so, here i am back at the gut city safehouse, decorative stamp headquarters, having finished penning the daily field reports from the czech republic tour, yet still filled with a wish to word but a little more. one last transmission to highlight quite how wonderful a time it was, quite how amazing all of the organisers and listeners truly were, quite how beautiful a country it is, and quite how much i eagerly anticipate returning before too many moons pass. it must be said that, although i was very much looking forward to the tour, to heading to new lands and meeting new friends, one could never really anticipate quite how much of an amazing experience it would be and how overwhelmingly filled with happiness i would be at this week-long excursion through bohemia and moravia.
as i did not shy away from mentioning on many occassion, the whole reason that the tour transpired was very much due to the marvelous david zeman, who first showed keen interest in arranging a show or two for me after the 2econd class citizen & cars and trains tour of last winter saw those two bold captains traversing the czech republic and crossing his path. in all honestly, it felt like something of an honour to be following in the footsteps of those two awesome artists, and how it gave me much joy to be able to perform a full gambit of songs i had made with 2econd class citizen each night in celebration of the fact. still, david really did perform above and beyond the call of duty in having his speakings with the full czech contingent in mapping out a perfect tour schedule across the lands, the perfect campaign, and one we managed to execute with utmost proficiency.
although i think we can all relatively easily claim to be aware of the cultural and historical significance of praha as well as bohemia and moravia more generally; and as much for my own part, i can claim to have spent the weeks leading up to the tour researching further the histories of the lands and the cities i would be visiting, it is of course quite another thing to be able to travel these lands, and moreover travel through them with the citizens themselves as companions. one of the greatest pleasures of being in tour is that of travelling with the aid of 'local guides' who can offer much more of an insight than any travel brochure or leaflet in the lobby of a hostel or hotel. it is a case of being welcomed into the enviroment with open arms, and being offered the chance to soak up the history, culture and moods of the people first-hand. forever my horizons have been truly broadened by the experience and even for that alone i am truly grateful.
without wishing to delve too far into the profound. i was in increasing waves more and more affected by the kindness of those on my travels, and how i was at each turn keenly reminded of the incredible nature of the collective human experience. of how all of our paths are inextricably woven together and how all it takes is getting to cross paths to discover such a wealth of shared experience and understanding. as i have discussed with many great artists that i have had the chance share experiences with, there is such a great gladness to be had in meeting amazing new people in each city, but also this great tinge of sadness that it shall also mean a great more souls on the list of people to miss in every day life. of course, the heart aches for the impossible time when we can all be together in the same room, that we can introduce the skribble gebibble people to the silver rocket people, when we can introduce the keftes party people to the milled pavement people, and so on... how joyous a time it would be.
so, might i close these field reports with a huge thank you to everyone who made the tour possible, who came out to the shows, who took the time to let me know their thoughts, who i got to share deep and profound as well as daft and silly conversations with, who helped guide me along my path, who 'liked' and befriended me on facebook, and indeed, all of you who have followed these reports over the course of this week, both to review the wording of the nights they were in attendence and those who were reduced to witnessing from afar, yet still keen to show their support. i can sincerely say that i am deeply honoured and grateful to you all... i miss everyone deeply and am following my motivation through the days simply to see you all again.
jamesreindeer
darmstadt, germany
late-march 2012
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