|
August 4th, 2007 - Karl's Irish Tour Blog, part 1 As all of you dedicated website followers will be aware, we have just returned from a tour of Ireland- and so to keep you all glued to your PCs, Laptops and Macs we thought a blog was in order. Time Line July 19th 11pm- Eddie arrives at my Parents house in order for the early departure on Friday the 20th. Andy Bailey my drum tech, Band Driver, Tour Man and Stage Dude arrives at 5.45 am to a warm mug of tea and Toast. Neither, Eddie or I slept well; my excuse was that I was still on CA time. I got no idea regarding Eddie….. Nick and Abbz arrived promptly at 6am in our faithful Lye Hire bus: 'The Good Ship Lollipop' all eager to go, although looking somewhat sleepy between the eyes.. We loaded the backline and we were on our way, within five minutes we were back at my parent's house; I'd forgotten to set the alarm… With this done we were on our way to Fishguard. The ferry was to depart at 11.30pm and we needed to be there at the latest half an hour before departure. The Good Ship Lollipop was to rendezvous with the people carrier VW which was carrying Brian and his family; Rachel (I want one of these) Dan (I wanna bang on the drums all day) and Becky (sorry I only wear Hilfiger's) along with luggage.  Nick piloted the good ship with Andy as co-pilot on the first leg of the journey, there was much excitement on board and the mood for the first date was Electric. There were "Black clouds in a red sky" on the M5 when the rains came down. We had never seen such heavy rain in the UK. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to all who have been affected by the severity of the weather. After an hour or so of travelling we need a pit stop; probably due to the rain. We also decided to get breakfast, meat and veg' pasties and coffee. On reflection this turned out to be a not so prudent choice for one member of the band. Andy now took the helm of The Good Ship Lollipop with Abbz as his co-pilot along with Sat Nav. The mood was good and we were excited about headlining our first outdoor show. After an hour or so myself, Eddie and Nick started to drift in and out of consciousness, while music played in the background. Through heavy rains and slow traffic we finally rendezvoused with the carrier VW. Once cleared through custom we boarded the ferry. We were off!! Once on board another pit stop was required and we headed straight for the gents. Abbz lined up at trap one while I was in trap three; Eddie and Andy waited in line for a trap. All I can say is that Andy, Eddie and myself emerged from the gents way before Abbz, it must have been that coconut and pineapple drink. Next came a wonder around the duty free where the largest bar of Toblerone ever seen was detected.. Anybody who knows Rachel will understand the significance of this chocolate find. After some food and tea, a wonder around the ferry it was time to sit and rest for the next leg of the journey. We arrived in Rosslaire and set off in convoy to Kilkenny. The traffic was heavy as was the rain and we lost site of the people carrier VW. The Good Ship Lollipop again piloted by Andy, Abbz and Sat Nav. steered an alternative route. More rain came and the going was slow. Thoughts the show might be cancelled were looming on the horizon. It was getting close to 3pm when we were starting to feel hungry, so another pit stop was in order. Once relieved and topped up with food we were on our way again. The mood was upbeat in spite of the weather and we were jammin' to music from Nick's CD collection (although there's no Genesis much to Eddie's annoyance) when an attack of the dreaded flatulence struck. Nick was the first to be rumbled by this demonic apparition. All I can say is that they were very quiet and extremely deadly. The only way to describe the effect on the body of this apparition is plain and simple: lung stripping. The rains came in through the open windows and there was much moaning and groaning from the crew of 'Lollipop'. However no abandon ship signal was sent out by 'Lollipops' Captain. Despite the heavy odoriferous change within the cabin 'Lollipop' stayed true to her course. A top priority message came across on the text machine from carrier VW. The show may be cancelled. The mood on board Lollipop changed. We were to wait further instructions.. With more odoriferous offerings from the bowels of Nick we waited for the text machine to vibrate again. Within 30 minutes another top priority code text came in from carrier VW. It was as we had feared. The show was cancelled. The mood onboard 'Lollipop' was sombre. However, within minutes co-pilot Abbz received another coded text from carrier VW- An alternative venue was being sort. We would have to wait until we arrived in Kilkenny.  Dr Michael Conway (the promoter) had booked us into a swank hotel in the centre of Kilkenny opposite the castle. We all checked in. Brian into a family room, I was with Andrew, Abbz was with Eddie and Nick had a room to himself we thought. However, he was booked in with 'we're all gonna die' front man Jim Healey. After checking into the room and meeting a half naked man Nick quickly ran to the lobby and requested another room. He, Eddie and Abbz shared a room. This too was to be an interesting arrangement.. Once all checked in and refreshed we congregated in the lobby where we met the other bands on the tour. Jim and Scott Healey along with Jesse from 'we're all gonna die' along with the X brothers Jimmy Cacala, Andy Hilfiger (yes he knows Tommy) and former Blue oyster cult bass man JJ Bouchard. News came over the wire the show was cancelled. No alternative venue. Bummer. We all piled into carrier VW whilst the other bands piled into another carrier: the carrier Mercedes owned and driven by Owen. What a Guy. With all the catering from the show still to be consumed a decision to relocate to Dr Michael's house in Kilkenny (very impressive) for dinner was made. Here we met his wonderful family: Sisters Bernadette and Jean along with the guys from 'Soloway' the other support band on the tour. The food and drink flowed and the disappointment of the show not happening was slowly disappearing. JJ and the X brothers were eager to play though. A jam was set up at a pub opposite the hotel in Kilkenny. Upon returning to the hotel Brian and family retired to bed While Nick, Abbz, Eddie, Andrew and myself got ready to go to the jam with the X Brothers. We hit the hotel bar for a quick one or two. Eddie started with the Guinness; this was to have severe consequences for us all on the journey to Cork. Time came for or to saunter over to the pub to watch the jam. The X Brothers took to the stage and played a 30-40 minute set and showed their stuff. JJ was playing guitar, Andy on bass and Jimmy on drums. Also there were 'were all gonna die'. More drink flowed and Abbz was transported back in time 25 years when JJ played 'Godzilla' and 'don't fear the reaper'. Although we were asked to play a few DH tunes we decided not to jam and wait for the show in Cork. More drink flowed and merriment was being had by all when at 1am I decided along with Nick and Abbz to retire. Jet lag had finally caught up with me. I have no idea what time Eddie and Andy hit the hotel. And so, after 10 hours of travelling, much merriment and food, the day ended well. Stay tuned for day two of the "Yes I know Godzilla Tour" Peace from DHQ |