Post by Dan the G-Man on Dec 4, 2003 20:36:39 GMT -5
Road Report 11 For '99
Perth, Australia, 10/4/99
A good indication that you've been on tour for maybe a bit too long is when you wake up, look at your watch and see that it's eleven o'clock, and still have to go to the window and look out to see whether that is eleven in the morning or at night. New Zealand is twenty-six hours of flying from London, where we were last week, which is about ten hours of flying from Wisconsin, where we were the week before. The time zone is so far off from what we're used to, it's not even the day of the week that it's supposed to be anymore. We're about to do our first show tonight after not playing since the beginning of August, so maybe we're rusty but that doesn't mean we've been idle.
Garbage left off in South Africa at the beginning of August (which is also very far away but I'm done complaining about flight durations, and we did get to see rhinos and giraffes), which was an extraordinary experience for us all, a memorable end to a summer that included falafels in Jerusalem, mosques in Istanbul, the midnight sun in Norway, the beach in Belgium, a castle in Germany, and lots of really incredible crowds everywhere. We had a week off and it was back to work, trying to finish up the James Bond theme song that we had started in London in July. For reasons that we still don't understand (if you're the type of person who needs to understand everything, I suggest you don't take up music as a career, as you will have a constant nagging headache), we were not allowed to work on the song in the US, so we had to go to Vancouver, which turned out to be okay due to the incredible proliferation of Star***** coffee shops in this city - there's one on every corner and sometimes two right next to each other, enabling Shirley to never be without a latte in each hand. Canada is very beautiful we hear but we wouldn't really know since we never strayed from a path leading directly between the hotel to the Star***** to the studio and back again. I think we saw some mountains one day when the fog cleared. We were just a bit tired of "The World Is Not Enough" by the time we were done mixing it up there, but we think it turned out very Bond-y, which at least makes us very happy. There are going to be some remixes by us and others that should be cool, too, and a video. But first, why does Star***** have to give everything a goofy name that makes no sense and causes you to sound like a pretentious twat when you order it? They don't do that at Ancora Coffee in Madison, so we went there next (how's that for a transition?), back to Smart Studios to work up some b-sides for future use. And to remix the Bond song over and over and over, so that there would be a version that would please any conceivable listener. The Hawaiian luau trance mix is particularly nice.
The best part of these sessions was actually making two new Garbage songs, which we haven't done for far too long, and it was really encouraging how quickly they came together. One is sort of Prince riding around in one of those hydraulic Dr. Dre Chevy's that bounce up and down, with all of Sonic Youth on bass, and the other one is sort of like if Isabella Rosallinni fronted My Bloody Valentine on Halloween night. Or something. Anyway, you'll probably be able to hear these when we get around to putting out our B-side/remix compilation record, maybe early next year, and we might start playing them in the U.S. this fall.
Then somebody decided that it would be a good idea if we all packed off to London again to make a video for "The World IsĀ·." (heretofore known as TWINE - saves typing). In it, Shirley is an android (or is she?), and there is a second Shirley (or is there?), and the guys are, well, the guys. It's all very explosive, and maybe it would be best if you wait to see it yourself since it would take a very long time for me to try and explain it here and I don't have that much patience, nor do I in fact have a very clear idea what it's really about anyway. It was directed by Philipp Stoelzl, who was very nice even though he once worked with Rammstein. The TWINE video will perhaps be most notable for featuring the debut of Shirley behind the wheel of a car. Not just in a video, but in real life. This may not sound all that remarkable unless you know that the vehicle in question is a $120,000.00 high performance sports car, and Shirley doesn't have the first clue how to drive. Pedestrians and insurance agents of the UK, beware! She worked very hard for several very long days on this video, so I shouldn't be making fun, since us guys mainly sat around and drank coffee (venti skinny latte's to go - how do you spell naff?).
Little known fact: Duke actually is the guy who does that "Mambo #5" song.
