 About This Blog Thanks for stopping by the blog of singer/songwriter Dan Coyle; I'll keep this little gem up to date while on the road, writing, recording, and meeting my fans at shows. This may give you some insight into just how weird I can be - and all of the weird things I enjoy. There will be stories, poems, rants, musings, and other forms of writing that my feeble vocabulary cannot contend with. Hope you enjoy! Main Blog Page Older Blog Archives | March 14, 2011 We Were Treated Like Kings I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love Berlin, right? Yes, I certainly have and I definitely do. Apart from that, the smaller towns in Germany seem to be just as great; here is why: View photos relating to this post here. We left Berlin on March 11 to head to Hannover, catch a train to Sarstedt and play a show at 830pm; busy day right? We arrived at Rainer’s Rockhaus with a few hours to spare and everyone was immediately very friendly; which after living in New York City for a little over a year, tends to make me very suspicious. I jest. We grabbed the key to our hotel room and said we would be back for sound check in a couple of hours. The hotel room was fantastic. Very spacious, very clean, great shower, what more could I ever want? After relaxing and cleaning up, we headed back to the venue for dinner and drinks. Dinner was nothing short of amazing; something special that the owner whipped up without even asking us what we would like. Pure perfection. Oh and I mentioned free drinks, right? They were not kidding, as our beer glasses (the moment we emptied them) were immediately filled very promptly time after time. Yum! The show was great, with folks singing along to the songs that they knew and listening very intently to the songs they didn’t know; it was wonderful. We stayed to drink and talk to the locals for a few hours, then passed out in the hotel, woke up and caught a ride back to Berlin; easy as that. We’ve been here for a few days now and are already getting ready to leave for Dortmund and ultimately Unna for a show at the Spatz & Wal on March 17; let’s hope to be placed back upon the throne again! March 9, 2011 Sightseeing in Berlin I am pleasantly surprised with Berlin so far. It’s very laid back and easy- going here; and beautiful, it’s even beautiful. See photos relating to this blog post here. We’ve spent the last few days getting mildly acquainted with what Berlin has to offer. We’ve walked along the river, went over a beautiful bridge to Berlin Island, took a nap by the river, saw what is left of the Berlin Wall, and wandered through some local neighborhoods and parks. If you want to see some of what we’ve seen, view the photos here. My favorite part so far has been seeing the Wall. Every piece of it is now colored brightly with artwork completed by artists from around the world, in a show of support for the people of Berlin once again uniting their city from East to West. As it goes with most artwork, we enjoyed some better than others. I found it very inspiring to see something that was once so divisive and such a scourge on the people, be transformed into such a beautiful and majestic addition to the city; no where else in the world will you find this exact thing. Tonight is my one and only show in Berlin, and I’m very excited. People often ask me if I get nervous before shows. The fact of the matter is, that wore off a long time ago, thankfully. Now I get jittery with anticipation; I wish showtime was here already! We leave Friday to travel to a very small town, Sarstedt, to play one show that night and head back to Berlin on Saturday. We are then helping friends move on Sunday (apparently wherever you go in the world, you cannot escape helping friends move!) and then it will be back to sightseeing for a few days before we head to Unna to play a show. So tonight in Berlin, I will post photos and video in the next few days. I am trying to release my videos from London one at a time and a few days apart, as to not inundate too much! You should visit my YouTube channel to stay up to date when I post new videos; just hit the subscribe button. Lastly, I have a new blog (it’s not mine) that you should stop by and read; I think you will like it. March 7, 2011 To Be In Berlin, What A Relief After spending a month in London playing great shows, but muddling through a city that’s just not for me, it’s nice to be in a place where I feel so much more like I belong. Watch a video from my last show in London here. Yes, I’ve only been in Berlin for two days, but I have done a lot of traveling and I know how to read my instincts. My instincts are telling me that I will, undoubtedly, very much enjoy it here. The entire society and feel of Berlin appeal to me so much more than London ever has. The vibe of the city reminds me of Austin, TX and even a little bit of Portland. We wandered around a bit today and enjoyed sitting in a park, watching children play, dogs chase each other, couples relaxing with wine or beer, and even saw a group of Berliners walking on tightropes that they had attached between trees in the park; it was very cool. To me, there is a very strong feeling here of freedom. Do your thing and all is good. Spray-paint the walls if you must, enjoy your beer and wine while walking down the street, etc, etc. I like the idea of entering a country and showing your passport, them asking absolutely no questions, stamping your passport and you move along; now that sounds like freedom. I have