June 5, 2010

Message from Johnny: Two days back from the European tour. I mowed the lawn, changed the cat litter, and tomorrow I'll clean the bathroom, then report for duty at the Zolar Moving Co. Life is sweet. I think this may have been the most fun and musically satisfying tour I have ever done. All the credit goes to my great band-Michael Stark, Willie B, Matt Saccucci-Morano, Kim Sherwood-Caso -- and to all the people who came out to support us. I also want to thank the great bands we shared the stage with: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard, Mark Lotterman, Songdog. I'm plotting my next move, but one thing is for sure, I will do an album of cover tunes. I've also vowed to learn how to play guitar and sing at the same time, so there might be some solo gigs in the future. If you don't have a copy of my new record, “Wake Up the Snakes,” it's not too late. That's all for now. Please stay tuned.

-Your faithful servant, Johnny.

Below:Johnny and the band at El Lokal, Zurich. Photo by Victor Fieldhouse.

May 11, 2010

Johnny and the band have just arrived in Amsterdam, so the Euro tour has begun. If you haven’t checked the Tours page for shows near you, be sure to do so. They'll be performing all the songs from the new record, “Wake Up the Snakes,” which has already gotten some nice reviews:

“Brilliantly macabre, rib-tickling, poised and admirably raw dirty rock ’n’ roll from the shaded supremo of gothic Americana. All recorded live in three days, it plunges you into a world of deep crevices, bizarre happenings and fiery wonder in a way that albums costing millions can only dream of.”—Mirror (London)

“After 2008 roaring A Drunkard’s Masterpiece, Dowd clearly has the taste for a full band workout. Wake Up The Snakes is a throwback to the days when soul and garage rock first collided, ripping along to farfisa and head-slapping guitar with messy abandon. Long-haul fans may bemoan the relative lack of Dowd’s trademark hoodoo blues and cranky country, though. Still there’s plenty to shake a leg at, regular vocal foil Kim Sherwood-Caso to the fore on choice cuts ‘Fat Joey Brown’ and the tearaway ‘Howling Wolf Blues.’ Madder Rose’s Billy Cote and Mary Lorson feature.” —Uncut

“The indomitable Johnny Dowd is a 62 year old from New York State who didn’t cut a record till he was 50. He’s making up for lost time with Wake Up The Snakes, a soupy, soulful, dangerous, dirty career best. His band strike an excellent groove which lasts all the way from the funk-meets-half-spoken growl of opener Yolanda to the smokin’ finale Organ Grinder. Dowd’s got all the swagger and star quality of acts a third his age.”—The Sun (London)

Johnny has also just released an album of poetry (with music) on Zlaxyi Records based in Thule, Russia. You can download free MP3 versions of the poems at the Zlaxyi Records site: zlaxyi.eyepro.ru. Just go to their “Downloads” page and look for “Johnny Dowd” in the list of releases. They are also selling the CDs at Discogs.com. The CD includes a video by Michael Sadler and friends, “Johnny Dowd: Six Strung Witness.” Many thanks to Ivan for doing a great job on this project. Also thanks to Michael and his friends for providing the video.

March 4, 2010

It's here! Johnny's new album, “Wake Up the Snakes,” is available now on the Store page of this site to U.S. and other non-European buyers. It will not be sold anywhere else in the U.S. Remember, Johnny is happy to autograph CDs. Just include your request in your Paypal order or send a message via our Contact page. Do let us know what you think about the album—Johnny loves to get feedback.

The album will be released in Europe later this month and in April and May. Release dates vary per country. Scandinavia: March 29. Holland and Belgium: April 5. Austria, Switzerland, and Germany: April 23. United Kingdom: May 3.

We're really excited about two new shows that have been added to the May European tour. The band will perform at the King Kong Club in Berlin on May 15 and 16. Johnny hasn't been to Germany in a few years, so he and the band are really looking forward to being in Berlin again. The full tour schedule is on the Tours page.

