As if i don't say it repeatedly anyway, but life is very busy on this side. Very busy and very complicated. Time in which to bathe in my own tales is minimal and concentration is elsewhere generally. Forthwith, please know i will update, but the whens and how oftens are yet to be decided. The summer ahead is a manic one with to-ing and fro-ing from Iceland for the Gus Gus tour continued along with a visit home to see my family at some point and on Monday I will be heading over to London a few days ahead of the band to meet with people regarding Smekkleysa digital distribution etc.
The following was written between a few and several days ago but I have only just had time to publish it.
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I write this entry on the tourbus making our way through the Polish countryside to Warsaw. We are at our 14th hour in a row on the road having left Eindhoven in the early hours where Gus Gus played the Virus festival. The night before that we were in Clarmont-Ferrand, France. I feel somewhat topsy turvy as i started the journey immediately after playing the 90s night at nasa.
It was fun, but i have to say i was disappointed over the night in general. the online ticket sales had been screwed up by the website's management and they stated 'unavailable' right up to friday afternoon. This meant many people considered the night to be sold out, that in conjunction with the great press we had leading up to the night stating it as a renowned sold out night meant many people didn't turn up on the night for fear of there being no tickets.
Pissed off was i? oh yes. but that said, the masses who did come made a serious effort on the dress up front, which gave me more than a smile especially as i had, in my view, outdone myself outfit wise. i had the spandex outfits courtesy of Spuutnik but also had the Weird Girls night tailor made spandex suits arrive on the day from China, so as i had ordered myself 2 of these, decided to don the metallic fuschia pink number as the last costume.
Leaving the stage, about 40 minutes earlier than the boys due to schedule, i felt utterly exhausted. the fact it wasn't a full house meant i spent more effort than normal dancing like a hyperactive 5 year old along side Wayne's MCing to keep the crowd uplifted and doing so for 4 hours in spandex under intense lights somewhat saps the system.
Skari kindly drove me home so i had time for 5 minute shower before Toto, aka Matt Irwin arrived with the cab we shared to the airport for him to fly home and me to embark on the journey to meet Gus Gus in copenhagen.
Matt had rather wonderfully been flown over in his Dazed and Confused editor capacity to attend the Made in Iceland fashion thingamy which was going on. Having arrived the previous day, he attended the show and then escaped the after party to meet up with Logi, Lilja and I at Oliver. Lilja had rather wonderfully been given invites to a VIP celebrate the last day of smoking party type thing. We only popped there expecting a couple of drinks and the usual. But we arrived to be greeted with a table to ourselves with a litre of gin, ice, citrus, cigarettes and mixers. The waiter then informed us the entire bar was free as was the kitchen.
This was very much fun and although my plan was to go straight home, i didnt begrudge the few hours we spent in there being served delicious eaty things and whatever cocktails that took our fancy. We three got quite sozzled and Logi stumbled out just after Matt joined us then he and I snuck over to mine for home made calamari and generalchit chat catch up. Fuck after parties. We both have done the after party for the sake of after party in London until we are blue in the face.
I do love seeing him, not only has he been a fixture in Kitty's life for around 17 years but he and i have so many in jokes and personal giggles that even in the most dire of circumstances we end up pissing ourselves laughing. I will be staying at his place in London when I am there in a week or so. Anyway we travelled to the airport together after the Nasa night and parted ways there.
At this point i was at a mere 24 hours with no sleep. Add to that a plane journey with a couple of obnoxious children and their even more obnoxious parents allowing them to spit and kick as they so wished, a rush at Copenhagen to meet up with the band only to immediately get on another plane to fly to Geneva, where we were greeted by a tour bus which took 5 hours to get to the venue. Upon arrival the guys had only an hour to prepare for the show ahead.
On the upside the venue was well equipped, the dressing room lush, showers provided and pleasant staff at every corner. throw in Neneh Cherry being jovial and chatty and that's the way it was. its amazing how much difference a few hours sleep and a proper shower can make. Hitting the bus that night i felt vaguely normal, but not for long of course.
I never used to be able to 'nap' without feeling all out of sorts but now i can do so wherever and whenever its needed, prime example, i am now having a beer and writing this so that i will go to sleep at 5.30pm in time to have exactly 2 hours refresher kip before we arrive at the hotel. oh! hotel! the bunks here on the bus are extremely comfortable and everyone is sleeping well but the prospect of space and a bed and luxury things like that is a welcome one. especially as tonight is a no gig night. amazingness all round.
I like this particular job you know, yes i do.
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this entry follows 5 days after.
oh my days, oh my daaaays where to start? i heart poland. it rules to the maximum.
