75 Hours in France

Before I describe the events that occurred prior to, and during a recent trip to France with Eleven Hundred Springs, I need to give a little background as it relates to my role in the band. Otherwise, you would walk away after reading this thinking “this guy sure worries a lot for a bass player”! In addition to being the somewhat un-animated guy in the boots and blue plaid shirt, who has appeared back and to the left of Matt Hiller every (gig) night since 1992 (with the only exception being a 3 month stretch in early 2006, when I was severely injured and stuck in a wheel chair, and Rocky Garza was kind enough to take over my bass playing duties), my behind the scenes role is a complex and multi faceted one. Some of my duties include: European booking agent (very thankful for our USA agent, Shelby Vanek, who does an excellent job), business manager, project manager, internet systems manager, tour manager, fleet mechanic (thankful to have finally found a trustworthy mechanic, Danny Skinner, who now lightens that load), merchandise manager, travel coordinator, main driver, stage monitor engineer, recording engineer, graphic designer, and more. Oh, and don’t let that word “manager” sound misleading. I am not “managing” other people’s efforts. I am the guy who keeps detailed Excel files and fills out taxes, packs up online store orders and drives to the post office, crawls under the van to change the oil at regular intervals, spends countless hours at the computer building graphics, editing audio, and searching for the right hotel and flight. Heck, up until a few years ago, I even owned and operated a one man print shop, and I still see people wearing shirts that I printed on a 40 year old 4 color manual press.  I get all the band members where they need to be, safe, and on time.  Every dollar that gets spent, and every mile that gets driven receives my strict scrutiny before going in to play. Now that you have a better grasp of my role in the band, the following description of the France trip, from my perspective,  will make a bit more sense.

Before this most recent trip to France, we had played in France, two times prior. When our French promoter Jean Claude Paulin du Besset emailed me in April 2012, I knew that we were in for a bit more negotiating than a typical USA show, due to the travel logistics, 7 hour time difference, and the impersonal nature of email. Luckily, we had worked with JC twice before, and I trusted him to organize a situation that would be fair, not only financially, but to my sensibilities as they relate to the logistics necessary to make something like this happen. To be clear, I like Jean Claude. He is a good promoter, and I like how he does business. Here in the USA, team EHS works at a very high level of efficiency (it truly is a team, with everyone involved pitching in extra effort necessary to keep everyone feeling good about what we are doing). Typical USA shows, whether we drive or fly, are organized in ways that make the best use of all resources (even the abstract ones).  We not only get to the shows on time and safe, but we travel by optimized routing, and back home quickly, well rested (when possible) and most  of all in good spirits.  So, the logistics we were in for, while not optimum, were still fair and reasonable.

So, on to day one. Wednesday December 5, Jordan and his wife Casey are kind enough to pick me up on the way to DFW airport.  Considering that disconnecting the band van from the trailer, then rearranging the parking among my 4 other cars would have been such a headache, and leaving one of my old cars at airport parking is not something that I would do, I was very happy to get a ride to the airport. We were the first in line for our flight to Philadelphia. Wait a second, Philadelphia? American airlines has a 9.5 hour direct flight from DFW to Paris CDG, why spend 4 hours in the air to PHL before heading to France? Well, that is one of the details that while not optimum by our usual standards, was still fair in this context. So DFW  to PHL, no big deal.

 The PHL to Paris CDG flight was not very full, so everyone was able to find a seat that was not directly next to anyone. Having some elbow room on this flight was a big plus. Upon arrival to CDG Paris, it was not yet 8am on Thursday December 6. Our ride to the hotel was in a van that seemed to have exhaust leaking directly into the passenger compartment, compounded by the heater being turned up full blast all the way hot,  and a driver who seemed to be suffering some king of spasms in his right leg while driving. With an impending case of “rumble in the Bronx”, I was looking for a way to get the window open and / or, the best place to vomit while inside a van full of people, as we finally pulled up and stopped in front of our hotel.

