Örebro

This was my first time in Örebro and it didn't start out good.  My first quest was to find food.  The location of the one vegetarian restaurant I read about eluded me and I got stuck paying way too much for a tortilla with lettuce and guac at some taco joint. Next I tried to find some of the guys, but with no success. Back at the hotel, I managed to get a hold of Matt who was at the festival with none other than one of my absolute favorite Swedes, the adorable LG of Entombed.  I jumped in a taxi and headed out.  Now, without a European sim card I lack the luxury of being able to text people when I'm not within wifi range, so upon arrival I searched for the boys... and searched, then searched some more. I hung around long enough for the crowd to spill out then jumped in a taxi back (which was no easy feat either). Annoyed and disappointed I went back to the hotel. One peek into the lobby tho and the night was saved - Biffen! Yet another of my favs :) From that point on, people trickled in and the rest of the night was a blast!

The following day was warm and sunny and I had all day to explore. I'm starting to believe that jogging is the best way to check out a new town. So far, at least in Europe, every time I wind up discovering a beautiful park. In Örebro, it was a botanical garden filled with sculpture and a path conveniently guiding my way.  It also took me right up to the city's most exciting feature,Örebro Castle, which as luck would have it gave me an amazing view from my hotel window. To top it off, the festival sent us to a local restaurant for meals, and although they had nothing vegan on the menu, they made me a special dish and it was outstanding. ~If you haven noticed by now, the easiest way to win me over is to feed me well :)

Another great attribute of Örebro is it's location. Stockholm and Gothenburg are both within a couple hours drive. I hadn't realized this so it was a great surprise to see so many familiar faces at the show. Also, joining us were Mike and Andy's wives who are some of my favorite chicas!

Biffen!

LG!

The view from my hotel room - woot!

A great surprise seeing Patrik Jensen :)

Copenhagen - Part 2

After Tivoli, our drum tech Sebastian and I took a train north up the coast to check out Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.  I gotta say, it was pretty damn refreshing to hear someone other than me suggest going to a museum!  The museum is in a nice, residential area, and the grounds are right on the water.  We soaked up some much needed sun while strolling through the sculpture park before heading inside. The current exhibit featured Pop Art by some of the biggies - Warhol, Lichtenstein, Hamilton, Eames, Panton and Sottsass.  I'd actually seen a few of the pieces before in the Warhol Museum in Pitsburgh, and it was cool to see them again.  I was most impressed by the installations. Here's a few shots, but they don't do justice at all.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 

CPH - Part 1

It was a loooong ride from Geselkirchen to Copenhagen. Spent most of the day in and out of sleep between blowing through a book. Some of the other guys had a little more fun thanks to a successful stop at duty free right before crossing the border into Denmark.  I scored some soy milk and chocolate pudding (woot!) while Pontus, (our sound engineer, you may know better as guitarist for Hammerfall) stocked up on libations :) 

Copenhagen is my European home away from home so it's always nice to be back. Over the years I've gained many friends who live here. This particular visit gave me a chance to catch up with one I've seen only for a moment in the 12 years since we toured together. Anders, who I met thanks to the 2001 tour when Konkhra supported King Diamond, treated me to a home cooked meal - which is good for everyone since I get cranky when it's been too long without good food :)

Matt and I, along with Kuba decided to take the plunge and finally (after about a half dozen times in CPH) see Tivoli. It was pretty cool to walk through but we didn't go on any rides. While I could have been convinced, Matt is an even bigger wuss than me and Kuba didn't seem to care. Like a lot of amusement parks, it features themes from around the world - I was surprised by the amount of Asian influence. All in all, it was a cool spot to visit on a sunny day and I'm glad I finally checked it out.

Pontus!

Creepy statue in Tivoli!

Rock Hard Fest

It's coo coo crazy how fast news travels via the interwebs! The first show was an excellent kick off to the tour! When I arrived catering hooked me up with a much needed, delicious tofu dish. I knew right away it would be a good night ;)

rocknroll-reporter.de

Photo by Thorsten Seiffert

Hit the Road

The tour bus came yesterday - a Red Car double decker.  As luck would have it, it was suggested that I take the bunk in the front lounge, which means more space for me! It probably means that my little cove will also be a hang out spot, but that's cool, I like company. 

"Who's in the front lounge?". 

"Jodi is." 

Kuba, our Polish guitar tech turns to me, "You drink vodka?". 