Johnny and Facebook: Johnny is frequently on Facebook. His fan page is under "Johnny Dowd" and his personal page is under "John Dowd." You can contact him either way. Of course, you can always contact him via the Contact page at this site, too.

January 7, 2010

Message from Johnny: We just completed our new record, “Wake Up the Snakes,” which will be released by Munich Records in Europe in March. I'm really happy with the album. It's got a kind of soul/garage vibe, a bit of a throwback to the music I grew up with. The band sounds fabulous. Mike Stark, farfisa; Matt Saccuccimorano, drums; Kim Sherwood-Caso, vocals and guitar (that's right, guitar, and she's killing it); and Willie B on yet another instrument, baritone guitar. He's got a Lemmy/Bootsy thing going on. Anyway, I'm very excited. I've also been backing up National Book Award nominee for poetry, Lyrae VanClief-Stefanon. Also working on an album of cover tunes with my buddy Billy Coté—everything from “Hit the Road, Jack” to “Dream Lover.” Like James Brown said, “I feel good.”

October 10, 2009

A very interesting show is coming up next Saturday. Johnny and the band will do a house concert at Marty and Susan's house in Hamburg, New York (near Buffalo). Marty and Susan have a tradition of offering their house as a venue for well-known musicians, and we're happy they've asked Johnny to wind up their current season. Here's a message about the show from Marty:

"If you haven't made it down for any of our good-timin', pot-luckin', up-close-and-personal shows this year, this is most likely your last chance. We've got Johnny Dowd coming in from Ithaca, his first local show since he performed at our wedding in 2005. And if we asked him to play our wedding you know he's got to be good. Or at least different. Interesting. The reclusive Michel Weber will be making a rare appearance as opener."

Please email us via the Contact page for more details.

July 29, 2009

The Love and Rockets tribute CD, “New Tales to Tell,” is now available at iTunes (link opens in iTunes application). Johnny and his friend Billy Coté (of Madder Rose fame) did a killer version of “Bound for Hell.” Other artists include Flaming Lips, Better Than Ezra, Blaqk Audio, Black Francis, The Stone Foxes, and many more. The physical CD will be out in mid-August.

Johnny is about to record his own CD which will be released next spring. “My new album is going to take us back to the days when soul music and garage rock collided. Lots of fuzz bass, farfisa, and and ‘my baby left me’ lyrics. In short, another new direction. It’s going to be (I swear) my best, most fun, record yet.”

The May 2010 European tour is shaping up. In addition to the Festival Musique Action in France, we've got some good shows lined up in the UK already. More information later.

Johnny will have a track on the Love and Rockets tribute album, “New Tales to Tell,” which is due out in digital form on July 28 and on CD on August 11. The song is “Bound for Hell,” and Johnny’s friend Billy Coté (of Madder Rose fame) collaborated. Other artists on the album include David Johansen, Frank Black, The Dandy Warhols, Adrian (of No Doubt), and Chantal (of Morningwood). Shepard Fairey designed the cover (right). Thanks to David J of Love and Rockets and Christopher Minister for asking Johnny to be part of this project.

To Johnny’s local fans: Be sure to catch the band at the Chapter House here in Ithaca on May 16.

Ratten Spiegel, Johnny’s latest live CD with original art on every cover, is still available here.

We're happy to announce that a new live album is available on the Store page. It was recorded by Uli Teute at a show at the Ratten Spiegel ("Rats Mirrors"), Freiburg, Germany, in 2002. It's a CD-R with original art by Johnny on the cover (each cover is hand-drawn and unique).

Here's what Johnny has to say about the recording:
" I think this is my favorite Johnny Dowd band live recording. There's something for everybody. It starts out Bitches Brew and ends up somewhere around Hasil Adkins. The room we performed in at the Ratten Spiegel was small, packed with about 20 drunk and stoned people, including the band. Anyway, it was fun times. Check it out. I'm no Van Gogh, but I'll draw a little something on each CD cover. Did I say collector's item?"

Happy New Year, everyone.

