till next year!
Artland BMF 2010
- A day in the life of a BMF organiser!
Up at 7:00 - theres a bike mechanic sleeping on the floor of my office. He worked through the night getting the bikes top-fit. Who knows when the next workshop will be available? Most bands on tour have a guitar roadie - the Pleasant Revolution tour has Mike Cobb the bike mechanic. We have coffee together, take a critical look at the weather and i deal with the 15 calls on my iPhone waiting for answers. It's mainly press. The big German TV station NDR is due at 9:00 and the plan is to go and collect the band from where they are staying and film them going to the first venue, which is the picturesque marketplace in Quakenbrück. The town is celebrating it's 775 birthday this year and it's an ideal place to start the tour. Lot's of timber framed buildings a big space in front of the church and some passers-by to watch the show with the 120 riders that are travelling with us.
girls on bikes
This is the first Bicycle Music Festival that is taking place in a rural area. Instead of cruising from park to park, we are riding from town to town. The end of the tour is a Culture Club in Restrup that is a theater, cinema and concerthall, run as a co-operative with a theater-company. On the way there we have stops planned at the local brewery(!) and two towns along the way.
9:00 and the doorbell rings, it's the TV crew, Nora the reporter and Denny the cameramann with XXXXX for the sound. My advice for people working with camera crews: coffee and something to eat, then on film they make you look like Johnny Depp! Well almost ;>)). Heinz (from the Artland Country Club) and I rode our bikes to the hostel where the band was staying and the crew drove behind us. We picked out a couple of locations for the ride back. I was worried that the bands would all be in bed, tired from the debauchery of the evening before, but as we arrived everybody was packed, ready to go and the girls (bless their hearts!) had even washed the floor of the showers and everything. A professional team they are. We rode in formation to the first showplace, the camera crew filmed us the whole way and got some great shots, I think. Especially going throught the old fort in Quakenbrück where we rode four abreast, which was a term Heather Normendale had never heard before, but that's what happens when Americans meet someone who can speak English....
we need more electricity!
Arriving at the first stop which was the Quakenbrück marketplace we were greeted by some of the volunteers who were building up the tent and also one of the sponsors "Artland Beer" who was riding around on a Long John with crates of beer. The band set-up and everyone played one song. Cello Joe started and kicked off with a storm, the hip-hop beats with cello was the perfect way to start and it was cool to see how the heads were nodding from the first beat. Amanda Mora and Stitchcraft followed. Amanda is from Texas and has a beautiful voice and a ton of charm, Heather Normendale (Stitchcraft) is different, but just as good. She has wonderful eyes and they really are part of her chrisma on stage. She sings like a angel. This could only be topped by the Ginger Ninjas, Kipchoge has a great stage prescence and the spark really sprang over to the crowd. At the same time the 4 bikes making the power for the show were running hard and fast. I even saw a local actor and comedian on one of the bikes. The Artland Country Club finished off this first set with a rocking "Thanks for all the Flowers". Felix had his mobile percussion table and everybody danced.
Artland country club
The crowd was a mixed bunch, a lot of people that know what the Artland Country Club is about, but also a lot of people that are generally art and bike lovers. My doctor was there, Joschi was cheating just a little with an electric bike, but he promised to tow some people if they got into trouble. Gisbert, who took care of the publicity on this tour, had organised some very interesting people and of course the press turnout was great. We had someone from the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung which is a very established conservative newspaper in Germany, Ilona took some great pictues, rode the whole tour and titled her article "Revolution in Artland". Yes indeed.
till next year!
We rode off after some technical problems (Note to the Pleasant Revolution: Prepare Live on Bike well in advance) with Heather Normendale singing on the back of a Yuba Mundo while Mike Cobb pedalled her through the Artland countryside. The tour was about 120 people strong and we rode alongside the river for a while. One of the great things about this kind of tour is the many different conversations that occur on the road. Sometimes you are riding next to someone you know, then you're talking to a musician or the chef who prepares the food for the tour, there is always someone to meet and to connect to. Midway through the first tour it poured with rain. Despite promises from Laughter that it never rains on the Pleasant Revolution, we made the best out of it. Heather sang through the rain, Louis took of his jacket and gave it to Heather, then took of his t-shirt as well. Asked about this unashamed trick to impress the female riders, he laughed and said "Just trying to keep dry, man!". Yeah sure.
till next year!
