My First Trip To The Netherlands

Hi all,

Well with the help of many of you, I finally made it to the Netherlands.  9 shows in 10 days.  My first tour. 

I flew out of Ontario California in June 22.  After a 3 hour lay over in Huston TX,  I was on my way on the 10 hour flight to Amsterdam.  Landed the next day at around noon time.  My new Songalive friend and fellow singer/songwriter   Lisa Graciano picked me up at the airport with her Mom and friend.  They drove me through the newer part of Amsterdam and we ended up at Lisa's apartment.  She was gracious enough to let me use her place as she stayed at her Mom's during my entire trip.  Now that is above and beyond.  Big thanks to her and her Mom for that.  I do have to tell you though that it was a bit scary climbing the almost vertical three flights of stairs with a 50lb suitcase full of CDs and stuff, but I was glad to get settled after such a long trip.  She gave me the once over on how to get around on the tram and trains. So cool!

I had one day to get the jet lag behind me before my first gig at Lokaal Vredebreuk .   Here are some shots of me, me with Kat, Lisa, and another unknown aspiring singer:

The next day I had a chance to really learn the local transit system.  I took the tram to Central Station and then the train to Rotterdam to meet one of my old friends Jan.  Jan was one of my first fans turn friend after we spent some time at the NAMM show a few years back.  We also had a mutual Venice fan and friend KC.  We had a great day in Rotterdam.  The weather was so weird though.  One minute it was partly sunny and beautiful and the next minuet it was hailing, lightning, and blowing so hard that the hail was coming down sideways.

The next night Jan met me at The Waterhole.  This was a Songsalive showcase hosted by Lisa.  It was a great night with a very enthusiastic crowd! On the way to the gig I was looking for a place to have a slice of pizza.  I was looking lost as I usually had been and walking by places that looked too pricy for me when I ran into this guy spinning a plate on his finger. He asked if I wanted some of the best pizza in town and I asked if they sold it by the slice.  He returned with a sharp NO, but you have to try this pizza only 5 euro.  How could I refuse this guy, so I went in and he was right.  Very good!

Notice my Venice Pirates shirt.

The next day I got up early, took the train to the airport and rented a car.  It was too early to call home and I had no idea if I needed the insurance so I had to go for it.  it ended up costing me big Euros!!, but I needed the car to get up north. Oh well.  I did opt to go with the Tom-Tom GPS.  That was SO worth it!  I would have been so lost without it.  You see I am used to seeing mountains and other landmarks to help with my direction.  Holland is flat so I was always guessing on which way was north, south, etc.  That day I met some of the coolest people Theo and Svetlana at Strandbad Theo in Edam. 

Yes those are leather pants!  This guy had Holland written all over him.  A big Nordic man with a huge heart!

The whole family:

Check out the t-shirt Theo is warring!

Edam is a 650 year old town that hasn't changed much at all.  What a spiritual moment to be in this place touching and experiencing it all:

Cheese! The best I have ever had!

I have a bunch more shots thanks to Svetlana, but I don't have room on the web site so I'll move on.  Their place was so cool and another favorite gig of mine.  

I stayed in Theo's trailer that night after having some of the best food I have ever had including a salad from an old Russian family recipe that Svetlana made up for me. yum-yum!

Next night back to Amsterdam and a place called Skek.  It was a cool place with a little balcony where you could sit and look down on the stage. It was a bit loud, but still a good room.

Wow, I have been so busy with gigs since I returned, I forgot to finish this story.

I traveled to the north next a was welcomed by one of my biggest fans Paula:

Her parents were nice enough to put me up in their place. Great people, great soup!  Not too much salt for me!

Performance at Nijega one of the coolest venues I have ever played.  A cozy cafe' (bar) downstairs and a great theater upstairs!

Upstairs first.

Then it's jump up on the table and have some fun downstairs!

Even had a cool guy sit in: Sorry I forgot his name. He was a friend of another great person Petra whom I will be sending a CD and ??  I sold out of CDs before she could get the one I promised her.  SORRY!

More to come soon.  It's getting late.  Here was my gig Schedule