il sogno del marinaio

   our last il sogno del marinaio gig was 'pert-near seven years ago (oct 22, 2017 in nijmegen, netherlands) and damn if I ain't really ready to jump onboard to grab an oar to help w/paddlin this barque forward/onward/ahead w/more vigor! I know the tour's named after the third il sogno del marinaio eight song album "terzo" that comes out may 3 (you can pre-order it here) however, we're not only supporting that on this sally-forth but also our three song seven inch "wing and a prayer" actually just spouted up now - get here, crimony! bof are on improved sequence and we're gonna play most those tunes plus a couple from last tour. like last tour, paolo mongardi will be on drums w/stefano pilia on guitar and myself on bass... all three us were the people who recorded bof "wing and a prayer" and "terzo" also (though we did get help w/some friends on that part). on behalf of the band, I want everyone to know we're very inspired to try our best for every gig on this upcoming tour, play our fucking brains out and bring all we can to the gig-goers in every town we get a chance to bring this latest chapter of il sogno del marinaio music. last but not least, we'er most grateful to swamp for booking this tour, truly.

wednesday, may 15, 2024 - fano, italy


from watt:

   pop at six... today is the first day of the "terzo tour 2024" but I actually arrived last week, on the eighth. that's cuz I haven't done a gig w/these guys in seven years and really need some prac w/them. I really enjoy this "terzo" album realistically I'm thinking no way can pretend we're "that album" cuz for me, an album is not a gig and vice-versa. it can be a good start to "build" a gig but it ain't that fucking bucket of whatever at the end of the dog and pony show, capito? we also got the seven inch to help us, three tunes we recorded separately/remotley a year after "terzo" - yeah, let me explain: fratello paolo and fratello ste came to my pedro town in february of 2019 and we recorded the tunes for "terzo" at _casa hanzo_ w/peetzo (he's also secondmen organman). back in italy, they bof add stuff w/me also doing the same by using recordings I make at my studio tHUNDERpANTS in my pedro apartment. tim in wales ended up mixing it and I thought he did a bitchin job, truly. also the fratelli, I'm really proud to be part of this album. the three tunes for the seven inche ("wing and a prayer" / "tantrum" / "hail mary pass") was kind of my response to "terzo" and even more, the covid19 sitch cuz it looked like a vaccine was coming and so some "light at the end of the tunnel" which gave me optimistic feeling. I thought also maybe we could do some tunes composed on bass in very simple forms - I really think there is a future for the bass as a composition tool, really do. they bof also let me bring perk and petra aboard to bring percussion, bongos, singing and violin.. petra brought also did likewise on some of terzo. music was such a lifeline for me in that sitch... well, fuckin since d boon's ma put me on bass actually! you can imagine now too, maybe always after that big sea-change for me when I was twelve and out of navy housing...

   fratello ste found a b & b called "a casa mia" on via del pratello west of bologna's center of town. I really dig it cuz it's got a kitchen so I can cook. yeah, stuff I've learned from my ma but developed my way: saute style where I start w/a foundation of olive oil in a high-sided frying pan w/fresh sliced-up onion, zucchini, celery, ginger, garlic and chilies... after those cook up, I add the protein and then usually some kind of frozen vegetable like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, greens beans, asparagus or artichoke - I rotate them all around cuz I feel I need variety. I spend about seventy euros (about $76) to get this much at a nearby mini "coop" store nearby and figure this can last the next six days and damn if it don't. we do our pracs about a half-hour hobble for me away just off via marconi on via grabinski - it's called grabinski point and two floors down is where we're at to prac. for an a amp I'm using the ashdown "rootmaster" I got in wales on the 2017 tour and for a speakerbox, I'm using the lombardi one I used when il sogno del marinaio was first doing gigs, it's got a 12" and 15" speaker mounted concentrically. I brought a little pedal from jhs called the pulp n peel that has compression, a tilt-eq, blend and adjustable "rat" distortion but I use these pretty minimally - it's also got a xlr direct out for just in case.

