watch VAO on youtube:
TOUR DIARY
Fall 2007
Text: Ed Partyka
Fotos: Anna Lauvergnac
Cover tour rider by Wolfgang Grossebner:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
October 9 till 11, Bruck/Leitha - Stadttheater
The final leg of our big 30th Anniversary Tour got off to a normal start in Bruck an der Leitha as always
for three days of rehearsals, concerts and remebering what it used to be like back in the 1950’s. Bruck
is a place where the calender stands still and things like computers and the internet don’t exist yet.
It is cute unless you have work to do and have to communicate with the outside world. I actually had
to send a FAX - how 1985!
|
|
|
Hotel Ungarische Krone in Bruck
Everything else was fine. We found an excellent bartender for a night of long
island ice teas and the autumn weather was otherwise agreeable.Joe Sailer once again pulled out all
the stops for a big party and everything was going great UNTIL.....until WHAT?
|
|
|
|
In the early hours of Friday morning October 12th our entire light and sound system plus Mario’s drum set
(cymbals too!) and Ingrid’s entire percussion collection was stolen. Equipment worth over 1.5 million Euros
was taken in this organized and planned criminal act. Ronny and Michi also lost personal belongings and very
important documents as well as months worth of computer work. Of course the bastards that did this
don’t care about the fact that Ingrid has collected her percussion instruments from around the world over
the past 20 years. Of course the assholes that did this don’t care that Mario’s father gave him his drumset
for his 15th birthday. Of course the fuckers don’t care that Mario and Ingrid are two wonderful people
and terrific musicians. Of course the low-lifes that did this don’t care about Ronny’s collection of tools
and his private laptop. Of course the motherfuckers that did this don’t care about Michi’s USB sticks that
contain months of light programming work. Of course the sister corn-holing scumbags don’t care that the
30th anniversry tour of one of europe’s leading musical groups may have to be cancelled. Of course the
moronic douche-bags don’t care about ruining the life work of mathias.
|
|
a letter from Mario:
dear friends and cats,
as some of you might already know, some people have stolen the whole tour equipment from the vienna
art orchestra truck on the 11th of october in bruck/leitha (lower austria). the now missing things include
the percussion instruments of ingrid oberkanins and also parts of my beloved vintage gretsch drum set
with bosphorus high hat, 3 bosphorus cymbals and one old k cymbal.
so if anybody get to know something about the following pieces, please let me know immediately:
m.gonzi@hotmail.com or 0043/676/628 2290
22" Yamaha Custom Bass Drum-Maple
13" Gretsch TomTom-Maple
14" Gretsch Floor Tom-Maple
16" Gretsch Floor Tom-Maple
14" Slingerland Snare Drum-Maple(Radio King aprox.55-60years old)
12" Yamaha Snare Drum-Maple
Hardware case plus complete hardware
Bosphorus Cymbals:
24" Master
21" Master
20" Hammer-Jeff Hamilton
14" Jeff Hamilton Hi-Hat
Zildjian Cymbal:
17" old turkish K
I play this set since 25 years now and as you can imagine it´s more than just a drum set and cymbals.
for more information about the missing percussion stuff mail to: mail@ingridoberkanins.com
for more information about the missing light and sound eqipment mail to: ronald.matky@vsvl.at
thanks for keeping your ears and eyes open
yours mario
a letter from Ingrid:
lieber mathias,
ich schicke dir zwei listen. erstmal vollständig die instrumente, die gestohlen wurden, soweit ich sie
halt bezeichenen kann. dann die anbotliste vom drumhouse, wo im großen und ganzen die meisten
instrumente ersetzt wären. es fehlen noch ein paar halterungen und natürlich die diversen
soundinstrumente (die man nicht so einfach kaufen kann), deren sachwert sich vielleicht auf
nicht mal 100€ beläuft. habe heute 3 stunden im drumhouse verbracht und war zwischendurch
immer wieder mal sehr unglücklich ... tja.
vielleicht kannst du die gestohlenenliste auch noch ins diary stellen?
es gibt auch noch ein paar bilder (v. a. die seeehr gelben bongos, die es bei meinl
natürlich nicht mehr gibt, alte gute serie). trotzdem freu ich mich schon wieder aufs spielen und euch alle!
bis bald
ingrid
lost and gone:
Percussion groß:
18" Konzerttom/ Sonor, Designer Series, Maple Light Shell
Woodbongos/ Schlagwerk
3er-Halterung f. Schlagwerkwoodblock
Bongos/ Meinl (auffallend gelb)
Cajinto Signature R.P. plus Bodenstand/ Schlagwerk
16" Full Crash/ Paiste Signature
10" Splash, K/ Zildjian
Small Percussion:
Woodblock medium, montierbar/ Toca
Schellenring schwarz, montierbar/LP
Caxixi small, medium, large/ Meinl
Cowbell, small (Chacha), large (Salsa), montierbar/ LP
2 clamps für je 4 montagemöglichkeiten
Schellenbaum (Schlittenglocken) groß, klein
Glöckchensoundinstrumente (Ethnoinstrument)
Nüsse/Klauen-soundinstrument (Ethnoinstrument)
Shaker Alu Octa Med.Jingle (mit Schellen)/Meinl
Shaker Alu Octa Mini/ Meinl
2 Soft Shaker /LP
3 Shaker Chicken egg/ meinl
Shakersoundtree (Ethnoinstrument)
3er Schaker griechisch (Ethnoinstrument)
Shaker Spark Steel, large/ Meinl
2 Triangel, klein, groß /LP
Triangel mit Halterung / Meinl
Chimes, einreihig, silber/ Meinl
Maracas, helles Holz/ Percuton
Schlägeltasche (Drumhouse) mit Sticks, Besen, Paukenschlägel,
Hot rods, Triangelschlägel, div. Schlüsseln, Vietnamesische Maultrommel,
Paukenstimmpfeiffe
bags:
Großes Hardwarecase mit Rollen
Tomhardcase 18"
Tomsoftbag 12"
2 Bongobags/ Meinl
Chimesbag/ Meinl
Cymbalbag/ Meinl
The stolen equipment:
TON
MISCHPULTE
Yamaha PM5d 1
Yamaha PM5d Supply 1
PA LAUTSPRECHER
Meyer Sound MSL4 4
Meyer Sound 700 HP Subbass (1600W) selfpowered 2x 18" 2 jeweils im Case und beide absolut neu
2x QSC Activ Monitore 2 eweils 2 in einem Case und alle 4 absolut neu
IN-EAR MONITORING
1-Kanal Funk In-Ear Monitoring (ohne Batterien)
UHF 470-476 MHz
Sennheiser SR 3054-U/EK 3053-U, Stereo-In-Ear-Monitoring mit
1x Earpiece SHURE, Ear-Mohl-tauglich, mit 1x Receiver 1
In-Ear Monitoring Zubehör
Batterien 9V 5
MIKROFONE
Shure sm58 2
shure sm57 1
2x T-Bone Condenser 2
AKG C414XLS 10 9 x XLS 1x TL2
AKG C747 1
AKG C3000 B 10
AKG C2000B 3
AKG C4500 1
AKG D22 5
AKG C547BL 1
Palmer passiv Di-Box 4
Mikroclip SA41 bzw. Shureclip (für Shure SM58/57) 4
AER bass amp
FUNKMIKROFONE
Funkmikrofonanlagen Solo AKG WMS 4000
771.000 / 778.600 / 784.800 / 742.200 / 788.600 / 782.200 / 794.900 MHz
SR 4000 Empfänger 1
AC12 Netzgerät 1
HT 4000 Handsender mit C5900 Kapsel/ SA43 Mikroclip 1
