"We woke up parked out side of Stazzione Birra. I stepped outside for my morning cigarette to find a homeless man outside the door. “What a disgrace! How pathetic! Aw! And the smell? Get it together buddy! Show some pride!”......It was Joe. Apparently, he chose the rain outside over the heat inside of the bus. That was when I realized: Whenever I see a homeless person from now on, I am going to assume that they are really a musician on tour and I will ask them for their autograph.
Another great club with a crew that can not be matched by any U.S. venue. Fabio was our stage sound man. Yes! The Fabio. He took time out from getting laid to do stage set up for echolyn. An in-house bass rig, drum kit and guitar amp cut our set up time in half.
Judging by the seagulls looming over my head it was time for a desperately needed shower. I sauntered upstairs to the locker room to purify myself in the waters of the Roman aqueducts. Apparently, the Romans never devised a system for heating water? Shampoo; Rinse; Oh my God!!! Oh my God!!!! (hyperventilate) (hyperventilate) ;Wash face and torso; Oh my God!!! Oh my God!!!! (hyperventilate) (hyperventilate); Wash undercarriage;…You get the picture.
There are a few shows in my history with the echolyn that will stand out among the greatest experiences of my musical career. Our first show in Quebec , our first show at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia (although the staff there is a bunch of dicks) and Stazzione Birra in Rome. This is by no means to take away from the rest of the tour which will forever be cemented in my brain as the best time I have ever had. But, tonight was one of those nights where the planets were aligned. We had an amazing time on stage, the audience was huge and there was just that right atmosphere.
After the last encore we couldn’t wait to express our personal gratitude to each fan. This is where the culture shock ensued. The average American male does not kiss other men. I put my hand out to the first person I met and “ptswa” “ptswa!” on each cheek. Mind you, I’m not complaining! It just took me by surprise. However, after agonizing over the idea, I’ve decided not to infuse this gesture into American culture….But dammit, if I wasn’t going to go looking for Fabio before the night was through!
After an easy breakdown, we hung out and drank with the staff. The barmaid on duty had me join her (somebody loves me) for a late dinner of beer, cheese and “speck” which is a salt-and-cold-smoke cured ham (Yea. I looked it up). It was delicious. Our dining pleasure was cut short by Joe (the homeless guy) lumbering into the club shirtless and sweaty. Suddenly cold salty meat wasn’t as appetizing.
The hospitality of Alessandro and his father Marchello, the owners of the club, did not end that night…………………"
