Last Day in London...

Well, my domestication trip in London is nearing a close. I am so happy I decided not to go to Switzerland, even though I love Switzerland and my friends there; regardless, being about to spend a lot of time at work and with Alice has been amazing; London costs a fortune, and a bank machine ate my Dutch debit card forcing me to deplete my Canadian account, but such is life; I guess I gotta start thinking a bit about a move to London, maybe a real job one of these days, or at least more writing to survive financially in this expensive city. For example, yesterday we went to this great vegetarian curry restaurant in Angel with all sorts of propaganda on the walls telling people they would get cancer by eating meat; The all you can eat buffet was three quid; it actually cost more to get there, than to eat. Then we went to the pub and laughed, drank some Pimms and relaxed; perfect night, but expensive indeed.

Things writing wise are good. The G! Festival was amazing, and I've made some good Faeroese friends because of it, despite a lot of folks not even knowing where the place is. Iceland has been reconfirmed as well for next year, as we rented a flat and I bought my plane ticket. I'll be writing it up for DrownedinSound, which should be nice.

Other than that, nothing much to report. I feel that my life is only exciting to those outside of it, as it does seem I am living this jetsetting, whirlwind existence. I admit I travel a lot, and I am growing tired of it, but really, life ain't that entertaining. I'm just happy hanging out. Back to Amsterdam tomorrow, where I'll be there, thank god, most of August. September and October are mostly spent on the road, so I have to relish every minute of course.

x shain

London...

I have been in London all week, and it has been lovely. I've been hanging out with Alice and her housemates, working a real job at DiS - well, some sort of semblance of a real job whereas I work from 10 ish to 5 ish, and going out and spending loads of money on my oyster card. Really, I'm domesticating here, and really fucking happy about it. I may be moving to London round x-mas time, but who knows.

I will add a huge update when I get back to Amsterdam; promise... For now, here are more Faeroe Island pics. love - shain

Big Update,

Firstly, read my G! Festival Review - HERE

I am http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifso busy at work right now so I don't gave much time to update this, but I owe the blog and whomever reads it a good solid update, especially because I have to talk about Faeroes. Well, here goes.

The Faeroes are amazing. Imagine a place where every view, every vantage point is postcard worthy. Giant green treeless hills, peering in and out of bright blue fjords and houses with turfed roofs. I thought when I got there that little green people with webbed feet would live there, but nope, normal people did. Except they were all tall and gorgeous and blond. The festival was in this town called Gota, population 980, and pretty much the main street was converted in the festival grounds. We had to take a bus from the airport for 90 minutes cause it was on a different island, and the whole experience of travelling throughout this country was truly surreal. It was empty. There are 18 islands and 47,000 people, of 19,000 live in the capital, a pretty little town called Torshavn. So we made it to the festival round 6PM. We stayed at this guy's house named Jeffrey. He has heated floors in his bathroom and a bunch of big screen TVs. We had our own cots, had free reign on his food and beer and got to chill with his family, who was wonderful.

I was a plainly odd but amazing festival experience. Firstly everyone we met was fanastic, and I made some really good friends I could see as being lifelong, including Ben, Nettie, Lucy and Will. The music was good, but there was constant, constant drinking and just gorgeous views. It also rarely got dark, only for about 45 minutes, so we were all disoriented and hungover for about three days. I do have too much work to do, so here are some pictures.

Faroe Islands...

Well, here is my blog entry before I head off and grab some dinner. The Faroe Islands are fantastic. Arguably one of the nicest and most postcardy places I have ever been. In addition, the people here are beyond wonderful. They put Rich and I up in a family home in Gota, the village that has essentially become a music festival for the weekend. They just invited us in, gave us beds, food, free Faroese beer, everything. It truly has been an amazing experience. I can't really write that much because I am so busy, but a full report will happen. Truly, these people are amazing.. everyone talks to us, everyone.. and they are absolutely wonderful. Plus this place looks like and presumably is paradise.. they have grass roofs. Plus this morning I went on a 6 hour tour of the Islands sponsored by the government, which took us on a ninety minute boat ride to the capitol, Torshavn, and then on to meet members of parliament, see a performance of Faroese music and all sorts of other shit. I am exhausted, drunk and glee. I miss Alice. But I am in paradise. The food sucks though.