PT 4000 Taschensender 1
AKG Stab-/BNC-Antenne 2
Set: 2
Funkzubehör
Batterien
Batterien 1,5V für AKG WMS 4000 12
STAGE-/SPLITBOXEN
LK54 Subsnakebox 12/4 4
Stagebox 40/16 passiv: 40 x 50cm Patchkabeln XLR
Splitbox mit 4x Eurolinkanschluß für Subsnakes, 2x Eurolink FOH,
2x Eurolink MON, Patchfeld 1
BACKLINE
Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ 1
SWR Baby Blue 1
VERKABELUNG
Tonsetup Schubladenrack 2/3 GROSS (6x XLR m - Klinke, 6x XLR f - Klinke,
4x XLR m - Chinch, 1
4x XLR f - Chinch, 2x XLR m - 2 XLR f, 2x XLR f - 2 XLR m, 4x XLR Phaserev.,
3x XLR m - XLR m, 3x XLR f - XLR f,
10x Klinke-Klinke-Kabel, 35x XLR Patchkabel, 35x XLR 3m Kabel,
35x XLR 5m Kabel, 35x XLR 10m Kabel,2x Miniklinke - 6,3mm Klinke Kabel)
MULTICORESYSTEME
LK54 15m Multicore Eurolink 2
LK54 20m Multicore Eurolink 2
LK150 65m Multicore Eurolink (24 In, 8 Return) 2
STATIVE
Mikrofonstative
K&M Mikrofonstativ gross 17
K&M Mikrofonstativ klein 2
K&M Mikrofonstativ medium 4
Seite 2 von 3
PROJEKTIONS- UND KAMERATECHNIK
Sanyo PLC-XF45 1
Daten-/Videoprojektor 10.000 Ansilumen VGA/ XGA/ SYGA mit DRIT
Kontrast: 1100:1 dig. Zoom, 2359.296 Pixel, 37kg, 4x 250W UHP Lampen
Vert. Keystone-Korrektur, horiz./vert.- Lens Shift
inkl. 1x Objektiv (Objektiv 3,5-4,5)
Objektive für XF45 und XF35
Objektivcase komplett bestueckt (1x Weitwinkel, 1x Tele & 1x Standart Vario) 1
Plasma Bildschirme
2x Pioneer PDP-50MXE1 50" Plasma Display 16:9 1
VGA- und Videomixer
Analog Way Smartfade VGA/Video Mixer/Converter SMF251 + Extron VGA Splitter 1
Zuspiel- und Aufnahmegeräte
Pioneer V8000 DVD-Player 1 1x kom plettes VAO DVD Programm 07
Verkabelung
5fach BNC 5m 3
5fach BNC 60m 1
5fach BNC Trommeln 50 m 1
Adapter BNC f - BNC f (FC200-59) 5
VGA m - 5fach BNC 1,80m (EYRGBS4-0006) 2
Adapter VGA f - f (FA454-R2) 2
Adapter VGA m - m 2
Stromverteiler
CEE-Stromverteiler: 32A auf 6x Cekon und 6x Schuko 2
Jägerverteiler CEE 16A auf 3x Schuko mit CEE 16A out 4
Schuko Set Up Big 1 - 3 (20x 10m, 20x 5m, 20x 3m, 10x 15m, 3x 20m, 1x 50m Trommel) 1
jedes Kabel mit Klettband und VSVL Aufkleber bzw Beschriftung
Verteiler Set Up Big 1 - 2 (40x 3fach-Verteiler, 40x Vollgummi 3fach-Verteiler (Herzerl) 1
Verkabelung einzeln im Lager verfügbar
CEE Kabel 16A 10m 3 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 16A 25m 3 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 32A 10m 1 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 32A 25m 2 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 63A 10m 2 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 63A 25m 2 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 125A 10m 1 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE Kabel 125A 25m 1 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
CEE 63A male - 125A female 1 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
Cekon blau 3m 4 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
Cekon blau 5m 4 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
Cekon blau 20m 1 jeweils mit Klettband und VSVL Aufklebern
RIGGING
Stativ(e)
Manfrotto Wincher Kurbelstativ 317-6 (190/585cm, 180 kg) +gr. Trussadapter 1
Manfrotto Kurbelstativ 4
Rigging
Litio QX30200 1
LICHT
MISCHPULTE/STEUERUNGEN
Flachbildschirm inkl. Netzkabel & 0,5m VGA Kabel 1
1 GrandMA UL samt Case 1 Seriennummer 351
1 GrandMA NSP samt Case 1 Seriennummer 961
1 WYSIWYG Dongle PERFORM 1 Seriennummer TXYDQTCD
1 Level One FSW0822 Switch 1 Seriennummer 06062600331
1 Level One WAP0009 Acces Point 1 Seriennummer 06120300372
1 Fujitsu Siemens Handheld Remote Pocket Loox N520 1
MOVING LIGHTS
2x Robe ColorSpot 1200AT 3
COLOUR CHANGER
4 x Robe ColorMix 250AT 2
SCHEINWERFER
LED Par56 bestueckt mit Bodenstativen 12 1 x 2stoeckiges Stapelcase
4 x D.T.S. Theatre 2000 Fresnel (2000W) 2 2 x Flightcase
ETC Source Four 26° (HPL 575W) 10
ACL Aircraft Landing Par 64 (8x 250W, 28V), 1 Kreis - 2x4 2 1 x 2stoeckiges Stapelcase
DIMMER
18Ch Pulsar 1
VERKABELUNG
Harting
Hartingmulticores 3m 5
Hartingmulticores 5m 3
Hartingmulticores 10m 3
Hartingmulticores 25m 4
Harting f auf 6x Schuko 8
Harting m auf 6x SSD 2
Harting m auf SSD Box mit Durchschliff 6
DMX
Material
ZUBEHÖR - EINRICHTUNG - HERSTELLUNG
Alu-Leiter
Leiter 7m 1
Werkzeug
Werkzeugcase Daddy 1 Amptowncase mit 5 Laden, div. VAO Aufklebern und ca. 80 CDs
Makita Akku Schrauber MXP mit Ladestation und Ersatzakku 1 absolut neu
Makita Stichsaege 1 in Orginalverpackung
USAG Schraubenzieherset 42 teilig 1 lose, schwarze Griffe
Ringgabelset 7-22 1 jeweils mit Klettverschluss
RingRingSet 7-22 1 jeweils mit Klettverschluss
Ratsch Ringgabelset 7-22 1 jeweils mit Klettverschluss
zoelliges RingGabelset 1 jeweils mit Klettverschluss
Spiral Kombizange gross 3 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Kombizange mittel 3 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Kombizange gross 1 schwarzer Griff
Spiral Spitzzange geknickt 3 2x gelbroter Griff, 1x schwarzer Griff
Spiral Spitzzange gerade 2 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Seitenschneider gross 2 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Seitenschneider mittel 2 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Seitenschneider klein 2 gelbroter Griff
Spiral Blechschere 1 roter Griff
Jokari Abisolierzange 1 schwarz
Spiral Abisolierzange 2 schwarz
BNC Abisolierer 1 crème weiss
Universalabisolierer 1 gelb
Spiral Durchschlagschraubenzieher Set 9teilig 1 in Orginalverpackung
Spiral digitale Schublehre 1 in Orginalverpackung
USAG Ratschenset 52teilig 1 im blauen Orginalkoffer
Neutrik BNC Zange 1 schwarz er Griff
Link Zangen Set 1 im schwarzen Orginalkoffer
Spiral Kabelschuhzange 1 blauer Griff
Spiral Adernendhuelsenzange 3 1 x roter Griff, 2x gleber Griff
Spiral BNC-Zange 1 gruener Griff
Spiral Feinschraubenzieherset 48teilig 1 graue Kasette steckbarer Satz
Spiral Feinschraubendreherset 30teilig 1 graue Kasette steckbarer Satz
Spiral Feintorxset 16teilig 1 graue Kasette
Feinsicherungssortiment ca. 400Teile 1 blauer Metallkoffer
Spiral Bit Set gross 1 schwarzer Plastikkoffer
Spiral Bit Set Torx 1 gruener Plastikkoffer
Spiral Bit Set Spezial 1 gruenes Weichplastikfutter
Spirla Bithalter 4 lose
Bit Flexwelle 1 lose
Spiral Feinzahn Ratschen 1/2Zoll 4 lose
Spiral Nuss-Set 1/2Zoll 30 teilig 1 dunkelblauer Metallkoffer
Spiral Geruestratsche 19/22 3 lose
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer Set 1-13 3 graue Metallsortimentkaesten
