Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
March 27, 2008
Kaiserslautern, Germany

Miss Massive Snowflake has been in Europe for two weeks now. The first week we spent at my brother Shadd’s house here in Kaiserslautern. We took a day trip to Burg Eltz, a beautiful 900 year old castle hidden in a cul-de-sac like valley, where my family / band relaxed, ate lunch, took pictures, and played soccer. We visited Koblenz where the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine meet at a statue of William the I of Germany riding on his steed. We gazed over this triangular vista from the impenetrable fortress, Festung Ehrenbreitstein, and sang, danced, laughed, and shielded ourselves from the cold wind that attacked from the rivers below. Meredith (my wife), Marley (my twelve year old daughter), and I ate leber-knödel in Gimmeldingen whilst drinking a Riesling from the local vineyards in the rain during a fest celebrating the blossoms on the almond trees which turn the rolling hills a beautiful pink. The food here has been excellent, the conversation stimulating, the beer and wine uplifting, and the love of music and family has been life affirming.
Miss Massive Snowflake is my musical / familial art project. I write the songs and then recruit different family members for different recordings and tours. We have just released our fourth release titled "Queen’s Headache". It is an electro-acoustic romp that denounces war and isolation in favor of love and family. The music ranges from hip-hop inspired by my kindergarten class (my day job is a preschool teacher), to orchestrated pseudo-classical instrumentals, and love tinged R&B sing alongs. Check it out.
Miss Massive Snowflake is on it’s second European tour and we have played two shows on this jaunt so far. Casey Jarman at the Willamette Week has asked me to do a multimedia tour diary of our excursions and this is my first missive.
Our first show was at Club Lice, a small house party type show here in Kaiserslautern. On this tour I am using an acoustic guitar, laptop, projector, and various family members help out on certain songs with lyrics, percussion, and keyboards. Since this was a small show I hooked the computer up directly to a television and performed solo playing a mix of acoustic songs and karaoke style prerecorded tracks. The visuals are a mix of movies that Marley has made, as well as slideshows and films that I have assembled of my artwork, photos, and video clips. Everything went well and the audience who joined into the sing along in their Germanic accented broken English. Some t-shirts and cds were sold and friends were made and duly impressed.
Meredith, Marley, and I then rented a VW Golf and Garman Navigational unit and headed off to Vienna in a blinding snowstorm(Massive Snowflakes). Some tense moments arose but I must admit that I enjoy driving 100 miles an hour when I know that I won’t be pulled over for speeding. We arrived and received the keys to ourAustrian booking agent, Wolfgang’s, flat. We were lucky enough to be near the city center and spent the next three days walking around looking at the remnants and memorials of the the Hapsburg’s long rule. We enjoyed a small orchestra playing the hits of Mozart and Strauss, saw original art by Austrian Masters’ Klimt, Wacker, and Schiele as well as an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art on math in art featuring works from Dürer to Sol Le Witt.
Miss Massive Snowflake’s Vienna show was at Fluc, a small smoky bar with an excellent soundman named Fred. The soundcheck was thorough and the chinese meal was an all you can eat buffet. Be on the lookout for the new MMS song mentioning three Americans eating Chinese buffet in Austria. This wonderfully beautiful and neutral country is one of the last bastions of unencumbered and blatant smoking. It seems that everyone over 12 is constantly puffing in bars, restaurants, palaces, and museums. Marley wore a scarf over her face while she performed and I nearly lost my voice by the end of the 50 minute set. The people clapped, laughed, and seemed to enjoy themselves. Once again we sold some merchandise, collected our guarantee and got the hell out of that smoke filled room. The next morning we woke up early and headed back to Kaiserslautern through many snow flurries and even more traffic.
Now I am back in Kaiserslautern at the Lice Club with lice killing shampoo slathered all over my head. The whole freaking band got hit by Austrian lice and there are five people in underwear in a small bathroom nitpicking through each others hair.
Earlier today I practiced with my nephew Sören (12) and neice Saskia (10) on drums and keyboards respectively. Watch the short video attached for some film clips, slideshows, and a live recording from the Lice Club. Tomorrow at 7:30 I board the train to Dresden for a show at AZ Conni with Lack from Denmark. Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and check back in a few days for more writings from Europe. Miss Massive Snowflake is over and out.


