CLAY some more...

CLAYS WRITES ...

"Bremen, Hannover, Madeburg, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig.

Tonight we are in Dresden.

Somehow, i managed to miss five shows worth of blogging. If you could only see my guilty face. Anyway, all is going well here on the road with the Le Pop tour. There have been mostly memorable shows, although it is hard to tell one night from another at some points. Must be because all of the back stages have the same staple features, the bread, pork, chese, beer. Fruit, juice, and candy. Weird couches, poor lighting, and somewhere amongst the names of bands scribbled on the wall there are the names of fame, friends, and (always in different handwriting) "Nirvana."

Certainly there are a few things that i can;t go without mentioning. For one, how awesome it is to be touring with Francoiz Breut and her band. Going in to the whole thing, i wasn't sure how touring with people i'd never met before was going to pan out, but after a day my worries had dissolved. So there are nine of us. Three from the Marianne Dissard camp, three from Francoiz, and three from Le Pop. Also i think it is a must to spend a moment and explain breakfast in (most) German motels. In the states, i never eat the breakfast. Here, in Germany I will eat scarmbled eggs, white cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, and a bowl of granola or cereal with yougurt and fruit juice in it. To drink, i'll have juice, a personal pot of peppermint tea, and, if the mood strikes me, a cup of coffee. Although I've come dangerously close to seeing several sunrises, I haven't yet missed a breakfast on tour. Two nights ago Rolf--the Papilon of the whole opperation-- treated us to dinner at our hotel in Leipzig. Previously that day, i had been daydreaming of lamb with potatoes. To my good fortune they had it on the menu, rack of lamb with rosemarry and garlic potatoes came to me as though i had devined it. On top of that, Marianne had invited her lovely friend Hanka to join us, so I sat and ate happily while we talked Tucson and of the troubles of German service.

So, as you can see, while out here on tour, I'm spoiled. Learn to play, join a band, come to Europe, and eat your fill. The long drives, nights with bad sound on stage, and wrestling the trailer, all of these will fade from memory. Tomorrow is Munich. I'm only thinking of eggs."