And then we flew to Auckland, where they have Kiwi burgers at McDonald's, which we were not interested in finding out about. Rehearsed for a couple of days, and did the opening slot thing with Alanis, which was tons of fun - we had forgotten how much fun it is to play the shows. Got platinum records for New Zealand, which feature hand carved Maori good luck thingies on them, and a lot of our fans showed up - even some from Japan! The next night was the Livid Festival in Brisbane, Australia, which was the last festival Garbage is going to play for quite a while. We'll miss the huge crowds, but we won't miss the filthy chemical toilets, the filthy portacabin "dressing rooms," and the constant mind-numbing drone of the bass cabinets all day long. Butch got up and played drums on a couple of songs with The Offspring after we were done, getting back in touch with his punk rock roots, and then it was off to early bed due to the 6am departure the next morning for Melbourne, where we played a club gig last night. It was great but kind of scary being so close to the kids, since we've gotten so used to these giant stages twenty feet in the air, and it was nice to go back to the sweaty beer hall vibe like it was when we first started playing live. No, really. And, as she demonstrated for us after the show, Shirley certainly has a promising alternate career should this singing thing not work out.
Now we're in Perth after flying all day. Looking forward to the relative ease of traveling the U.S. in a bus this fall. It probably sounds glamorous to you, flying to a new city every day, but it just kills you, waking up super early, getting to the airport, waiting around, sitting next to large groups of screaming children, having your luggage sent to Tasmania by mistake (like happened to Chad from the crew yesterday), etc. It's enough to turn a person into a real complainer! I think the same guy who wrecked the Mars space probe because he figured the distances wrong also designed Australia - there's less cities than, say, Utah, but they are all a million miles apart, which makes touring here a bit daunting. It's really pretty, though, and Shirley is determined to visit the Koala bears at a game park. Can't wait to get back to the U.S. routine of play the show, sleep on the bus, and wake up in the next city ready to go. Much nicer (okay I'm done complaining now).
So, come back here for more reports on the following Garbage things: more Alanis shows, the fall MTV campus tour, possible TV appearances for TWINE, recipes, mental breakdowns, skateboards, and so forth. See ya soon I hope,
Steve
p.s. late breaking food news. They have kangaroo salad on the room service menu here in Australia. Kangaroo salad. Oh no.
p.s. again. I seem to have mentioned a certain coffee chain an awful lot in this missive. Some of you have wondered if they sponsor us. Garbage has no vested interest in promoting this business. It's true that, as The Face points out, there's a reason why Dr. Evil holds his meetings there, but we need the caffeine. And there are more threatening, horrifying things in the world that we should all be more worried about. Things that truly threaten the well-being of our world today. Things like the band "Steps".
Perth, Australia, 10/4/99
A good indication that you've been on tour for maybe a bit too long is when you wake up, look at your watch and see that it's eleven o'clock, and still have to go to the window and look out to see whether that is eleven in the morning or at night. New Zealand is twenty-six hours of flying from London, where we were last week, which is about ten hours of flying from Wisconsin, where we were the week before. The time zone is so far off from what we're used to, it's not even the day of the week that it's supposed to be anymore. We're about to do our first show tonight after not playing since the beginning of August, so maybe we're rusty but that doesn't mean we've been idle.
Garbage left off in South Africa at the beginning of August (which is also very far away but I'm done complaining about flight durations, and we did get to see rhinos and giraffes), which was an extraordinary experience for us all, a memorable end to a summer that included falafels in Jerusalem, mosques in Istanbul, the midnight sun in Norway, the beach in Belgium, a castle in Germany, and lots of really incredible crowds everywhere. We had a week off and it was back to work, trying to finish up the James Bond theme song that we had started in London in July. For reasons that we still don't understand (if you're the type of person who needs to understand everything, I suggest you don't take up music as a career, as you will have a constant nagging headache), we were not allowed to work on the song in the US, so we had to go to Vancouver, which turned out to be okay due to the incredible proliferation of Star***** coffee shops in this city - there's one on every corner and sometimes two right next to each other, enabling Shirley to never be without a latte in each hand. Canada is very beautiful we hear but we wouldn't really know since we never strayed from a path leading directly between the hotel to the Star***** to the studio and back again. I think we saw some mountains one day when the fog cleared. We were just a bit tired of "The World Is Not Enough" by the time we were done mixing it up there, but we think it turned out very Bond-y, which at least makes us very happy. There are going to be some remixes by us and others that should be cool, too, and a video. But first, why does Star***** have to give everything a goofy name that makes no sense and causes you to sound like a pretentious twat when you order it? They don't do that at Ancora Coffee in Madison, so we went there next (how's that for a transition?), back to Smart Studios to work up some b-sides for future use. And to remix the Bond song over and over and over, so that there would be a version that would please any conceivable listener. The Hawaiian luau trance mix is particularly nice.
