Day 9 – July 9, 2003
Rehearsal with the New Band
This was the day that Eric and I would play for the first time with our new Austrian rhythm section. Our friend Norbert also joined us on guitar and backing vocals.
I was a bit nervous because this would be the true introduction of Ya-Ne-Zniyoo to Europe. Although the first few shows with just Eric, Norbert and myself were a success, this was to be full throttle all out old school mayhem. Something we had not done in a while. And now were were only getting to rehease with our new rhythm section for about 2 hours before the show.
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| [h.gilles] |
Just a few bars into our first tune and my fears were shattered. I knew that these players would not only do the job, but do it with vigor. These are people who quite simply love to play.
With not too much time to spare, we made our way to McDonald’s. Yes, we broke down and whipped out a few bucks for burgers. We really had no choice because we were running late and the Mc Donald’s was right arond th ecorner from the studio. When I got back to NY, I was asked if the McDonald’s in Graz had anything odd or different on the menu. And I said … Yeah … BEER!
European Music Meeting
The club Explosiv is a down and dirty rock club. Self proclaimed as the youth cultural center. They were hosting the European Music Meeting, which was set up as a place for young bands from all over Europe to meet, play and hopefully learn from one another. The place was absolutely packed and buzzing with enthusiasm.
We opened the night but before going on, the host of the night asked if we were asked if we had voted for Bush. I said, "Yes, I voted for Bush twice one day in Florida." He got a kick out of that answer.
He called us the American/Austrian Friendship Band because he was having a hard time with our name. No matter, we kicked through 2 Ya-Ne-Zniyoo originals followed by a full blown, full speed, insane version of Norbert and Eric’s 2003 Theme.
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| [h.gilles] |
We finished our set with an amped up version of Sinatra’s New York and the place went nuts. Some kids were on each other’s shoulders others were just jumping around having a good old time, as were we.
It felt good to have that full band energy again. It had been a very long time since we had this kind of a show. I felt as though my heart would explode from my body.
Hilary had gotten pinned in the back of the room trying to take pictures. She snapped off some really great shots as you can see, but felt bad that she was not able to get closer. I figured it was not a big deal because it meant that there was a crowd of fresh ears huddled together to see us.
I felt bad for the other bands. They were not bad, just not very interesting and the crowd thinned out pretty quick about halfway through the second band’s set.
Leftover Crack
Yet another example of the NJ/Graz connection.
There I am, back stage at Explosive. In this little room are magic marker scribblings from a load of bands that played there. Kinda in the same vein as the sticker plasterings in CBGB toilets.
Anyway, up in the corner of the ceiling in big black letters is Leftover Crack. I think to myself, "where do I know them?" One of the guys hanging back there said they are a really cool band from America.
When I got home I realized that my buddy Nelson Pla (who owns my house) had played drums for them at the Holiday In The Sun Festival in Asbury Park, NJ (Sep 7, ’02).
I checked their website and they played Explosiv on Jul 6, ’02. Nelson was not with them for that show. He has yet to experience the wonders of Graz.
 From the Left Over Crack site … in Graz |
Harrowing Hor’s d’oeuvres
A particularly scary moment happened during one of our nightly rituals. Usually at around half past really late, we’d all be hungry. So we kept the refrigerator stocked with a variety of meats, cheeses, breads, various dressings and mustard. We’d come in from a long night and just start slicing, stacking, mixing and whatnot.
On this night, Eric was slicing the hard salami. When I say hard, I mean like baseball bat hard. Norbert sharpened the knife to razor-like quality so as to make the task easier.
All of a sudden you hear, "Ah Shit!!" The knife had slipped and cut a very deep gash in Eric’s hand. We probably should have gone to the hospital, but we applied pressure until the bleeding stopped and then continued to eat.
The next day we doused the wound in peroxide and kept it clean. Luckily Eric missed by millimeters the muscle in his thumb. Not only would this hurt like hell, we would have had to cancel our remaining gig.
I’m happy to say that Eric and his scar are both doing fine and the hard sausage got the end it deserved. It was delicious.
 July 2003 |
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