two days before my first show in Germany, which is at Intersoup in Berlin. I like the setup. I play downstairs, get paid to play along with a bowl of soup and six beers; now that’s dinner! In short, I’m glad to be here, very much refreshed already and I can feel the 2011 Euro Tour moving into a new, meaningful phase. Folk music world, here comes Dan Coyle. March 5, 2011 Goodbye London, Hello Germany! Don’t get me wrong, London is a nice city and all, but it’s not really for me. I won’t pontificate on why that is, it just is. Needless to say, we are very glad to be flying to Berlin tomorrow morning. See photos relating to this blog post here. Our stay in London has lasted one month; and I would say, two to three weeks too long. The shows were all very good actually, with a couple of exceptions. I would say that I was very happy with five of the eight shows, which is a pretty good success rate. My final show was this past week at The Bedford Arms. An amazing venue that is shaped like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and has one of the best sounding rooms I’ve ever played in. The crowd was large and silent throughout my set and I had a really great time, met some amazing folks, and got rid of several CDs (always a big plus). The last few days and nights in London were spent seeing a few final sites, such as: Buckingham Palace, The Children’s Hour, Marble Arch, National Portrait Gallery, and The Clink Museum. A good way to spend a few days before moving on. We land in Berlin tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to seeing some friends, exploring a new city, and playing four shows in four different cities. If you know anyone in Berlin, Sarstedt, Unna, or Kiel please let them know to check out my tour dates, and come along! It should be a great continuation of an already successful tour, and I can’t thank all of you enough, but I’ve tried my best here. Lastly, if you know anyone in Italy, I will soon begin booking shows throughout Italy for June, so if they have any suggestions of venues to play where my music would work well, tell them to email me here. Lebewohl for now, look for an update from Germany soon! February 24, 2011 And What Do We Hear, But Bob Dylan Camden, London, UK is apparently the home of Bob Dylan; not literally of course, but everywhere we go in Camden we hear more and more Dylan. See photos relating to this blog post here. Amy Winehouse, remember her? She apparently built her early career and reputation in Camden. It’s a fun area of London with a great market, a lot of pubs, and drunk people in the streets at all hours of the day and night. So, as you can imagine, it suited me quite well to spend a few days in and around Camden. While wandering through the market, stopping for some food, getting into an overly-stuffed pub for a drink, there was something I kept hearing; the one, the only, Bob Dylan. They play Dylan in the street, in the pub, in their tents at the market, it’s unbelievable! But for me, knowing that I had a gig in Camden on February 17th, I used it to my advantage. I knew that my most ‘folky’ songs would likely go over really well in this part of town, and they did. I played to a nice little crowd that night, sold some CDs, which is always a big plus, and met some great people. I had some random folks in the crowd taking photos of my performance; always a nice ego boost. By Friday the 18th, I had developed an ever-present sore throat and had lost my voice. So my show at the Regal Room was quite interesting. During sound-check I had no voice, forget about hitting any notes; it was looking pretty bleak. I got up in front of a packed house at 9pm, and the crowd was truly amazing. They were incredibly supportive, attentive, and engaging. The show turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever played; and all that with no voice! The past few days have been spent resting, recovering, and visiting some museums. The Victoria and Albert Museum was very interesting, with great artifacts and craft-work. Tonight I head to the Zenith Bar for a fun show from 730-11pm. Then just two days off before I play at The Tabernacle on the 27th, and The Bedford on March 2nd. March 5th we fly to Berlin to continue the European Tour in Germany for three weeks. This is off to an incredible start; I am a very blessed and very lucky person. Thank you all so much for all that you do to support me; I can’t thank you enough. February 14, 2011 Jimi Hendrix Stayed There, The Who Played There, Now I've Played There The 2011 European Tour has officially kicked off! With two shows now dead-and-gone, we press on with six more shows in London. See photos relating to this blog post here. In my opinion, there are very few things that could have made the first two shows of the 2011 tour much better; and here is why. It was a Thursday night at The Icarus Club that officially began my 2011 tour. The venue was amazing. It is inside of an old hotel, with beautiful high ceilings, arches, wonderfully sculpted, and all-around gorgeous. The promoter, Andy, was a great host. The crowd was attentive and quiet during the set, which is always appreciated. There were about 35 folks there, but in a room that only holds about 50, it was nicely filled. You can see a video of “Something’s Changed” from this show here. The following night was a show at the Boogaloo, which is a pretty well-known and well-liked club around London. The crowd was large and rambunctious, in a very good way. There were