The best part of these sessions was actually making two new Garbage songs, which we haven't done for far too long, and it was really encouraging how quickly they came together. One is sort of Prince riding around in one of those hydraulic Dr. Dre Chevy's that bounce up and down, with all of Sonic Youth on bass, and the other one is sort of like if Isabella Rosallinni fronted My Bloody Valentine on Halloween night. Or something. Anyway, you'll probably be able to hear these when we get around to putting out our B-side/remix compilation record, maybe early next year, and we might start playing them in the U.S. this fall.
Then somebody decided that it would be a good idea if we all packed off to London again to make a video for "The World IsĀ·." (heretofore known as TWINE - saves typing). In it, Shirley is an android (or is she?), and there is a second Shirley (or is there?), and the guys are, well, the guys. It's all very explosive, and maybe it would be best if you wait to see it yourself since it would take a very long time for me to try and explain it here and I don't have that much patience, nor do I in fact have a very clear idea what it's really about anyway. It was directed by Philipp Stoelzl, who was very nice even though he once worked with Rammstein. The TWINE video will perhaps be most notable for featuring the debut of Shirley behind the wheel of a car. Not just in a video, but in real life. This may not sound all that remarkable unless you know that the vehicle in question is a $120,000.00 high performance sports car, and Shirley doesn't have the first clue how to drive. Pedestrians and insurance agents of the UK, beware! She worked very hard for several very long days on this video, so I shouldn't be making fun, since us guys mainly sat around and drank coffee (venti skinny latte's to go - how do you spell naff?).
Little known fact: Duke actually is the guy who does that "Mambo #5" song.
And then we flew to Auckland, where they have Kiwi burgers at McDonald's, which we were not interested in finding out about. Rehearsed for a couple of days, and did the opening slot thing with Alanis, which was tons of fun - we had forgotten how much fun it is to play the shows. Got platinum records for New Zealand, which feature hand carved Maori good luck thingies on them, and a lot of our fans showed up - even some from Japan! The next night was the Livid Festival in Brisbane, Australia, which was the last festival Garbage is going to play for quite a while. We'll miss the huge crowds, but we won't miss the filthy chemical toilets, the filthy portacabin "dressing rooms," and the constant mind-numbing drone of the bass cabinets all day long. Butch got up and played drums on a couple of songs with The Offspring after we were done, getting back in touch with his punk rock roots, and then it was off to early bed due to the 6am departure the next morning for Melbourne, where we played a club gig last night. It was great but kind of scary being so close to the kids, since we've gotten so used to these giant stages twenty feet in the air, and it was nice to go back to the sweaty beer hall vibe like it was when we first started playing live. No, really. And, as she demonstrated for us after the show, Shirley certainly has a promising alternate career should this singing thing not work out.
Now we're in Perth after flying all day. Looking forward to the relative ease of traveling the U.S. in a bus this fall. It probably sounds glamorous to you, flying to a new city every day, but it just kills you, waking up super early, getting to the airport, waiting around, sitting next to large groups of screaming children, having your luggage sent to Tasmania by mistake (like happened to Chad from the crew yesterday), etc. It's enough to turn a person into a real complainer! I think the same guy who wrecked the Mars space probe because he figured the distances wrong also designed Australia - there's less cities than, say, Utah, but they are all a million miles apart, which makes touring here a bit daunting. It's really pretty, though, and Shirley is determined to visit the Koala bears at a game park. Can't wait to get back to the U.S. routine of play the show, sleep on the bus, and wake up in the next city ready to go. Much nicer (okay I'm done complaining now).
So, come back here for more reports on the following Garbage things: more Alanis shows, the fall MTV campus tour, possible TV appearances for TWINE, recipes, mental breakdowns, skateboards, and so forth. See ya soon I hope,
Steve
p.s. late breaking food news. They have kangaroo salad on the room service menu here in Australia. Kangaroo salad. Oh no.
p.s. again. I seem to have mentioned a certain coffee chain an awful lot in this missive. Some of you have wondered if they sponsor us. Garbage has no vested interest in promoting this business. It's true that, as The Face points out, there's a reason why Dr. Evil holds his meetings there, but we need the caffeine. And there are more threatening, horrifying things in the world that we should all be more worried about. Things that truly threaten the well-being of our world today. Things like the band "Steps".