   about prac: of course we gotta focus on each tune and how we're gonna play together for each one but after a couple days (eight/nine hours each), I have to have a spiel to explain what over forty years of touring has taught me which is a gig is not just one tune, it's a set which means a collection of tunes and not just that but the transitions in between each so I plead for some attention for that perspective. they're bof very kind to help me w/this, we finish working out all the individual song stuff w/one day to go and so on tuesday, we can rock some "dress rehearsal" - I think they call it that in the theatre world. man, I feel a lot me relieved cuz I was having some fucking anxiety nightmares - I get those the first week of tour anyway but this was still in the prac phase! crimony. we get to run through the whole enchilada twice and then we do an instore at hellnation which is a really happening record store here in bologna. enrico croci is here again and I spend almost the whole two hours (fano's about a hundred miles from bologna) spieling w/him besides meeting the improved sequence jefe gianluca (also freakout club) and jonathan (he put out "terzo" and the seven inch - I meet michelangelo also, he did the artwork for bof) and I'm so glad cuz they're great cats, I really grateful for their kindness.

   gig day and we get to do one more rundown of the set... on my way to prac, it being my last time hobbling down via del pratello, I take many fucking photos - first day I've been here where the weather hasn't been sunny and like my pedro town, there's some light rain and so a little slippery but I left the konk pad real early w/bof sacks (one on back one on my chest) and move real REAL slow and careful. there's marble sidewalks a lot of the way but only once did my crutch 'pert-near slide out - that was enough to give me a heart attack! crimony.

   we do the final prac and say good bye to "point grabinski" (it's been a good six days!) as we load up fratello paolo's fiat minivan. I have very comfortable spot right behind him in his role as wheelman. enrico croci is gonna sit next to me cuz he's w/us to fano - he booked the fucking gig. of course fratello fede at swamp booked the tour but enrico croci booked this gig. we pull anchor around two and it takes a couple hours as travel southeast to the coast - the side of italy that's on the adriatic but I don't notic cuz me and enrico croci spiel the entire way, we have a good time. this venue is called bagno elsa and it's right on the fucking beach, I dig it MUCH! the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea... man, it reminds me of my pedro town - especially this one part we call "royal palms" - whoa! love it. the rain has let up but there's a little wind so they gig cats put up some stuff to help w/that... most though is still open-air, fuck yeah! carlo and allesandro are the sound cats and they're most kind truly. at soundcheck I find the orange box I brought (jhs "pulp and peel") solves a hum prob cuz this di on the ashdown amp has no ground lift - I will use this way for the rest of the tour, makes good sense to me.

   the spacepony is opening up this show, a band from ravenna (up the coast) and I've known stefano and david for a long time, they've been to many stooges gigs and have always most kind to me. I dig their band also - they ask me to do a song w/them, their bassman nick lends me his fender p and their keyboard/violinist frank helps direct me, very kind. frank on the drums is also right there for me. we do soundcheck (bof bands) and then enrico croci takes me a little way down the road to chow at "bagnacciuqwa" and I have some pasta and tiny clams that's really fuckin good. crimony. we do more spiel, love it! however, he gets a yank on his leash and it's fratello ste saying the spacepony is on and I gotta get back to join them for "hopefulness" - our song together. I make it and doing ok though I blow some clams... it ain't nothing compared to what's gonna happen when it's il sogno del marinaio's turn. I enjoy the spacepony gig much and am inspired - however, that ain't enough!

