We have just finished a quick 10-day tour of Europe, which was fun.  We drove so much that we left imprint in the van seats.  In a very short time we played everywhere from Italy to France to Czech Republic.  We met some great people and played a few interesting venues.  Of course every day included ogling some kind of ancient building or other.  We Canadians find it hard to fathom how anything can be older than a hundred years.

In Hamburg, someone in the audience told us after our show that she had previously lived in the apartment the Beatles lived in the 60s.  Because she sensed our enthusiasm, she urged us to go check it out and gave us the address.  She told us to ask for Karl, who she may or may not have known.  The next morning we rang a very very confused Karl's doorbell.  I told him very slowly in English and broken German that we were Canadian tourists and he eventually let us in.  We went into the apartment and he said, did you know the Beatles used to live here?  I said, yes that is why we came.  He said, you may now feel the vibrations.   Apparently it's not really advertised anywhere so you need some real inside information, which is why this doesn't happen to Karl more often.  The last person to ask to come in was the guitarist for Iron Maiden!

Our German has improved to about a 3-year old level, which makes it easy to ask for bathrooms and food at least.  Slowly but surely, we are determined to massacre every language we possibly can.  It was awesome to get to Paris, where we could actually communicate!  And with a day off too.  We are so full of baguette and wine, you don't even know.

Now we are in the UK, and looking forward to a half dozen shows here as well as one of our close friends' marriage to a Scottish guy.  Proper traditional Scottish wedding, so if you ever wanted to see Immaculate Machine in kilts, just stay tuned for photos.

We have played a dozen or so shows to promote our new album now, from Texas to Ontario to New York to BC and Washington State.  I love travelling and being away from home but I have to say the most fun shows were at home.  Vancouver and Victoria were amazing!

For those of you who don't know, our old drummer Luke quit music and was replaced by Aden Collinge.  And to make things weirder, Kathryn couldn't tour with us because of some family reasons, so my first tour for the album was without both my long-time tour mates and old friends.  But Kathryn played with us in Victoria and Luke got so drunk in the audience that he shoved his way up on stage and was drumming by the finale.  Great fun, I tell you.

All in all, the shows have been fantastic and I can't wait for more.  We'll be doing some more west coast dates in the summer.  Then we are off to Europe in September, followed by CMJ and some Eastern Canada/US stops.

Here is an interview/video of the Vancouver show:

Yesterday was the official release of our new album!

It is available on iTunes and Maple Music and record stores and everywhere else now.  Pick it up!  It's the best thing we've done, in my opinion.  By a long shot, too.  Apparently it takes a couple listen to get used to, though, if you're expecting to hear another Fables, so don't judge too harshly on first listen.

We are in Ontario promoting it with some shows.  We started off with a humbling all ages gig in Brantford then had a couple packed houses in Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie.  Unless you're from one of those places, you probably think I'm just making them up.  Yes they are small, but disproportionately fun for their size!  Don't worry - tomorrow, we'll be in Toronto, then Montreal, Ottawa, New York.

Although we are on tour right now, we spent our release day in Owen Sound, Ontario with a day off.  We jammed a little with my uncle and my cousin.  We ate at Mr. Sub which was just terrible.  The employee there was a young girl who told of how the place had been robbed at gun point the previous night, so she was scared to work (maybe her sandwich artistry suffered as a result).  You know what her boss told her??? So small town... he said "I hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does, whatever you do don't give them the money."  Crazy stuff.

We're getting excited about the release of our new album.  I have just seen the real copies with all the art and everything for the first time!  It will be available in stores in 2 weeks, April 28, but you can order it now from Maple Music:

 

Buy the vinyl, I think it comes with a download and you get to see the artwork huuuge!  You can wear the cardboard sleeve as a mask on halloween if you cut out where the eyeholes on the mountain are.  I once did that with Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits, kind of a lazy costume but what can you do.

We will be on tour starting April 24 in Brantford, ON.  We are sad to say that Kathryn won't be able to make it to a lot of these shows.  She is tied to Victoria with an illness in the family.  If you are able to come to Victoria May 9 you can see the whole crew, otherwise we will do it for you sans keyboard.

