Damo

Damo Suzuki with T.B.I.

Yesterday, Pauline brought me to Winnipeg Airport. She seemed to be very tired, but I guess she was happy…she liked result of our music. Crystal, Tippy’s girlfriend picked me up from Edmonton Airport. Tippy is good friend of Tracy and Darryl.

He and other sound carriers are already gone for the festival as they had performances of their own.. In Edmonton I found Japanese restaurant while Crystal was getting ready at home for trip, I went there without any doubt…even their chief was Japanese… it was not quality that I imagined. This time blind faith was not by my side. Then after around 4 hours drive to North. On the way, I tell you I saw most beautiful sunset in my life. It was not looks like from this world. Canada’s sky is huge, clouds are fantastic. Around 10:30 PM sunset…this unforgettable scene begined short before 10PM. Yellow to Pink, Pink to Orange around sun changes colours…a nature spectacle. then turn to red …what a nice view. Such a beautiful scene even forget to take pictures…then only sun is red and other sky getting dark and clouds covers sun.

Crystal, she lived in Marburg, Germany was also amused for this nature theatre. and after while we drive through forest fire ruine for 30 hour, her son attended us has already sleeping. Tragic landscapes with burned trees. She explained me around 8 years ago this space was in bushfire and fire devil damaged something like 200 quarad Km. It’s ghost landscape. We arrived around midnight at Driftpile Valley. Was not really good weather in darkness, even worse wet and cold. I brought myself to strange Hotel later. 23rd was also rainy..wet and cold. we performed at kind of workshop…5 stages at Festival and the space we performed was quite far from main stage, so not that much audience. Tippy set up his small drum kit at middle of stage.

We were Tippy, Benny, a Norwegian, founder of Origami Galakitika….Tippy informed me that one performed with Origami Galaktika twice he can release under this name. Benny is doing similar thing like Network project. He is a Norwegian you can imagine like norwegian tree and looks like viking..silence nice guy with tender voice. Beside we had saxphoneplayer and Rap singer trio who made things quite well. My second day at festival was more hard rain and some artist performed against rain sometimes it was really hard like waterfalls.

Audience stayed at their tent. Cold and wet..it’s not really fun…also we didn’t know when we perform. All schedule was chaotic. Waiting and waiting for very very long time in artist tent. After rain was gone we performed at small stage unfortunately for little audience. Organiser couldn’t find bass for Benny so he couldn’t join. we were trio, Tippy, me and a young heavy metal guitarist from Cargary. But, he played well improvised space sound. Next day Crystal , me and her son took ride back to Edmonton….

I stayed by Cam who arranged me this performance at unlucky festival. Next day at breakfast I had nice talk with Tippy, Tippy’s mother and Cam’s mother. Two old ladies were really nice to speak with me. Tippy’s mother was a music teacher. Even she knows some Japanese traditional music tunes.

Damo Suzuki with Doreen Girard (Cello), Natalia Zielinski (Violin) and Absent Sound: Josh Butcher (Organs, Vocals), Kelly Castle (Drums, Vocals, Percussion, Guitars), David Fort (Guitars, Bass, Vocals) and Robert Menard (Guitars, Samples, Loops, Vocals)
http://www.snac.mb.ca/

The day before we arrived Toronto, picked up by Tracy, this time she organised my Canada tour. This trip is not only performing in Canada. This time I have quite a lots of time between shows, to see this land and end of trip visit my friend Bill and Sue in Washington States for a couple of days. After lost of German sausages which we bought at Frankfurt Airport, I brought for my friends at Canadian immigration…

It’s pity some country does not accept to bring tasty things from other countries. (Specially meat) Canada, New Zealand and Australia among them. This was totally blackout of me…I was forgetting this rule when I saw tasty sausages at Frankfurt airport.