Miss Massive Snowflake European Tour video 1
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Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
March 28, 2008
On DB ICE Train 1557 to Dresden

I am currently sitting on the train listening to Ennio Morricone. I have taken a short nap since last night’s sleep was very short due to staying up late cleaning other’s heads. I feel refreshed and the sunlight is streaming in through the window of my train car. We are passing a small village surrounded by farming fields. It has yet to snow today which has been quite a regular occurence on this trip. I guess this is a good thing when your band is called Miss Massive Snowflake. Sort of like extra promo.
We will arrive in Dresden around 2 pm or 14:00 since we are in Deutschland. I will be met at the train station by Kai Lautenschläger who is a foreign exchange student that lived with me for a year in Billings, Montana in 1988 for our senior year of high school. He was from Essen, Germany and can play piano and cello wonderfully. He is now a doctor, married with children, and lives in Dresden. The last time I visited him Germany was still a divided country. I am looking forward to seeing him. I am going to try and recruit him to play some cello tonite on a few songs.
Even though I am far from Billings, Montana, tonite is a sort of a twenty year class reunion for the West High Golden Bears class of 1988. Besides Kai being there, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Cory Vielma, will be at the show also. He is one of the few Golden Bears that I still keep in contact with besides Kai. Jamie Smith / Danghead being the other.
Cory is a married man like myself and he now lives in Berlin with his wife Suzie. He performs music as the Sadnesses and we will be sharing a bill at ZMF in Berlin next week. I am sure that there will be some collaboration between us in each of our sets too. In the late 90’s Cory and I had a band / project called Revenge from beyond the Grave and released the cd "Fuck you with my Dead Dick" on Jalopy Grotto Records. We were also on a Nillacat compilation. Who know maybe we will perform the party classic "Jesus / Dildo". Anyways, Cory is driving down to Dresden tonite from Berlin to see me and Miss Massive Snowflake perform and tomorrow we will travel together up to Berlin. Cory has not seen Kai since high school twenty years ago.
Growing up in Billings, Montana pre-internet was a weird time. Cory, Jamie, and I were continually called "Fags, Wavers, and Homos" by the meathead jocks and gun packing ranchers we went to school with. Now everything we liked then is pretty much mainstream culture now like skateboarding, punk rock, weird art, and baggy pants. I will forever be indebted to Cory Vielma for turning me on to Nick Cave, the Descendents, Septic Death, Die Kreuzen, the Misfits, Corrosion of Conformity, D.R.I., Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and so much more.
I may not listen to most of the punk now but it set me on the path of following one’s own unique vision and Miss Massive Snowflake is definitely unique. Who else has band members who are from 4-44 years of age and with some on the Autism Spectrum. We are a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multi-gender, multi-sexual ammalgamation of artists, friends, and family members who want to show the world that love, trust, hope, family, friendship, laughter, beauty, and song are so much more powerful than Marshall stacks with loud guitars played by people singing of pain, isolation, and disenchantment.
I now sign out of today’s journal with a large hug for you and yours. I hope that you continue to read these thoughts, memoirs, and happenings of Miss Massive Snowflake as we travel through Europe. Don’t forget to smile at a stranger, kiss the ones you love, and if you can, please end the war.