Fri Apr 24: BRANTFORD - Ford Plant

Sat Apr 25: SUDBURY - Townehouse
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=69746174804&ref=ts&nctrct=1239761284872

Sun Apr 26: SAULT STE MARIE - Arcadia

Wed Apr 29: WINDSOR - Phog Lounge

Thu Apr 30: TORONTO - The Drake
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=68187120963&ref=ts&nctrct=1239761101505

Fri May 1: MONTREAL - Club Lambi
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=68187120963&ref=ts&nctrct=1239761101505#/event.php?eid=109493655920&ref=ts

Sat May 2: OTTAWA - BC Scene @ Babylon

Mon May 4: NEW YORK - Piano's

Tue May 5: HAMILTON - Casbah

Fri May 8: VANCOUVER - Biltmore
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=54026428610&ref=ts

Sat May 9: VICTORIA - Logan's
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=60685212267&ref=ts&nctrct=1239761245895

Fri May 15: SEATTLE - Easy Street Records

Video for C'mon Sea Legs (Tippi Tomlin-Hood and Kimberli Persley) coming soon. Watch the internet for details. We accidentally leaked it before we were meant to, but it should be back in a week or so. New Immaculate Machine comic:

We have finished a new album, called High On Jackson Hill - 12 songs, all recorded in the comfort of a borrowed home. The relaxed environment compared to a sterile studio helped make the album sound really laid back and creative. Working with producer Colin Stewart was a fantastic experience; he really helped bring out the 70s weirdo music in us.

We are anticipating our first show with new material to be at SXSW in Austin March 2009. The official release for the album will come shortly after that, in March or April.



the studio



brooke and kathryn sing And It Was





brooke and marek, who did half the drumming










colin in the garden




kathryn at the "singing booth" table with cookies

Our new album is underway, and it's sounding pretty different!  We have been recording at Brooke's parents' house in Victoria (which they have kindly abandoned for the month) with producer Colin Stewart.  It has been the most relaxed and fun project we have done so far.  We are planning for a spring 2009 release date.

Our touring plans have been scaled back significantly this fall as we deal with an illness in Kathryn's family.  If you would like to show support for Kathryn's mother's struggle with ALS, you can check out the Yellow Bird Project.  Kathryn has designed a  great t-shirt with all proceeds going to ALS research:  http://www.yellowbirdproject.com/npim.html

And lastly, we have a new comic for you!

Jan 11 Barcelona, Spain @ Apolo 2
Jan 12 Madrid, Spain @ Nasti Club
Jan 15 Liege, Belgium @ L'Escalier
Jan 16 Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
Jan 17 Berlin, Germany @ Bang Bang Club
Jan 18 Frankfurt, Germany @ Das Bett
Jan 19 Nurnberg, Germany @ MUZ
Jan 20 Mannheim, Germany @ Alte Feuerwache
Jan 21 Prague, Czech Republic @ Klub 007
Jan 22 Zurich, Switzerland @ Ziegel Au Lac
Jan 23 Dudingen, Switzerland @ Bad Bonn
Jan 24 Rorschach, Switzerland @ Mariaberg
Jan 25 Innsbruck, Austria @ Project 23

When we arrived in Barcelona January 10 I was still sick from a flu I had suffered the past few days. We went out for some food and drinks with Luke's friend Carlos. Carlos was a little weirded out that we wanted to eat supper so early, it was only 8:30pm! So the Spanish eat late, that was our first lesson. In fact, it was a bit of an issue even finding a restaurant that was open before 9pm. Isn't that odd? Anyway, we all had a great time but after one drink I could no longer remain conscious so I went back to our hotel to sleep.

The next morning, I felt healed by Barcelona's balmy climate. The sun's rays warmed us as we walked around town in our t-shirts. We saw the Poble Espanol, a pedestrian area where they have recreated the old Spanish village kind of vibe. We touched the Mediterranean Sea. We stared up at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia (look it up if you don't already know it). Then we went back to our hotel to meet our tour companion and merch guy, Martin. The promoter took the four of us for dinner at 9:30 and we arrived at the club for soundcheck around midnight. Forgive the detailed timeline here, but I just found it really striking how late they did everything. The show was awesome. Tons of people showed up to see us, some from as far away as Sweden. (We will make it to Scandinavia soon, we promise.) We practiced our basic, drunken Spanish and went to bed feeling like stars at 5am.

Martin and I got up early to see another of Gaudi's creations, Parc Guell, and were really glad we did. It is spectacular. The four of us had breakfast and said goodbye to our promoter/host and got on the train to Madrid. Madrid's aesthetic motif is compleeeetely different from Barcelona's. Instead of quirky and relaxed, you get glorious and powerful. I guess that is where all the pillaged Aztec gold went. The show in Madrid helped keep us modest. We played to an intimate crowd, especially compared to the night before. It was still a good time, though, the 40-50 people who were there were very enthusiastic and the opening band, Wild Honey, was great.