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 2mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 2,5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 3mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 3,5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 4mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 4,5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 5,5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 6mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral TIN Kobalt HSS Bohrer 6,5mm 5 rote Plastikhuellen
Spiral Kometenfraeser Set 4teilig 1 blauer Metalsortimentkasten
Spiral Holzbohrerset 4-10mm 5teilig 2 orginal verpackt
Adapterset 50 teilig 1 schwarzer Miprokoffer1
Edding Lack 1mm silber 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding Lack 1mm weiss 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding Lack 1mm gold 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding Lack 3mm silber 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding Lack 3mm weiss 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding Lack 3mm gold 5 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Edding 1,5mm schwarz 25 schwarzer Miprokoffer2
Spiral Winkel 40cm 1 lose
Alu Lineal 50cm 1 lose
Uhrmacherschraubendreher set 200 teilig 1 schwarzer Plastikkoffer
Spiral spritzbuchstaben Set 40 teilig 1 rotes Stecketui
Weller digitale Loetstation 1 hellblaue Mainstation,
schwarzer Loetkolben mit DIN-Stecker und Ablagestaender mit Loetschwamm
Spiral Loetzinn 1mm Rolle 1Kg 2 gruene Rollen
Spiral Gasloetset 1 schwarzes Orginaletui
Spiral Pinzette 2 rote Griffe
Comment from mathias:
On the other side:
We were all invited at the party of our friend Joe Sailer in the night of the 11th. Everybody was there
with his instruments because of a late night jam session.This means that nobody, except Mario
and Ingrid, left his instruments in the truck. Imagine if all the horns would have been stolen! (four trumpets,
four flugelhorns, four trombones, Harry’s very expensive & historic piccolo, two flutes, four clarinets and 12 saxes;
& two guitars and the double bass!). I even don’t dare to think about that..at the end it was really luck in
a unlucky situation.
And here a little note to "our" very professional thiefs:
As a person and as a musician I feel strongly offended, that you left all our wonderful CD’s in the truck,
ignoring their incredible musical value. I would like to offer you 200 CD’s for free and you give us back
what you took from us and our company "Vienna Light & Sound"! You will find them ( the 200 CD’s!!)
tonight at 24.00 at the same place in Bruck, where you brought us in deep troubles.
Sincerly,
yours mathias rüegg
(composer, arranger, band leader, tour manager and financier)
ps: you should be aware, that we will play anyway sooner or later in the place(s) provided
with our "lost" equipment.
Additionaly there are unvisible marks in/on each of the approx. 300 single pieces.
If those marks will not be updated every forteen days, the whole piece explode by itself..Watch out!!
October 12 St.Pölten, Festspielhaus - American Dreams
|
|
|
|
We never-the-less made it to St. Poelten and our performance at the Marianne Mendt Jazz Festival
went well considering we didn’t have our own sound or lighting system, no projections and a borrowed
drum set. This was the third edition of the MM Jazz Festival and it keeps growing and getting better
every year. A huge hug and thanks to Marianne for making the whole thing possible!There was a bit of
hotel bar hanging and then it was back home for a week of teaching (buying new drums and mixing
boards, etc...) before the "real" tour starts on the 20th.
 |
The upcoming talents sourrounded by M(ama) Mendt & Werner Feldgrill.
See more pictures HERE
October 20 - 22 Lausanne/Basel
Slept really well last night - big fluffy pillows and two big duvets. Some of the other guys got small
rooms with small beds but I guess I got lucky. I miss my students and I hope they are all doing their
homework and arranging assignments. Being on the road and having teaching responsibilities is difficult
but they are such a great group of kids I’m sure they’ll do all right.
Live at the Casino de Montbenon, Lausanne
see more pictures HERE
We played in Lausanne on Saturday and it was also nice to see all the VAO guys again. It’s such a
wonderful group of musicians. Even though it’s quite stressful now I know I’ll miss it in a few weeks
when the tour is over. I still feel really bad about letting everyone down this summer. I learned quite
a bit though and I think there are often reasons for the things that happen. It is like god or the cosmos
are trying to tell us things (or teach us lessons) and we need to figure them out.
|
|
|
|
Lausanne, the beautiful town at the lake of Geneva (Lac Léman)
We are now in Basel and we had a very nice concert last night at the Bird’s Eye jazz club. It was pleasant
to play in a relaxed setting and the band sounded very swinging and loose. We also kept the volume
under control for most of the evening. We did get loud, but only towards the end of the set. I went to
bed early and most of the guys went out for some food or a few more drinks. Switzerland is really expensive
for us in the euro-zone and Silke couldn’t believe how expensive the drinks were since she normally doesn’t
drink alcohol and lives in Vienna, where the prices are sort of normal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
mathias and Anna in the Baer museum of Basel
Someone stole my egg out of the egg boiler this morning. I put another one in and forgot my stopwatch
so it was too hard. If that is the worst thing that happens to me today I’ll be thrilled. Hank seems a bit
ut-of-sorts and Michi really doesn’t have anything to do until we get to Luxembourg tomorrow. We play
Ellington tonight and I’m going to go for a walk around Basel later. I would like to buy myself a sweater
and maybe some new socks. I also need some vitamins to keep from getting sick during this stressful time.
The weather is fairly cold, but I suppose it is late October now - how time flies when one
is busy (or allegedly having fun).
|
|
|
|
the old town of Basel with buildings from the 13th century!
Our hotel is right next to a church, which is convenient for the more religious members of the orchestra
but a pain in the ass for those of us that want to get a good night’s sleep. The very loud bells ring on
the hour at 6 a.m. AND 7 a.m. to wake the sinners of this sleepy Swiss town and visiting musicians
(who are probably sinners as well). We played for another sold-out crowd at the Bird’s Eye last night.