Road...

And on it goes. I have noticed that the more exotic places I go to, the less exotic they become. I really have to STOP and take a moment to appreciate things as they pass me by, because I am a luck fuck to be traveling around so much. It is exhausting, absolutely knackering, but I am enjoying it. I love Barcelona, it is a glorious city, and I only have one more day left in it. I may go to a museum later.

I'm off to the arctic with a few friends on THR, but before then, I am heading to London. I am really excited to go back to London, as I like and miss London. It will be a whirlwind trip, but wonderful nonetheless.

x

Update...

I am still in Barcelona, loving this city as much as ever. Here is a quick synopsis of my goings' on as of late for the hoards of fans - I am guessing 4 people - that read this waste of time called my blog.

I had a rough day on FRI. THR was shit too for other reasons but FRI was rough. It took me 8 hours to get from Amsterdam -> Barcelona. My plane was delayed, then we waited on the tarmac, then it was a rough flight, then I missed my train, then the metro stopped for twenty minutes etc... I was slightly on the upset side of things by the time I arrived. Then I took a power nap and headed off to Summercase.

I've spent the last few days at Summercase, a big music festival in a concrete jungle called the Parc Del Forum right on the beach in Barcelona. Yesterday, my first day off - true day off - I just walked around Barcelona with my friend Katie... to the beach, away from the beach, around the old town, to a few bars. We went and grabbed some beers and sat in a square talking about robot chicken for a few hours last night too. wonderful.

I've been working my ass off today. Also went to H&M, as 3 of the 5 shirts I packed are stained, so I got off my ass and bought fresh shirts. My mom will be proud. And a pair of shorts. London WED.

Barcelona...

FINALLY found an unsecure network on my friend's balcony. I'll update this at length tomorrow. All is well, warm and sunny. I have a tan/burn. Saw Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire yesterday. AMAZING.

One Year To The Day. Where Did The Time Go?



In some ways. it feels as if nothing has changed.

Quickie,

I bet if 100 westerners were put in a room, 96 of them would be complete idiots. Sometimes, the sheer idiocy of humanity, like today, a women did not know how to put her seatbelt on in the airplane - at least that is how I saw it - seriously, and she wasn't developmentally challenged or had an excuse. She was just plainly stupid. Really, while Mike Judge's Idiocracy was a horrible movie, it made a good point. Stupid people are scarier than Bird Flu, a much stronger epidemic and are procreating at the rate accustomed to Guinea Pigs.

Maybe I am impatient, or not pragmatic enough to understand their side of the story, or maybe, just maybe, I am smarter then them, and sad because of it. Traveling really opens your eyes to the beauties in the world, but also its ugly side. You cannot have one without the other. I guess this blog entry is worth a good Waldorf and Statler quote; "They aren't half bad; Nope, they are ALL BAD..."



On another note, I am back from Vienna. My plane was delayed three hours, which makes me hate SkyEurope even more, but the airport in Vienna had free internet access - what a concept - and a Starbucks with available plugs, so I was content. Still, people are idiots. I guess that goes without saying, but I am still saying it.

Quick Update From Austria,

I am at my friend Casbi's house in Graz, Austria. This is my last day here, so I do not want to waste it updating my blog, but here's a quick synopsis of my time in this amazing country. I really do love Austria, like I love most countries. I love.

My trip did not start well. The metro in Amsterdam was broken and I was late for my flight, as per usual, so I had to take a €30 cab ride from my house to Schiphol. Then my flight sat on the tarmac for over an hour because it was a busy day of some sorts. I was in a great mood. Finally made it to Vienna after a noticeably bumpy flight and to my friend Hanna's house.

