ODE TO LOTAR

So, last night in Winterthur Switzerland we were approached after the gig by a dude named Lotar. Is that not the coolest name you've ever heard in your life? It sounds like a name from another dimension! Or like he just stepped off of a viking ship in search of a town to rape and pillage, aflame with the vigorous fires of vikinghood. He had long, curly hair, and spoke English proficiently with a slight tinge of German.

I've been informed by the locals that most people in Switzerland speak at least two languages fluenty, and many speak three. Those languages include French, Italian, and German, and are used closest to the borders of their respective regions. There is even a fourth language, called Romanche, which is a combination of all three. I am told that it is only spoken in a tiny region of the country, near the border of Austria and close to the border of Italy. That's crazy, right? What if there were an alternate language in the US which combined elements of say, English, Ebonics, and Spanish? World would collide! I have trouble picturing the sound of Romanche, and unfortunately no one at the dinner table tonight spoke it either. Speaking of dinner, Switzerland has treated us extremely well in the food department. Last night and tonight we had essentially home-cooked meals served to us, with wine and water and soda, and even dessert! And all the other people who have joined us, including the opening acts, soundpeople, and promoters, have been totally enjoyable...which somehow amazes me. I usually despise foreigners, even though in this case it would be i, technically, playing the part of the foreigner.

After hanging out and drinking for free with Lotar and a couple of his vikingly compatriots, Brian, James, Nuno and I went back to the hotel as Shara went to spend the night at a friend's house a couple minutes away. Brian and I split a room, as did Nuno and James, and I ended up going to bed watching "Raging Bull" in German. As if that movie weren't brutal enough to watch in English, having to watch in German just flat out gave me nightmares. Something about not being able to understand the dialogue and having to make all connections to the plot based on facial expression and action made it complete mad. Brian agreed with me, and we both went to bed somewhat uncomfortable.

Minus the night terrors, I slept like a brick. We got up for breakfast around 10, and headed out at around 12:30 for our next destination, Fribourg. This is a quaint little city towards the French region of Switzerland. When we walked into the venue and began loading in, I was immediately shocked to see a giant skull-shaped disco ball hovering over our stage. I jumped at the sight. I'm telling you, it's about 5 feet long and about 3 feet wide, and extremely deep. It's a serious stage prop, worthy of a cameo in "Spinal Tap" itself (picture the mini stone henge being lowered onto the stage, except that this time it's actually a huge skull-shaped disco ball). Needless to say, this was a mildly hilarious first impression of the venue. Luckily, everyone on the sound and lighting tips have been totally pro, and this place has a super-sweet wireless connection which I am now happily exploiting. The hospitality has been superlative, with a great spread worthy of sandwich-making and carrot-dipping. There's even a tap in our dressing room! A whole tap with good beer! Right here! For FREE!! Yeah. That's cool. Hopefully tonight we will meet more eccentric people with names like Lotar. And of course, we will rock.....BENEATH A HUGE DISCO BALL SHAPED LIKE A HUMAN SKULL. Nuff said.

PS- Sorry for the gratuitous exclamation points on this one. But seriously. It's shaped like a human skull.