It feels good to write this but as the club only has 80 seats, anything less than a sold-out concert
would have been very depressing. It was nice to play Ellington in a jazz club setting. The band was
relaxed and swinging with great solos all around. Hannes & Nico’s “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart”
was a highlight, as well as Andy’s awesome 27 choruses of blues. Thank god the nightlife in Basel is
boring, otherwise we would have been out much later than we were. Two nights in Basel and two
distinctly mediocre bars, maybe Luxembourg will be better in this regard. It will also be nice to be
back in the Euro zone, where our money is actually worth something and we can plug our electronic
devices directly into the socket without an adapter. Tonight we play Ellington in the philharmonic
hall in Luxembourg and tomorrow we get to quickly go home for two days before the next big l
eg of the tour.
|
|
|
VAO live at Bird’s Eye. Many thanks to the Friends of Bird’s Eye (FBeye!) who made it possible..
Devise from Hans Strasser:
(based on the music of Henry Mancini’s
„The shadow of your smile“)
Verse:
Two o’clock in the morning,
me, myself and I.
Hotel bar is closed again,
my throat is pretty dry.
My friends are in there hotel rooms,
and so am I.
I have to figure what to do,
to brighten up the sky!
Refrain:
I switch on my TV,
and what do I see uh – uh – uh!
For twenty- two swiss franks,
she’d be with me? All – a - lone!
I could have her all night long
and dolly, lizzy and bill. (What a thrill?)
Don’t even have to talk to them,
I’d just relax and chill?!
The minibar so near,
so deceivingly full.
I drink up all that beer,
some whisky, that’s cool!
The girls on the screen with bill
are working hard, but he’s no thrill.
I end in my bed alone.
The bill’s too high! „Mathias, I need some loan!“
October 23, Luxembourg - Philharmonie, Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love
|
|
|
The amazing new Philharmonie in Luxembourg
Another day in the life of the Vienna Art Orchestra…Adrian and Stephan came stumbling home at 6 a.m. after scaring the entire city of Basel with their drunken antics and musical abilities. We made it to the station on time and trained up to Luxembourg with 30 minutes of free time in the hotel to quickly clean up before the sound check in the wonderful philharmonic hall. Of course most of our keycards didn’t work and we lost valuable time riding up and down on the elevators and dealing with unfriendly and incompetent front desk personal trying to fix the problem.
The entire staff at the Luxembourg Philharmonie was the complete opposite to the hotel staff: wonderfully friendly, competent, nice, courteous, good looking and smart! The acoustics were terrific and the sold out crowd (1,200 as opposed to 80 in Bird’s Eye) was attentive and responsive. All in all a great concert and nice evening. The only trouble was that one (or more) of our colleagues drank most of the sacred bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin, intended for our post-concert refreshment, before the gig. Other than being VERBOTEN by mathias it was also rude to the rest of us - at least they could of finished the Gordon’s and left us the good stuff. We’ll try to find out who the gin thief (or thieves) was/were. I think one way would be to have an online poll. Please send the name of the VAO member that you think drank the Gin to:
office@vao.at
Betreff: Gin Thief 2007
Tell us who you think it was that drank the Bombay Sapphire Gin and why you think they did it.
For example: I think it was xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx because he just can’t take the pressure of playing third trumpet anymore and he is losing the plot.
I highly suspect xx xxxxxxx because since he’s become department head in Graz he can’t take the pressure and is losing the plot.
It was most probably xxxxxx xxxxx because he’s lost the plot since his wife left him.
It very well could have been xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx because he finally got his act together.
If you name the gin thief and the correct reason, you might win a date with the thief (watch your valuables and lock your liquor cabinet!) or other valuable prizes like a pair of Robert Bachner’s used socks or a liter of trumpet section spit, collected during our three day stay in Vienna next week. Winners will be notified by carrier pigeon in early November (2009).
Then yesterday it was back home for two days and tomorrow we’re off to Switzerland to pump more money into the thriving Swiss economy and perform the whole trilogy in the space of 24 hours in Chur. We also get to visit our good friends in Uznach before swinging back for three days in Vienna and our hometown fans. More as it happens…
|
|
|
|
|
The intellectual side of an orchestra
October 26, Chur - Drei Könige, American Dreams
A very early flight and one slightly hung-over bass trombonist arrived in Chur yesterday to be greeted by what had to be the most unfriendly hotel receptionist we’ve met on the tour so far. Basically, somewhere along the line our request for an early check-in got lost and the hotel was not prepared for twenty tired musicans to arrive at 11 a.m. In a good hotel the receptionist would have apologised and tried to do something about the problem. In this place she basically said: "You are early, check-in time is 2 p.m. and fuck you." Not really the kind of swiss hospitality that we know and love from our many tours here. Actually that kind of attitude is usually only found in former communist countries and America these days. I was lucky and I got a room after 30 minutes but some of the guys finally got in to their rooms at 4 p.m. - ridiculous!
 |
 |
What the hotel staff lacked in charm, the audience more than made up for in their enthusiasm and friendliness. The room was packed and the audience attentive, we had a good time and my favorites of the evening were Nico and Jurai. Tobias also sounded even better than usual (which is hard) and I guess the only negative comment would be that we played maybe a little too loud. I don’t know if it was the room or our enthusiasm after having two days off, but we’ll have to be in better dynamic control tonight for program 2. We’ll also have to take it easy in program 2 because we’re playing two concerts tonight. Program 2 at 7:30 and then program 3 around 10 p.m. We did it this way in Innsbruck and it shouldn’t be a problem, but we will have to be well rested and diciplined.I went to bed early last night but I know there was a room party at Toby’s place last night that went on fairly late, Dominik was looking a bit pale this morning at breakfast and I haven’t seen any of the other usual suspects yet even though it’s almost noon.
I’m sure it was just the normal smoking, drinking video party. I mean, how much trouble can you get into in Chur?
Devise by Adrian Mears
As I arrive in Chur und stand auf dem flur
It seemed to be clear that there´s no room my dear
The computer is down and Andy makes that frown!
But soon it was all worked out.
Without a doubt, no time for trout
I walk with my two feet and get something to eat
Andrea, he stand outside, with me he can confide.
He,he, he … und Jetzt isch meine auto weg!
Die park Polizei dient Ihrem zwech!!
Ich esse meine Gerste suppe schnell
Und schreib meine deveise well.
I hope we all have fun tonight
That the band is hot and out of sight.
October 27, Chur - Drei Könige, European Visionaries and Visionaries & Dreams
For the second time on this tour we performed two programs on the same evening. Just like we did it in Innsbruck we played II & III last night here in Chur. We had all day to rest up and after the all night party in Toby’s "Bar 57" most of the guys slept most of the day. I suppose it was better that I missed the festivities and went straight to be, but I heard so much about all the funny stuff that happened that I wish I’d have stayed up and gone too. I’m sure there will be another chance before the tour is over...
|
|
|
|
The beautiful old town of Chur
The double concert was fine. As usual a couple of small moments of confusion, but nothing that would be apparent to someone who doesn’t know the music well. With four and a half hours of material it’s no surprise that one or two wrong notes happen. The solos were, as always, exceptional and the audience was really warm and attentive. Mario and Tobias get the big credit for keeping the energy level up through this musical marathon and a big thanks to Andrea Engi and thw whole gang at the "Jazzclub Chur" for making these two days a pleasure. By the way, Chur was the very first concert performed by the VAO outside of Austria, way back in 1978.
