James here again with another installment of the summer diary. What a week it's been.
Thanks to everyone who made the trip out to Hyde Park to see us. There was a sizeable crowd considering England were being shown on a big screen onsite so we were very happy. Sad to see England out of the world cup to Scolari's Portugal. I was talking to Ian Broudie (Lightening Seeds) who was debating whether to play 3 lions or not due to the result. In the end I think he went for a decidedly downbeat version which had everyone in tears!
Roger Waters put on a brilliant show and Ben and Stel's night was topped off when they bumped into a hero of their's Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Then it was back on the bus for a trip to Belgium.
We thought Hyde Park would take some beating but the gig at Rock Werchter was the most enjoyable show in recent months. The crowd was well up for it despite the blazing heat and every song seemed to go down better and better as the set went on.
Once again while I was in the shower Ben and Stel were meeting Rock Legends. This time it was Robert Plant. It was humbling to know that he watched us from the side of the stage and he told us he really enjoyed the set.
Needless to say after a post gig signing session the majority of the band and crew hot-footed it back to the main stage to watch the Led Zep hero's set.
Our heartfelt thanks to all our Belgian fans who made the festival so special for us.
See You Soon,
James
Gibt es eine bessere Form mit dem Leben fertig zu werden, als mit Liebe und Humor? Charles Dickens
Re: STARSAILOR MESSAGES
Zitat: MySpace-Blog Summer Update from James!
Hi Everyone,
I'm kicking myself I didn't do another one of these sooner as there has been so much to take in over the past couple of weeks. Ok lets start with the most exciting part. Meeting The Rolling Stones! We played our first gig in Munich with them where we were put in a dressing room a good ten minutes walk from the stadium. We'd no chance of getting anywhere near them(or so we thought). Hannover was a different story. We had two days off in the city which were spent bowling,eating and drinking mostly. We did get a bit of exercise in, playing water polo in the pool and riding in a pedalo on the lake. Female fans of Benny Byrne will be pleased to know he wore a very fetching pair of superman undies for his water polo bouts! Then came the show. The crowd response in Hannover was much better than Munich. At times it felt like our own show. Then after our set we were ushered down to the stones dressing room. Following a pretty anxious wait we were greeted by the four legends. Sir Mick said he was a big fan of the band and even bought the first album! Keith was pure rock n roll. Charlie was very quiet but no less polite and cordial. Ronnie was full of life greeting us with a jovial 'How ya doin lads.Everything alright for ya' we did a quick picture with them which will definitley be one to show the kids and the grandkids and they went straight on stage. As the first chimes of 'Jumping Jack Flash' echoed around the stadium it suddenly dawned on us what a special moment that was. Now all we need is a support slot with David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen! That was'nt our only brush with the mega famous over the past few weeks. The show in Montreaux was great. Another brilliant crowd (which we have come to expect in Switzerland!) Unfortunatley we only caught fleeting glimpses of Mr Sting. Rich was on cloud nine after meeting his hero Morrissey who ws playing downstairs. Summercase in Spain was great fun. The show in Barcelona was the best one we have done over there and it was great to hang out with the bands afterwards. Among those we shared a beer with were 'The Feeling', various members of Razorlight,Mani from the scream and various Happy Mondays. One kid from 'The Paddingtons' even said he remembers seeing us at Hull uni years ago when he was only fifteen. That made me feel pretty old! Rufus Wainwright played a brilliant set and was utterly charming when we met him afterwards. Thanks to our small but loyal band of Swedish fans. We played our first gig over there for a number of years in Ostersund. Hope you enjoyed it and we'll try not to leave it quite so long next time! See You Soon James°° i'm so tired, sheep are counting me °°
Re: STARSAILOR MESSAGES
Zitat: creepy* Another brilliant crowd (which we have come to expect in Switzerland!)......na dann muss ich sie in der Schweiz einfach mal 'erwischen'
************************** Heimat ist kein Ort Heimat ist ein Gefühl (Herbert Grönemeyer)
Another exciting week and another milestone in the history of Starsailor. The biggest headline gig to date. Last night we played in front of 15,000 people at the Marktrock festival in Belgium. The festival was situated in Leuven (home of Stella Artois!) in the town square. Despite this being the home of strong lager we all managed to keep a lid on it until after the show!