We arrived in Warsaw unsure exactly what our accommodation would be, but we knew it was a hotel of sorts. Stebbi had asked that we have somewhere quiet and where we arrived was Paradise. Literally. It was a countryside farmhouse manor, recently renovated to play guesthouse. As soon as we arrived the whole crew wandered around open mouthed at the glorious gift we had been given. The hosts greeted us warmly with a home cooked meal and invited us to the outhouse by the lake to sup vodka and relax. i could try and explain it in depth but it wouldn't do it justice. key words... lake, rowboat, courtyard, bikes, pool table, bar, comfort, picturesque - just take a look.
we stayed all the next day enjoying the weather and being very outdoorsy until we had to depart to Warsaw to play the first Polish gig.
The venue was akin to a somewhat bigger Sirkus and the crowd we exceptionally warm and vibrant. As we drove back to Paradise, everyone was in high spirits and regardless of pool playing and vodka consumption until the small hours, most of the crew awoke early enough to absorb more of the glorious countryside feeling with boa trides and sunbathing until we hopped on the bus to Katowice where the next gig waited for us.
Katowice was a completely different environment. A very industrial area, with little money and dusty air from the mining mingled with the sticky heat to push the more exhausted of us to our end. Luckily the gig itself at the impressively named Megaclub went extremely well and buoyancy was back on target. Personally I was pretty chipper as a Polish friend living in Reykjavik, Karolina, happened to be back in Poland and hitchhiked 11 hours across the country with her violin for the fun of it to join us. She had several of her friends come and greet me at the merch stand ahead of her arrival for company. Fairyboy also sent some of his possé to entertain me and thusly I had much socialising from my base when the band were playing.
The journey to Gdansk where we stayed for the Soport gig was quite a trek overnight and we had been told by the polish promoter that when we arrived, on a day off, we would find ourselves in a beachside town. The weather has been incredible and much excitement ensued. Once we had unpacked at the hotel we all sauntered down to the shore and I for one could not believe my luck. It has been a long while since i have been able to swim in the sea. There is an ocean near my hometown and before the Iceland addiction got out of hand i would always have an annual beach holiday abroad. I worked out it has been over 2 years since I sea swam. The President ordered everyone beers on the beach but I bypassed just so that i could throw myself into the waves.
I hadn't felt so good in a long time. The water was warm compared to Le Vendeé (my usual french visit) or english waters and clearer too. The smile on my face when I finally dragged myself out persuaded the masses to take a dip after they finished their beer, even if they only had underpants in which to do so. 3 swims, a few beers and some hours in the sun later we strolled back, relaxed and content.
Today I disappeared whilst the others visited the mall or cathedral and went back again for a few hours. I must admit to being a touch jealous of shopping sprees but I stand by my solo swim and lazing in the sun especially now i have some substantially decent colour.
Earlier we went for dinner in Sopot before the gig and everyone definitely had the drowsy sundrenched holiday feel about them. CHILLAXING. oh yes.
Núna I am sat on the tourbus playing babysitter, baby Kría is sleeping like the angel she is and the band are playing across the way. Anna Marin who has been nanny thusfar departed today and The First Lady Linda arrived so I have become childcare and she is the new merchandise sales peep. I have to say I am quite happy ducking out of another night in a club behind the stand but am none too eager about the waking early with Kría so mother Urður can sleep in, especially as I only discovered I was job swapping a few hours ago, i would have gotten an earlier night last night if I had known. ho hum, one can't have everything I just hope there is time for a nap tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow is Poznan, the last date on this leg of the tour, it is a saturday night and the following day is Ásta's birthday and a day off before we drive to Berlin Monday morning to fly home. The club is supposedly an old refurbished brewery and if rumour has its founding, an impressive place. We shall see......
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Poznan went wonderfully and we had the day after the gig off before heading home the following morning and as it was Ásta's birthday we had a celebratory brunch in the sunshine, a day shopping and a celebratory dinner in an amazing sushi restaurant. Possibly the best sushi I have ever ever tasted, prepared by the most serious man i have ever seen. Yet another amazing Gus Gus tour polished off in style and class. The next dates are in the UK - 93 feet East and Glastonbury festival. Amazingness all round. London possé, you better be there.
Now I am home, attempting to reply to the twelfty thrix billion emails i have unanswered, catch up on work, sort my life out, and then, on Saturday.... finally.... its the WEIRD GIRLS NIGHT RETURNETH. Very excited. Here is a suit snapshot. Sometimes i am amazed by my own ideas. 10-12 girls in varying colours of these running round causing mayhem. wonderousness.
The day after, I will be DJing a hangover party from 10 in Q bar on independence day, power ballads only. Oh yes. come down and sing along.
I have no idea when I will update you next. But if its taking a while, feel sure that I will have more to tell you.....