Now it’s onward to Rapperswil and Uznach for our annual appearance at the "Kulturtreff Rotfarb", always a highlight because of the friendly people and excellent meal (and wine) they always have prepared for us. After the gig the truck and van drive directly to Vienna (all night) and we have a 6:30 departure for the airport.
Devise from mathias
Six haevy questions and a light one
From where do we come?
Who are we?
And where do we go?
From whom did we learn?
What do we know?
And whom will we teach?
With whom did we play?
What do we play?
And where will our playing lead us?
From whom are we loved?
Whom should we love?
And since when did we forget to love?
From whom are we payed?
Who pays us now?
And why do we run always out of money?
From where comes our sound?
How do we sound?
And when will our sound end?
BUT:
From where do we get our underwear?
And where did we lost our childhoods bear?
Who pays our drinks?
Who checks our links?
And who takes care uf US?
We all, so lets have SPASS!
October 28, Uznach - Rotfarb, European Visionaries
As always, Barbara Schlumpf and her great team at the “Kulturtreff Rotfarb” made us feel welcome and at home during our short stay in Uznach. We arrived in the pretty little town of Rapperswil in the afternoon to get settled in and take a nap. Some of us went for a lovely stroll along the promenade and others found a very nice Italian restaurant.
|
|
|
|
a warm welcome in "Dogville"
After a short bus ride over to Uznach we were fed a wonderful meal and then played “European Visionaries” for a sold-out crowd. We were just settling in to a nice red wine after the concert when the decision was quickly made to head back to the hotel because of our early departure the next day. It was a bit disappointing to have to say our goodbyes so abruptly and I literally left a half glass of red wine standing on the table. But once again thanks to Barbara and her team for the wonderful hospitality. I would also like to personally compliment the Chef for one of the best soups I’ve ever had in my life!
|
|
|
Mathias got some spaced out shoes from his fan Maya
Devise by Adrian Mears
Listen up Brothers and Sisters.
We are gathered here today in Uznach to celebrate lif and love,
friendship and the magical essence of beautiful music and food.
Let us Pray.
May all the 16th and 8th notes find there way to their goal
in the right time and space, may our lungs fill full and give birth
to a beautiful sound and colour. Let our intuition and technical
October 29 till 31, Vienna - Porgy & Bess, Whole Trilogy
Another early start (alarm set for 5:30) on Monday for our flight back to Vienna followed by hotel check-in, lunch, nap, shower, coffee and sound-check. It was a warm and welcoming hometown crowd in Porgy & Bess for “American Dreams” and the band was able to feed off the great vibe and gave it’s best. Robert, Nico, Joris, Anna and Matthieu were fabulous and the rhythm section was smoking from the start. Former VAO members Thomas Gansch and Christian Muthspiel stopped by and the soundcheck took on the vibe of a kindergarten with the children of Herwig, Christoph Huber and Thomas running around and playing.
the next generation: Samia (Huber), Lilith (Gradischnig) and Jojo (Gansch)
Afterward DJ Toby took over the mixing board and a good time was had by most. Of course I had to get up very early this morning to stop by Graz and impart a bit of wisdom on the young people. Tonight it’s part 2 and the tomorrow we complete the Trilogy before hitting the road for a couple of days in southern Germany.
Tobi, preaching his devise:
Devise - Krise
Miese -Devise
Harlow - Da Vinci
Kelly - Kelly Descartes
Means borrow a monkey and make him play art
Hepburn - Voltaire
Lets fly to BEL AIR
Meet
Make THEM write DEVISI
West - Copernicus
Weil sichs halt reimen muss…..
Hayworth -
…. Bis alle bluten
so on and so forth so forth and so on
till
and I can go home !
Play Art with Heart
Play smart, don’t fart
Make the boss happy
So don’t play crappy
And one more thing
Brim bim bim bim brim bim bim !
Three great days (and nights) in Vienna. The band played great all three nights and the crowds were fantastic. There is really nothing else to add.
Some of the boys were out and about with late night hangs, but nothing that got out of control (everyone was in bed by the time the sun came up). There were kids running around and friends in the audience to inspire us, good food and nice wine.
Today we are off to Salzburg, where I’m sure something more interesting will happen. At least I hope something more interesting will happen, because otherwise I won’t have anything to write about (like today).
|
|
|
|
Pictures by Naima Rüegg
Devise by Hans Strasser
Why the devise suffers in our times and what could be the reasons for this desaster.
Before investigating this very delicate topic, it will be neccesary to
determine the topic (DEVISE) itself. We have to do some recherche in order to do so.
The Etymological origin of the word dates back into ancient times of the roman empire.
The word derives from the vulgarlatinword devisare ,or divisare..
The word is attested to have been around since the end of the 17th century
and has been borrowed from the french langugage.
Oringinally beeing a term of the art of coat of arms, heraldic art.
It determined at first the parted fields of an heraldic figure.
Later on it additiobally also determined the meannigfull saying which was written within
those fields from where on the general meaning on the word Devise >(engl device) arose.
Explained in a short way: based on the latin word dividere vulgarlatin : devisare or divisare.
The french word devise is derived from deviser (syn for to divide, to arrange, to
classify, to graduate.)
That means that devise could already be something that is placed in a divided setting,
although beeing a part of an entity which explains already some misconceptions.
Misconceptions are:
1. Misconception: „Devise is a Schaß!“ (or even: „a Vollschaß!“)
This is not true! A „Schaß“ is a vulgarviennese word for a gastroindestinal phenomeneon
named Flatulence. Flatulences are a compendium of various
gases, mainly carbohydrates like Methan, Buthan, butyric acid and so forth that
escape from the humans anus sometimes accompanied with unmusical sounds, transporting a very
bad smell. The intensity depends on the body weight and the food habits of the human that
produces it.Those flatulences can although have a dividing effect on the people that surround
the flatulating person at the moment of release, but they have definitely nothing to do with
the topic DEVISE which we are in the process of discussing.
Deriviations are Magenschaß, Schaßquastl which we are not going to discuss within this context.
Compare the english word „fart“:
When I played with the british jazztrombone Mark Nightingale, the organizing Lady dismissed the
virtuoso after a great Dinner with the well meant words „Gute Fahrt!“ which he understood as
„good fart“?! With an irritated smile he left Austria and to my knowledge he never came back since.
This shows us that all related termini of the topic DEVISE have to be treated very, very carefully.
2. Misconception: „Devise nix!“
„Devise nix“ has nothing to do with DEVISE.
It is almost proved historically, that Devisenix was an until now unknown twin-
Brother of Obelix. Devisnix, due to his great sense of humor, won the affection and love
of the legendary Falballa. He lived a happy and erotically fullfilled live with her,
after she left the stupid blond guy for him.
We will discuss the rest another day.