She's great and her flat is great. Right in the middle of Vienna on the top floor of an old building, so there is a big roof terrace in which you can see all of Vienna. It's really something. We watched the sunset a few times; it was like being your own Hollywood stereotype, in Vienna. The first night we went to an open air cinema in park near an old WWII bunker to see "Rock and Roll Never Dies," a brilliant Finnish film about, well, rock and roll, and pie. The problem was, it was colder than a witches' teat, and it rained, and I caught a cold, one I am still battling as I write this. Apparently they were out of blankets. Bastards.

The next day was spent walking around Veinna and sight-seeing, while thinking a lot about work. It is a beautiful city, more expensive than I thought and to be honest, very familiar. It looks like, well, pretty much any other big European city. Prague is more majestic architecturally. There are some nice buildings, like the Belvedere and government house, but all in all, nothing special. At night we went to a jazz club to see RJD2. Brilliant DJ, talkative crowd, great night.

The next day, or two days ago, we went to this tiny town on the Danube called Spitz for Hanna's brother's garden party. He lives in the middle of Austrian wine country, a truly glorious location. His house backs onto the Danube and he has a HUGE garden with shitloads of veggies and fruits. I called it a 'Vegetarian's Wet Dream' because it truly was. He has a fig tree, a kiwi tree, all sorts of squash, berries, tomatoes, tons of Apricots (they grow everywhere here) and other goodies. The party was, well, amazing.. but I was sick. Very sick. We stayed for a while before darting off to Krems, a town of 25,000 where Hanna grew up, and she showed me around. I had a mean case of the sniffles so we headed back to Vienna and I went to sleep.

Yesterday I went to Graz, which is where I am now. Graz is a college town about 3 hours south of Vienna in Steria, another province. It is truly something else, a sleepy little town that comes to life with students. My friend Casbi who owns a record label lives here, and he showed me around while we talked business (working/holiday). Nice views, nice city, picturesque, and one of the locals' favourites. Hanna loves Graz, and I can see why. Made dinner last night for everyone - salad and potato gratin with sundried tomatoes - and drank and chatted, mostly in German, while I struggled with the language. Today we're going to see a castle apparently before heading back to Vienna. I've been promised an excursion to the best veggie restaurant in Vienna and some clubbing before I hop a plane tomorrow and get down and dirty in piles and piles of work the rest of the week.

In addition, a very symbolic day in coming - this THR - and I plan to spend it not working, so I have to really get on things when I get home. Better enjoy Graz now.

I love Austria. I'm coming back in October. yeah!

much love.

Off To Austria...

I have quite the schedule this summer... If all goes well, I will be hitting up 5 big music festivals across Europe, and then returning home for a CD Release Tour. My schedule is a bit crazy, but I will get to go back to London for a few days to see my brother, and Phil, my brother-in-law, will be there as well as our schedules will overlap. My close friend Dave is coming at the end of August, and I will be going to a close friend's wedding in Deep River, ON at the end of August as well. Gonna be busy. As its looking, I'll be in Austria, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland (of course), UK, Switzerland and The Faroe Islands, before returning to Canada and the US at the end of the summer. My thesis is doomed. I hope Mireille, my adviser, isn't reading this.

This is mostly because of DrownedinSound, whom I am working with as much as I can. Great bunch of cats over there. We just eclipsed 300,000 hits a week, so we are the biggest independent music website in Europe. How's say?

So, what to chat about in my non-sensical world, which isn't a word by the way, but whatever. Well, I'm glad as a poet on payday that I am leaving the weather here. It has rained EVERY SINGLE DAY since I got back home, and that was June 13. Everyday is a mized bag, bipolar, as in some moments it pours and others it is sunny. My last two baseball games and one training have been rained out. I wonder why I play when my field is below sea level, so half the time it is under water. We still in second place, and I wish my lads more than well in the month I'm away. I'm sure they will kick ass, as I do bat 9th and play right field. I'm replaceable.

Other news in the world of Shain... well, our album is being released on AUG 21 and a tour is in the works. We'll have copies before Aug 1. I am fucking excited for this. No matter what happens, K and I have made it and made a new record, and we're damn proud of it. Please buy it if you like the songs.

