I’m laid in the back of the tour van. Beer in hand. Snuggled up next to an accordion case. Comfy. Comfier than a Megabus. Will is driving. Dave is co-pilot. Vince and Joel are talking about Cocksparrer. Our photographer Pete is just chilling out. We’re halfway down the A1 and we’ve just had a piss stop. The journey so far has been pleasant. Plenty of jokes and stories. We’ve managed to get the fridge working … cold beer galore. We’re in good time for the ferry. We’ve discussed ideas for the tour film. We’ve decided to just keep it natural. I’m feeling so positive about this tour. There’s a good dynamic here. We’ve all toured before except for Pete. He’s set his go-pro up to the dashboard as to capture a time lapse of the journey to Antwerp. We decided that driving through the sunrise would look cool. I’m missing Dempsey a little. He’s took a flight to Brussels and we’ve agreed to pick him up in Antwerp tomorrow. I’m concerned about my voice, it’s not recovered how I would’ve liked after Tuesday’s chaotic gig in Bradford.
I’m amazed at the amount of well wishes we’ve had from our friends. It’s really comforting. It’s always hard to describe touring but hopefully over the next week or so I’ll be able to leave you all with a little insight into the world of an unsigned punk band from Leeds on our first tour of Europe. I’m looking forward to meeting friends in Antwerp, Nijmegen, and Den Bosch. People like Annet and Lotte spring to mind. I met them on my first tour of The Netherlands. The first time I toured Annet was single. The next time she had just met Sven. The third time they were expecting a baby, and now we have Ole. You step into people’s lives for a brief moment. You keep in contact. It’s fascinating to capture those snapshots.
Each time I visit I seem to make more friendships. People who are sometimes more important to me than those in my everyday life. I’m looking forward to touring with The Yallas so they can also meet the beautiful people that I’ve met. I look out the window and the moon is nearly whole. I predict Monday for a full moon.
I need another piss. We can’t be stopping every ten miles. I wish I had a bucket.
