My First Tour

After playing a few local gigs and practicing like a mad man to learn all the songs on the set list, we set off on what was my first real tour. I had travelled around Vancouver, Seattle, Bellingham, Anacortes, etc. for a one night gig or to rock a festival, but never three shows, three nights, three cities.

I got nervous as the day came to hit the road. I had dreamed of touring since I played in my first band, 'Puddy', back in 1992. I had visions of life on the road, romanticized about meeting new people after each show, tasting the cuisine from different regions and cultures, and most of all sharing my music with the people.

The tour was to the NW corner of Spain in Galicia. Like Cataluña, the Basque Country, and a few other regions of Spain, they have their own language: Gallego. It is smooth to the ears and sounds very much like a Portuguese and Spanish hybrid. This makes sense as geographically it lies just above Portugal. It does, however, complicate communication somewhat.

After a twelve hour, over-night drive Gorka, the keyboard player, Manu, our manager, Diego, the lead singer-guitar player, and me arrived to Vigo. Vigo is an important port city on the Atlantic and was my first view of 'the other side' of Spain. I realized as we climbed over the last ridge and saw the water, that growing up on the west coast, that my orientation has always been that the sun goes down over the water in the West. Here in Barcelona, the sun rises over the Mediterrenean in the east, but there is never a beautiful sunset over the ocean. I was excited to see one here in Galicia.

The hotel was simple, but clean and comfortable and we were wiped out after the long drive. Instead of looking for a restaurant we ate at the hotel bar. What a great decision! The woman who ran the hotel was also the cook and brought out an amazing spread of Caldo Gallego (a sort of meat stock soup with tender vegetables and garbanzo beans) and a mountainous plate of roasted pork. Bread and wine included of course. She offered us more, but there was no way any of us could fit another bite. This, I realized, was common practice in all restaurants and sit-down eating experiences. The Galicians stuff you. I began to wonder if they were fattening me up for something...But, I digress.

The first show of my first tour was somewhat disappointing. At the last minute the venue was changed and the new place was a little jazz bar called 'Contrabajo'. I was exited by the name, buy when we arrived we found a stage that was 6 feet tall that made us feel like we were up on a pedestal over the crowd. And the sound system seriously lacked punch. I was also a bit concerned as to how we would be received without a drummer or percussionist. It was a small but talkative crowd though and by the end we had them dancing and buying us drinks. Overall, a good first night.

The next day we were invited by a friend of Diego's uncle to his restaurant for lunch on our way to the next show in Santiago de Compostela. After getting a bit lost on the small costal highway we found his beautiful establishment. It was an old grain mill on the edge of a river converted into an elegant restaurant. They fed us (again, until the point of exploding) with goose egg and potato tortillas (a sort of Spanish omelet), fresh goat cheese, sautéed wild mushrooms, and white wine from a friends winery down the road. Life is good. The restaurant is called 'O Muiño Vello' or 'The Old Mill' in a town called Redondela on the outskirts of Vigo if anyone is travelling in Galicia...

From there we sleepily made our way to our next stop in Santiago. We loaded our gear into a beautiful club called Sala Dado Dada. There were hundreds of pictures of the artists who had played there. The energy was great and even though we didn't pack the house, those who were there were dancing and shouting. At the end of the night we had another crowd of people buying us drinks. The bartender also gave me a free 'Flor de Caña' rum on the rocks (one of my favorite things in the world). The owner, a powerful woman in the Galician music industry, came in toward the end and saw the crowd’s reaction. She gave us a bonus seeing that the place wasn't full but those who were there really enjoyed themselves. She also invited us to lunch the next day. I prepared my self to be stuffed again...

The next day we woke and met with the club owner. It turned out she owned a theater that had a restaurant attached. We sat down and they brought out a variety of tapas, shrimp in garlic sauce, jamón iberico, croquetas de pollo, and salad. I was filling up and feeling satisfied and the waiter appears and said, 'so, for the first and second course options we have...' The tapas were just a warm-up. Luckily I am a pretty healthy eater. I am the kind of guy that makes grandmothers happy as I clean my plate. I usually suffer later from indigestion, but anything for cultural sensitivity.

Again, after a sleepy drive, we made it to our last stop of the tour, La Coruña. We went directly to the club, Jazz Vides, set up and headed down to the beach. I wanted to catch that sunset. It was amazing to see the Atlantic crashing over the rocks and to think, wow, out there somewhere is my country. New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. I imagined the Spanish explorers looking out and pondering the possibility of another world. Knowing that it is out there is a whole different experience. It makes the concept of 'jumping over the pond' much more real.

The sun made its way over the horizon and the colors jumped out at us. I took a moment to stroll off by myself and sit on the rocks and look at the tide pools. I got a strong nostalgia for Seattle and the Puget Sound, with the scent of the sea, the clean air and the oranges and purples in the air. I took a deep breath, jumped up and was ready to play music again.

This was by far the best show of the tour. We were warmed up from the previous two nights, it was a packed house and we could feel the positive energy coming from the crowd. We got them to sing along to songs they had never heard and in the end the owners offered us shows anytime we were in the area. The string of good impressions continued...

As we headed back to Barcelona the next morning, I realized my dreams about touring came true. It was exactly what I hoped for and more. What a blessed life to travel from town to town, be stuffed with amazing food, meet friends, making a little money, all while playing music. Again, life is good.