A Goose in Vienna

Gender Bender

Cory and Kai Golden Bears

Into Berlin

Beer Goggles

Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 1, 2008
Berlin, Germany

Quite a few fun-filled days have past since I last wrote. I have been in Berlin for 3 days now. Cory and I have been staying up real late with his wife Susi, but let us now do a quick recap.
Upon my arrival to Dresden back on the 28th I was met by Kai’s wife, Valentina and their 2 year old daughter, Leah. We went back to their flat in the Neustadt which is only a few minutes from the club. I took a nap then looked at some photos of their family while drinking espresso. Kai returned from work and we celebrated Shabat with a braided challah and wine. Ate an excellent Italian meal because besides being Jewish, Valentina comes from the north of Italy and Italians are all great cooks from my many experiences there. Kai and I went to the club and when we showed up, Lack from Denmark was sound checking. They were really loud so we sat in the green room eating fresh grapes, strawberries, drinking beer. and talking until they were done Sven was the sound man at AZ Conni and when it was my turn to sound check it took all of maybe 10 minutes to mic up my acoustical nylon string guitar and get a good vocal sound. The hard part was adjusting the projector that the club had to show my visuals through, but thanks to Kai we got a fairly good resolution picture up on the screen at the back ot the stage.
The show started at 9:15 and I came out and played a great set to a full room of people but I think it may have been a couple songs to long. The crowd was definitely mostly there to see Lack and my breakdance routines mixed with pleas for peace that are part of my set left a lot of quiet people staring at me with confused smiles. I ran the merch table during Lack’s incredibly tight Jawbox style set and then Cory, Kai, and I packed up and went for a tour of the historical sites of Dresden. It looks like the buildings in the city are all really old like most of Germany, but during World War 2 the allies bombed Dresden and in one night the entire city center was flattened and around 25,000 people died. What you see now is a bunch of buildings that have been rebuilt to look like the original ones that stood there. A sort of Disneyland type facade.
The next day was Saturday and we ate a lavish German breakfast full of many different meats, cheeses, breads, jams, butter, yogurt, a soft boiled egg, and coffee. Cory and I wished Kai well and we hit the road to Berlin. A short drive full of talking of old times and listening to good music. When we reached Berlin we stopped off and purchased a bunch of Turkish food, then went to Cory’s flat where I met his wife Susi and we all devoured the flat bread, tapenades, olives, and other dishes which I know not the name of. Rested a bit and then hopped on the street car (signifying we are in East Berlin) until we transferred to the train (meaning we were in West Berlin) to the club. It took us quite a while to find the entrance but we finally found it and OVO was just finishing their soundcheck.
I have toured with OVO 6 times I think. With some tours in Europe and some in America. They are great friends of mine and two of the sweetest people I know. Bruno, who is half of the band, booked most of my German shows so I thanked him profusely for everything and then Stefania (other half of OVO), Bruno, Cory, Nicoletta, Olivia, and I went out for Moroccan food. I had an excellent falafel plate and a coke. Since I was now in the presence of three Italians we then went and had an espresso after the meal in a very smoky Turkish bar filled with all sorts of nuts in baskets and men with mustaches. I had an incredible tasting dried date.
West Germany is the name of the club I played at that night. To reach it you climb three flights of stairs and come into a room that looks like an old office space. It is mostly a white tiled long room with the ceiling tiles broken out and electrical wires exposed everywhere. That night was the owner Paul’s birthday and the club was packed, packed, packed. It seems that everyone was smoking and most people were fashionable and quite good looking.
I opened for OVO at around 11 pm. It was wonderful to see Bruno and Stefania right up front. They have never seen Miss Massive Snowflake before. All the other tours I have done with them was from when I was still playing trumpet in Rollerball. I could tell that they totally enjoyed it. I was very chatty and told jokes and stories between songs. I shortened my set to only 40 minutes (down from 50) and it seemed to be more powerful. Some dancing ensued and the crowd ate it up. Berlin was ready to have a good time and I delivered the soundtrack for them. Ovo played a really good set and then Stefania and I hung out at the merch table, which we have done many times, and sold, sold, sold.
Berlin is very international. I met a girl from Portland who knew Larry Yes. I talked to people from America, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Poland, and that is only the ones who told me. The sound of the room is so cool. So many languages being spoken. My German is getting better and I really understand a lot of what people are saying, but find it hard to enter a conversation. I have spent about 6 months in Germany if I combined all of my trips here. I also took it in High School. Cory has lived here 5 years now and it seems that he would be considered fluent. Since I am in Europe and the bars don’t close until the people go home, the dj played and the people danced. Cory and I caught a taxi back to his house around 4 am. We slept and slept.
Bruno
puppets
Bruno with friend

The next day was Sunday, March 30. We slept late, ate breakfast, and finally left the house around 4. We went to a massive flea market. Cory and I are planning on using some puppets on the show wednesday. He purchased an alligator and I bought a duck. We will be performing an old song we wrote in Boulder, Co back in 1997 at Jamie Smith’s house with puppets. Bruno, Stefania, Nicoletta, and Olivia met us at the market and we ended up just kind of standing around a booth that was run by a good friend of OVO’s who makes handmade stuffed animals. They are all really cool and they look like something that you would buy at Missing LInk on Hawthorne street in Portland. I bought one for Marley as a present and also purchase a present for Meredith at the jewelry booth next door. Meredith and Marley are now both back safely in Portland because of work and school respectively. We have been keeping up with each other through the email. What a wonderful world.
So now I am in Berlin for two more days with a show tomorrow night. As I said at the very beginning of this entry, Cory, Susi, and I have been staying up late. Looking at old photos from Cory and my skateboarding days over 20 years ago and drinking beer that is cheeper to buy than water. I experienced the Absinthe ritual and drink and that is kinda weird, but I think you’d like it. I hope that someone is enjoying reading this because it is pretty fun to keep track of what I am doing because otherwise I might really forget. Look for another journal entry in a few days after the Berlin show and once I have begun traveling around Germany with Stefania and her solo project ?ALOS. Tschuss.
Miss Massive Snowflake European Tour video 2
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European Tour Video Three
..Miss Massive Snowflake in Berlin


Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 3, 2008
Driving to Rostock in the van

I am sitting in the back seat of the tour van. Stefania, Nicoletta, and Tiziano are in the front seats and are from Italy. The show tonite is in Rostock at a club called Stubnitz which is an old Soviet Tanker that I hear is totally Mad Max style inside. I have been playing live music for 20 years and have never performed on a boat, so I am quite excited. I will be touring with ?Alos for the next five days / shows. Tiziano performs as Bob Corn and he played with Miss Massive Snowflake and the Sadnesses last night at ZMF in Berlin and then tonite at Stubnitz. I have went from being surrounded by German speakers to Italian speakers overnight. My German is ok and my Italian is alright but it is hard to switch gears so quickly. My brain is currently stuck in German mode and the Italian is buried deep. I have not been in Italy for 2 years, but I need to start warming up because I will be there in a week. Luckily everyone speaks a bit of English in this van.
The show last nite went really well. Cory and I took the S bahn to Stefan’s, the ZMF promoter’s, house and met up with Tiziano, Stefania, and Nicoletta. Stefan made us pasta which I found to be a brave move considering his house was full of Italians. It was very good. He was not able to go to the show because he and his girlfriend, Pina, were going to Istanbul at 9 for a wedding. We all thanked him profusely for the show and the food and then we walked to the club. ZMF is in a basement and is a really cool brick cellar type of room. We did a quick sound check and then went out for an espresso. Upon return I quickly started playing music from the dj table. I had told Stefan that we would dj for the evening as well as playing live so that we could make just a little more money. The people started showing up around 10 and Bob Corn took to the stage around 10:30.

Tiziano with van

I had heard of Bob Corn from Larry Yes back in Portland. They had done some touring together in Italy last year and they are similar styles. They would be a perfect double bill. Acoustic guitars and songs from the heart. Songs of love, loss, hope, and want. The crowd numbered around only 50 people but everyone was very intrigued and stayed quiet for his songs.
Cory performed next as the Sadnesses. He is a performance artist as well as a musician and his outfit was a loud green shirt with 47 sponges sewn to it. He wore a cowboy hat that had hair sewn onto the brim and Susi had made 48 cupcakes that day to hand out during the song "Take a cupcake". She and Nikola wore french maid outfits and handed out cupcakes to the crowd while Cory yell / growled to "Take a cupcake" at them. His set up is comprised of some tape decks, an ipod, a Mr. Sample, and various toys. He is funny as hell and besides doing a cover of "The greatest love of all", we had worked out the song "Motherfucking Ducks must die" which is a song that we wrote over ten years ago. We performed it with puppets and then I joined him for a rap song called "Bake me a Cake". I kinda flubbed some words but overrall his performance was a laugh riot and his finale consisted of him unplugging his tape player, wrapping it in bubble wrap, putting it in an envelope, stuffing that in a box, gift wrapping the whole box and then handing it out to a member of the crowd. You could still hear the tape player slightly playing the song inside. The cool thing is that the woman who took the box was also having her birthday that day. Crazy timing, Serendipity, Coincidence? Who knows but art and life work out so cool sometimes.
The Sadnesses

Susi handing out cupcakes

The Sadnesses Cupcakes

Subway of Berlin

By the time I played the room was fairly full and the time between The Sadnesses and my set was only as long as one Brother Danielson song. I have been moving songs around in my set and last night’s set was perfect. The timing of the acoustic songs into the prerecorded track songs was extremely fluid. It was the best performance of the tour so far. People laughed, screamed, clapped and even sang along during "Good Night" which is a sing a long that I have been doing. After the show I sold some merch and then talked to a guy about possibly showing my artwork at a gallery in Berlin, which would be really cool. During the song "New Dark Pope" the visuals are a slideshow of a bunch of my paintings and he had been really impressed with them. Cory took to the DJ booth and I spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking a bit to much possibly.
European Tour Video Four
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I notice the battery on my laptop is nearly out so I wish you all a good day.

Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 4, 2008
On Board Stubnitz, Rostock, Germany

I am sitting at an oval table across from two girls and a guy who are smoking cigarettes at 10:20 a.m. We are all on board Stubnitz which I think is probably the most unique and interesting club I have ever had the experience of playing at. As I mentioned yesterday, Stubnitz is a large sea worthy vessel that is somtimes in Rostock and sometimes in Amsterdam. The Stubnitz Promoter, Anna We arrived around 5 pm last night and came on board. The CJ Boyd Sexxxtet was soundchecking and if I thought that their instrumentation was interesting, (Cello, Bass Clarinet, tiny drum kit, and bass) it was nothing compared to their performance later. We were greeted by, Anna, the local promoter and she showed us our cabins and made us feel very comfortable. We explored the ship and took lots of photos. Stubnitz is a completely contained club. The crew made us an excellent dinner of stuffed red peppers, potatoes, and a splendid cucumber salad. While we were waiting for the show to begin the crew completely transformed the room we were to play in. The stage was in the middle of the room, sort of like a catwalk, that could be viewed from all sides. The Stubnitz crew draped fabric, and wove flowers all around the stage, multiple projectors and lights were arranged and the feel of the ship went from industrial to very homey quickly. The people began to show up around 10 and Tizio began his set as Bob Corn around 10:30. He is completely magical. He has a shy demeanor but smiles and introduces each song with a quick description. I have always enjoyed the lyrics that people write when English is not their first language. Tizio is no exception. The phrases he puts together are improper but to an English speaker like me they really give new meaning to what he is saying.
?Alos took to the stage next. I have only seen Stefania perform in OVO and so I was excited to see what she would do by herself. Her costume was a sort of cosmopolitan woman of the 1920’s except she has drawn scars on her face. She enters the room to the sound of a train over the PA. Her stage set up is a sewing machine with a contact microphone attached. She uses prerecorded tracks and a some loop stations to tell her story of a woman arriving in a town and finding work at a sewing factory. She puts on a work shirt over her dress sits at the sewing machine and sews a small stuffed figurine with a heart attached to it. The sewing machine provides rhytthm and she raises and lowers the arm to make a large clunk in time with her abstract chanting and singing. I was completely engrossed with her performance. She finishes the stuffed figure and then rises from her sewing machine to cuddle the doll and sing a song of love for it. She takes off the work jacket, reattaches her shawl and leaves the stage with the doll. You can purchase her dolls as well as cds and underwear that she has sewn at her merchandise area. ?Alos is performance as well as music and that is straight up my alley.
?Alos Soundcheck

?Alos Merch Table

CJ Boyd Sexxxtet

So now the CJ Boyd Sexxxtet took the stage and after making sure that all the instruments were tuned and mic’d up. The three men and one woman completely stripped off all of their clothes. They then proceeded to play an improvised set of beautiful music. They were listening to each other so intently and playing such intense music I would close my eyes and when I opened them I would notice that they were totally naked and this was really a unique experience. I have been naked on the stage before in the midst of some sort of frantic freak out, but this was a different presentation. The nudity did not seem to be for the audience but for them as performers to be open and raw and immediate. It is an experience and band that I hope all people get to have. Find them and see them.
I will not give a recount of my set because as usual, I was the jam. I entertain, I make people laugh, and I give the people confusion and drama. Stubnitz was no exception except that Stubnitz is completely exceptional.
All of the bands and the Stubnitz crew hung out after the show until around 4 and then Tizio and I went to our cabin and I got into my bed which was way to small for me. I slept poorly and arose around nine. I went to the front of the boat and like in the Titanic movie I raised my arms and smiled. What a wonderful experience and club this is. I hope that everyone has the chance to come to Stubnitz and ciao!!!Drunken Drawings
Stefania at Stubnitz

Stubnitz and Circus

The Stubnitz Bell
Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 6, 2008
In a soft bed in Weikersheim, Germany

