The ‘Taylor Road’ Spring album release tour is finished! What an amazing 3 months! I can’t believe it is over! Where have the last months gone? Why did it go so quickly? How much fun was it? LOTS!
From our first gig in Miltenberg on the 15th January all the way through to Krefeld’s end of tour concert on the 18th April, we toured through Germany & the Netherlands, travelled thousands of Kilometers, playing in familiar places as well as in places we’ve never played before! For the first time we had sell out shows! It’s been a whirlwind! 2014 was a relatively quiet year in terms of touring, as I spent most of the year in and out of the studio, getting ‘Taylor Road’ finished. After 10 months I was ready to hit the road again, with a new line up. Dennis Bowens had of course already been part of my live band since autumn 2013, but Roman Dönicke from the band ‘Minor Cabinet’ took over on drums. A young drummer with a bright future, this was Roman’s first real tour. A band really grows together from playing live and spending a lot of time on the road. This line up has spent almost every weekend this year driving, eating, joking and playing music together… it’s been quite a ride! Let’s have a little look back at what happened these past months…
First up on the tour was Miltenberg and the lovely venue ‘Beavers’. This was the tour kick off and a chance for us to see how the setlist would work live. I spent quite a bit of time putting a more ‘rock oriented’ set list together. Anyone who has bought Taylor Road will know what the new album is heavier than any other album I’ve done. Far from home on a Thursday night in a club I’d never played before… perfect setting to try the set out! There were some familiar faces in the crowd too, having travelled a long distance to come out and see us! This also makes me feel incredibly lucky and humble that some people travels hundreds of Kilometers to come and see us. As for the gig… it went very well. The songs were new and obviously felt new, but there were no band or song mistakes as such. There was however one massive incident within the opening bars of Ain’t Crying For Yesterday…. I hammered out the opening chords and my plectrum flew across the stage. Rather than take one from mic stand I decided to reach down and pick up the plectrum. Well, my big boot trod on the guitar cable, which in turn got pulled out of my guitar and there was no sound coming from my amp! Realising the embarrassing mistake, I quickly plugged the cable back in and just managed to get to the mic to sing the opening line! Wow! What a start. Apart from that it was a great gig. Definitely looking forward to playing there again! Big stage, good sound and you can sleep in the venue! Had a long chat post gig with the owner. All good. The next day we headed down to Straubing in South-west Germany, another new venue for me and a great band performance. The first night nerves were gone and we hit it! I remember there was a 75 year old woman who danced non-stop all night! Already after this gig we decided to drop the song ‘Slow Motion’. It’s not that the song didn’t fit in the set or that it wasn’t working, it just didn’t seem to be right. On the Saturday we headed over to Reichenbach, through the snow, to another new venue ‘Die Halle’. What a location! Superb club, big hall, huge stage, great lights. A real concert venue. Supporting us was ‘J’s Blue Spot’. Good band. Look them up. I remember this being a great day. We got to the venue early enough to build up, do soundcheck and then head to the hotel to have a little sleep (real rock ‘n’ roll!). It’s the little things that become so important when touring! We had a great crowd that night, a crowd that was loud and right up close to the stage, in your face! I loved this gig and I got a lot of compliments for the choice of Status Quo cover ‘In My Chair’. I also try and choose a couple of lesser known covers and this little groovy shuffle is a lovely little song.
The next weekend was probably the best weekend of the tour. 23rd January in Blue Notez in Dortmund and 24th in Remscheid’s Musical Box. Blue Notez is a great club, run by blues lovers and done very professionally. The team gives you a lovely welcome and really makes you feel at home. We had a big crowd and played a great set. I was very happy with our performance as a band. Tight. Loud and lots of good improvisation!
The next night was a sell out in Remscheid. I was so worried when I woke up as it had snowed during the night and this had happened a few years back resulting in a half-full venue! I don’t know what happened this time (was it the new album, or good promotion?) but the place was rammed! Incredibly hot and sweaty. The band Minor Cabinet opened for us and performed a fantastic set – watch out for them and their debut release this autumn. This was a great night and I went home happy, buzzing from the gig and couldn’t get to sleep! I love playing at the Musical Box. The owner, Wolfgang, a lovely man, gave me one of my first proper gigs back in February 2008. I was so happy to have my first sell out show in his great live music club! I hope we have many more!
