viva venice italy

two beautiful flights in to madrid and then to
venice...arrived happily with gear intact,
have been recording a new project with
ursula with producer-composer roberto rusconi-
ursula has written 3 new poems -one entitled
25000 - soon to be a classic! ive added guitars
and guitar synths to 3 tracks as well to be arranged,
chopped and morphed in logic....the food
here is nothing short of absolutely incredible...
hosted by the legendary valentino (mr.v) and roberto."nothing but the best"...bonnicimo!! last night we played our first concert here at marina club-(near the adriatic sea)-beautiful space and people...and of course the food was off the hook not to mention the wine...ahh!!.....bravo venizia...historic villas, beautiful architecture, capicinos, gallani, fashion...tonite we leave for paris...more soon...caio.

snow trip back to montreal

before we left vt, we taped a radio
show - interview + performance...
performed 'damned if i do', "philadelphia
child", and 'supa sista'...free radio burlington::
then the race to get back to montreal - in a
blizzard:::ahhhh::::it was a bit stressful in 3 1/2
hour drive back, but we finally made it, in time
to catch our plane back...arrived in philly @ 9pm
waited for 2 hours for our bags and gear to finally
show up...philly international...keepin it real.
it's a glamourous life...tomorrow pack and leave
for italy...stay tuned...

metronome- burlington vt

a trip to burlington vermont:::home
of phish, jazzmandolin project, ben+jerrys
ice cream...etc..a bitterly cold grey day
here in montreal as we leave to drive
to burlington with mauro, bassist with
gsybe, some great discussions about
his band- a kind of post-rock tortoise
9piece including violin, cello, 3 guitars,
2 bass players, and two drummers,,,recently
with new disc on cranky out of chicago produced
by steve albini...can't wait to hear this!!!!
entrenched in our conversations on traveling
in europe, icelandic touring experiences including
the famous sulphur baths and music scene there:
sigor ros, mum, bjork, etc...and a band from
montreal called goa which harkens back to
early 70's synth kraut rock (neu,can,etc)...great stuff to sustain the 2 hour journey....the show in
vt...was at the metronome club above nektors
sound expertly handled by our new russian friend
serge:::great thai at the five spice:::a new audience
for us here and a good set::: i've been enjoying
our new arrangement of 'what?' by 4 hero off of
the supa sista record...guitar synth plays a heavy
roll-string pads, pulse bass + rhodes and middle
eastern reeds all figure heavy into this poem about
the mediocrity of black radio...we flipped this one.
audience def dug our show...met jazzmandolin-ist
jamie mansfield...common connection ari hoenig-who we've both played and recorded with...so it
was great to finally meet after hearing so many
great things....it's def a small world out there.
after our show, checked out burlington clubs...a good evening and introduction to this fine town and
people...looking forward to next time.

montreal - la solla rossa

room 504 le appartmente montreal, quebec

we played an amazing place tonite -in montreal::
la solla rosa owned by the bass player
from godspeed you black emporer...
more on that later..packed house tonite
and audience thoroughly engrossed in
the words and music...mid-way through
the show you could hear a pin drop...it was
amazing...beautiful people there...many highlights
tonight...but the big surprise of the set was
performing "return to innocence lost"...
everyone recognized the opening toy piano
sounds from the roots - things fall apart disc...
an emotional ride for everyone there....also
great food at the cafe:::ah...um::

new tour to start Friday

it's been a few days of digging out of 2 feet of
snow dumped all over this region...but finally
done...the roof, the deck, and driveways...my
back is wrecked...meanwhile, getting excited and
ready for the next shows with ursula...starting
friday in montreal...should be an exceptional
tour and show..rehearsals were snowdelayed abit...but getting underway today and tomorrow...
and then the big pack of clothes, gear, and guitars.
and then the inevitable dealing @ da airlines...
more to come...t