Going Going…
11 January 2010
The Boys Next Door
10 January 2010
Went to see the boys next door play a couple of songs tonight. There is a music school on our street. They have a showcase show 3 times a year and so tonight was one of these shows.
I came into the show with two women playing a piano duet. It was very good. Everything else was fine although suffered from bad tuning. One of the easiest ways to sound good is to tune up as perfect as your instrument will allow. It’s something i learned when i were beginning to record in studios. After every take- tune up. The folks all played really well but the tuning let most of them down. And tuning is also a great nerve beater. It’s a productive fidget.
Anyways the boys came on rocked the tisch. They played Four Kicks by the Kings Of Leon. Their choices of songs have been very cool. Never choosing the obvious. Then I got a real surprise… they played U16 Girls… Travis’s first single on Independiente!!! It was brilliant. And of course… they were in tune.
Ahhh.
So I am home. Jet lag has passed. Clay has a temperature which is sweating out with lots of water and warm clothes. I can feel something stir at the back of my left nostril. Although viruses suck, there is relief in knowing I won’t have to sing tonight.
My Neighbours
7 January 2010
We are lucky to have brilliant neighbours. The boys next door are some of the most talented and applied kids I ever met. Brothers Carl and Nader (14 and 12). As well as making stopmotion movies of socks coming alive, and playing basketball and cookery, they are in a band. So when I got my desk installed I asked them to come and record a demo one afternoon. They chose to record a cover of Molly’s Chambers by The Kings Of Leon. None of your Sex On Fire, no no no…
They brought their pal to play drums. He was very talented too, telling me the snare wasn’t sounding quite right, the seat wasn’t right, you know… a perfectionist. So I fixed the seat and took my lucky newspaper off the snare. He nodded approval. (“That snare is older than your dad weeman”)
Anyways I worked them hard but hey were so well rehearsed, we pretty much nailed it in very few takes. Check it peeps. MOLLYSCHAMBERSBYLCN
Kinderladen
6 January 2010
You have kindergarden, you have pre school, you have nursery but Germany is the Icelandic horse, having an extra gait. That of the kinderladen. Kinderladen is much like kindrgarden but is more relaxed, with more emphasis on playing. Kinderladen’s began popping up in the late 60′s and 70′s in germany and from what I am told were anti establishment for the time but they have slowly gained in popularity to the point where now modern german kindergarden has taken on alot of the kinderladen philosophy. Anyways Clay started kinderladen this week. He started on Monday. I don’t remember this happening when I was at nursery, but for the first week or so the parent/s stay with the kid until he or she has settled in and is ready to let go. It’s very gentle and makes the kids really feel safe as they move into their new chapter. So this week I have mostly been in the company of 2-5 year olds. These people are the coolest. They are so natural and don’t hide their emotions. I feel quite at home. The kinderladen day starts with breakfast around a table with all the other kids, then some play, then go outside in the snow for some outside play, ( I was relentlessly ambushed by 6 toddlers yesterday).
Then back for some inside play, then it’s lunch, then they can choose to sleep or storytime… what happens in the afternoon I can’t say because we go home after lunch. There are 3 women and a guy who work there. They are all very cool and deal really well with the kids. They also feed them organic food. Apparently organic food has the same amount of nutrients as normal food but has non of the chemicals or toxins associated with the mass food industry, insecticides etc which probably contributes to many ills cancer blah. Nora has leaned toward organic for some time and, although sceptical at the beginning, I have to say I, don’t get ill as much as I did before. Oh and the kinderladen is german speaking. Clay speaks english but understands german. He speaks more german when I am on tour. There is one other little boy who speaks a bit of english but it’s of no consequence as most kids at that age operate outside of language. They all have their wee trays which are stacked up, containing their vital shit. Anyways, I was happy to see The King was in the building.
Sledgehammer
3 January 2010
The park had about 300 people sledging. Don’t think I ever saw so many people sledging in one place. Before we left the house we had a discussion about head gear. I was thinking how nobody wears a helmet when they sledge. Clay wore a helmet. We went down the hill 6 times. On the 6th, we hit the bottom of the hill at top speed. Usually people at the bottom of the hill quickly get off their sledge and move out of the way but some little kid in front of us stopped very suddenly and just sat there. I had no time to steer out of the way and ran straight into her sledge at full speed as she was getting off. I smashed my left shin to bits. CLay went flying. He was fine. The kid was fine. My shin is fucked though. Will wear football shin pads the next time.
Berlin Hearts New Year
1 January 2010
round the midnight hour people hit the streets citywide and burn the fireworks they have stockpiled. It’s unlike anywhere else. For 2 hours the city expoldes.
Snow Gets In Your Eyes
31 December 2009
We had a nice afternoon. Anton in Berlin. It snowed. We balled. I got a direct hit. 
In other news. Jet lag still has a grip of me. Fell asleep at 10 pm. Awoke at 4am. Almost there.
Brown Teddy
27 December 2009
This is Brown Teddy. He is 3 3/4 years old. Our friend Anton met him in Green Forest and brought him to our home in London. He immediately latched onto our son Clay and has been with us ever since. Recently his cousin, Brown Eddy visited us from Green Forest. Brown Eddy is a little bit younger than Brown Teddy, he’s just getting to grips with life in the big city.