We had a day off following our Madrid show. That almost never happens on tour and if it does, it is usually in the worst city possible, so we were glad. We went to the Prado art gallery then met up with Wild Honey for tapas. Good times. Do all Spanish people have a hard time with English words ending in "gn"? Because in Barcelona, this record company guy kept saying that he was singing bands or that a band had already singed. And then in Madrid, the Wild Honey people said "foreign" as though it was pronounced "foringe". So we ended up talking a lot about foringe people and foringers. We didn't correct them, does that make us bad people?

We were loving the pace of the tour: lots of time off, no vehicle to worry about and nice climate. Unfortunately, it was not to last. We flew to Germany to pick up our van and gear. The GPS system was in German and got us really lost for a long time. It was dark and cold and there were no tapas to be found, we were a little testy at this point. However, we eventually figured out the GPS navigation, switched it to English and named it Dotty. We are very grateful for Dotty's helpful guidance.

Our show in Belgium was fun. Everything about Belgium is so nice and quaint. They have waffles in vending machines on the street, chocolate ones too! Now that is a fantasy land, that is definitely the country I would have designed as an 8-year old.

On to Germany. In Hamburg we opened for a Danish band called The Figurines. There are really cool Scandinavian-sounding prog-pop stuff. It was a nice show. We walked around Hamburg in the morning and laughed really hard when we saw the "Hamburger Bank". I mean, I know it makes perfect sense: the bank for the people who live in Hamburg, but come, the Hamburger Bank?!? Yes, I would like to make a big withdrawal today. I am feeling very hungry. Could I have that in large veggie burgers, please?

Anyway, we also played with the Figurines the next night in Berlin. We walked around and saw some sites. Our friend Liz met up with us. We went out for drinks after the show and discussed German frankness. In general, Germans seem to feel that it is their duty or right to tell you exactly how they feel about something in a way that Canadians maybe don't. Exhibit A, someone at a show says to Kathryn: "Hello, I must say your singing voice is very nice but your speaking voice is very high and squeaky. Welcome to Germany." Or: "Your set was very good but I did not like the cover song, you do not deserve to play that cover song. Thank you very much." We were trying to figure out if it was a language barrier or a cultural thing. Hard to say, really.

When we arrived in Frankfurt the next day, we went straight to a pub for some apfelwein (apple wine). It was served with mineral water, it's weird, they drink all their booze mixed with water or soda pop (which they call lemonade). Luke asked for the herring and the waitress said, No I think you should have something local to our region... I will get you the potatoes with sauce. That was funny and maybe served to illustrate a point from the night before. The show in Frankfurt was awesome. The small room was crammed with people. We were the only band so we played for an hour and a half or so. We were getting to the point in the tour by then where we know the songs again without thinking and we have settled into a set list that works well. I can't wait to play in Frankfurt again.

On the road to Nurnberg, we stopped in one of a zillion cute old German towns. This particular one was Rothenberg auf der Tauber. Everything was beautiful and well over a million years old. At least compared to Canadian buildings. The meat-eaters ate massive sausages for lunch and Kathryn and I had salads. That night our show was with a local band that advertised themselves as Hungarian, sneaky devils... They were good, upbeat gypsy music. The woman running the club offered to do our laundry for us, which really won us all over. Thank you! We were also very well fed, as with everywhere on the trip. The hospitality for bands in Europe cannot even be compared to the pathetic attempts that pass as hospitality here. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with snacks and drinks. Sound techs were nice, which is rare in N. America. Food was delicious, bountiful and free. Hotels were clean and included breakfasts and the other little things at no charge. It was like we were... valued. Very different from the attitude toward musicians where we are from.

Well, there is that rant! But it had to be said. North America really sucks in some ways.

Next day, next stop in quaint old town. This time, we took our break in Bad Wimpfen. We climbed to the top of the Blauer Tower and were rewarded with a beautiful view that could have been from 500 years ago. I think it is healthy to see all these cute countryside places in between rock clubs every night. In Mannheim, we were double booked with a Big Band and came out on the losing side so we ended up playing in a cafe instead of a proper venue. Everyone was so nice though, and the food was so good, that it didn't faze us. The audience packed themselves into the cafe and we had a great show. In a way, I am surprised how well-received we were. People seem so excited compared to audiences here. Luke and Martin really got into the spirit of things and ended up sleeping on the couch in the venue while Kathryn, Liz and I enjoyed the spacious hotel.