Johnny's "A Drunkard's Masterpiece" made MOJO's list of the best Americana albums of 2008. If you don't have a copy of the CD yet, you can order one on the Store page at this site. Remember, Johnny is always happy to autograph CDs—just note in your Paypal order or send us a message via the Contact page.

The next album is in the works. It will be released this fall by Munich Records with a European tour in September or October.

Johnny received a cool Christmas gift from London this year: a custom-made suit designed by Simon Green of Blaqua. Blaqua makes clothes "with more than a hint of rock and roll." Thank you, Simon.

We've come across an interesting live recording of Johnny and the band recorded in 2000 at Schuba's in Chicago. We're putting the songs up as free MP3 downloads on the Albums page. Merry Christmas! Band members on the recording are: Justin Asher on guitar, Brian Wilson (aka Willie B) on drums, and Kim Sherwood-Caso, vocals. Of course, Johnny, vocals and guitar. Many thanks to Mike Cook for getting this together for us.

Reminder: all of Johnny's CDs are on sale for the rest of the month for orders to the U.S. and Canada. Please see the Store page at this site. Remember that Johnny is happy to autograph CDs — just ask when you order.

Hello everyone. Getting into the spirit of the season, we're putting Johnny's version of "Jingle Bells" here for free download (left). Johnny has other Christmas recordings — such as "Christmas is Just Another Day" (Cemetery Shoes CD) and "Death Comes Knocking" (Temporary Shelter CD). The latter will cheer up anyone on your Christmas list.

All of Johnny's CDs are on sale for the rest of the month for orders to the U.S. and Canada. Please see the Store page at this site. Remember that Johnny is happy to autograph CDs — just ask when you order.

Photo at left is Johnny at Christmas, 1958. Best holiday wishes to you all.

Johnny's "A Drunkard's Masterpiece" is nominated for Best Alternative Music Album in the first round of Grammy nominations. The next round determines who will be at the Grammy Awards, and the final round determines the winner. If you are a Recording Academy member and would like to cast your vote for Johnny: he is in Field 5 (Alternative), Category 22 (Best Alternative Music Album), Number 025 (A Drunkard's Masterpiece). Ballots have to be in by November 4. It's a long shot, but you never know . . .

A gift for you: a really great version of Johnny's song, "Adultress," is at left as free MP3 download. Vocalist is Kim Sherwood-Caso. It was recorded at the Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, New York, in 2007. Willie B. on drums, Michael Stark on keyboards, and Johnny on guitar. The song is on Johnny's latest record, "A Drunkard's Masterpiece."

CDs are on sale for one more week: just $11 including postage to the U.S. and Canada (Store page). If you'd like Johnny to autograph your CDs, just mention in your Paypal order or send us a message via the Contact page at this site.

June 13, 2008

Free MP3 download at left. This is Johnny and the band performing "Butcher's Son" at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, in October of 2002. Willie B was on drums and Justin Asher was on guitar. It was recorded by Dan Lang. We plan to put more live recordings up for free download in the coming weeks, so please check back.

Johnny has a new MySpace page. Click here to go to it.

May 20, 2008

"A Drunkard's Masterpiece" is released in the U.S. and Canada this week. It's available here on the Store page as well real stores and amazon.com. (Sample audio at left.) Remember that Johnny is happy to autograph any CDs bought from his site. Just mention in your Paypal order. We send via first class mail.

"It's weird, uncompromising and, compared with anything I've heard this millennium, certainly unique. 'A Drunkard's Masterpiece' is a creative car crash of Americana, beatnik rock, poetry, prose, jazz rock, rap, screaming metal guitar, retro pop, spoken word and country noir."
—Sylvie Simmons, MOJO

The band had a great time in Europe! Thanks to everyone who came to the shows.

April 24, 2008

Johnny's European tour starts this week. See the schedule on Tours page. If you're in any of the tour cities, please try to catch the show and hear the songs on the new record, "A Drunkard's Masterpiece," performed live. (Sample from the record at left.)