So I leave in a few hours, writing this as I drink black coffee because we are out of milk. I am certainly going to miss Amsterdam, as I am gone minus 10 days until Sep 23, and I'm away much of October as well. But this is life, as 2007 is the year on the road it seems, and I am growing considerably because of it.. Or at least I think so. I will be back for a few days next week in time to see Bright Eyes at the Melkweg on July 11. I love Bright Eyes.

Oh, Happy Birthday Matt, Renee and everyone else I love. till next time..

I've seen A LOT of live music this past week, and it's been my two weeks off. Odd. I guess I'm hooked. I saw Smokey Robinson last night. No Shit. Like Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. He played with a massive band, and it was very much a variety show and a bit depressing, but fun. He played "I Second That Emotion," "My Girl" and a bunch of others. I left early cause of a meeting.

I saw the Dilated Peoples on Monday. Both The Alchemist and Jeru The Damaga guested, the latter being kickass, as the trio with Baboo at the DJ ripped through 75 minutes of straight hip-hop. Was Amazing.

I also saw Ted Leo, You Say Party We Say Die, Joan as Police Woman and Dinosaur Jr. last week. busy busy.

Candle...

I lit a candle last night. It is still burning. Emotional stuff indeed.

I gave a tour this morning, part of working as a guide. I'm chugging away with this job, even though it takes up quite a bit of time. I do know EVERYTHING about Amsterdam now, so you can ask me when you visit. Road starts THR. enjoying quiet time at home now.

Oh Sweet, Punishing Irony;

Sadly my close friend Jared moved back to Canada yesterday. I ended up with all his spices, some food and a BBQ. I had to go pick up the free BBQ this morning, but was in a rush. There was construction on the main street - replacing some tram lines or something - so I biked on the sidewalk. As I looked up, a cop was waiting for me. He pulled me over and issued a fine for €30 for biking on the sidewalk. The BBQ cot €49.95. Aw well. I'll call it a small victory.

Glad I added some cash to the pockets of one of the richest countries in the world. I love Holland.

Oh Happy Day... Well, Minus The Weather.

I got my residence permit today. After a year of wrangling, deportation letters, frighteningly governmental dutch people, bills to pay and crying, it arrived. I am legal. Till Sept 1st. Then I'll renew.. and it begins.

Rain, Rain, Rain.

I love The Rheostatics. That is all.

Well, actually I will write more, as this week is busy and this blog is not on my to-do pile, well, not at the top at least. It continues to rain, every single day. Thankfully there was a three-hour break which allowed us to play baseball. We won, beating the last place team http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif13-7 or something like that, bringing us into second. We play the best team next week at home; gonna be a doozy. For more info, visit our home on the web HERE.

A lot of people are leaving, moving away this week. Already I've lost four people, and two more leave this week. I guess that's life living internationally. People come in and out of your life more than usual, and friends come and go; the true friends are those who you keep in touch with, regardless of where you are. I don't have many of them, but I value every single one. People who don't travel crazy amounts enjoy stationary friendships more, obviously. There are good and bad things about traveling.

The new flat is great; come and visit it some time. My flatmates are wonderful, as it feels more like a family than a bunch of people living together. Being away so much, it's the perfect thing to come back to; a semblance of home. More trips are now being planned as well, including Aug 15-19 in Cologne, Germany and Aug 25 - Sept 6 or 7 in Toronto and surrounding areas. I have no idea when this thesis is going to write itself.

Ten more days in Amsterdam. Then, it begins again, the living out of a bag. I'll be taking ten flights in July - I am so the environmentalist - and then going intercontinental again in August. Plus, one of my best friends, the amazing Dave Osborne, is coming to visit me Aug 20-23, in b/w Germany and Canada. Gonna be a doozy.

Until then, the grind continues. and so on and so on and so on...

I also like Wintersleep.

And to end, some SHAMELESS self promotion. Three NEW Kae Sun songs are available on our MySpace. Go listen, comment and lemme know if you like them. We're taking over the world.

The work never gets finished...

