The Pat O'Bryan
Band
German Tour
November, 2004
We played thirteen shows in fourteen days, covering over
3,000 kilometers- from Hamburg, in the upper left hand corner of the
country to deep in the black forest, within walking distance of Switzerland and
France.
By any standard, the tour was a phenomenal
success. We laid some Texas Blues on 'em, and no matter where we
played, the audience appreciated the sound. They just don't get authentic
Texas Blues in Germany very often, and
when they do it's a special occasion.
These photographs were taken by Heiko, Steve,
Katia, Daniel, and myself- they are copyrighted. Please don't use them
without
written permission from the photographer.
This tour we played a lot more in West Germany
than we have in the past. Here's a pic of me onstage during our sound check at the
Blues Garage in Hannover.
I've made some changes in the band, but the one
guy I can't do without is Lodix. He plays Hammond organ, piano, and
bass (with his left hand). He's also our tour navigator and driver.
His solid rhythm and brilliant leads are a big part of our sound.
Here's Lodix onstage at the Klausenbauernhof.
Our drummer this tour was Heiko.
He's young, smart, and an amazing musician. Always quick with a smile, but
serious
about music- a real professional.
Steve Hamelink joined us on bass for
a few songs. Steve is a record company executive and booking agent as well
as a great
bass player and singer. He is in charge of getting my CD's into the stores
and handling our business in West Germany. Thanks, Steve!
Steve found this club in Hamburg, and thought it would be fun for Pat O'Bryan to play Pat O'Brian's.
Heiko caught me in a reflective moment inside Pat O'Brian's club.
The club is in the Grosse Freiheit
in Hamburg. Grosse Freiheit means "big freedom." It was a cold,
snowy Sunday night, and
the streets were fairly empty- but I think I got the general idea. It's a
red-light district, but it's grittier and darker than the one in Amsterdam.
I'd like to go back when I've got the time to look around.
Lodix and Heiko insisted that we
visit this submarine in Hamburg. It's the one that snuck into the New York
Harbor, much to
the surprise of the U.S. defense guys. It's covered in rubber and
invisible to sonar.
One of the clubs we played in East
Germany was a dairy for centuries. Now it's an amazing dairy museum.
I suspect that if Gert,
the club-owner, could get his antiques to the U.S. he'd be a rich man.
Here's just one wall. He's got pottery and dairy implements
dating back into the previous dark ages, and metal advertising signs that date from
before the wars until the fall of the Berlin wall.
We all enjoyed the Black Forest. Here's the view from my hotel room.
We played the Klausenbauernhof. It's 440+ years old, and has been immaculately restored by the owners.
I've always wondered how life really
was in the time before electricity and oil. Well, this tour I found out.
It was quite comfortable!
The walls of the Klausenbauernhof are about four feet thick, and solid stone.
When the windows and doors are closed and the wood
heaters are rockin', it's at least as comfortable as a modern home- and a
lot more interesting. Those wooden beams just glow with
a patina of time and smoke. The stones are smooth and jewel-like. We
all wished that the walls in this room could talk.
When you walk outside the club, this is what you see.
A lovely custom in Germany- feeding
the band. This pic is after the show, it's about 3:00 a.m. We're
having baked beef steak, French Salad, a
pasta-like bread dish, and cabbage.
Back in East Germany- we played an ancient hunting lodge in Neiderzimmern.
Just for the record, I like "old Europe." Our last gig was in the cellar of a castle in Halle. It is the most interesting club I've ever played. There is a main room, where the band plays. From that room, there are stone staircases leading to smaller areas where you can get away from the music and have a little quiet conversation. The castle is about 1,200 years old, but they've added electricity and plumbing. It was quite comfortable.
I sat in the main room before the show and smoked a Cuban Romeo y Julieta corona cigar, sipped a German beer, and just soaked up the vibe. I could smell bratwurst cooking on the patio outside the club- I later ate two, on rolls with German mustard.
Here in the Texas Hill Country, we don't get much snow, and when we do, it's slushy and doesn't stick around very long. We played a brewery museum in Luisenthal, and I found this interesting tableau outside the club.
Here's a pic of a very traditional German house in an interesting peppermint color scheme. This was the first thing I saw when I walked out of my motel after the Koblenz gig. It woke me right up!
This tour was the best one we've had. My East German band proved they could lay down a groove as well as anybody in Germany- I knew it, and now they know it, too. We're getting better, and we're learning how to tour competitively.
Now, I'm back in Texas. It's a bittersweet experience. I love playing music, and I love Europe in general and Germany particularly. Touring is hard work- lots of driving, staying up late, and playing that many shows was physically brutal. And yet, I miss it already. I miss my friends in Germany, but I know I'll see them next tour. I miss German food (and Turkish and Indian food), German beer, and the awesome historical experience of traveling around Germany- castles, cathedrals, old cobble-stone streets.
Of course, I love Texas, too. When I'm on tour, I miss my Betsy and the kids. The first thing I do when I get home is grab Betsy and find some authentic Mexican food, and load up on jalepenos and fajitas. Then home to the kids, and back to my life in Texas.
My internet marketing businesses did just fine while I was touring, but there's much to be done. Joe and I have a great new product coming out in January, and I've got to make that happen. There are e-books to write, and research to be done. There's a new CD to write and record. I'll be busy.
There's always a transition between touring and working at home- it takes me a couple of weeks to get back in the swing of writing, recording, as well as the more mundane stuff- doing the dishes and laundry, for example. It makes for an interesting life, and I love it!