the blog
The Western States + Sweden
Alright. After a wild weekend of shows and revelry in Colorado, Grieves and I are currently in Lund, Sweden. Jealous? You should be...save for the intense wind and borderline cold that's making it feel more like an Eastern European winter week than a summery Swedish wonderland. Ah well.
The shows in Colorado were wonderful. Last thursday, we had the pleasure of playing with our dear friends Macklemore, Solar One, and the Pirate Signal. It was the first time we've headlined in Denver in almost a year and a half, and the turnout was really amazing. Everyone on the bill put on an amazing show, and Ben and I did our best to leave a good impression. I'm rarely fully satisfied with how a performance has gone, but Thursday's show was an exception. We killed it!
Saturday saw Grieves and I take the festival mainstage for a 45 minute set. The show went well, but due to oppressive temperatures, afternoon sun, and a less-than-desirable time slot, we didn't see quite the turnout we were hoping for. Nonetheless, the 6-700 folks that did turn up were awesome! After the show, we celebrated with a little bit too much wine, resulting in an earlier-than-anticipated bedtime...though it seems that the rest of town took things to a slightly greater extreme, with Fort Collins falling victim to its first ever full-scale riot. No one seems to know exactly why students were roaming the streets, turning over vehicles, and starting fires, but regardless of the impetus, the S.W.A.T. team was in full effect, with tear gas and billy clubs taking center stage for a bit. Exciting!
Sunday was a day of recovery, Brazilian BBQs, and friends.
Monday was a day of 16 hours of travel, transcontinental flights, and confusing sleep.
And now we're in Sweden! Had the pleasure of spending last night with Supreme of the infamous Looptroop Rockers, enjoying wine and conversation in the courtyard at his brand new home. We ventured out a bit later into the Malmo night, made some questionable decisions, and hopped a cab for the 15 minute ride back up to Lund.
After a late breakfast today, we got some time to explore the Domkyrkan, a massive cathedral built in 1145 ad. Beautiful lofted ceilings, tapestries, and candle-lit walkways led us down to the basement of the building, where a wishing well filled with coins seemed to beckon a bit of whimsy. Our tourguide, Johan, informed us that some childhood friends of his had robbed the wishing well as kids, only to be caught attempting to exchange over 10,000 sopping wet Swedish Kroner at a nearby post office.
Tonight, a calm dinner. Tomorrow, we play the Malmo Festival! Sounds like our stage is built to accomodate a couple thousand folks...I hope some fraction of that show up, or we could have a pretty lonely hour.
Evidence and Alchemist in Russia
Sort of incredible to see the faces of those kids at the in-store. Most folks in the states lost that passion and excitement for hip-hop a long time ago.
M.anifest - Festa Dos Mundos, Spain
Yep, that's close to 100,000 folks watching him. Yes!
Update
A quick update: The Grieves record is almost done! Just a couple more tracks to mix, then mastering. And then the hard part begins, looking at marketing, release schedules, and planning, combined with a solid dose of patience as we wait for the pieces to fall into place, to make sure it hits as well as it possibly can. Fingers crossed. Grieves and I have a couple of shows coming up before we "officially" head back out on the road. We're playing next Friday, the 18th, in Denver at the Marquee with Macklemore, The Pirate Signal, and Solar One. The following Sunday is the New West Fest in Fort Collins, followed by a lengthy journey to Malmo, Sweden to play the Malmo Fest on the 26th. Phew.