Now go on stage, have fun and
Play!!!
 |
November 1, Salzburg - Mozardeum, American Dreams
Saying goodbye to loved ones and one night stands in Vienna and back on the road for the final leg of the tour. Yesterday we travelled to Salzburg for a perfromance at the famous festival "Salzburger Jazzherbst".
|
|
|
We perfromed in the wonderful "Mozarteum" to over 700 audience members representing the cultural and business elite of Salzburg. The audience was fairly reserved in comparision to the three previous gigs in Porgy & Bess but never-the-less pleasant and well-dressed. The band had another good night and my favorite soloists were Joris and Nico. The festival took good care of us (even though they slightly underestimated the catering requirements of the band in the food department) and after the gig it was off to explore the old part of the city. Things remained uneventful and today we travelled to Munich.
|
|
|
|
We’ll see if anybody shows up tonight. The concert pre-sales weren’t very good and we are all a bit worried. We’ll play our best regardless and it will be nice to see all of our old friends here in Munich.
|
|
|
November 2, München - Aula der LMU, American Dreams
Our fears of playing for an empty house in Munich were for naught as a nice-sized crowd did indeed turn out for our concert in the University last night. The room was acoustically difficult but impressive looking and the audience was reserved until the end, when they gave us band a very warm round of applause. Hank, Hannes, Joris and Juraj were my favorites during the concert and even though there were quite a few small concentration mistakes the overall performance was quite good. Tobias had a great night, probably due to the pressure of having lead trumpet legend Al Porcino in the audience.
|
|
|
The beautiful venue
There were many other friends in attendance like Thomas and Anita Stabenow and ex-VAO saxophonist Roman Schwaller. There was a very nice catering spread and afterward it was back to our hotel bar for a long evening of drinking and fun. Stephan’s wife Nancy and I ate at least a pound of peanuts and had a good laugh or two and the poor waiter literally had to run to keep up with the constant drink orders coming from our tables.
|
|
|
And the romantic dressing room
This morning at breakfast I only saw Mario, which means that things probably went fairly late last night. I’ll let you know if anything nasty happened in the early morning hours.Today it’s off to the Bavarian alps and tomorrow we fly to Spain. If we have internet you have tour diary.
A lot of musicians were seen at the concert:Thomas Stabenow, Roman Schwaller, Al Porcino, Till Martin, Willi Johanns,
Heimo Trixner, Jason Seizer und Adrian Reiter a.o.
November 3, Elmau - European Jazztival, European Visionaries
Well, we had a night and day to remember...
Our gig at the castle last night went well but one member of the trombone section had a bit too much to drink.
I can’t mention any names but he wasn’t Austrian or American...
The top wellness hotel im Elmau, where the guests sponsor all the cultural activities. After it burned down two years ago, it was rebuilded completely new.
November 4, Granada - Intern. Jazz Festival, American Dreams
We had an otherwise groovy hang last night but things started to go wrong early this morning. We got to the station and realized that young Joris was missing. A few people assumed that he had been kidnapped and been made the sex slave of one of our VAO groupies, but it turned out that instead of being chained to the radiator of a hotel room and being forced to perform perverted sex acts against his will he was simply asleep.
|
|
The train station in Elmau at 7.25 a.m. without Joris Roelofs
He got to the airport an hour after the band and everything seemed cool at the Iberia Airlines check-in desk: They knew he was coming and they set aside a ticket for him. In reality things didn’t quite turn out this way...
It turned out that the Iberia Airlines ground staff in Munich were total bitches and rude. As Joris arrived, they simply said that they had sold his seat to someone else and that he couldn’t fly with us. Mathias tried to reason with them but they turned out to be such unpleasant persons that we flew without Joris. This makes Iberia our current least favorite airline and an airline that should be scorned by all decent travelers. if you have to travel with these a..holes (and especially if you have to deal with the miserable tussies that make up the Munich ground staff) be forewarned and please try to change your flight to a decent airline like Spanair or something other than Iberia. What a terrible way to treat customers. Iberia, you should be ashamed of yourselves!
All thoses mean deatils were written down by Hans & Jurai
Our concert went well tonight. The promoters and concert organizers in Spain are top-notch. We’ve tried to get the same sound and video equipment in Germany and it’s always a problem In Spain it’s all taken care of and top on a top professional level: German concert organizers should take note and use Spain as an example of how things should be done. I suppose this is while Germany is going the way of the USA - incompetence and stupidity instead of competence and intelligence.
|
|
|
|
The beautiful Teatro Isabel La Católica in Granada
We had a great meal after the concert and the band has two well deserved days-off before concerts in Madrid and Barcelona.
I have to travel back to Graz to perform and teach. As usual, things are interesting and never get boring on the road with the Vienna Art Orchestra.
Things were fine other than the idiots at Iberia Airlines in Munich: You suck!!!
November 5 & 6, days off
Text by Anna Lauvergnac
Granada
CIAO MAMMA, SIAMO IN SPAGNA! FA CALDO! E’ BELLISSIMO!!!
Hello to e everyone else too, since Ed is in Graz to keep the school moving in the right direction and promoting Harmony,
I have to take care of the tour diary for a couple of days.
What can I say? I LOVE Spain, I love its landscape, architecture, people, food.
And I love the language: I fell in love with it when I was 14 and I read my first book of Garcia Lorca poetry, so meanwhile I fell in love –and forever- with Garcia Lorca too. After seeing the first snows in Elmau being here is a dream: the sun is shining and it feels like spring. We had the whole day to enjoy the many charms of Granada and have drinks sitting outside wearing little more than a t-shirt.
Fantastico. I met Hans walking the old part of the city with a dreamy expression, and I saw Hank bursting with happiness after being in the cathedral, everyone seems serene and relaxed: a day off during such a long tour is truly a precious gift. Tomorrow we have a pretty long bus ride to get to Madrid, but we’re looking forward being there, enjoy the city and get ready for the next concert….
Madrid
Olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree olive tree…olives trees in countless numbers on both sides of the road, the land is pale yellow dotted by million olives trees, the sky is cloudless and I could sit on this bus looking out of the window forever!
Some pople in this band are so lucky that they have girlfriends that hop on a flight and come to visit them; my boyfriend hopped on a flight as well, and is in Brasil since 3 weeks .
Which proves one more time that there is no justice in this world.
It’s fun to be on the road, it’s intense, exciting, and sometimes terribly lonesome.
On tour I mostly suffer from big ups and downs (which I am afraid is part of my caracter structure anyhow..) and in the good days I am the happiest person on earth, enjoying every bit of this Musicians Weird Existance, but in the bad days I feel as fragile as a thin glass and sadness is the only Featured Emotion.
|
|
|
|
Still, as a musician you still have the opportunity to collect whatever emotion you feel and pour it into the music, and that’s an unvaluable chance. A proposito, when we played in Elmau (it feels like that happened ages ago: tipical side effect of travelling) and Joris woke up too late missed trains and flights had to pay a lot of money suffer a lot of stress and managed to reach the stage at the end of Hans solo, he sounded great from the first note in spite of it all. And played a hell of a solo on Grace Kelly tune.
|
|
|
I keep being surprised by what these guys are able to play day after day, everyone is giving incredibly much. This band is very GENEROUS, and if ONCE a jazz journalist would at least NOTICE it and write it, I would appreciate.
I would also appreciate if I would get some news from Stefano and Domenico. Forza, ragazzi, due righe…ce la potete fare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time to hit the Madrid night…..
|
|
And a little bit of strike can never hurt
November 7, Madrid - Intern. Jazz Festival, European Visionaries
That’s luxury: today we could wake up when we wanted, breakfast ready and available till eleven, the weather is wonderful and we had almost the whole day to stroll around this beautiful city.
