Tour blog #2

It's weird when you travel through time zones. The first day turns into three days and you tend to lose track of time itself. I'm not sure how long we have been in Berlin, but we have now played three shows, one of which was an impromptu gig in our hotel lobby.

So much has happened in this short period of time, that I can't even start to cover it all. It feels like we have been living in Berlin for a month.

Today our driver Freddy meets with us and we start the ground travel portion of this trip. Freddy arrived from Belgium last night and slept in the van outside our hotel. We haven't met him yet, but he told us that he prefers to sleep in his van. I think that is so he can protect his gear. Anyhow, it'll be cool to meet Freddy today. It'll be cool to get on the road.

Before we do anything else, it's important that I thank those who helped us get here. The band raised money for airfare through a Kickstarter campaign prior to leaving. I was left speechless from the generosity of our supporters. We could not have made it to Europe without that support. The following backers gave big so we could be in Germany today. There were many who helped, but this group gave over $50, or gave of their time in such a way that they deserve special thanks:

Christa Lynn, Peter McGraw, Cathie Blevins, Beau Gunderson, Julie Ho, Shelly Corbett, Selena Whitaker-Paquiet, Dan and Tilly Rodina, Jacqueline Ryall, Christine Ghim, Sara Shields, Quentin Ertel, Darrell Fortune, Super Fun Happy Dog, David Amacher, Unju Kim, Brian Papenfus, Chase & Kate Jarvis, Jason Mine, Lonnie Callies, Leigh Bezezkoff, William D. and Dorothy Amacher, Brian Olson, Steve Crawford, Karsten Kuestner, Spark and Shine Records, Connie Chang, Sarah McGuinn, Janet Hurt, Holley Hawa Son Paramus, Spark and Shine Records, Dirk Schade, Tom Van Laak, and all of the other generous supporters at Kickstarter.

Last night we were up late. We've been staying in an amazing spot called the Michelberger Hotel. This place caters to artists and rock n roll types. The hotel bar is a popular place to get loaded in East Berlin. The neighborhood itself is incredible. We are one block away from the Berlin wall. A bridge leads across a river and on the other side you find West Berlin. Apparently David Bowie lived in this very same neighborhood back when he was writing all of his best music. Crazy shit!

Anyhow, the bar down stairs is happening. As if touring is not enough, we come home after our shows and shit is going down every night. I'm finally adjusting to jet lag, but I'm not sure what time schedule I am on. I think I'll just call it the "East Berlin rock n roll" time zone. Sleep happens anytime you can get it. The day ends when you pass out.

I'm having a hard time remembering all that we have done, so I'm going to just give you a small taste with a selection of photos from the trip. Our band photographer and all around road dog Johnny Podhradsky is responsible for the bulk of this. The rest are from my iPhone.




BERLIN
















I'll be checking in and giving you more as I'm able. The internet kind of sucks over here. Hard to predict when I can get a solid signal. I'll get back to you when I can.

Sincerely,

Mr. Amaker

ps - If I misspelled names or forgot anyone, please forgive me. Tough internet connections, jet lag, disoriented. I love you all.