"Yep." 

"OK." 

With that, any fears that the guys might resent me for getting the sweet bunk were diminished.

So far my time in Gelsenkirchen has consisted of a trip to the festival grounds for a meet-n-greet with fans, and a bit of exploring today. While the walk earlier didn't prove to be very interesting, the weather was beautiful and I couldn't complain about the scenery.  Later I went for a run and discovered a stadium. It's so nice to roll up on a place and find trails just waiting for me to get my exercise on! And when I saw the area (of which there were several) for bike parking - holy crap! I had to snap a pic. Check it put Philly - this is how it's done…

Oh! I almost forgot the craziest thing that happened yesterday. I turned on the tv and stumbled across some German channel. Noticing a bunch of metal heads on the program I stopped to watch for a few. Turned out the story was about a metal cruise - and who popped up on the tv? The girl that picked me up from the airport! How random is that?? I wish I could remember her name - Stetska? If you ever read this, say hi!

Final Rehearsal Day

Today was our final rehearsal before heading to Rock Hard Festival.  It's been a fun week getting back in touch with the songs, getting to know the new crew, and in general getting back into tour mode. Grandma has gotten a face-lift and I've been performing minor surgery to get her new look just right. I can't wait to hit the stage!

In other news, I was chatting yesterday with a potential client looking for a logo design. His band was on the same label as Hal Patino's band Maryann Cotton, his band's manager is in Single Bullet Theory, who toured with King Diamond years back, and his wife is from Germany - he's even been to the exact town we are rehearsing in to visit a relative who lives here. It was just crazy to discover so many 2-degrees-of-seperation between us. The world is a small place!

Running with the Swans

I spent a lot of time on my computer today running through the set. I did take a break to get outside for a run tho and was lucky enough to find a nice path nearby.  I couldn't follow it too far cause one too many turns and I'd wind up lost, but I was on it long enough to encounter a pretty lake area with a swan swimming in it. Ironically, the last time I went running in Europe, last year in Sweden, I also saw a swan - I'm hoping this is some sort of trend! Also behind me when I took this picture were about half a dozen rather large rabbits scurrying about.  Not a bad day. Of course, when I got back to rehearsals and mentioned where I'd been, Chris, our monitor engineer, turned to me with wide eyes, "There's a park nearby?! You RUN?!! I don't know which I'm more surprised by."

Willkommen

The first time I flew out to work with King Diamond I knew no one. No crew, no band, and had no idea what would happen when I arrived at the airport. Obviously I've gotten to know everyone by now, but crew members change, and over the years I have still never known who would be coming to retrieve me. I've grown to enjoy this little mysterious ritual. Oddly enough, I wound up explaining to two different friends this past week how often its a stranger who picks me up but somehow we always just know when we see each other. I chuckled when each person asked if a person would be waiting for me with my name on a sign. No, that's never happened.

I stepped off my flight and followed the masses to passport control. The officer asked me how long I'd be staying and his eyes popped at my response. "How many days is that?" "I dunno, like 3 months". Out came his calendar and with it my nerves. I know my tour manager knew what he was doing when he booked my flight, but if there was any question I didn't have anything to argue with - work visas and any paperwork were in management's hands, not mine. "90 days. That's perfect, but you have to leave that day, you cannot stay another day."

Whew!

Relieved, I collected my bag from the carousel and started walking. All I knew is that a girl should be picking me up (what girl? I've never been picked up by a girl before - like that matters). I spotted her right away, and she in turn knew me by the laughter I couldn't hold back... as I looked at her little handwritten sign: JODI CACHIA

Take off time!

Today begins a new journey. The past 4 months have been some of the busiest I can remember.  I've been dealing with a kitchen rehab, preparing to leave a job after 15+ years, trying my hand at sculpting and learning the process of plaster casting, working on mixed media pieces for an art show/fundraiser for PAWS, and gearing up for the summer 2013 King Diamond tour. I'm pretty beat and my house is a mess, but it's all eyes forward today as I await my flight to Frankfurt. My phone will be shut off for 3 months, but I will be reachable by email, AIM, Viber, WhatsApp, and of course you can follow my blog to keep tabs on me :) So long Philly, see you in August!

Homeward Bound

A great opportunity to purchase art AND help Philly's homeless pets, all at my favorite neighborhood vegan spot! Very Excited to be part of this show opening May 10.