The next weekend we headed over the border to Cafe de Noot in Amersfoort, Netherlands. What a club! No wonder every great blues act plays here! Even Joe Bonamassa played here (a few year back now!) I first got to know Henk back in 2013 when we played at the Highlands Festival, which he co-organised. As a result of that gig we got invited to play at his club and I was really excited about this gig. We put in a good performance and one that one of the club’s technicians Peter called “one of the best performances” he had seen in that club! That was a compliment and a half! Met lots of nice people here and hope to play there again soon. The next day we headed up to Spijkenisse. The owners are lovely people and I really like them, passionate music lovers! It’s always a bit strange to play a 5pm gig on a Sunday. You expect it to be a kind of Sunday matinee, relaxed affair. Well this time it was loud. So loud the band couldn’t hear themselves and unfortunately, not in a good way. I have to admit and as the local press wrote, I got quite frustrated at this gig. For me, the songs that I perform, particularly my own ones are personal and I want them to be heard. Whilst I don’t expect you to be able to hear a pin drop, I certainly don’t want to hear people laughing, shouting and telling stories louder than my music! When I go to a concert I listen to the music. I’m quiet and respectful of the performing artist. When 90% of the crowd is only interested in drinking (on a Sunday!!!) or talking to their friends then I really think that it’s a waste of time having a band play there. The whole band was quite dumbfounded. I tried getting the crowd to listen, but no no avail. Only a handful were really interested in the band. As a result, we cut the set short and drove home. To round off the perfect day we ran out of oil on the motorway and just made it to petrol station!
On the 6th February we drove up to Braunschweig to play at Barnaby’s. I love this place too. Peter Loris, the owner is a great character and the crowd is always good! Lots of familiar faces. The band was on fire and we played 5 encores which was quite an effort for me as I was struggling with a bit of a cold. I slept like a baby that night! The next morning we drove down to Münster, stopping off at Musikproduktiv in Ibbenbühren. I tried out the Eric Clapton Fender Stratocaster and was tempted to buy it. I didn’t! The gig at the wonderful Hot Jazz Club in Münster was excellent. This again is one of those clubs that knows what live music is all about. Great location in the harbour and a real cellar music club. Friendly staff, great soundman, good lights and stage sound and a rocking audience. Granted, we were probably one of the heaviest bands to have played here, it is a Jazz club after all, but the crowd loved it! Lots of dancing, singing and cheering! We went home happy that night!
Bielefeld in the Extra Blues Bar on the 21st February was a bit quiet. It was a shame that the night before they had had a huge party celebration was one of the locals. As a result we played to one of the more empty places on the tour. We still rocked it which is difficult when there are so few people in the club and they’re all sitting down. I have to admit I do prefer the locations where people stand, no chairs in the way and everyone is hot and sweaty from standing shoulder to shoulder next to each other. It’s also easy to play to a packed house. When it’s empty you have to push yourself that little bit more and try and build up a rapport with the audience which is harder when it’s quieter!
This was the half way point of the tour. By now the set list felt good and the band was tight. This was already becoming the best tour I had ever had. What makes a tour a great tour? Well firstly the music felt good. I wrote the songs for Taylor Road with gigs in mind, heavy, rocking songs. I like to play powerfully and hammer out riffs. The songs sounded good and that was also due to the great drumming of Roman and the bass playing of Dennis. The music is just one part though. The crowds and reaction to the songs drives a band and in my case helps me push myself further. The final ingredient is the band, the musicians that you spend all weekend, every weekend in! Roman and Dennis are fantastic company. We spent a lot of time telling stories, laughing and joking and that made the time fly by. So there we are. Half way through the tour… read all about the second part of the tour in the next review! Stay tuned!