 Our hotel was currently under construction, no big deal, we have all experienced that. The real problem was that it was 8am, and there is obviously no way to check in to a hotel room 7 hours before the typical 3pm check in time. (* Side note: had we been on the direct flight from DFW, our arrival time would have been closer to noon, which would have decreased not only our waiting time to check in to the hotel, but our overall length of travel time and level of fatigue.)  In the USA, I would have already booked and paid for the previous night, along with an advance call to the hotel to let them know of our arrival plans. Instead, I found myself in the middle of a situation that is sometimes referred to as “standing there with your dick in your hand”.  Had this been happening in the USA, the band members would have expressed extreme disapproval, and morale would have instantly gone through the floor. Being 28 hours in to what was originally fresh breath and clean drawers, I was ready for an application of toothpaste, deodorant, and fresh underpants; so (compounded by chronic back pain from my previous injuries as mentioned in the opening paragraph), my personal morale took the proverbial trip through the tile. The rest of the group seemed ok with, even excited by, the idea of stashing all our luggage in an unlocked broom closet located in the under construction area of a cheap hotel, then walking to a train station so that we could board the first of several over crowded metro trains, so that we could put 6 more hours between ourselves and our toothbrushes. I immediately switched in to “half full” mode, and figured I could at least get an early start on some sightseeing, and pick up a new guitar cable to replace the one I forgot to pack. I figured that since the hotel restaurant was through a doorway only ten feet away, that we could make a quick pause for coffee (café) and a snack (at what I would later discover was a wonderful complimentary spread with all kinds of food and drink). Instead, we headed out on empty. Not my usual style, but since I had already switched to “go with the flow” mode, I headed out.

Since our previous trips to France didn’t include a day off in Paris, I had never done more than pass through Paris. Spending the morning sightseeing was great, and it definitely left me wanting to see more next time. Once I was back to the hotel, I was able to catch up on some much needed rest, fresh underpants, walked around outside the hotel for a bit, reassembled my bass and Matt’s guitar (we disassembled them and packed them in our one free checked bag rather than pay $100 per guitar each way to check them separately), then ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and went back to bed. The other dudes went out for a night on the town, and seemed to have a great time. I opted to rest up, or as it turns out, drift in and out of sleep while the construction crew made as much noise as possible.

On to Friday morning, I made it to the hotel breakfast (the one that we ran from on Thursday) and had a wonderful free meal. I did a small amount of walking around near the hotel, but being located off the beaten path, there wasn't much to see. Plus it was sleeting that morning, so I headed back to enjoy the sound of impact drills and chisels removing floor tile, before heading to the show.

Load in and sound check at Theatre du Vesinet went great. The provided back line looked just like the photos I sent them in my requests. The theater itself was beautiful, similar to the Granada Theater (as a comparison that some might recognize) , only much older, prettier, and full of plush red theater seating. After sound check, the buyer, Gerard, treated us to a really good dinner. In fact, the dinner accommodated the specific dietary considerations of the band members, and with a smile! In the USA, especially Texas, specific dietary considerations are often met with reactions that either question our sexual preference, or political views. A great meal, with no side order of attitude, how refreshing!  At show time, every seat was full, and every person in every seat genuinely enjoyed the show. The 2 Whole Foods bags full of cds that I brought to the theater turned in to one half empty bag of cds, and a fist full of Euros. Paris: mission accomplished!

Saturday morning came early, with a quick trip to the complimentary breakfast, then back to the room for a short serenade from the construction crew, who’s downbeat is promptly 8am. Once we leave the room at 10am (2am Texas time, Saturday December 8), there would be no sleep ‘til Dallas (11pm Sunday December 9). 46 hours? No problem.  Our new driver, who had taken us to the theater the night before, was a nice lady with a clean Mercedes van. Comfortable van, and she handled the road like a champ. We then traveled by speed train to Angouleme, where Jean –Luc and Mary would then drive us to Saintes. Along the way to Saintes, we passed a building that must have been several hundred years old, with one complete outer wall covered in a 50 foot wide graffiti that read “Rock The Casbah”. I almost asked Jean-Luc to stop so I could take a pic, and now I wish I had.