about 100 folks out for the show, some were dancing, all were having a great time; and I did too! Tonight we head to 93 Feet East, which is an even more well-known and well-liked club, on famous Brick Lane. This promises to be another fun show as there will be 7 acts playing over 2 rooms inside the club; I’m told it runs much like a little festival. Other than that, we are finally getting adjusted to Greenwich Mean Time. We have already made some great friends here: Four Aussies named Daniel, Kellie, Jack, and Angus. Two Brits named Johnathan and Andy; and an American named Sidney. Tonight we hope to make more friends and have a fun time, but I can already tell that sleep will be a welcomed luxury tonight. The London Eye Can See You No, not the thousands of CCTV cameras all over London-Town, well actually those too, but I’m talking about my eyes seeing London’s sites again, including the London Eye. See photos relating to this blog post here. In anticipation of the soon-to-come eight shows in three weeks, we decided to do some touristy things around London as we adjust to the time change, bland food, British accents, and hefty £1 and £2 coins. The first real day in London ended with a bit of a 24-48 hour bug, sufficiently nauseating us while we fluctuated between hot flashes and sweat, cold flashes and shivering. Having overcome the bug, we headed out to see some of what London has to offer. Since we were staying close to Camden Town, we headed down to the largest market in Europe, Camden Lock Market. It was pretty sporty, although on a Monday it’s not that full of folks selling and buying, but we got the idea. I also had a chance to check out the place where I’m playing on February 17th, inSpiral Lounge. They have awesome food, with a great crowd, and I’m really excited for the show. Having crushed our hunger, we headed out to see the London Eye and Big Ben. Still feeling a little ill, we decided to take a pass on going for a ride just yet. It was still fun to walk by the Thames and check out the sites. Securing another nine solid hours of sleep, we took to the tube, again with camera in hand, and headed to the Tate Modern Museum. After about 90 minutes of wandering, we remembered that neither of us are huge fans of modern art, but we had heard that they have a great cafe in the museum and there we went. Having filled our bellies with coffee, iced tea, and a wonderful scone with butter cream and preserves, we scoped out Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. I would say that if you’ve noticed my writing and my English to be greatly improved during this post, that is why; but, alas, I know it is not. I thought the theatre was pretty grand, since I’m a bit of a theatre nerd myself, but we couldn’t see all that much from the inside. Taking a trek across the Millennium Bridge to the other bank of the Thames, we strolled through some beautiful, narrow, cobble-stone streets and enjoyed the scenery. Now we’re back ‘home’ chilling with four Aussies, one American, and ourselves. Tomorrow we head off to stay with friends Andrew and Jonathan. Thursday night kicks off the 2011 tour at 8pm at The Icarus Club, at the Station Hotel, 14 Staplehurst Road, Lewisham SE13 5NB. It really is a wonderful place, and has a rich musical heritage - Jimi Hendrix stayed there, The Who played there, now I’m going to play there; maybe that will be the title of my next blog post. Entry is free to the show, see you soon! February 5, 2011 We Land in London, We Stay in London; Well, For a Month It’s finally here. The 2011 European tour has kicks off in London on February 10th. See photos relating to this blog post here. I am glad to be here. I mean, really really glad to be here. We made it to London, with way too much luggage, which we left with an Algerian who we didn’t know, purchased a new suitcase, ate dinner, and took an hour ride on the tube to crawl into bed and sleep. Got it? Maybe I’ll break it down for you. We flew from JFK to Reykjavík, which was a 5 hour flight, had a two hour layover, and then took a 3 hour flight to London. It was fabulous. We landed, made our way through customs, and hopped on the tube to Piccadilly Circus. We promptly found a place to sit and eat. While eating at a French restaurant, Le Troisieme, we made friends with one of the owners, Ali. Did I mention that we had (well, still have) way too much luggage to carry around? Well we do, so we wanted to immediately find a big bag that we could roll, and transfer a bunch of things into that. Ali pointed us in the direction of the market, and was nice enough to let us keep our bags at the restaurant while we went out; it was a glory and a wonder! We found a bag for £30 and headed back to Ali’s. We soon became lost, as we decided to weave our way through London’s China Town. We took some photos and then spent 45 minutes trying to find the restaurant. It was fun though, and we made it back, picked up our bags and headed to the tube station. By about 7pm, we made it to our friend Nicolas’ house, rang his bell, dragged our things up the stairs, and plopped ourselves down on his couch; what a relief! We slept for about 9 hours, got up at 9am (which feels like 4am with the time change) and headed out to explore Wimbledon. So here I sit, in Wimbledon, writing this blog post and hoping you will enjoy it. Tomorrow we head to Camden to stay with some friends from Australia, then it’s just a few days until the first two shows of the 2011 tour! See you back here soon! |