The line up was a complete mixed bag Ice-T and Bodycount was on in the afternoon and the Sugababes were on before us! Amazingly the crowd loved it all. I have to say the Sugababes put on a great show and all their voices were top notch. They saved the best till last of course with the magnificent 'Push The Button'. They were very kind about us too, mentioning something about the 'fabulous' Starsailor.
Most pop music makes me want to be sick but when it's good it really puts a smile on my face. Before we knew it, it was time for us to go on. You know it's going to be a great gig when there is a huge roar when you step on the stage before you have even played a note. By the end the crowd were going mad. Thanks once again Belgium for being such passionate music lovers.
The gig in Germany a couple of nights before did not quite hit those dizzy heights but it was none the less a good show. Germany will of course hold a special place in our hearts too though being the place where we met the stones! Now I cant wait for our gigs in Edinburgh and of course the V festivals.
I hope you are all in good voice for V, the Belgians are currently in top spot for crowd of the summer closely followed by the French. To all you Scots and English out there, the gauntlet has been thrown down! I'm off to pack for our mammoth American tour, hope all the US is ready for us.
From JamesStarsailor Message Board - Starsailor's Summer Updates ~ Stateside Part 1 25 - 08 - 2006
Zitat: Starsailor Hello All,
James here writing to you from our hotel in New York City. We have been in New York for a couple of days now.
Thanks to everyone who came down to the in-store at virgin last night. It was great to see a couple of familiar faces. We have been away for a while so we were not sure what to expect.
We have been spending quite a bit of time visiting all the people who are working on the record in the US (publishing, press, record company etc.) this is actually more fun than it sounds. Everyone involved seems to genuinely like the band which is the main thing.
I think we are going to head to a baseball game tonight. I will keep an open mind I promise! It's just the length of time they play for which puts me off. Having people walk round with hot dogs and beers is not going to help my diet much either is it. I guess I could do an extra hour in the gym!
Sorry to hear about Tom from Keane's recent problems. Keane supported us in Germany a few years ago and have always seemed like really decent blokes. I hope he has a speedy recovery.
Thanks to all the fans back home for making V such a special gig for us. It was a fitting end to our European Tour. We thought Stafford was great but I think the weather, the crowd and the fact that we were a little bit more confident made Chelmsford one of the highlights of the summer.
Let's not forget the crowd in the Virgin tent for my acoustic performance. It was nerve wracking going on before Rufus Wainwright but you were all great.
Hope you enjoyed the new song I played in Edinburgh, I'm really proud of it. When the old songs mean so much to people (especially on this site) it's always hard to write stuff which lives up to it.
I'll be back soon with an update from the west coast.
Hello from the USA. Things are going great out here. Both the Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel shows went really well. Rich was very excited about Tommy Lee being on the Kimmel show. He was a boyhood Crue fan!
Jay Leno stopped by the dressing room to say hello and welcome back which was cool of him. We paid a visit to Yahoo!, KCRW and Napster to record sessions and also performed an acoustic set at the Viper Room (photo below). I dj'd at a club called 'Cinespace' in LA which was fun. I was not aware that it was a hip hop/80's night though. Two genres of music I have little knowledge of! Thankfully a little Beyonce and Amerie goes a long way. Thank goodness for Gnarls Barkely too, I played at least two songs from that album.
It was great to be back at KCRW again, a station that has supported us throughout the years. Nic Harcourt has great taste in music and it's amazing how many big names he has managed to coax down to their little studio in Santa Monica. If you are based out in the States you might have noticed 'In The Crossfire' is being used in an ad for the crime series 'Cold Case'.
So all in all our trip to LA was a successful one. We are looking forward to going back for the shows at The Troubadour. After the sun of LA it was off to rainy Montreal. Montreal is a beautiful city and it was great to spend some time there. The festival was good despite the weather. We were on early so it was not packed but the enthusiasm of the crowd made up for it. Headlining the festival were 'The Flaming Lips' who were outstanding as usual.
After Montreal it was off to Ottawa. The fans we met afterwards seemed so excited about us being in town. The crowd were singing along all the way through the gig. It seemed to take an age to get back through immigration into America so we were relieved when we woke up off the bus to find ourselves in Boston.