   fuck, I lose my nerve when we hit about ten after eight. crimony. clam after clam but I gotta say fratello paolo is a "pillar of stability" for me and helps me hang on. there's just so much to remember! crimony. we keep the keel in the water - fratello ste is a big reason and so are the fano gig-goers, they're most kind and open-minded I feel and it buoys me up and keeps from totaling freaking out. yeah, all these years of tour and still this kind of thing can happen w/me. I don't know what to say, there's no excuse. I 'pert-near shat a pecan-log, I shit thee not, truly. oh man, there ain't enough hours in the day for me to chimp here about all the clams cuz there was fuckin buttload on account of me. ahhhh, so embarrassing but I don't know of anyway to get through it except to "walk through the fire" - kind of how mr bukowski put it, correct? you know he spent his last fourteen years in my pedro town? got to meet him once and he was very kind to me. his wife linda still lives there... anyway, I thank the gig-goers most kind to me and david from the spacepony gives me a tshirt - as well as a guitarman, he's also a longshoreman (like my secondlmen peeto and jer) and this has something to that. he tells me about a monument to sailors in his ravenna town he's gonna help move... good man, david - so glad to know him, truly.

   enrico croci takes me to a 'tel nearby called "blumen" and I fuckin konk nearly as soon as I get naked and crumple... first gig of a tour always beats me up, even after seventy of them, I never get used to it. crimony.





thursday, may 16, 2024 - pescaro, italy


from watt:

   pop at eight - what? yep, I was that fuckin beat and mainly from anxiety and almighty hand-wringing. I need to speak to fratello ste about some adjusts maybe to our stuff but first it's fill-out-forms-time w/the uk-these-days stuff. arrrgghhh but it's gotta be done, gotta. first I shovel some fried eggs they got at the 'tel next door (guess bof pads are owned by same whatever), coff from a machine (maybe some kind of coff-syrup getting mixed into hot water?) that makes me 'pert-near heave a couple of tiny salami - when was the last time I ate salami? damn, I used to chow it all the time but like a lot of other stuff I used to do all the time... quote the raven, correct? some cucumber slices and then outside fratello tells me about his dentist grandpa and gym teacher pop - his pop was the one who told him to go for drums after he told his pop he didn't wanna be a dentist... I think of al jolson and "the jazz singer" movie. I tell him about my pop and his twenty year hitch w/the navy, getting to chief... how my ma decided was it as far as moving and cuz of that, I met d boon and...

   pull anchor at one... big bye bye to enrico croci, hope to see him again soon... he really seemed in good health and spirit, really did. we're supposed to come down the coast all the way to the next gig but cuz of a bicycle race, we gotta find a detour to get inland some to the autostrada. police all over at checkpoints but they were no help - the fratelli working together using a leash provides the success. a little bit of rain and some haze but not heavy - what's heavy is talking cold war stuff and things my pop told me while I was a boy in those days, "broken arrows" and shit like that... we spiel only a little bit about this - oh, here's an "art" connect that came up: mr kubrick's "2001" movie - not one cat I've asked ever has guessed right what is it the bone "becomes" when bonecrusher does that bone-toss up into space... they 'pert-near always say "spacecraft" and sure it is but if you read the book mr clarke wrote, it's a fuckin weapon. ok, basta. the sprinkles of rain stop and we got some hazy sun for the rest of our drive while I switch from spieler to chimping diary and bof fratelli spiel w/each other up front in italiano. we pull over at a service area twenty of four to check out some weird feel fratello paulo has w/the coche... he just had the transmission belts changed so... "transmission belts" - hmm... front-wheel drive fiat mini-van, I got no experience but I respect him wondering what's up, something not feeling correct - the sign of a good man - he cares about the folks he's schlepping around, you know? much respect.