The band was at the BBC's famous Maida Vale Studios earlier this week to record for Mark Lamarr's "God Jukebox" show. It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Friday, April 25, at midnight (in the UK). You can also listen to the show at the BBC web site for one week after the show airs. Here's the link.

The April 28 Rotterdam show will be streamed live on the internet at both www.ebben.eu and www.exit.nl. The show starts at 8:30 PM Dutch time. In the U.S., that's 2:30 PM Eastern Time, 1:30 PM Central Time, 12:30 PM Mountain Time, and 11:30 AM Pacific Time. The opening act is a really interesting young musician, Mark Lotterman. Be sure to catch his performance, too. Johnny did a track on his new record. Mark and his friends arranged for internet access for the show (thanks, guys).

April 4, 2008

Johnny and the band are leaving in two weeks for the European tour. Final tour dates are on the Tours page now.

There's one more U.S. date before they leave, this Saturday (April 5) at The Chapter House in Ithaca. Looking forward to seeing all of our friends there.

If you're in the UK, you can catch the band on Mark Lamarr's "God's Jukebox" show, BBC Radio 2, in late April. We'll let you know the exact date when we know—we think it will be April 26 or thereabouts. If you're not in the UK, you can listen to the show at the BBC website.

Some nice press has been coming in for "A Drunkard's Masterpiece":

"It's weird, uncompromising and, compared with anything I've heard this millennium, certainly unique. A Drunkard's Masterpiece is a creative car crash of Americana, beatnik rock, poetry, prose, jazz rock, rap, screaming metal guitar, retro pop, spoken word and country noir."—Sylvie Simmons (MOJO)

"There's nobody quite like Johnny Dowd, a dapper 60-year-old Texan absurdist who recorded his first album 10 years ago. . . . Here, duetting with Kim Sherwood-Caso, he offers deadpan, lyrical opinion on his two favourite subjects—alcohol and the differences between men and women—like Charles Bukowski backed by a jazz-country funk shuffle. It's really quite brilliant, putting to shame artists half his age."—Peter Shepherd (Uncut)

Listen to a sample by clicking on the bar at left.

The U.S./Canadian release of the record has been moved to mid-May. Some U.S. tour dates will follow.

February 18, 2008

The European tour dates are up on the Tours page. We'll be adding a few more shows soon. Please check back.

Johnny's new record, "A Drunkard's Masterpiece," will be released in Europe on March 24. The U.S. release will be in April. (Sample at left.)

We're thinking about putting out a new live CD. Anyone interested? If so, please tell us via the Guestbook page. We're wondering if it would be a good investment.

If you're in New York State or Pennsylvania, you can catch Johnny and the band on tv. On February 28, at 8:00 PM, they'll be on "Expressions: Sound Fusion" on WSKG. It will be repeated on March 22 at 11:00 PM. Ithaca band Boy with a Fish is also featured.

December 16, 2007

It's done. The new CD, "A Drunkard's Masterpiece," went to the European record company this week. It will be released in the spring and followed by a European tour. In the U.S. and Canada, our good friend Ralph Alfonso at Bongo Beat will release the record, also in the spring. Thanks to everyone in the band for their hard work. Also thanks to Dave Hinkle for the long hours spent on engineering and mixing. Everyone's effort paid off—the CD turned out great. We love the cover art, too. It's by an interesting artist we just discovered, Kurt Herrmann, who graciously allowed us to reproduce his painting.

To get a sneak preview of one of the songs on "A Drunkard's Masterpiece," click on the bar next to band photo.

Johnny's previous album, "Cruel Words," has won in the Album/Alt-country category of the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. Thanks to everyone who voted for Johnny (and thanks to the judges, too). You can check out all the winners here.

Johnny has been nominated for an Independent Music Award for "Cruel Words." In addition to the winners selected by judges, there will be winners selected by popular vote. You can vote here. He's in the first category on the page, Alternative Country. You have to register in order to vote, but it only takes a few minutes.

Johnny and band will be collaborating with Boy with a Fish for an appearance on public television in the U.S. Videotaping will be in January. When we know when the show will be aired, we'll let you know.

