Where Am I?

So I woke up this morning and looked around the room in which I slept. I didn't recognize it at all, and couldn't place it. The first thing that came to mind was that I maybe had a little too much to drink last night and went somewhere I shouldn't have, but I wasn't drinking last night... Then, after shaking off a couple cobwebs and looking more closely, I realized something even weirder... It was intense. I knew I had been here before, I just haven't seen this place in so long. It was a real shock to my system.

It was my bedroom.

The Stills in Europe Day 9, Paris

Today is my last full day in Europe and it’s a day off in Paris. Not bad. I walked over to the Eiffel Tower, checking stuff out as I went. The architecture is nuts. The detail in the buildings is incredible. Once I got to the tower itself, the line to take the elevator up was endless, so I thought I’d be smart and bypass the whole thing and walk up. Not the smartest thing I’ve ever done… Definitely got me back in shape…

 

After that, I wanted to go to the Louvre, so I started heading back, found a metro line that would get me there, walk up to the front door only to find that it’s closed on Tuesdays. So, that’s 2 days, two strikes for me, the Hagia Sophia being the other.

 

Went back to the hotel after stopping for cappuccino, had a quick nap and one of the guys came in from Istanbul today, so we went out for some really good French food at Le Loup blanc, then tried to get into a new place called Paris Paris to party the night away, but alas it was closed, however, a kind Frenchman and woman (yes they do actually exist…) pointed us towards a place called Le Baron, which turned out to be a private club. Didn’t look good, but we managed to talk our way in. Stayed for a round of the most expensive drinks we’ve ever had and bailed.

 

And with that, our time in Europe comes to a close. An early trip to the airport in the morning, then a drive to St. Catharines, ON the next day. I’ll just have to find my way back to Istanbul sometime…

The Stills Day 8, Istanbul to Paris

We started the day relatively early so we could squeeze in as much as possible before going to the airport to head back to Paris. We were given a tour guide to make things a bit easier, which was nice.

 

The first place we went was the Blue Mosque, which was a pretty impressive display of architecture and detail. We then wanted to go to the Hagia Sophia, only to find out that it’s closed on Mondays, so we went straight to the Grand Bazaar.

 

The Bazaar was not at all what we expected, and not in the best way. We were hoping for rows of shops with bags of crap spilling out into the hallways with a bunch of Turks yelling at each other. What we got was essentially a strip mall with lots of trinkets that looked pretty cheap and nasty. It was still an interesting experience to have though; at least we went…

 

And that was our last outing in Istanbul. We then had to head for the hotel for our ride to the airport which kind of felt disappointing because we now knew there was no way Paris could be remotely interesting after our time in Istanbul. The people were great, the sights were incredible, food was good, unbelievable experiences… So, with that, we left regretfully…

 

We landed in Paris a little ahead of schedule and made our way to the hotel. We didn’t know where we were exactly, but it became apparent pretty quickly. Directly across the street are the Champs √âlys√©es. A 5 minute walk to the left and you have the Louvre, to the right there’s a thing called the Eiffel Tower, all of which are quite visible from our hotel room. So, at least I’ll have things to do, but it’s just not the same here after Istanbul…

 

The Stills in Europe Day 7, Istanbul

We have a day off today so we actually have a chance to see some sights. We started out with a trip to the underground cistern, essentially an old reservoir, that dates about 2000 years. Insane. It was fairly small, so it didn’t take much time, but jaw-dropping nonetheless.

 

After that, our friend/guide/promoter, Cian (jee-ahn), took us to a local Shisha joint, where we smoked shisha with the locals. Incredibly cool. It’s so weird to see a bunch of people sticking huge pipes to their mouths, people of all ages from old men playing backgammon to teenagers listening to iPods. It was easily the most unique experience we had, and incredibly relaxing with all the special coffees and teas they served us. The crazy part was there were about 7 or 8 of these places all lined up in a strip mall. They had bean bags outside too, so when the weather is nice, you can sit outside and smoke. It was awesome. A must-do if you ever go to Turkey (which probably sounds ridiculous in it’s own right…). We then went to Asia.

 

It sounds a little weird just like that, but if you know Istanbul, you know that it’s half in Europe, half in Asia, divided by the Bosphorus. We took a ferry across the straight (3 continents in less than one week!) and went to the downtown area, which was nuts because the local football (read:soccer) team was playing an extremely important match. We actually passed by the stadium once we were there, and the sheer volume of the crowd was out of control. We eventually found a Greek restaurant to eat at (ironic, no?) and watched some of the game, but we had to leave before the game was over because the city apparently becomes gridlocked when people leave the stadium. (Driving here is a whole other story, as in complete free-for-all and scary as hell). We then went to dinner at a rather American place, but it was a good time and the food was great. Again tonight we didn’t stay out too late because we’re all exhausted, but we’ll be up early tomorrow to do more sightseeing.

