Working along with the past couple of weeks, Cristian Subirà finishes off this round with a story of his recent tour in the US. I probably should have put this up when it was fresh off of the press, but I perhaps jumped the gun with excitement over the mix and the collages that he submitted around the same time.  Perhaps his story will further enrich what he has shared with us so far, as stories always do.  Thanks again Cristian.

CS:  Matt ask me to write some lines about my first tour around the US. I accepted because I thought it would be a good way of finishing the trip, an html apendix. I’ve never had a diary so trying to give a chronological order of the events is something I’m not used to.  I’m a dispersed person that moves back and forth in conversations.  It takes a while until I arrive to the point I was  shooting for.  Like I’m doing right now.

The thing is that a while before I decided that if I was touring as a solo act, I would not to book as many as shows I could on the days I was on the road. It would be a trip that I would fill with shows to help to pay the expenses. The places I’d visit and the locals I’d interact would  be the important part, not the venue or the money. That sounds hippie as f**k. Yeah ! I know. Whatever.

So, on the human side you end up having really amazing experiences and meeting awesome people, but most of the time you end up playing in front of a crowd that dosen’t give a shit about how drony-new age-doo wop you are. Usually with the worst sound possible, and a lot of times not even being payed. At least always, after the performance, there’s the dude that comes and says “the visuals where great!”, or “your sound is super organic” or even better “how do you  do this loop things?”.  Maybe one of every 3 shows someone buys one of your tapes and theres some nice words for your self-steem.

But I don’t do this for my ego. That’s why it’s a dysfunctional tour. It’s a tour because I(try) to play music, but it is dysfunctional because most of the issues on the musical side go wrong. So knowing all that is how this travel starts. Well, its starts in NY playing a really bad show at Union Pool because all the pedals go weirdo to electric randomness. At least Manhattan is still one of the best places to walk around. And for the first time I was able to explore the suburds. I stayed in some friends house at Union, New Jersey where I did a lot of things I always wanted to do in a US suburb. Walk a dog,  go to watch a movie in an enormous mall and, especially, bowling.

So, Union was awesome, and my hosts were better than that. The thing that i didnt enjoy that much from Union was its train station. It was like being in an apocaliptic future. Smoke of industry, abandoned platforms and just a dude in the station. That was ok until the moment that dude sitting 2 metres from me starts reading the (holy) Bible quite loud. I thought the sky was going to open or something like that.

My next stop was Baltimore. Sounds pretty topic but  this city has an amazing music scene and everyone I met (or knew) there is great. To be honest I think its kind of ugly but it has something appealing. I still haven’t found what it is. Ah! and i I was able to walk more dogs but now with a profesionality. What else can you ask.

So a chinatown bus takes me from Baltimore to Philadelphia. Due to special circumstances I’ve been almost 72 hours wearing the same clothes and just before getting in the bus a banana melts in my pocket with my camera on it.  The first person that talks to me when I get off is a 50 year old guy that wants some money because he has only got out of prison that morning. Welcome to Philly! Its there where i start the tour with the band Ryat. A nice couple.

I walk around and to see some historical buildings. Feels like being in Europe. Im not a skyscraper fan.

As happened in New Jersey and Baltimore, I have the best hosts possible. And by the way. If you ever got to Philly go to eat at Honey’s, in Northern Liberties. Awesome food and great service.

In the house I’m staying I’m able to jam with Chuck (and play a keyboard that belonged to Sun Ra ). He’s a classic of the Philly improv scene and plays music on the street, so if you’re around the center you’ll surely see him with his violin. A mystical experience where past, present and future get together.

The next sounds were taking place in Richmond. Not much to say about Virginia. Well, a funny thing happened. The cops show up at the space we were playing because the teens that performed after us where ROCKIN’ da place. They where behaving like badasses on stage but they immediately transformed their attitute to boy scout catholic kids when the police came: “We are really sorry officer” “Yes sir”, … “Do you want some cookies?”. (No, they didnt say that but almost). When the patrol left they continue trying to impress the girls in the first row. It was like being in some college b-movie. I even think I saw Seth Green around.

After crossing the Carolina’s we arrive to Atlanta. I was there 15 years ago, but everything seem quite similar to what I remember. Just another big town. We head south, down to Savannah. A humid Saint Patrick’s day was waiting for us. The hours there were an ode to the white trash culture. Sweaty and decadent. Green wigs and tones of plastic jewelry. The venue had confederate flags on the monitors:  I think thats a pretty good summary of the show.

That was another night sleeping on the van. The travel centers were starting to become the closest thing to a home. We drove a bunch of hours to arrive to New Orleans. It’s a shame what happened with Katrina. Seems like the city won’t be the same again. Its really sucks cause as far as I’ve seen, its one of the most different places in the whole country.

Another long day on the highway after reaching Houston. That’s where my reclusion into Super Happy Fun Land starts. It’s also there where I met The Shining Path. The Shining Path are a really young band from Montgomery (Alabama). Everything you see on them is totally honest, and it was not only refreshing, but also inspiring, to hang around with them. They have a chaotic live performance, an enormous stage charisma and among everything, great songs. Shineyo!

So after 2 days as a monk, 3 days in the music-burrito Austin convention also known as SXSW. A bunch of people told me how cool it was and all that. Its ok. In my humble opinion there’s too many bands and a lot of “I wanna sign for a label” attitude business thing that gets me a bit on my nerves. At least the mexican food is deliciuous. And what really makes Austin awesome is hanging around with probably 2 of my favorite persons in US: A.A. and S.S. 72 hours were enough cause there was some party involved and I’m not in shape anymore (Well, never really have been).

A brief sumary of the next days: In Dallas a Vietnam Veteran says I’m a mad scientist. The grand Canyon is impresive, no, sorry, spectacular. Again in Flagstaff we are hosted by the nicest people. A weird show in Tucson in a plane hangar.  Van gets fixed in Albuquerque and we arrive to LA. I say bye to Ryat.

I didn’t expect I would like Los Angeles so much and it’s a pity you need a car to get everywhere. I’m invited to record a sprout session at Dublab with my new tour buddie Garrick (Stag Hare). For those who dont know it, Dublab is an amazing non-profit radio collective run by the most generous people you’ll ever meet. Go to their website NOW!

We hang around LA and we sleep in a mansion. The third dude involved in the west coast tour cancels so we wont be able to arrive to North California, Oregon, and Washington. He was the car guy. No time for negative thoughts, we have to focus and look for options to arrive to the shows in San Francisco and Berkeley. Garrick finds a drive onCraigslist but we get dropped in Oakland, not in SF as promised. A train and then another car and we finally arrive to the house show in San Francisco after 10 hours of not knowing if we’ll make it. Another performance in Berkeley and the tour is over. The tour, not the trip because I’d be able to stay several days around the bay area with once again the best hosts ever.

Due to some problems with my standby ticket I had to stay more than planned, but that gave me the chance to ride some miles with my friend’s bike, explore an amazing second-hand shop, and eat some good mexican food.

San Francisco-Atlanta-Barcelona and back home.

This was not my first trip to the USA. I’ve been there several times in the past, but I was pretty young, so this 6 weeks traveling (as an adult) across the country gave me a wider vision of the people and the land. An experience I will surely repeat someday soon.

Thanks again to everyone that helped and Matt for letting me share my thoughts.

PEACE!

Posted by: matt o. under Show and Tell