The next morning, Liz steps in Martin's vomit on the way back to the venue to pick the party boys up. Then Martin pukes on Kathryn's bag of clean laundry in the van. Luke and Martin both swear off drinking for a while. Which ends up being about 4 hours. We drive to Prague.

Prague was beautiful. We watched the changing of the guards at some castle or other. It is always some castle or other. We drove around and gawked at the nice old buildings then went to the venue. We were playing at a club on the university campus, which, in contrast to the city of Prague, is the ugliest university campus I have ever seen in my life. Our tour itinerary from the agency listed the opening band as Tower of Dudes and we had spent the last few days jokingly speculating what this band could possibly be like based on their weird name. We assumed first of all that there must be an overwhelming language barrier for them to have chosen that name. And of course some big eastern European moustaches seemed fitting. Actually, I kind of pictured them to be 5 olympic wrestlers in those one-piece wrestling costumes who would twirl their moustaches and adjust their crotches in between songs. We also had a feeling there might be a firehose involved. However, our hunches betrayed us and, small as the world is, they ended up being from Victoria. The show was amazing. Tower of Dudes had hilarious songs like "Dude! Man! I can't wait for junior high school, man!" The audience was wonderful and on their insistence we went way past the club's curfew. Like Czech money, Czech people are colourful and interesting.

We left Prague without our travel companion, Liz. She had the luxury of hanging around the wonderful city for a few more days. The remaining four headed to Switzerland for our show in Zurich. The problem with writing a tour diary about Europe is that the words old, beautiful, grand and the like lose all their meaning. Okay okay, everything is old and beautiful! It may get tiresome in description but somehow it stays impressive when you are actually there. Zurich was... old and beautiful. We played at a restaurant/venue with a view of the lake. It was awesome. We thought at first that people hated us because they were dead silent the whole time, but by the end of our set they were going crazy for an encore. The Swiss reserve cannot be underestimated I guess.

After Zurich was Dudingen, a small town no one has heard of, even in Switzerland. It is tiny. And to be completely accurate, the club was not even in Dudingen. It was in the countryside, in between a few pastures and a lake (it's all about the lakes with them). We strolled, we ate, we played to another reserved Swiss crowd, we drank absinthe and we went back to our hotel. The absinthe we had was not the proper stuff, but was a pretty god approximation. We sure giggled a lot.

The following day we played in Rorschach, Switzerland. The venue was apparently a converted strip club but it looked more like a banquet hall. It was one of the nicer looking venues we have had the pleasure of playing. The crowd here changed our minds a little about the Swiss. They had a great time and so did we.

We headed into Austria for our last show of the tour. The mountains dominate the landscape. On all sides are the majestic snow-capped Alps. Oddly, there was almost no snow anywhere else in Europe. I mean, it is January, you would think you could expect a little snow. That is global warming for you! Innsbruck is a nice enough town. The club was small and dank and the sound system left something to be desired, but the crowd was nice. We drank and chatted and had a great time. We said goodbye to ol' Martin, our tour companion and merch guy, in Innsbruck, where he is staying with his relatives. It was a little sad. You really get used to being around someone when they are on tour with you. You share all kinds of running gags and inside jokes and everything about them becomes soothingly familiar. Martin and I were really good friends 20 years ago and it was fantastic to have the chance to spend the quality time together again. Anyway, off to Munich for a day off then a flight home.

We arrived in Munich in high spirits. The tour went so well! We met up with our nomadic friend Liz again and booked ourselves into a nice hotel. Food and oversized beers were our two orders of business, so we went to an awesome restaurant called Prinz Nishkyn or something like that that I found on happycow.com, then headed to the Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbrauhaus is a very famous beerhall filled mainly with tourists. There are probably 2000 seats and it was jam-packed. You can hear loud Australian accents and various national anthems being sung at the tops of voices. An oompah band in lederhosen and silly hats plays great traditional music. We squeezed in at a table with some Germans and Americans and ordered ourselves each a litre of beer to start. Over the course of the night, it occurred to us that we need to write an album of Canadian drinking songs!

Our sleep that night was too short and the flight was predictably horrible, but then we were home. The end.