As promised, here's our report on our tour through south-eastern
Europe together with Haggard:
8 days.
8 shows.
7 countries.
5000 kilometers.
and it begins with: going to Piacenza - and getting up at 5am.
(Click link below to read more. with video!)
No, wait.
It begins a bit before that, on the evening of November 17th, with putting all our stuff in the van. A really nice van, indeed, because a) the rental company (Vans for Bands) was totally cool about our tour plans (not like some other rental companies: "You want to go WHERE?!?!?!" - come on, these countries aren't warzones anymore.) and b) the van had almost everything you'd whish for when on tour:
big, with extra loading space for all our gear, and: sound system, DVD player and an XBox! just perfect if you're driving all day.
So, we loaded the van with all the amp stacks, guitars, cymbals and cases and whatever strange devices drummers also need, violins, and clothes too. So it was good that the van was big, because we were nine people:
The band: Timo (vocals+guitar), Felix (guitar), Jogo (bass), Ole (drums), Anne and Anna (violins), Florian (oboe)
Alex (sound tech, badass driver and general life-saver)
Markus (merch guy and jack-of-all-trades)
And then, the morning, we were on the way! The first 620km to go, straight across the Swiss Alps. It had become cold the last days in Germany, and we feared snow on the roads, but the roads were clear and the snow just lied beautifully on the mountaintops alongside the road.
At a rest stop in the Swiss mountains.
So no problems on the road and we arrived in Cortemaggiore, a small village close to Piacenza, where it was warm and we had time for a walk through the village.
The venue looked like it was a movie theatre in former times as we head in for the soundcheck, and then the show:
Typical for the first show on a tour, there had to be some problems: Timo's wireless gear was acting up. But our violin girls had an ace up their sleeves and a well-known little tune ready. And the audience was just awesome. Is it because you were extra happy because Haggard's Claudio and quite some of the other Haggard musicians are Italian, or are you always crazy like that? What a start for a tour!
Video of us performing our song "Zu Real" at this show at Fillmore, Piacenza (thanks to Marco Cortesi!):