 

The Stills in Europe Day 5, Paris to Istanbul

We had a late night in Paris yesterday. After the show, Tim and Dave were invited to DJ at a club and 7am comes up pretty fast… So, we woke up at 3pm and we had to be at the airport at 4. Not a good way to start the day. After running around and learning that you have to call cabs for the airport at least 24hrs. in advance, we finally made it there, only to find out that the extra baggage policy for Air France is the worst ever. It’s a good thing we got there early, because we needed every minute to sort it out. Fortunately we made the flight, with all our gear, and we headed off to Istanbul.

 

When we landed at the airport we suddenly realized how far out of our comfort zone we actually were. None of us had ever really been somewhere where we didn’t speak the language, and communication was broken English at best. We were met by a greeting party, there were fans waiting at the airport, we thought our gear was lost (but thankfully wasn’t) and we had no clue what anyone was saying to us. It felt strangely amazing.

 

We got to our hotel, which overlooks the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, and right away we were told that the promoters of the show were waiting for us at a club downtown. We dropped our bags and headed off. We met at the venue for the show tomorrow, then we went to a dance bar called Indigo and a rock club called Roxy. It’s true, every city in the world has a Roxy…

 

It was unbelievable how out of our element we were. Every hand gesture, form of body language, how to order a beer, how to take a cab… all backwards. Fortunately the promoters had a good control of the language and helped us through and we started to feel at home fairly quickly. When in doubt, smile and point at something and it all works out. After the clubs, we went for authentic donairs (amazing!) and headed back to the hotel.

 

It made for another late night, but apparently that’s how things work around here, so we didn’t feel bad about going to bed at 7am…

The Stills in Europe Day 6, Istanbul

Show day in Istanbul. I didn’t sleep at all last night, so I was up early and walking around town. I managed to find a European power adapter so I can use my laptop, but no luck in the phone department. It was great to actually walk around the city a bit and see things for myself. I even got ripped off by a street merchant, so my tourist experience is complete.

 

We got to the show and quickly found out that things work differently here. 3pm load in means early troubleshoot period, as in “we have the wrong gear, tell us what to fix”. ¬†So after sorting through that, we went to an amazing rooftop caf√© for turkish coffee and snacks. We got back to the club at 6pm to keep setting up and actually soundcheck. After that, we still had four hours to kill, so they took us to an authentic Turkish restaurant, which was great, and we got back to the club at 11:30pm.

 

The band went onstage at 12:30am, and it was nuts. The club, Studio Live, was packed, people were singing the songs, dancing, jumping, etc… A really wild experience when all is said and done.

 

After the show we hung out a bit with the locals, but not too long because we were still destroyed from the previous 2 nights. And, for the first night in a week, I slept more that 3 hours.

The Stills in Europe Day 3, London, Paris

Today started off a little slow. Sleep has been at a premium lately, even more so last night. I think I got a total of 2 hours. Maybe. I gave up at 8:15am, went for 2 double cappuccinos and then we had to get to the train station to make our way to Paris.

 

We knew we were cutting it close for our arrival time, and we ended up missing soundcheck. No big deal; the show went off just fine.

 

The city itself is amazing. The architecture is stunning, the energy and vibe are incredible. I was pretty beat after the show, and was planning on going to bed, but I figured to hell with that. I’m in Paris, I’ll take advantage. I could have gone to sleep at 12am. It’s now 6:45am as I type this. We went to a great little pub downtown, met up with the guys in We Are Scientists and went for food after. It ended up being a great night. Now I just have to find a way to sleep before we fly to Istanbul tomorrow, or really, later today…

 

The Stills in Europe, Day 2 - London, UK

Every instinct I have is wrong. I look the wrong ways to cross streets, I don’t know how much my money is worth, I don’t know how to tip in bars… Name it. Everything here is completely backwards from everything I know but it’s great.

 

The show at 93 Feet East tonight was awesome; one of the best the guys played in a while. Their potential record label people even said it was the best sound they’d ever heard in that venue, which was a nice stroke to my ego… J

 

Had a chance to walk around a bit too… It’s pretty Americanized I’m sorry to say… Starbucks and McDonalds are everywhere… Still, the ambience in the city is incredible, and I met some really incredible people. Can’t wait to get back here and explore some more.

 

 

www.tompambrun.com

www.orderoftheday.net

www.failsafemusic.com

 

The Stills in London, UK

So, I’m in Europe. It’s pretty crazy. I didn’t sleep at all on the plane and I actually feel great. I think that may change soon…

 

Today is an off-day, so we’ll have a chance to explore a bit and it looks like we have a label dinner tonight. So far so good…

The Stills in Europe

It’s a quiet Sunday night in Montreal as I prepare to leave for Europe tomorrow. It’s my first trip there and I have to say I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. Not only will I get to see the standards (London and Paris), but we’re also going to Istanbul. Who goes to Istanbul?! No one I know, that’s for sure. We’ll be in Europe for 10 days and there’s only 3 shows. A better working vacation one cannot have. Stay tuned for more, the blogging will be intense… Provided I can find a power source for my computer…