Fresh Squids Traveling Shall Commence!

Well, I’m at it again! Some more traveling which means more blogging and more musical adventures. This time is different though. This time I’m playing music I wrote and produced with Simon Collins and our band Sound of Contact. It’s also way more traveling than usual! We’re going to Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Netherlands, France and more! The first 4 shows are right here in England. Fortunately no one is nervous at all since we decided to throw ourselves into the fire and play in front of thousands of Marillion fans who had never heard any of our songs before as our first gig to break the ice. All set now! If anything, after that “First Contact” gig in Montreal we were so pumped we were ready to play everyday then. So, we had to be patient to get to the May tour in Europe where we WILL be playing everyday for about 2 and a half weeks! 

Your blog host Squids ready to rock England!

So, I’m here at the Collins abode in some rural part of England. I’m not even sure exactly where I am since I DEFINITELY don’t drive here… not with the whole “other side of the road” thing. The flight over was ok. A bit long and bumpy but I’m here so I can’t complain. I just didn’t get the sleep I had planned on but fortunately I did later and I may possibly be caught up to UK time now. We went to a pub and I had fish n’ chips which was great. Got that out of the way! I plan to eat healthier than that though most of the time. But, this was a must-have. 

Fish n' Chips (a must for a sea-going tourist such as myself)

I caught up with emails when I arrived and when I logged into Facebook I saw what happened in Boston. Like many I just don’t understand how anyone could do something like that to others. It’s so disconnected from who we really are. You think that somehow in someone’s brief window of time on Earth they thought that would be something to do in their life.... to kill innocent people… and you could wonder about all the brainwashing disillusions leading up to it that convinced them. Then, of course, there is the deep sorrow on the other side where all the people are affected by it. Seems so senseless and even hard to believe. Yet it happens sadly and every once in awhile we get this shocking sort of news to derail us. I’d like to think that someday we can get past that. But, I won’t go further into all that here. You’ve got enough of it in the news and all over the net. I’ll stay focused on the now of where I am and what I’m doing. Feel free to virtually come along with me on my travels…

Simon and I have a pile up of interviews to do. We’ve already done a bunch so far. Getting the word out about our new album “Dimensionaut”! This is so exciting. We’re adding dates to our “Dimensionaut World Tour 2013” but they’re just not public yet. “The Night of the Prog” is confirmed at the Loreley Amphitheater on July 13^th in the afternoon. That’s the day Steven Wilson plays which is a Saturday. Should be a fun time! I’ve heard it’s a beautiful place to play and it’s around 6,000-7,000 people. At least some of them will have had the chance to hear the album first! We are working on touring the US in the Summer leading up to a BIG show in Chicago and a guest performance with Steve Hackett on Sept 20^th and 21^st with myself on keys, Simon Collins on vocals and my buddy Francis Dunnery on vocals as well. Just for a handful of old Genesis songs including of course a long one that rhymes with Uppers Eddy.  (How cryptic!)

Here are the dates of our current Sound of Contact European tour coming up soon!

Spock’s Beard, Beardfish, Sound Of Contact tour

May 3: Corporation, Sheffield, UK

May 4: The Arches, Glasgow, UK

May 5: Academy 2, Newcastle, UK

May 6: Robin 2, Bilston, UK

May 7: The Garage, London, UK

May 8: La Scene Bastille, Paris, France

May 9: Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland

May 10: Hirsch, Nürnberg, Germany

May 11: Majestic, Bratislava, Slovakia

May 12: A38, Budapest, Hungary

May 14: Szene, Vienna, Austria

May 15: Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany

May 16: Das Rind, Rüsselsheim, Germany

May 17: Zeche, Bochum, Germany

May 18: De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands

May 19: Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

Needless to say I will keep everyone posted on the US and other dates. We are planning on coming back to Europe in the Fall and might even go to Japan and do some double bill gigs with Francis Dunnery and his new prog album tour. I didn’t even tell you about that but as I said there are a lot of things that I don’t say because it’s not the right time and place (and I’m talking about The Dude here). Although he did “tweet” about it (I don’t tweet… maybe I’ll start tweeting… should I? You think? Really? Why? Ok we’ll talk about that later.). Anyway, there’s more to talk about with that in time but I can say we’re at least talking about the idea of doing some double bill gigs in various places. Sound of Contact will also double bill with other artists depending on where we are and what’s going on. We’re building up a great show and will be playing all sorts of music as we go. The main goal above all else is to have fun. You hear of some bands who can’t stand each other… and granted that is after YEARS of being together through many challenging events. So, it’s not comparing apples to apples here but I have to say this is not one of those situations. We all get along great and truly enjoy each other’s company. A sense of humor included… with a strong desire to rock!