LUCKY PAUL'S TOUR DIARIES
I made this video a while back in Marfa, Texas. Its an amazing place…A small, inspiring town out in the middle of the desert. There have a been a bunch of artists living and working there since the 70’s so there is a lot of creativity in the air and good interesting people about. It feels like you are on the edge of the world in some way.
Here is a beat I made with the help of my Friend’s dog, Zipper, in Toronto. I’ve been interested in the possibilities of making music with animals for years, this isn’t quite making music with a dog, more just recording him…but its a start, and the first of many attempts I’m sure…One day I hope to be jamming with a Dolphin somehow…Underwater speaker, waterproof midi controllers, scuba gear…
Played in Calgary. At the Sled Island festival. Was a great festival with a whole bunch of bands in little and big venues around the city. A highlight for me was Shabazz Palaces….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djFrCb03-OI, had never heard of them before, they are awesome, they just do what they want to do and sound totally individual doing it, which isn’t an easy feat…The sound was pretty shocking in the small bar they played, but the vibe cut through as clear as daylight.
Went up the Calgary Tower, got freaked out by the glass floor, made myself lie face down on it…Heights make me dizzy
We played at Red Rocks! Its an amazing outdoor theatre in Colorado. Was built in the 40’s but had great acoustics naturally so the architecture was designed to leave as much of the natural make up of it alone. Apparently about 10,000 people could hear 1 person talk just from the natural acoustics the rocks provide. The sound definitely felt cozy but outdoorsy at the same time, not like your usual outdoor venue at all. Was probably my favourite venue to play ever. Dinosaurs used to hang out there too. Felt ancient…
Seems this tour is gonna be crazy nice venues and sites! Today we’re in Boise, Idaho, playing at some botanical gardens that used to be a state penitentiary…Mountain Man, the trio of backup singers that play with Feist are playing support, can’t wait, they sound amazing just singing acapella…Their 3 voices and personalities together create some super heavy vibes that spark goosebumps everytime…Check them out, so great they met each other and starting singing together. I love hearing bands that were meant to be.
This was yesterday. We just started another US tour leg. It was a crazy surprise, I literally woke up walked off the bus and saw this sight. Most the time when you get off the bus, you’re surrounded by a bunch of concrete buildings downtown somewhere, so this blew me away. It was at Sasquatch festival in George, Washington. I usually don’t know where I’m gonna be the next day, just take it as it comes, which I feel guilty for sometimes, but this time it was the best feeling not knowing…I might just continue to do so…
I’m gonna start posting a bunch of photos up here so you can follow this adventure more often…Been working hard on my setup to make it work for live shows so its been hard to keep up regular videos, but keep checking back as there are more to come!
This was at Radio City Hall in NYC, we played there a few weeks ago. It held 6000 people, was a really fun gig, easier to sink into the music after nervously playing Royal Albert. These big iconic venues are really daunting to play at first, but after a few it gets easy to just appreciate the place and sound and enjoy being there.
We played in the space ship that is Royal Albert Hall, was a crazy open sounding room with a long, warm reverb and a really high ceiling that made it feel amazing. I remember thinking that day how crazy it was that about a year ago I was making a living busking on the streets of Berlin and now I’m traveling and playing with a great band in this awesome venue. All times to remember.
Lille! Had a really nice salad with the best salad dressing ever. Made a reset button for my setup too….I was trying to do a video starting in the tour bus bathroom that day, but kept getting stuck, cables catching door knobs and things (its a tiny bathroom). I had to untangle myself, take the backpack off, delete what I had done, then press record only to get stuck again. Crazy annoying, so I went back to the venue, made a button which would automatically start the recording again, came back outside and did this video…The tour bus video is for another day it seems…Glad I can do more than one take with ease now…