No wake up calls, no packing-unpacking, no travelling no junk food, no airports nor train stations…and the venue is just in front of our hotel. Nice and easy does it…
|
|
|
|
|
The fast train RENFE was not as fast as planned and not as comfortable as the prize you have to pay for
On this tour the first program is the one that draws the most enthusiastic reactions, it’s more entertaining then the second one that involves a more concentrated attention from the audience and from us too. I don’t know if the Diva’s tunes are easier to listen to then the Thinkers’s ones but mostly the audience reaction is way louder when we perform the first program.It could as well be because of the visual part: those Intellectuals were mostly pretty ugly and had incredibly big noses, while the Ladies were incredibly beautiful and had pretty big breasts…..
|
|
|
The Madrid Jazz Festival
Anyway, this all did not count tonight, and the Madrid audience was loud enthusiastic and joyful. It has been a great evening: MUCHISSIMAS GRACIAS,MADRID!
|
|
|
|
Christiane & Hans analysing spanish coffee
November 8, Barcelona - Intern. Jazz Festival, Visionaries & Dreams
REAL LIFE is back! We had to wake up, pack, load our luggage in a bus, get to the station, wait in a line, x-ray bags and instruments, get on the train, fight again with huge suitcases and very small space, discovered that the Madrid-Barcelona train ends in Tarragona, get on a small bus overloaded with people and of course our abundant luggage, and after a trip that turned out to be 2 hours longer than expected we arrived in Barcelona where nobody seemed to have remembered to pick us up. The hotel was very far from the center and the Ramblas became an unreachable dream. I WANT A DAY OFF IN BARCELONA TOO!!!!!
|
|
 |
Ed’s devise as a prime cry therapy
Ed gave a therapeutic Devise and the VAO performed a Primordial Scream in the catering room, and I SWEAR this band can be very loud also without instruments.
The concert was good, the audience too, we palyed one encore and ran back to the hotel, got read of the instruments and went to a restaurant where the organizers have invited us for the biggest buffet we ever saw in our lives: a hundred square meter of food. Incredibile.
|
|
|
|
The Barcelona Jazz Festival which includes Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea and Charles Lloyd a.o.
We did not even had the time to eat our dessert, ran back to the hotel and tried to get some sleep before tomorrow morning FIVE o clock wake up call. That’s reality, on tourdays off are just a brief moment in the Chaos.
I am sure that I am not the only one that is very sad to leave Spain, we had a great time here. Thanks a lot to the promoters and to everyone that helped organizing our perfornmances anad our staying in Spain, thanks a lot to our audience, thanks a million times to Maria Antonia that made all of this possible, and that believes in us.
What can I say? We love spain….
Hasta la proxima vez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Besos
November 9, Dresden - Jazztage, Visionaries & Dreams
by Ed Partyka
Dresden 10:00 a.m.
We left Barcelona tired and fat after eating like kings for 5 days. After our last concert we went to an outstanding buffet restaurant and stuffed ourselves on seafood at midnight and then waddled off the bed for a couple hours of fitful sleep before our 5:30 departure. Two flights and 7 hours later we were back in the cold and grey weather of northern Europe. It was a chilly 3 degrees as we landed in Dresden. The friendly organizers of the jazz festival picked us up and we were taken to the lavish new Maritim Hotel, located directly on the Elbe River in the old part of the city.
After lunch (another buffet!) is was off to bed for a couple hours of sleep before the sound check. The venue was acoustically difficult but visually stunning. We were in the middle of Volkswagen’s high-tech automobile fantasy playground, the “Glaeserne Manufaktur”. Things went better than anticipated at the sound check and after another very nice meal we played the opening concert of the 2007 Dresden Jazz Festival. The large audience was very enthusiastic and the band played the softest that it ever has in its 30-year existence. The sound ended up being wonderful because of the band and the great job done by Ronny.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gläserne Manufaktur, the amazing building of VW
There was a jam session and free drinks after the concert and even though we didn’t have to leave until 9 a.m. most of us still managed to not get much sleep. Strange how that works…
In any case, it was great last night and a huge thanks to the organizers and sponsors in Dresden for the wonderful job and festival.
Ronny, we love you!!!
We’ve also been very lucky on this tour with promoters in Germany. In the past we’ve often observed that we are treated much better in terms of hotel quality, equipment, catering etc. in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland than in Germany. It was nice that this wasn’t the case this time, everything ran like clockwork and we were very well fed and taken care of by the excellent festival and VW staff.A disturbing trend that we’ve also observed in Germany is that audience numbers for us are way down while at the same time we almost always perform for near sold-out concert halls everywhere else. Last night was also a reversal of that trend with almost 600 enthusiastic folks in attendance.
|
|
The interieur of the Maritim Hotel, where we were staying
devise by Adrian Mears
From Dresden we flew in two different planes,
Tomorrow we travel on Croatian trains.
And tomorrow I hope to wake without Hank´s stress
Today I wish the first program featured a different stage dress.
With little sleep and our waiting fate
Everyone managed to be on time to the gate.
Lets go hit hard, play nice “und Zehr Toll!”
And before the gig drink no alcohol………
November 10, Zagreb - Jazzfestival, American Dreams
Today we’re on our way to Zagreb and at this moment we’ve already been informed of a 30-minute flight delay. We’ve got a three-hour layover in Frankfurt, so we won’t have a problem with our connection.
|
|
|
|
Dresden - Zagreb
Frankfurt 14:30
It is now about 2:30 p.m. and we’ve arrived in Frankfurt an hour and a half late because of bad weather all over Germany and huge delays here. We’re waiting to see when our flight to Zagreb will leave. Our 17:00 arrival is not looking good, so things are going to be a little tight getting to the venue and sound check. Of course I’ll keep you posted as things develop.
Savski Marof Croatia (Sunday) 9:00 a.m.
Even after the delay we ended up arriving in Zagreb only a few minutes too late. We were able to get checked in to out hotel and have 45 minutes to clean up before departing for the concert. After a short sound check we went upstairs to the great catering which we have come to cherish from our wonderful Croatian host Tomislav Saban. It is always a pleasure to play in Zagreb and we always look forward to this stop on out tours. The concert was good but load. After the very controlled dynamics of the night before it felt like we were let loose on the swinging “American Dreams”. Joris, Hank and Robert led the way and the Mario powered the whole thing from the first bar to the last. Only one encore, but after the long travel day we were grateful to get back to the catering room anyway. There was a short session at the hotel bar but everyone got to bed before midnight.
|
|
|
|
|
November 11,Bratislava - Divadlo Arena, American Dreams
Today started with us arriving at the train station to discover that due to construction work, we would have to take a bus for the first hour of our journey and then change back to the train. That is where we are now, at the border to Slovenia and we’ll see if and when we get into Vienna.
Zidani Most Slovenia 10:35 a.m.
We are now two hours behind schedule and after changing train cars we are now waiting for the next connection towards Austria, which leaves at 11:15. At least there is a Café here at the station to have a coffee and get out of the cold. This is turning into a classic VAO travel day.