   we get into pescara 'pert-near to four and a half (it was a little over two hundred klicks of road) and after checking out where the gig pad is, we head over to where the konk pad is, not too far away... called "hotel b & b" - fratello paulo calls some buddies who've got buddies who know a mechanic here and so he takes the coche over there while we do a little siesta at the konk pad. coming on six, time for load-in so damn if fratello's got some interesting news for us: the fucking lug nuts on the wheels were loose! crimony... he changed the tires right before we shoved off so... he said the mechanic man told him he "saved our lives" and fuck yeah I big time believe that. crimony. can you believe that shit? happened to one of joe baiza's drummermen, jason kahn. he told me about getting new tires for his ride and right after, on the freeway - in the fast lane - he notices for about two or three seconds his front port-side wheel ahead of him - WHAT?! then BOOM, sparks flying everywhere and the coche spinning as traveling on three wheels couldn't last forever! crimony. so glad he survived. anyway, I truly believe this mechanicman saved us from a real hell, truly. do I have "hope" in a guy putting on tires or do I have "fait" maybe? maybe this question is beyond semantics? "hope" is kind of "iffy" so maybe we check to be sure? maybe the word "trust" is involved? crimony. this stuff has to be settled w/action and not words, I think - people's lives are at stake (ours!), this is not for just spiel at the chow table! crimony.

   the gig pad for tonight is called scumm and we meet the jefe luca who tells us this area is the old town left in the city cuz of all the destruction that was brought here here from world war II. we do soundcheck w/soundman manut and I have us try some changes to two of our tunes - I love the "terzo" versions but this is a gig we're doing live so maybe some edits in parts could help. also fratello ste suggests I take a stroll on the bass when I do the spiel for "max roach 8 ball" and I agree that it's the best move for us at this point. the "edits" I suggested are for "pulling myself by the hair" and "none dare call it conspiracy" and if it was literature maybe the expression "more punchy" could be used cuz of what I feel is from us "tightening up" the arrangements in context of this set we're bringing the gig-goers. the room we're playing in is trippy, the jefe luca says it was a jail from olde-time. crimony. it is interesting though. after check we go only a little way to this chow pad called "tiella" - yesterday was rough on me a little bit, chowing right before we played. I explain to fratello ste it's better for me to chow like two hours before getting on stage and as for chowing AFTER gig, that's no bueno for me, I stopped doing that years ago cuz of it hurting me. anyway, this chow pad has specialty of abruzzo (the regione pescara is in) which is sheep meat on skewers, sheep live also and that's what I chow along w/a salad... it is very VERY good. I thought I would have fish cuz of being on the coast but there was none on the menu... trippy, huh? I'm glad I got to chow this. we have these far-ranging spiels about all kinds of stuff 'til right before our gig. on-stage time is ten and a half but no opening act so we're able to hit right on time.

   I have my confidence way more together tonight than last night BUT there still are some clams from me. the pescara gig-goers are very kind though and help me actually more than intimidate me which is what happens w/me when I get afraid. there's a cat up front who really helps rally me, his enthusiasm is really contagious on me and also fratello ste w/the eye contact really helps me big time. again fratello paolo brings good drums but he's not used to the eye contact thing... maybe that will develop? I have a real good feeling about us playing this gig, I actually laugh very much through the whole trip. I'm having a good time, really even though a couple of tunes I feel I'm being pushed a little too much - I can have a discussion w/the band tomorrow when we drive but really, it's a HUGE rally for me after last night, really is. understand I blew some clams, none mightier than the coda a whole step too high in "verse IX" or stomping all over where fratello was supposed to get us into the last big go 'round in "grabbing myself by the hair" or... or... or... you get the picture, wall fixture? not all together but a fucking buttload better in ways that I think mean way more than of what I was just kvetching over, YES.

   I sign stuff from the pescara gig-goers, take photos... really kind people truly - one tells me he works bass, yes, a bassbrother - big hug! I always pack my stuff right when I finish and that's why it takes me a little time but then I never have to go back which is good when you're cripple... the jefe luca takes the veccio (old man) to the konk pad which is happening cuz it's midnight now - the latest I've been up since I left my pedro town. after all those pracs I would konk right after hobbling back to the konk pad, just too tuckered to continue and anyway, back home I only stay up to do gigs, otherwise I'm out like at seven or eight pm. now last night I did hose off like stonato but tonight I make sure I do and then konk.