Upon arrival in Saintes, I could tell that we were in for a great show. The back line equipment was excellent, with a vintage Yamaha recording custom drum set, TWO of Jordan’s particular flavor of high end AER amplifier, and a fine Italian Markbass amp, very similar to my own personal bass amp. The pre-show dinner was possibly one of the best meals I have ever experienced. Again, our dietary considerations were respected, while knocking this meal out of the park! As show time grew near, I could tell this was going to be huge. This was a large dance hall, no seats, and it was getting full.  By the time we hit the stage, the crowd was thick, and pressed up to the front of the stage. We performed at our best, with the only weird thing being that the rear stage lights were so close and hot, that the mic clips on the drum mics were melting, and the mics kept falling off. Several times during the show, I would let a note ring out while I would reach over and reposition the mics on the drum set. We did two or three encores, then the organizers of the show came out on stage and presented us with some bottles of Cognac (Saintes is located near the Southwest Atlantic coast of France, a little West of Cognac) as parting gifts. Jean Claude, who had been watching the merch table while we were on stage, sold all 160 of our cds while we were playing! Usually I sell the cds after the show, but there we no more to sell (note to self, bring more cds next time).  Saintes: mission accomplished, and then some!!

Once the show was over, Jean-Luc took our sandwich order so that he could get some road food ready, while we packed our bags (including disassembling the guitar and bass) and we got ready for the 6 hour drive to the Paris CDG airport. Jean-Luc did most of the driving, with his back up driver taking the last hour. The “Total” road side gas station in France is just like the ones in the USA, only cleaner and with more snack options. The trip was safe and comfortable, many thanks to Jean-Luc for getting us back to Paris.

Once at the airport it was a little after 6am Paris time, and the ticket counter was opening as we arrived. First in line is a good thing, so we got our boarding passes and headed through a very light customs and security line. I don’t mind waiting at the airport, especially when it means being early enough to beat the crowds. Having done the “get to the airport 50 min before your international flight departs” the last 2 times, I really appreciated the early arrival to CDG, even though it meant a 4 hour wait before our  9 hour flight back to Philadelphia, then a 5 hour layover, then another  4+ hour flight back to Dallas DFW. While I certainly have an appreciation for all the elements that go into the travel logistics, this is where some fine tuning on the travel plans would have come in very handy. I do not have the words to describe how badly I wanted to be on American Airlines Flight 49, for the 11 hour flight direct to Dallas, arriving at 3:45pm. Instead, we went to Philadelphia, eventually getting back do Dallas close to 11pm.

Having been to France 3 times, there is one huge misconception that often comes up when recounting these travels to people who have never traveled. Many people say something to the effect “the French are a rude people who don’t like Americans”. This is a myth, and could not be farther from the truth. Obviously, my treatment as a part of the band was extra special. However, I would go so far as to say that my day to day experience dealing with the normal people of France was actually the same, if not more pleasant than the same type of interaction I experience in the USA. It seems that the customer service types that I deal with in the USA often have inadequate comprehension and reasoning skills, compounded by a poor command of the English language. I know, it sounds like I am describing the Dallas Police Department, but this really applies to so many people that I come in to contact with on a daily basis. Once I factor in a certain amount of hearing loss that I suffer due to my years around loud music, my day to day dealings with people can be quite stressful. Dealing with the French people who take pride in their jobs, and make the effort to communicate in as much English as possible made the elements of this trip that were outside of the ones directly related to the band (that were already excellent, due to the situation), a true pleasure. With flights to France costing about the same as a flight to New York or Seattle, hotels available for about $80, meals for $15, and no need to rent a car with train tickets costing about $3; I can honestly recommend France as a vacation destination. Having only received a taste of Paris this trip, I can honestly say that I would consider going back on my own time in search of a more in depth Parisian experience. Coming from someone who micromanages every dollar and minute, that says a lot. Merci d'avoir lu mon blog.