When we arrive Tracy and Darryl’s house. Darryl, the producer was busy working with two Canadian duo at his studio. When all come together, then we drink German sekt (sparking wine) Prosit!!!! Was good I went to bed at around 12 o’clock, so next day I have nothing from jetlag. It’s good!!! Flight to Winnipeg. Pauline, promotor of small festival and Rob, guitarist of Abset Sound picked me up from airport….but, they went wrong place waiting for me .so….it took an hour we met together.

My stay for a night is a big house where an another guitarist Dave live with 9 young artists. Dave was preparing wellcome dinner, grill of Fish caught from the river through Winnipeg flows. This was first hard contact with mosquitos whole of this trip. Seems to be Winnipeg is hardest place for this as one told me if you arrive Winnipeg all you have to do is just running and running…. They are kinda hard core and naughty. Itching make me mad. I was invited for rehearsal…generally I don’t do any rehearsal….but, what I do I am alone in the city?…make a bit of music.

Under rehearsal room was huge warehouse for fantastic secondhand theatre costumes for 2 stocks. This would be perfect place for person who has interest in fancy clothes and it was fantastic place…tons of clothes!!!!They were so happy after rehearsal and ready to go for next day. Today I changed the stay…move directly next to the venue, the ruin of the church, a fantastic ambiente..but, moskitos follows. It’s nice art centre I stay they served me organic food.

There are some interesting acts before we performed. We did long set, one piece for around two hours or so. Absent Sound bought an old school bus (you know, that yellow one), You might see them travelling around North America one day. Pauline was temperamental person, she carry lightning equipement doing this and that. She runs organic farm and beside this she organise art/music shows at Winnipeg area. Very powerful lady. My sound is also somewhere organic too……..

Damo Suzuki with Hen Beverly (Bass Epex), Mike Napier (Guitar), Andy Smith (Electronics), Jim Wilkie (Guitar) plus special guests: Mathew Black (Drums), Ray Dower (Bass), Dan Hadden (Saxophone) and Shingai Shoniwa (Bass)

This was longest stretch on this short 5 days trip to UK. From Leicester to Aberdeen took altogether 8 hours, two times change train..at York and Edinburgh. Train ride in Scotland is really nice. I have been this stretch between Edinburgh and Aberdeen for a couple of times. It’s beautiful part of travel and never bored feeling like back home.

You can see sea direct right hand, left hand you can see green hills or rocks and sheep…. also there was some golf places…this is typical landscape in this part of Scotland. Andy, one of sound carrier tonight, picked me up from railway station which is just a few block from the venue, Tunnel. It’s nice venue in small-but-very-amazing -city Aberdeen. Aberdeen has some charm. 2 years before I was here I saw thousands of seagulls on street at early in the morning…nobody was on the street. And this granit houses and wet street and dump.. in twilight ……It still keeps in my brain photo.

Hen is my friend and organized already three shows in Aberdeen and he performed also that much. He was really happy to see me and he push me (as friendly gesture) my body whole of the evening as he is not still believe I am here instead my ghost are here. WE didn’t see each other for 2 years–My gray hair made me a bit stranger? This was part of Tryptich Festival like last Wednesday in Glasgow. Performed together with some old faces from Aberdeen and spacial four guests. Three basses!!!…No, it’s OK…there are nothing I really surprise more..I performed with 8 guitarists, with 4 laptops, with DJ, etc…etc….Shingai is very cute female bassist, she normally is front singer/base of hard working Noisettes. (Around 2 weeks later on May 13, they performed here in Cologne. we went there to see them performing. we liked it.) She have so beautiful smile on her face anytime…it’s nice.

I arrived there near to 7PM, so I had no opportunity to check sound. Every sound carriers of the night were quite confused from sound check…some of them told me. But, performance seems be far better than they expected from sound check. Anyway I have to wake early around 5AM to get train to Edinburgh then to airport. Even there was hotel room reserved I didn’t go to hotel, instead I, Mathew and Sihngai went to Hens apartment and listen my music from Purcell room on April 2nd. They liked it.. Now time to go, Taxi waiting outside door…..