The new record is almost done. It's sounding good. We're going to put a sample clip here on the site as soon as the final mix is done.

Johnny and band have started recording the next record. Release will be in spring 2008 (with Euro tour in April). The form of the record will be different than for past records. It's hard to describe. Johnny's opus? Filmic? Prog rock? You can decide for yourselves when you hear it.

"There's a Hole in Heaven Where Some Sin Slips Through," the Townes van Zandt tribute album released by Glitterhouse Records, includes Johnny's rendition of "Brand New Companion." Sylvie Simmons wrote in MOJO: "It's a sad truth that the words 'tribute album' and 'recommended' are rarely seen together, but this is an excellent record for two reasons: the material and the musicians. The acts here seem hand-picked to cover a broad Americana swathe. . . from folk-blues (Marah) to rock (Steve Wynn), country (Jon Langford and Sally Timms) to Johnny Dowd (weird, heavy, vaguely Bowie-esque)." The album is available through amazon.com.

Christmas isn't far away, and Johnny and Kim are thinking about recording some Johnny-style Christmas songs. The plan will be to make them available as digital releases through BongoBeat Records and iTunes. We'll keep you posted on their progress.

Message from Johnny:

People, people, people: I just got back from a mind-altering tour with Beukorkest in The Netherlands. There were anywhere from 19 to 23 musicians on stage. Rap, noise, cabaret, rock 'n' roll, polka, poetry, and more. Yours truly did four or five songs including some awesome renditions of "Worried Mind." Truly wonderful group of guys. They really went out of their way to make me feel at home. Now I'm hard at work on my new album. I'm thinking it should be somewhere between "Bitches Brew" and Liberace.

P.S. I've only sold one album in Oklahoma. That's not right. You gotta support your homie.

News flash: Kim Sherwood-Caso will be joining Johnny at his show in Eindhoven on April 10. If you're in The Netherlands, don't miss this. Kim hasn't performed there in quite a while, so this should be a very special show.

Johnny is in The Netherlands already and rehearsing with all the musicians in the Beukorkest tour. The first show is in Breda this Thursday, April 5. The full schedule is on the Tours page, and you can find more information about all the musicians at the Beukorkest web site.
   To our American friends: "Beukorkest" means something like "battering orchestra." Interesting image, isn't it?

Give Johnny Dowd for Christmas! From now until January 1, Johnny's CDs are discounted twenty percent at this site (see Store page).

Do your friends have the Hellwood CD yet? It's not available in stores in the U.S. Know any holiday cynics? Give them "Cemetery Shoes" which includes "Christmas is Just Another Day." Anyone who is anti-war (and who isn't?) would appreciate "Praise God" which is on both the "Cruel Words" and the "Live at the Night and Day Cafe" CDs. The latter is Johnny's best live album.

We also have a new item: Johnny's only release on vinyl, "Hell or High Water." This is a 7-inch record which includes two songs, the title song and "Divorce, American Style." It was released by Munich Records in 2000. We only have 20 of these.

In the U.S., please order by December 18 to ensure delivery by Christmas. In Europe, order by December 14.

Remember, Johnny is happy to autograph CDs — just remember to ask when you make your Paypal payment (there's a place in the order form for note to seller).

Hope you all have a happy and musical holiday season.

Message from Johnny: Hello friends. Just got back from a fun and adventure-filled Hellwood tour. It was great to play the tunes that Brian (Willie B), Jim, and I wrote. Special thanks to Mike Stark on organ for making us sound so good. Every gig was a blast. The Take Root Festival in Holland and the Mean Fiddler gig in London were particularly memorable. Oh, yeah, Glasgow was so exciting that I lost my glasses. We fought the Lemonheads to a draw. Jim and I are thinking of booking a standup comic tour—kind of a weird, goth Martin and Lewis. Keep checking the web site—I might be headed back to Europe for a tour in January, performing solo.