Arriving in Badbergen, first stop on the tour, we were greeted by the Mayor Werner Katzer. Werner had been one of the sponsors of the tour from the start. He had payed for the insurance for everybody which solved one of our biggest headaches. Thank you Werner. We only had a short stop in Badbergen, but that didn't stop Joey from contact with the natives. A birthday party next to our stop was being set up and there was a trampoline with a outside swimming pool. Joey climbs over the fence, takes off all his clothes, jumps on the trampoline and into the swimming pool. To the cheers of the birthday party group he did it again. Most of the tour saw it as well, only Daniela from USED and her sister Christina, missed it and were very disappointed when i told them about it...;>))
joschi looking for his electricbike!
OK, with Joey back in his clothes we were on our way again. This time Louis was singing on the Live on Bike, he improvised the whole way from Badbergen to our next stop, the Artland Brewery. Louis is a great musician and he kept everybody entertained. If there was a pause in the live music, Thomas the engineer and guitar player, would use the system to plug his iPod in and give us some cool music to ride by.
dance when you are cold
The ride to the Brewery was about 12 km. Elmar Wiemers learned to brew beer in Bavaria and he knows his stuff. Beer in Germany is brewed only using organic products. This is an official law in Germany. That's why the beer tastes better her than in many other parts of the world. BobbaLou and Louis were two real beer experts and we did a tour of the Brewery with them and Elmar. The Artland Brewery makes a dark, malty beer and a pils. The Brewery is optimised for a reduction in energy in production and recycling of steam and heat used in the brewing procedure. The bands played to a mixed audience of BMF-Tour, some tourists and some locals there from the Schutzenverein (a traditional village club that dates back to the middle ages). The band rocked through this culture clash and the Ginger Ninjas show was particularly good, with Kipchoge telling us about how his dad taught him to play guitar. We packed up and headed out. i think everybody had a great time there and i know at least two people really loved the beer (Hi Louis and hi Bobbalou!).
My favourite part of the tour - Riding out of the brewary through a small town of Nortrup, over 100 people and Thomas puts on "Gimme Shelter" from the Stones, we are all riding close together, people are singing and i have never heard the Stones in a better environment. We were hippies again, we were important and we were brave. We were on a tour that was doing good, people were smiling the whole time, it rained we smiled, the headwind came we smiled, someone overtook us they smiled and we smiled back, we listened to the wonderful music we smiled and the artist smailed back, we made electricity and we all smiled, there is no better title for this than the Pleasant Revolution.
hartmut escher telling us about the stone age grave stones!
Travelling on the tour was Hartmut Escher, from the Terra Vita Parks. He is in charge of the natural parks that are part of the Artland area. We made a stop at some ancient graves, that go back to the Stone Age. Hartmut told us the story of the burial grounds. The stones that cover the grounds are not from here, they were brought by a glacier that came from Scandanavia during the ice age. Anyway some of the stones have been damaged with graffit and Bobbalou's comment was "I realised straight away that this sacred ground and is not the place where you jump on the stones and act like an idiot". These guys are good ambassadors for America.
Right around the corner is the LiFT culture club where the evening concert will take take place. A lot of people where there to meet us. The Pleasant Revolution did a dance to say "Hello" and "Thank you". LiFT had done a wonderful job, not only had they organised the logistics of the tour, but they had also built a stage outside, the food was cooking and everybody was excited. The only thing we hadn't taken care of was the weather. it was almost 6 pm and the temperature was down to 10°C. Everyone was sitting in a jacket, so we decided to do the shows inside. We set up the bike power station and the music started. We had agreed to let the singer-songwriters start first. Both Heather and Amanda played lovely sets. Both of them said "It was the best BMF they had ever played" which went down very well with me. I don't know if they always say that but i'm kind of thinking they don't ;>).
exstatic ray band - great show!
