7 shows we did in 9 days. But to get to work at your craft like that, in so concentrated a time. I mean, I’ve prepared for albums with intense periods of rehearsal, but I got to sleep in my own bed and didn’t have to get up the next day and drive 500 kilometers. But that kind of sustained playing…I mean, we started playing well, in that professional sense. We knew the songs, we’re good at our instruments. But over the course of the tour we got good. “
“Tight?”, she asked? “Yeah, tight. Funny about that…in college, freshman year. I had a professor who used that word to describe a band. It was from some student comment card or something. We were asked to submit comment cards or whatever after lectures. He read it aloud. I forget the name of the band he associated it with, but I’ll never forget the way he said the word. Straight at first, then sort of, uh…incredulous. Or wondering how in the hell you can describe a band as tight. But I understood immediately, even though my own musical education was still in its infancy.
So yeah…we got tight.”
“Are you sad it’s over?”
“Yes. I mean, it was great to get home, back to my own bed, my friends. A routine that didn’t involve packing a van, driving for 3 hours, loading equipment into a club and staying up until 2am. That’s the romantic version of touring, and it is fun when you’re in the thick of it. But...and maybe this is because we're all working adults who've gotten used to creature comforts of home, not under-employed 20-somethings...you need a break from it. You need to sleep well and eat a bit healthier. Have a couple fewer drinks per day.
The funny thing is, by Copenhagen we were all tired. Relieved in a way that it was the last night of the tour, looking forward to life again. Scott would be traveling around Europe for a few more weeks with his wife. Geoff and Jules heading to New York for the summer. That was Saturday night. We hung out again Sunday, heading up to see the Louisiana Museum, then Kronborg Castle. But we didn’t talk too much of the tour, as we had a few other folks with us.
But a couple of days later, Tuesday…after we hadn’t all four been together by then for a day and a half. We sat at this bar, watching the US play Belgium in the World Cup. And we all agreed, after Geoff or Jules said it, that we wished a second leg of the tour was going to start soon. Maybe in Amsterdam, or Paris. Or Spain or Italy. Somewhere…we wanted to keep playing. A few days of rest, showers, laundry, the same bed for more than a night…we were ready to get back at it.”
“You missed it already?”
“Yup. It’s easy to see why it’s addictive. The endorphins or whatever is released in those 30-45 minutes on stage each night. And the anticipation beforehand. Especially as you feel yourself getting better. As our drone outros became more than just parts that we were trying to make fit in, but parts that fit in because we were listening to each other, playing off the repetition and variation. All that. We wanted more. “
“Are you going to do it again?”
“We’ve laid out ideas for more touring. Maybe some US dates in late spring. Festival and other dates back in Europe in the summer. We’ll see…I hope it comes together. I’d love to see what we can do with some more time playing, knowing what we know about how to take care of ourselves and how to pace a tour.
Yeah, I’d love to get back out there."
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