Ah, nope, it never does. But thankfully, the weather here has been bipolar for a few weeks now, making it easy to stay in and do work. I was supposed to go to a party yesterday, but standing at home at 11:30PM having been rained on 3 times already in the day made me stay home. I slept well. It's nice to sleep to the pitter-patter of rain.

Ten more days in Amsterdam before I am off on the road again. I'll be all over the place in July, I mean ALL over the place, and I'm not complaining. Shall be tiring though, and by months end will be yearning for my own bed and coffee pot. July 5 - 31 is the time I am away.

So apparently it is monsoon season here. Like literal mon-fucking-soon season. So it rains really, really hard, for fifteen minutes, then gets sunny and repeats the process several times a day until you've given up on predicting or beating the weather. Been fun.

The trials of my life the last week have revolved around my bike. My back tire cracked in half, like the metal part, and it needed to be replaced. Not to mention the €60 cost to do this, it has taken nearly a week for the place to fix it. I finally went in yesterday and demanded the bike, and they gave me a loaner - with no brakes or accelerating power. Biking home last night after seeing Ted Leo at the Paradiso was fun. It was pouring, I had one hand on the bike and the on an umbrella shielding myself, praying I didn't need to stop suddenly. It was more than fine.

So next week I'm seeing a bunch of shows. You Say Party, We Say Die! Joan as Policewoman and Dinosaur Jr., all in three days and all for reviews. DiS is putting me to work, which is good. Being the only 'employed' writer not based in the London office makes me feel a bit out of touch, so I want to write as much as possible.

Baseball tomorrow - if it doesn't rain.. again. fuck this weather.

Quick Update...

My adoring fans would hate me if I didn't update this every now and again, right? I wish I had something interesting to tell you, an anecdote or funny thing that happened to me, but alas, no. I do like the word 'alas.' It is so Dickensian. Fun.

I've been giving tours of Amsterdam in my spare time for a company linked HERE. I've been making good money on these tours, and telling people lots of stories along the way. I know a shitload about this city now... not as much as other guides, but enough to bullshit my way through a three-hour walking tour. Come on one with me if you want.

My bike is also broken. Really, really broken. It needs to be fixed. The back tire not only moving like a wheel, but also side-to-side, as the spokes are loose and my gears are broken. Its an expensive fix. Thank god for tour guiding.

A long week...

I haven't had much time update, because I have been busier than Paris Hilton's parole counselor. zing. Oh topical humour. It's a lark. But I digress. I am sitting here in my new flat, watching the weather change every ten minutes from sun to downpour and back trying to catch up on some work. I moved on Tuesday. What fun that was. or was it Wednesday.

Well, when I arrived back from Canada, sans-sleep, I had a quick brekkie at the only cafe that was open at 8AM, loaded all my stuff into a cab and headed to my new place, on the other end of town. I live in Amsterdam East, or Oost as the Dutch call it, and all my other places have been in the West or South. This place is great though, albiet tough to describe. I live in the attic, but the rest of the flat is on the second floor, so I have to bypass another apt altogether to get to the bathroom and kitchen. It's more than fine, and my flatmates, both asleep beside me right now, are fantastic. I feel adopted into a little family, and I'm not sure if they read this, but I hope they feel the same way.

Things are busy as all hell with work. In addition to writing papers, or faking the writing of papers, I am booking a tour for Kae Sun, organizing an album release dealing with shitloads of legalese, writing for DrownedinSound - well, not that much cause Mike does everything - and trying to have some semblance of a social life. It's good fun. Today I took a break and went food shopping, one of the many things I have to do to fully 'move in' to this place. I went to a few Turkish places, got all sorts of fun things, like Plantains and Pumpkin and delicious things like that... dinner is planned tonite. I'm going to make pumpkin soup; or at least try.

Lots of things on tap until July 5, when I leave Amsterdam again for a few weeks. I am back in Holland for a few days, including July 12 to go to North Sea Jazz, before leaving from July 13 - 31. I'm going all over, and will update the blog. Until then, I have to make soup and forget how behind I am on my work.

much love.

My Primavera Sound Review along with Mike Diver and Kev Kharas...

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2061026

enjoy
Shain