One of the highlights was the Exstatic Ray Band, 4 local youngsters from Bersenbrück. They only play improvised music. There influences are great artists of the past like King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes, Hendrix, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Magma und Nirvana. They were nervous, but not for long. After getting used to the technical details of playing a pedal-powered concert (no amps, no monitors) they played a storm. In the middle of their 20 minute set, Louis got up and played some trumpet on their song. Watch out for these guys.
Ginger Ninjas with Heinz and arne !
While the Exstatic Ray Band played, Kipchoge had stolen two of my musicians Heinz and Arne to rehearse a couple of songs for the Ginger Ninjas set. I knew that my guys were good enough to play the songs even after such a short rehearsal. And of course they did, Kipchoge played a great set with the Ginger Ninjas, comprising, Joey on cello, Thomas on guitar, Heinz on bass, Arne on drums, Laughter on oboe, Kelly, Heather and Amanda on vocals. Kipchoge talked about not being able to speak German which bothered him, but no one else.
The stage was cleared now for the Artland Country Club - Arne and Heinz (from the Ginger Ninjas ;>)), Ingo on bass, Felix on his own little mobile percussion set and Bob really rocked the show. They played Leather Boots first and found the groove straight away. The band was more acoustic than usual but let them concentrate more on the songs. We were also joined on stage by Thomas on harp and Felixs wife on Saxaphone (I'll post her name on here later!). The last song was their try at showing the Americans some German culture. They played "Das Modell" from Kraftwerk, Bob forgot the words and everybody rocked out.
Thee Watsons (yes the double ee is intentional) are a local beat band that as a three-piece make a good rocking sound. Like all the bands it took a while to get used to the conditions, but they really closed the show in a perfect way. Did i hear Neat, Neat, Neat from the Damned in there? Good job, boys.
Harald Keller, famed local DJ, took over after that. Somehow everyone was tired though and the evening came to an end. Our guests slept at the LiFT and we made our way home.
lift crew and helpers
Going back home we were all smiling. It was a great day, sure it rained but that didn't matter that much, we are used to that here. In the morning we all had breakfast together, the guys at LiFT had organised local cheese, bread from the Bio-Laden in Ankum and Willi made the eggs for us, next year he will be offering "over easy" as well ;>)). Siggi Rebellius, sang a lovely sailors song and played accordian, as we ate our breakfast.
bobba lou on his mundo - this bike rocks!
Talked to Bobba Lou about the Mundo Cargo Bike he was packing (see photo). Bobba loves the Mundo, he said "This bike rides much better than the other bikes we are using and it carries the load perfectly. I just wish the Stand-Alone kickstand had been ready before we left. That would make carrying so much stuff even easier". Gotta tell Ben from YUBA about this.
Ready to go
Outside the bikes were being loaded and slowly but surely the bands were ready to leave. But we weren't finished yet, Jirka Sova on dobro guitar, Angela Gülck on dobro ukelele and Willi Schneider on bass, played us some great songs including "My Waikiki Girl". And then it was time to say goodbye. Bearhugs california-style and applause for a great job as the Pleasant Revolution did a lap of honour around the Culture Club and headed out towards Hamburg. They were acconpanied by a Mundo rider from Germany Pascal who rode with them for two days. we were all happy, starry eyed and laughing and kind of proud of ourselves. The plan is to build our own system and to spread the word about pedal-powered music.
till next year!
I guess I've forgotten a ton of stuff, including the show the day before at a local school, which was a great way of getting the message across. We made a lot of friends, we had a great time and we proved that a Bicycle Music Festival doesn't have to be a city thing to be successful. Joey forgot his toothbrush, Heather forgot her dress (!)- Frank washed and ironed it for her and we will bring it to Munich. The biggest thanks in the world to Frank from LiFT and Gisbert from Spring PR-Agency, they did a great job. Also the Sponsors. See you all again next year.
bob needs rock star pants
Now if some one would just translate this into German...