The Hellwood CD, "Chainsaw of Life," is now for sale here for U.S. and Canadian buyers. If you're in Europe, please check your local record store or amazon.com. (If you can't find the CD, please let us know.) Remember, Johnny is happy to autograph any CD you buy from us—just remember to request this when you send your Paypal payment. He signed a lot of Hellwood CDs before he left for Europe, so if you order an autographed one now, you won't have to wait.

The guys are about half way through the European tour. Thanks to everyone who has been to the shows. If you're in the UK, you still have time to buy tickets and see Hellwood live. (Schedule on Tours page.)

Hellwood, Johnny's band with Jim White and Willie B (aka Brian Wilson), released "Chainsaw of Life" in Europe this week. It's getting great reviews and, as of this writing, is number eight on the americana-uk.com chart. Here's what the London Sun said:

"Their voices are chalk and cheese. . . Johnny Dowd's is an earthy rumble, Jim White's is a reedy moan. But this meeting of two great outsiders is a master-class in noirish ruminations from the deep south set to soupy, funked-up rock 'n' soul. . . Joining them in their imaginary nightmare outpost of Hellwood, population 3, is multi-instrumentalist Willie B. Between them, they kick up an unholy racket. They appear to strike up a rich, but questioning dialogue with God. Clearly Katrina and the war in Iraq are on their minds but so are humdrum human concerns—all ingredients in the big chainsaw of life. Genius."

The Hellwood European tour starts on October 4. Check out the dates on the Tours page. Please note that a Berlin show (at Trompete) has been added. We may also have a show in Germany on October 13. Stay tuned for more information.

If you're in the U.S., you can get "Chainsaw of Life" at Johnny's shows and at this site starting in mid-October.

Take a look at the videos from Johnny's recent U.S. tour on the Images page. They're links to YouTube, so the images are low-resolution, but they're interesting artifacts of Johnny's shows. Thanks to Rocket Morton for getting these clips up on the site.

August 10, 2006

Johnny and the band are on the road in the U.S. right now. They've had some great shows. The one at Mick's Music and Bar, Omaha, was the kind of show that makes these tours worthwhile. Thanks to Dean and everyone for their hospitality and to all who came to the show. In Denver, Johnny was glad to visit with three of his special fans (you know who you are!). In Seattle and Portland, Mark Pickeral shared the bill, and the band enjoyed hanging out with him. Vancouver was a blast — it was the first time Johnny has been there. He was happy to see such a good crowd. Thanks to Ralph Alfonso of Bongo Beat Records for videotaping. Click here to see a clip. Kevin House performed that night, too, and helped make it a great evening.

Links to reviews of "Cruel Words" and show previews have been added to the Reviews page. Remember, if you'd like to order "Cruel Words" or any CD from us, Johnny is happy to sign it. He signed a few before he left for the tour, so if you order now, you probably won't have to wait.

Hope you're all keeping cool on these hot summer days.

Happy Independence Day. Your all-American boy, Johnny Dowd, is releasing his latest CD, "Cruel Words," in the United States today. It's for sale on the Store page of this site and also in stores across the country. (If you buy it here, Johnny would be happy to autograph it for you. Just ask when you send your Paypal payment.)

Entertainment Weekly reviewed it last week: "Drawn to the shadows? Then you might run into Johnny Dowd . . . Here Dowd continues crafting extraordinary Beefheartian Gothic-rock tales of the disenfranchised. There's plenty of his discomfiting growl and dark wit on Cruel Words. But on his sixth disc—his most tuneful and accessible—there are raucous sing-alongs too, including one with the Mekons' Sally Timms and Jon Langford ('Drunk'). It's an outsider-art show come to life." —Beth Johnson

For a free sample, download the MP3 of "Ding Dong" at left.

The U.S. tour starts at the end of the month. New dates have been posted on the Tours page.

New dates are up on the Tours page for Johnny's U.S. tour (July/August) and as well as his Hellwood European tour (October). More shows will be posted soon.

"Cruel Words" will be released in the U.S. on July 4. You'll be able to buy it here at this site starting that day (U.S/Canada only).