Hi, the time is around noon and I am laying in a wonderful bed in my own apartment in Weikersheim. I have already been to the table where fresh bread, cold cuts, cheese, jams, and coffees were put into my mouth. I came back to bed because neither Stefania or Nicoletta are awake yet and this bed is very wonderful. We have a short drive to Frankfurt today so we are going to walk around this beautiful little town and hang out with Felix and the crew from W71.
Since last I wrote, we arrived in Leipzig and went directly to Noch Besser Leben. This was the first show of the tour where the hospitality was not excellent. There was no soundman and no one to really let us know what was going on. The club itself was an apartment on the third floor of a beautiful old building. You can tell that Leipzig is in former East Germany because lots of the buildings are gray boxes but this building was much older. Stefania and I helped each other with our sound checks and even though I had asked for a beamer (projector) in my rider, the only person who we could find named Georg didn’t know anything about it. He was kind enough to track one down though. The show started at 9:30 and Stefania was completely engrossing as usual. When it was my turn to play, the club was packed from front to back. During my last song, The New Dark Pope, I took off my shoes and shirt, which I then tried to stuff into my mouth. Stefania’s performance is pushing me to be extremely theatrical. I am doing lots of popping and locking as well as some floor moves. I have loved break dancing since I was around 12 and my name was "Lightning". Jeff Rotvold or "Jet" and I would go down to our local grocery store, Kon’s, in Billings, Montana and put out cardboard play Grandmaster Flash or Nucleus and put out a hat. I don’t think we really ever made much but I am still using those moves and I am almost 40. Graffiti in Leipzig
Alley In Leipzig

Even though smoking is illegal in bars in Germany, everywhere we have been to is engulfed in a dense cloud by the end of the night. I was really tired and since we were sleeping in the same building I went to our cold room and got under two down comforters and called Marley and Meredith back in Portland. Meredith was at work but I got to talk to Marley for a bit. I wished her good luck on her first soccer game which I was going to miss and told her I loved her. I then promptly passed out.
I awoke the next morning and took an excellent hot shower and then when Stefania and Nicoletta were up we left and went out for breakfast at Cafe Mule which was recommended by the bartender, Fatima, the previous night. She was right it was excellent. Cafe Mule in Leipzig

We then piled in the van and headed off to Weikersheim. We arrived around 7 and Felix was there to meet us. It was completely opposite then the show in Leipzig. He instantly gave us sandwiches, beer, and coffee and made us feel at home. W71, stands for Weikersheim 1971, which is where and when the club began. They do lots of great shows like Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, and now us.
Weikersheim is a town of 3,500 people and is on the Rommantischer Strasse in Germany, which is a famous highway that winds through Germany’s many vineyards, past old castles and churches, and into lots of small romantic towns just brimming with old world charm. Felix and the other people who run the club have made it their mission to bring world class bands and unknown artists to their town. The woman who made us an unbelievably good dinner of asparaus soup and tortellini with spinach has been working at the club since 1972. It is an incredilbe community of people who have definitely impacted the culture of their small town. It is a model that should be replocated world wide. If you are touring Europe you should most definitely play at Stubnitz and W71 when you are in Germany.
?Alos was even better than her previous shows which is pretty amazing because she is always outstanding. Her bobbin on the sewing machine ran out of thread and like when a guitarrist has to change a string on stage, she just wound new string on the bobbin and continued her performance. The puppet that she made last night was so cute that I asked if I could have it. She usually keeps the performance puppets and sells ones that she has made at home but since we are so freaking tight she said yes. Thanks Ste.
I began my set with ten minutes of babbling and jokes in German. I am able to have quite good conversations now but my German tour is nearly done and then Italy comes and my brain needs to switch gears and my tongue gets all tangled. The crowd was extremely into my set and when I had finished I sold tons of cds and shirts. The back of my tour shirt has all the cities I am playing at listed on the back and they were so excited to see Weikersheim listed with Rome, Vienna, Berlin, and Milan. I totally love this place. Once again I drank to much and I am thankful for Stefania for getting us safely to our apartments late last night because I barely remember leaving W71 and the drive here.

Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 8, 2008
Kaiserslautern, Germany

I am back once again at my brother’s house for the final time of this tour. I arrived here last night from Frankfurt after a series of trams and trains. I was happy to take a shower and shave after accumulating quite a bit of dirt over the past 4 days. It is the morning of the 8th of April and I am here alone because the kids are at school and the parents are at work. I realize that I have not been alone for a while and this feels good. When Saskia is out of school at 1 we will go downtown for lunch and ice cream.
Felix At W71

