Stardate June 17, 2009. Chur Switzerland. Tonight is the opening night of the tour. We are playing at a very superb looking venue: Folk Club Chur. The journey here has been great so far. The scenery in Switzerland is breathtaking. You are constantly surrounded by the alps it seems no matter where you go.
We landed on the 15h in Zurich amid a rainy day. I spent the entire six plus hour flight in the middle seat next to a German kid who blasted techno the entire freakin’ trip. He managed to sleep the entire flight no problem; myself on the other hand was another story. I possibly got in a half hour of shut eye. Never the less, we all landed in great spirits ready to take on the day and adjust our body’s to the six hour time change.
We stopped for a bite to eat in the airport. This is when I first realized, as was confirmed by our booking agent Christian, that Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. For instance, a Big Mac value meal in Switzerland is about 12 Francs. That is pretty darn close to 12 dollars U.S. Everything else follows par throughout the country so far. Luckily we are “catered to” for most of the trip as our lodging and food has been negotiated ahead of the time in our contracts.
As we exited the airport we hit the currency exchange to convert some cash. I figured my first experience with the German speaking Swiss should be a comical one. I asked the teller, a middle aged gentlemen, if he spoke English? He said yes, I said Muchas Gracias Senor, me gusta tener Swiss Francs por Favor? Much to my surprise he also knew Spanish; and so the joke was on me!
Next we checked in for our rental car. (Car buffs please see Automotive side note below). Our first Journey was about an hour and a half away to meet Paul the owner of Brambus records. We arrived at his home and were greeted with some of the best coffee the world has to offer. Paul is a precarious gentleman. He’s probably about six foot three and looks like he could have come straight out of Woodstock. I was told he was a former banker, now he looks more like a hell’s angel. Paul is a man probably in his early fifties with hair past his shoulders and a beard that would make Billy Gibbons jealous. Paul was very kind to us and broke down the current music business in Switzerland and our journey forward. At the same time our booking agent Christian arrived. Christian, to me, is what I expected a typical Swiss gentleman to resemble; he’s tall blonde and has a couple of earrings to boot. He’s been a great guide for us so far. He drove two hours to come meet us for only fifteen minutes; he informed us that we would be driving another two hours, going past the airport where we came from as we were going to spend the night with his in-laws. In-laws I thought? This is going to be interesting. As we made the drive back I caught a long needed nap (thanks techno boy) and we arrived in Laupen. I want to retire in Laupen. Laupen is a city of about 2800 people and is simply gorgeous. Very small, and quaint, a beautiful river flows near downtown that the castle overlooks the town. A bakery, pubs, shopping all adorns the small downtown. Just on the outskirts of Laupen we reach Roland and Susan’s home. Your standard issue Swiss farmhouse, red roof, owned by her family for generations. We great Susan who speaks maybe three words of English. I speak maybe three words of German so this is going to be fun. The Europeans love to smoke and Susan and her husband Roland were no different. This day off afforded us the opportunity to shower and practice a few songs before dinner.
Our host prepared dinner: Alpen macaroni, with salad and wine. I hate macaroni, but let me tell you this was incredible: Little bits of ham, onion and cheese. The salad was grown fresh in her back yard. I like this place! By the time dinner was done we retreaded to their back deck. The rum and coke that Susan was drinking was starting to take it’s effect. Susan began muttering to me “eef rechardz , ick jay-gur uck” Alex tried to figure out what she was saying using the German he knows, which is much better than mine. Susan then said “rulling stunz” ick. I soon realized I was wearing my Keith Richards circa 1972 shirt that says “Too Tough to Die” on it. We all had a laugh, soon realizing that Susan thinks the Rolling Stones are not the most attractive lot in the group. The rest of the evening we relaxed and turned in early.
Tuesday we headed into Bern to capital F.M. Bern’s biggest radio station to play a song and do a quick interview. Upon arriving at the radio station we were led into a recording booth and did a quick interview and played one song. The spot we were doing was to be pre-recorded to be played several times before our gig in Bern next week. The d.j. stated that our interview would be dubbed in German. I can’t wait to hear how this turn out! We ended our interview by doing a radio call spot. “ I’m Sam, I’m Alex, I’m Kevin, I’m Naomi and when we are in Bern we listen to Capital F.M.” I said the capital F.M. part in the lowest deepest, most horrific German-English accent I could muster up. I’m sure they won’t ever use that spot.
The rest of the day we bummed around Bern enjoyed the sites and headed to mmmmmm. Christian our booking agent secured us a home on the side of the mountain that was just breathtaking. We had a couple comedic moments at the local Volg grocery store in town. We never weighed our produce; we didn’t quite have the process down correctly. Always looking for a bargain I grabbed a six-pack of beer that was on sale, and a 5-dollar can of Pringles. Later that night Alex asked me how the beer was working for me? He let me know that I was going to have to drink quite a few of them in order for them to have any effect; I’d purchased alcohol free beer at the store. Good job Sam.
Tomorrow we head to into Italy for one of two shows. This will be the first time any of us have played in that country. From what I understand the show tomorrow involves us playing in an old railway car. I miss my family, ice in my drink, cheap American food and most of all my family. As the Swiss say, Chao Chao.
Sammy V.
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