Leoben Austria 14:51
We are now officially three hours behind schedule, which means we will have to go straight to Bratislava and won’t have a chance to go to the hotel in Vienna before the gig. What was originally supposed to be a 6 hour travel day with a nice afternoon in Vienna has now become a 12 hour travel day of doom with no chance to relax, chill out or even clean up before the gig. I know this doesn’t sound too bad compared to other problems that people have, but right now it sucks pretty hard. More whining later…
Well, we finally did make it Bratislava at a quarter past 6 p.m., which made yesterday an eleven-hour travel day. Ronny and Silke had to set up everything themselves because the stagehands promised by the concert promoter were there but didn’t lift a finger to help. There was also no electricity in the venue until almost 6 p.m. AND the van got broken into and Michi’s two-week-old GPS Navigation computer got stolen. Of course this also means that Ronny has to drive to Budapest today with a taped up drivers side window. It’s only 2 degrees outside so it promises to be a chilly trip.
The concert itself went well considering the fact that the band was totally exhausted and grumpy. Jurai did a nice “Devise” and while there were several small concentration mistakes things went fairly well otherwise. My favourite soloists were Adrian, Matthieu, and Mario and of course Jurai, who played his ass off for the cheering hometown crowd.
Afterward we had the world’s worst bus driver for our trip back to Vienna. He had no clue whatsoever and it took us almost two hours for the 45-minute trip back home. The guys had to literally tell him which way to turn at every intersection. It was good that we had enough beer to last, but it was the last thing we needed after a day like yesterday. By the time we finally got to the hotel we’d been on the road for almost 18 hours – what a drag.
November 12,Budapest - A 38, European Visionaries
Today we had all morning in Vienna, which allowed me to get caught up on personal paperwork, bank stuff, school e-mails, school office work and business. I also did a quick round of the Viennese shops to buy badly needed things like mouthwash, batteries, eye drops, underwear and socks. We still have a week on the road and I’m quickly running out of essential supplies.
We are now on the train to Budapest. We play in another one of favourite venues tonight, the A38 ship. It was a slightly smaller crowd than usual at A38 for our concert on Tuesday, but it was a young and enthusiastic group of people and, as always, it was a pleasure to perform on the ship. There was a group of Norwegian students who travelled all the way to Budapest to hear the band and there was the normal excellent catering and hang afterward.Tomorrow is the travel day we’ve been waiting for with three flights, 30-degree temperature difference and six time zones between Budapest Hungary and Havana Cuba.
November 13 till 16, Havanna
some nice clichés, seen by Anna L.
On Wednesday there were two separate flights to Paris because of seat availability. The first group had a hotel pick up time of 5:00. Thank the gods of luck for my being in the second group with a departure time of 7:40. We all caught up in Paris where group 1 was already preparing themselves for the long journey ahead – they were at the bar and already drunk. We bought a few last minute provisions and boarded our 747 for the 10-hour flight to Havana. We managed to drink all of the red wine in economy class (really) before drifting off to a bit of fitful sleep and our arrival in Cuba. There is a rumour going around that one band member managed to have sex in one of the airplane toilets with a cute member of a Japanese tour group that was also on the plane. I haven’t been able to confirm this wild rumour yet but if any of our Japanese fans have a friend who has a baby around the 13th of August 2008 (and later in life develops a keen interest in jazz saxophone) please let us know.
Upon arrival we were picked up by our host and organizer Jacquelie and taken to the historic Hotel National.
|
|
Hotel National
After our check in it was straight to the bar for our fist of what was to be hundreds of Mojitos and a dinner invitation. We were stuffed on typical Cuban dishes and there were more Mojitos before we were driven back to the hotel where we:
a) Went right to bed because we were drunk and jet-lagged
b) Had another 10 Mojitos
c) Had another 10 Mojitos and smoked huge Cuban cigars
Of course the answer is “a”…
The next day was spent in exploring the city of Havana with our tour guide Ingrid.
Ingrid & her Cuban percussion teacher
She has been to Cuba several times to take lessons with some of Cuba’s top conga experts and she really knows her way around the city. We had a great meal, a few drinks, heard some wonderful music, bought some tacky souvenirs and made it back to the hotel in time for a couple of Mojitos before going off to the concert/jam session in the garden of the Cuban Musicians Institute. The evening began with several Cuban musicians performing before turning into a jam session with various combinations of VAO and Cuban musicians playing together. It was one of those feel good events that make me believe that music truly is the universal language and that if there was more cultural exchange and open- hearted communication in the world there would be far fewer wars and conflicts. Of course there was rum to drink and afterward it was back to the hotel for a cigar or two and a couple of Mojitos.
Adrian, never tired of playing
Thursday was another great day of exploration around Havana. Ronny and Michi had to spend most of their day getting everything ready for our concert, including putting together the entire drum set from scratch. It looked like one of those IKEA sets: one thousand screws, a few bigger bits and some dubious instructions. They got the set put together with only 7 or 8 extra parts lying around afterward. The drum set held together through the concert, so I guess the parts weren’t that important.
|
|
|
|
Hans, performing the devise
The sound check was interesting to say the least. We made it through and then we were in for one of the most pleasant surprises of the entire tour. The audience was fairly reserved at first and then during Robert’s solo they woke up and started to get into it. They yelled and clapped and shouted and were simply one of the greatest audiences we’ve ever had. They listened intently and were an absolute pleasure to experience.
|
|
The best audience of all times
The People Of Cuba: WE LOVE YOU!!!
Afterward we were invited to dinner and then a jazz club, where the usual suspects jammed until dawn and one band member was found passed out outdoors behind the hotel at 6 a.m. by hotel staff and escorted up to his room. Of course I won’t mention any names, but the pictures taken by another band member (on their way home at 5:30) are quite funny. Friday was to be the highlight of our trip. We went to the music conservatory and had the pleasure of listening to a concert of the school concert band, big band and salsa band. It was absolutely incredible. The students were aged 14 to 19 and played so well it was scary. There were excellent brass players, sax players and singers. The percussion players were mind blowing and the whole performance was such a pleasure to listen to I can’t even find the words to describe how good it was.
|
|
|
|
Once again, it was one of those moments in life that makes it worthwhile to be a musician and a member of the human race. A Cuban restaurant owner then invited us for an excellent lunch and then it was back to the hotel for a last round of Mojitos and our departure for the airport.
The new owner of the hotel National
November 17,Nevers - Jazzfestival, Visionaries & Dreams
The flight back was better or worse than the flight to Cuba depending on whom you talk to (and where they were sitting on the plane) and we arrived back in Paris and a 30-degree temperature difference. Mathias’ luggage didn’t arrive and because of the transportation strike we made our way to Nevers in a rented bus. Because of the strike the Paris metropolitan area was basically one big traffic jam and it took us over five hours to travel the 300 km to the sleepy French town of Nevers. You can imagine how crappy we felt by the time we finally arrived. We hadn’t seen a bed or shower in over 24 hours and I can honestly say that we were one smelly group of people. We had an hour to clean ourselves up and get mentally prepared for the evening ahead. The sound check was fine and (as is usual for French festivals) we had an excellent meal.
The very well organized Jazz Festival de Nevers
The gig itself went well, with excellent solos all around and a tight ensemble. Afterward it was wine and cheese and then whiskey at the hotel bar.
We are now heading back to the airport for our flights home. The main part of the tour is now over. I’ll have a tour wrap-up in the next few days with some of the amazing facts and figures of this momentous undertaking. We perform next week in Luzern and we have five Strauss concerts at the end of December, so there will be more news to report. I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention a few names so stay tuned for more in the next week or two.
|
|
|
260 kg of VAO 60 years of VAO
--