More collaborations may be in Johnny's future — this time with Jackie Leven and Stuurbaard Bakkebaard. More on those projects later.

May 29, 2006

Johnny, Jim White, and Willie B (aka Brian Wilson) just finished their Hellwood record. They call it "Chainsaw of Life," and it will be released in Europe on Munich Records in September. It will also be available at shows in the U.S. and at Johnny's web site. Hellwood will tour Europe in October.

"Searching for the Wrong-eyed Jesus," the film Johnny is in with Jim White, showed on the Sundance Channel on May 29. If you missed it, keep an eye out, maybe they'll show it again. It's also available for rent through NetFlix.

The U.S. tour is shaping up. It will start on July 26, and the guys will go across the country and back. So far, we have confirmed dates in St. Paul, Omaha, Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Austin, and Cleveland. We'll post dates on the Tours page soon.

April 25, 2006

Message from Johnny: We're back from the European tour. I have to say this was one of the best tours I've ever done. Below are some of my memories (or lack thereof).

Special thanks to Brian Wilson and Mike Stark. Not only did they play like men possessed, they also — with the help of Mike Edmondson — did a great job of tour managing. But none of this would have been possible without the efforts of my manager and wife, Kat Dalton. And thanks to everyone who came to the shows — we couldn't have done it without you.

March 15: Fly out of Syracuse, New York. Off to conquer Europe.

March 16: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Go to the coffee shop to "drink coffee."

March 17: Hiversum, Netherlands. First show. Meet the boys from Bomb Shelter. They do a great set with a poet. Robin brought wire flowers for my wife.

March 18: Kontich, Belgium. We see our photographer friends Kris and Tania. The band rocks so hard, the neighbors call the police.

March 19: Oostende, Belgium. Kamagurka in the house! Also, Tania sings beautifully a cappella.

March 20-22: Three days in France. Visit a famous monastery and drink beer. Perform at La Moriere in Mont Dol. Eat, drink, and be merry. Special thanks to Marga and Hans for their hospitality. (Hans, thanks again for the Chickencaster).

March 23: Spend five hours with the French police and barely make it to the gig in Utrecht. Rock and roll. Saw all my Dutch friends.

March 24: Rotterdam, Netherlands. Play another gig with Bomb Shelter. Mark does "God Created Woman" with us. We stay at his mother's house. It was great.

March 25: Den Bosch, Netherlands. All-star jam with Stuubaard Bakkebaard.

March 26: Haarlem, Netherlands. I wore my new orange shirt in honor of Holland. Other than that, I can't remember what happened.

March 27: Hamburg, Germany. We realize we need to find a laundromat.

March 28: Berlin, Germany. Play at the Deutsches Theatre. Hang out with directors and actors. It was kind of an out-of-body experience. Maybe I could play Faust.

March 29: Halle, Germany. Again, my memory fails me. It was my birthday. Now I remember. The people sang Happy Birthday to me. The boys gave me an exploding flower. Beautiful town.

March 30: Vienna, Austria. Visited the World of Him shop and rocked very hard. I almost hurt myself.

March 31: Kufstein, Austria. Played with an excellent songwriter named Jackie Leven.

April 1: Schaffausen, Switzerland. This show was put together by some guys we met at a gig in Detroit, Michigan. That Detroit show went so wrong, we weren't even allowed to take the stage. The Schaffausen show, in contrast, was fantastic. Finally got the laundry done. It cost $300.

April 2: Zurich, Switzerland. Lovely gig at El Lokal.

April 3: Travel to back to Amsterdam. Ten-hour drive, much silliness.

April 4: London, UK. Sold-out show at The Borderline. The boys outdid themselves.

April 5: Played at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios for the "Mixing It" show. Some people from Borderline show also came to this one. Met a lot of good people who work for the BBC.

April 6: Fly home.

Other news: The U.S. tour schedule has changed. The tour will now start in late July. We'll post dates on the Tours page as soon as we have them.