"Old Weikersheim building

Weikersheim castle gardens

Weikersheim is charming

Let me start where I left off back in a warm bed in Weikersheim. I relaxed and around noon the W71 crew arrived and since Stefania and Nicoletta were still sleeping, we decided to go walking around this small charming town. We went to the city center and looked at the church which was began in the 11th century. We discussed how all the chain stores in the area are ruining the small businesses in the town. I told them how my home town of Billings, Montana is surrounded by all the chain stores and that all across America every city is looking more and more alike. It is sad, because local flavors are being lost to some homogenous giant that is somewhat appealing because you can save a quarter.
One thing that America doesn’t have is old castles and churches and the castle in Weikersheim itself isn’t super big but it does have an immaculate and huge garden filled with flowers and statues. We walked through the gardens and talked about our lives. My love of Portland and their love for their community. Way back in the early 70’s they thought of moving to a big city but instead they decided to stay in their small town and bring the world to them. It was an inspiring tale of staying true to what you want from life and being able to expose yourself to art and music by bringing artists who show art and musicians who play music come to you. The only thing better than an young freak is an old freak and these people were truly awesome.
I returned to our quarters and Stefania and Nicoletta were awake. We ate some food, drank some coffee, and hit the road to Frankfurt. Just to let Frankfurt know that Miss Massive Snowflake was coming the snow once again came down in massive snowflakes from the sky for most of the short drive. We arrived at Borsigallee Wagenplatze around 5 pm and it was fairly easy to find. We had been told to take the exit and go left, next to the shopping mall was a big 5 story parking garage, next to that a gate with a dirt road that went into the woods behind. We followed these directions and as we drove into the woods on the dirt road, we began seeing all sorts of old trucks, trailers, old circus wagons, lean to’s, and all sorts of strange homes. Borsigallee Wagenplatze has been around for 16 years and the people who are part of the community there live completely off the grid and squat the land. They range in age from a 4 day old baby who was born in a circus wagon without running water to old men who live in their trucks. Most of the people are in their twenties and thirties and everyone is extremely polite and kind. They obtain their energy from lots of solar panels strewn about everywhere and on all the vehicles or small windmills. The club itself is built of wood scraps, old signs, tarps, and whatever they could find to keep the elements out.
Pete and the rest of the crew made us a wonderfully warm spicy soup and salad that was perfect because we had been walking around in the snow taking pictures of this unique place out in the woods. The kitchen was a carnival wagon and was heated by a wood stove. After warming up we went to the bar and did a sound check. Pete had to shut down the generators after sound check and get the power up and running again. The people started arriving around ten and ?Alos kicked off her set around 11. The wood stoves kept everyone warm and smiles abounded amongst these modern people who have managed to live independently from society. Something that could not exist in America where all land is owned and property is more important than people.
European Tour Video Five/?Alos
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After Stefania’s and my set, Pepe the bartender, turned on the car stereo that is hooked up to a battery and the whole place began dancing. Since it was Stefania, Nicoletta’s, and my last evening together we just danced and danced to the music. I was abstaining from drinking anything because Felix at W71 had given me so much whiskey and beer, I thought that my body could use a break. I have no idea what time we returned to our guest wagon but it was really warm because Nicoletta had come to it after the show and before the dance party and started the fire in the wood stove. It was kind of like a sauna but that was ok because outside was really cold.
We awoke around 11 and the snow was falling (making Miss Massive Snowflake legendary to the folks of Borsigallee Wagenplatze). They had made us a breakfast of hummus, Rhubarb soup, fried tofu, and bread and it was delicious. We all said our goodbyes, thanked everyone for the excellent hospitality, and left this magical community in the woods outside of Frankfurt, Germany. Stefania and Nicoletta dropped me off at the U bahn (tram) which I took to the S bahn and then boarded the Deutsch Bahn (train) to Mannheim, where I transferred to Kaiserslautern. I arrived just in time for dinner at my brother’s house. Sabine had made chicken enchiladas and they were delicious. After dinner we went out for some beers at the local brewery with Sabine’s twin brothers, Michael and Andreas. We all sat around drinking, eating, and discussing my many trips to Germany over the last twenty years. It was a wonderful time and I am always happy to be around my family which is extended all over the world. Take care and I will write more after my show in Graz while I am on the train to Italy to see my good friends there. Everything here is perfect except that I am totally missing my wife, Meredith, and our daughter, Marley, who is back in Portland and who on Saturday won her first soccer game of this spring season. Good job, Tsunami of the Laurelhurst Football Club.
Nicoletta and Stefania

Nicoletta and Stefania at Borsigallee Wagenplatze

Wagen

Snowflake at the Wagenplatze

The Kitchen at Borsigallee