The day off was spent sampling the local seafood, visiting the 'Cheers' bar (which looks nothing like the Hollywood set!) and shopping in Copley Plaza. So that brings you bang up to date. Here we are in the 'Paradise Club' waiting to get on stage.
See You Soon,
James
p.s. Don't forget to check out Rich's video diary on YouTube to get some moving images to match my words.
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Das diary ist toll!!! :-)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdZ-yTZ1eQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw8YLSU8HsI
dort hinten wird's hell und schwarz wird zu grau wird zu rot wird zu licht und benommen, verschwommen erkennen was man will meine welt aufgehoben, meine welt in 3 wörtern erklärt
Re: STARSAILOR MESSAGES
Sehr schön immer wieder gucken muss :-)
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Hab grad alle 3 Teile geguckt (American Tour Diary 2006 auf youtube) sehr schön!!
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BjOg2dz5Uc
************************** Heimat ist kein Ort Heimat ist ein Gefühl (Herbert Grönemeyer)
Re: STARSAILOR MESSAGES
Starsailor - American Tour Diary 2006 (part 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=332Cb7Bcq_0
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift - That's why it's called the Present
Our voyage into America continues. The show in Philly was really good. There was an afternoon show and a gig in the evening which took it out of us a bit. It was a great venue and the crowd were really enthusiastic. I actually got to see a bit of the city too.
Some of the band made a pilgrimage to the Rocky Steps while I spent some of the day by the harbour with my family. The V festival in Toronto was certainly an experience. We had to get boats over to the island. Ours nearly sank! Once on dry land we were able to catch a bit of David Ford's set. Some of you may remember him from the British tour. The line-up for the festival was superb. Gnarls Barkely, Phoenix and The Flaming Lips to name but three.
After Toronto it was back on the Bus and on to New York. It was good to have a day off in the big apple which for me was spent checking out new computers. I also made it to Trump Tower and The Rockerfeller Centre. Trump Tower was very 70's looking inside. Incidentally why is New York called 'The Big Apple'?
No offence to the rest but New York was the best show of the tour so far. Playing on 9/11 we were not sure how the crowd would be. This is understandably an emotional day for New Yorkers. We needn't have worried. The audience sang along to every word. I decided to start 'Silence Is Easy' with a little bit of 'Don't Let Me Down' which went down a treat.
It was also the first sold-out show of the tour so thanks to everyone who made it down to the gig. Next up was Washington. The 9:30 club brought back memories of our tour with The Charlatans. The antics have been decidedly tame so far compared to what went on on that tour. Needless to say there was not a lot of sleeping went on amongst certain members of the touring party back then!
The gig was inevitably a bit of a comedown from New York but we still really enjoyed ourselves. Our day off in Charlotte can definitely be filed under crazy. I went to meet Les in a local Irish bar called Connellys and he had managed to get the bar man to play 'On The Outside' on a loop. He had also invited half the bar down to the gig! It didn't take him long to become a hero and the bar man kindly got us a couple of rounds on the house. Rich and Les apparently ended up in some millionaire's lake house! Needless to say they remember nothing about it!
I went down to the local radio station (W.E.N.D) on the day of the show. They invited loads of people down to sit in on the session which was cool. Les is going through all these bits of paper trying to get his guest list together for the show tonight!
Thats All Folks!
JamesYesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift - That's why it's called the Present
Re: STARSAILOR MESSAGES
Zitat: www.myspace.com/starsailor The World Cafe will be broadcasting the Starsailor session on Thursday, September 28th 2006. The World Cafe with David Dye can be heard on more than 180 stations nationwide. Find your local station by going to their website: http://worldcafe.org or you can listen online to XPN Monday to Friday at 2pm EST: http://www.xpn.org/listen.php
Late in the day of broadcast, the audio for some of the musical performances will be available on the National Public Radio, NPR, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724307
Listen Live at www.xpn.org
WXPN 88.5FM Philadelphia WXPH 88.1FM Harrisburg
WKHS 90.5FM Worton/Baltimore 104.9FM in the Lehigh Valley