3/4/2001 - Yo!
Yo Yo YO!!
It's the incognito Ken G here. I'll be using this Yahoo! Address for the next few months since that daggamum flash.net buyout thing has made getting mail there harder than, well, anyway . . .
Greetings from Denmark! Yes, the clouds parted a little bit this afternoon for the 1st time I've been here- so that's what the European sun looks like- I remember now! For a town that's not supposed to get much snow (that's the word on the streets), we've been pounded! Two separate storms dumped about 1 cm each! Horrendous! Thank goodness for the lone pair of sweatpants I packed or these old knees would've fallen off by now. I forget that these European towns are all about walking or waiting for a bus. Sounds like back home that the towns bunkering down- The Sun had an article about- go figure- all the toilet paper and essentials disappearing in expectation of a dumping. Where's Rob Roblin (Channel 11 on-the-spot dude) when we need him? Copenhagen's pretty cool- and cool. It's a great town to hobble around in and the buses (now that they're not striking anymore) are regular (except late at night) and mostly on-time. I haven't done too much exploring yet- I'm waiting for the positive (Celsius) temps. The "musicians' flat" is in a part of the city between the airport and the center of town, about a 45 minute walk from the downtown swinging section- yeah, baby, yeah! (- G Powers, International Man of Foolery)
It's a definite deal as a free place to live. The water runs, the two toilets flush, the showers offer warm water if you're the 3rd showerer in a row (4th = chilly). The kitchen ain't all that- plenty of fridge space but not much for cooking. Due to that fact I've been sampling the local Mediterranean fare. Lots of Turks inhabit da 'hood. My room offers a bed with some old sheets- I like the blue flowers. My IcelandAir pillow is the most comfortable of the lot. Living out of the suitcase is the way to be (no dresser). Both lights work and the radiator keeps me roasty. I need to learn to lower the shade at night since the afternoon sun woke me like a crab in a steamer (I didn't shriek, I just bubbled a bit). But all sarcasm aside, it's definitely a liveable joint and it's filled with 6 other musician types who are all pretty cool. Three Americans, a Scot, a Norwegian, and a Greek/Norwegian. Small world, I've met one of the dudes previously.
I guess I'll get on to the reason I'm here. I'm jamming in a place called the Fisken Pub (www.skipperkroen-nyhavn.dk - I'm not sure what the webpage has to offer- or how to translate it if it's
Danish- but I'll check it out once I'm done here). It's an old pub along one of 'Hagen's old wharf areas- a little reminiscent of Fells Point. Yeah, they fancied up the zone with nice restaurants and a ladies revue spot so the tourists like to hang there. This Fisken (I think the word has something to do with fish . . . Hmm . . .) joint is in the basement of one of the restaurants. It's a lot of wood and kinda dark (hey, what's a basement?) and it's got a low-key vibe- kinda like the whole town. So, although the questions don't stop, my shorts apparrel is working for now. I'll probably invest in some longs 'fore too long in case it becomes an issue. Ya know, them formal Euro types. I welcomed myself to Dk with a little Neil Young- ya can't go wrong with Neil! Then I played a trump card. The other musicians I've encountered offered a list of "can't miss" tunes: any big Beatles, Elvis, or Creedence hit; Whiskey in the Jar; House of the Rising Sun; Layla; Country Roads; Losing My Religion. "They love anthems" I was told. So, I opted for a bit o' REM and the night went on. I was only playing to one table at the time (more on that in a bit), but the place filled up, I was bought a couple beers, and we had a grand opening night. My first request came during my first break and was for some more country music. I suggested some more Johnny Cash and as I was getting ready to play again the request got specific. I laughed. I laughed again. N
ow, for those who've witnessed the heckling EMU at work, they'll understand. For the rest, sorry, the laugh's wasted. Anyway, this guy asked for- I'm chuckling now- Coward of the County. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Yeesh! The influence of the Buurrd is far reaching! I should've known this guy was a little wacked. He was the 1st Danish JOIE-type I've encountered- I'm sure he's not the last. Besides air guitarring, singing along with the wrong words, and getting- and yelling at- others to clap, he also dropped his jeans to show me his calf muscle (?), bought me a beer, danced all around and over me, and cursed his co-workers with whom he was pubbing. Character for sure. So, the deal is I'm scheduled to gig 9:30- 1:30 M-Th, then on the weekends it's a joint effort from 10- 3. I'm gigging with the Scotsman, Duncan. We had a fun weekend session- Fri nite was bumpin', last nite not as much. Sundee's supposed to be my night off, but I'm playing tonight for Duncan since he hasn't had a night off since January. The voice seems to be holding as long as I don't blow it out with any real rockers- I'm warming up for that. It's more of a laid-back sing-along atmosphere anyway.
Here's an update on my Euro vices:
beer- Well, as advertised, it converts to about six bucks (I can't find a dollar sign on this Euro keyboard!) for a pint of the local brews. So, on my one night out, I only bought a couple- the rest were freebies. Yeah! It's good to be connected. I'm only allowed 2 per gig, but I've been bought a few and I also don't feel the need to be pounding the heavier Dk beers. I have enjoyed both Carlsberg and Tuborg, and a variety of each, but the Fisken only serves Carlsberg- not a bad thing with stout and elephant as offerings. ice cream- Haven't touched it. There was a Magnum bar (mmmmmmm . . . Magnums!) machine at the airport, but I walked on by. Maybe if it was 10 degrees warmer . . .
cookies- Now, if you've ever spent any time with me along the France/Spain border, you know of what I speak. Since most of you haven't been tortured thusly, I'll get to the point. I've only bought one bag of cookies- 2 days ago- and I shared them and there are still some left.
Alright, well, I've rambled on way more than anyone likes to read from a monitor, so I'll close it off.
GO TERPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LATER,
wcKG
