Where does one start? It has been a while, to say the least, since we last spoke our from our rented piece of the blogoshpere. But, sitting around idle we have not. We’ve been penning new songs, growing into old haircuts, dancing in the discothèques of Sydney and enjoying the clatter of one’s own pots and pans.
All that has well and truly come to an end though. We have thrown ourselves around the bend and heaved our collections to St.Elsewhere, across the globe. We are fresh again; fresh meat.
As it is, and what I’m getting at, is that we’ve just swapped sand for snow, an iconic bridge for an iconic radio tower – the city of Sydney for Berlin. The German capital is our new home for a time as we tour the continent. And the first tour for us is the opening slot for Beligium mega-stars, dEUS. This sort of thing is meant to happen to other bands?!?! More on that tour a little later.
Firstly, to Berlin we go. It must be said, and it has been, the city is a toast to diversity. The ghosts of the old world giving way to the new. You have grime and beauty hugging each other, in the same street, one street after another. In particular, where we are in the east, the slow but steady beautifying of ex-communist blocks of apartments and cobbled streets has taken hold. Still, all you seem to hear is that the city is just about bankrupt. But hey…who isn’t these days?!
And what would a description of Berlin be without its characters. Solid as gold is the fact that everyday, a new character and experience leaps out of the marrow of the metropolis to take you in. And, as you do when one unpacks and settles for tenure in another city, the mind and memory expand and in rushes a blank space for these new sights, smells, sounds and people to enter and take up residence within you.
In our first week, a man like no other, Dirk - the café owner - has won us over with his (in)sanity and good food. Down the road is the corner bottle-shop with a most graceful Iraqi man working his customers and til. Andreaus, our bank manager (he came to our first Berlin club show last week - surely a good sign) is ‘The Dude’ and, of course, the wonderfully hospitable German family that invited us to a dinner party in their beautiful home. They have a son, Gedeon Burkard, who is a big film star here in Germany. He took us out one night to a club that resembled something out of ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ – so many masks on beautiful lithe bodies I tell you. He’s playing a part in Tarantino’s new flim being shot right here in Berlin until January. Oh and I mustn’t forget the wonderful English bookstore in Prenzlauberger. Run by an American and an English chap - they stock old and new books of first rate. I think I spent half my monthly wage in there upon arriving – alas, we had to leave most of our belongings back in Sydney. Every Tuesday night they host a cinémathèque and you hand over a couple of euros for a free drink and a double feature.
So there you have it. Considering we actually haven't been there much (we've been on tour) you can probably tell it isn't - ahhh...boring! More and more to follow but I'd like to finally say that travel, as does music, truly allows you to realise the possibilities of your life. I know that sounds corny but fuck it, its true. It's such a gift to be alive and living free when so many aren't.
Firstly, to Berlin we go. It must be said, and it has been, the city is a toast to diversity. The ghosts of the old world giving way to the new. You have grime and beauty hugging each other, in the same street, one street after another. In particular, where we are in the east, the slow but steady beautifying of ex-communist blocks of apartments and cobbled streets has taken hold. Still, all you seem to hear is that the city is just about bankrupt. But hey…who isn’t these days?!
And what would a description of Berlin be without its characters. Solid as gold is the fact that everyday, a new character and experience leaps out of the marrow of the metropolis to take you in. And, as you do when one unpacks and settles for tenure in another city, the mind and memory expand and in rushes a blank space for these new sights, smells, sounds and people to enter and take up residence within you.
In our first week, a man like no other, Dirk - the café owner - has won us over with his (in)sanity and good food. Down the road is the corner bottle-shop with a most graceful Iraqi man working his customers and til. Andreaus, our bank manager (he came to our first Berlin club show last week - surely a good sign) is ‘The Dude’ and, of course, the wonderfully hospitable German family that invited us to a dinner party in their beautiful home. They have a son, Gedeon Burkard, who is a big film star here in Germany. He took us out one night to a club that resembled something out of ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ – so many masks on beautiful lithe bodies I tell you. He’s playing a part in Tarantino’s new flim being shot right here in Berlin until January. Oh and I mustn’t forget the wonderful English bookstore in Prenzlauberger. Run by an American and an English chap - they stock old and new books of first rate. I think I spent half my monthly wage in there upon arriving – alas, we had to leave most of our belongings back in Sydney. Every Tuesday night they host a cinémathèque and you hand over a couple of euros for a free drink and a double feature.
So there you have it. Considering we actually haven't been there much (we've been on tour) you can probably tell it isn't - ahhh...boring! More and more to follow but I'd like to finally say that travel, as does music, truly allows you to realise the possibilities of your life. I know that sounds corny but fuck it, its true. It's such a gift to be alive and living free when so many aren't.
Selamat malam.
B.K.
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