Goldrush Tour Diary

16/04/06

2006-04-19T18:45:00.000Z

Day 7 - Day Off!

Our day off was a strange one. First our van was locked in the venue forecourt and everyone we needed to contact was unreachable. So we went in search for food and found a little restaurant that served orange juice and made us gag on grease. They then grew angry because we paid half the bill in coins. Fair to say we felt unwelcome so went headed off to explore the city where strip clubs were about the extend of our riches. Finally at about 3.30 p.m. we managed to retrieve our van and headed for Amsterdam. We were only there for a few hours before we had to jump back into the van and drive over night into France. The luxuries of Amsterdam were very much appreciated for that particular trip. After traveling for a further 5 or 6 hours we found ourselves at an ETAP hotel.

15/04/06

2006-04-19T18:44:00.000Z

Day 6 - Hamburg.

An extra early start again to make our way across to Hamburg. Due to it being Easter holidays, the show was at an earlier time of six o'clock. The venue was made for comfort with cushioned velvet like seats and carpeted floors. Nice. I'd like to say for certain that Goldrush were as well received as usual, but i was stuck arguing with people behind the merch table in a back room, trying desperately to explain that i did not sell badges or stickers, and for that fact alone they could not have them for free!!!!! After erecting two signs with clear statements, i resigned to the bus where i kicked trees. I entered the backstage with refreshed ambition to find Goldrush dancing on stage with Nada Surf again. Sudden flashes came flooding back and at that moment i realised just how stupid i must have looked taking part in these activities just a few days ago. The main part of the evening was built up for the aftershow party down the road. After we all sent out a handful of invitations, we expected a good turn out. And that we had. For the sake of all the younger readers, we'll have to keep the details to ourselves. But for those over 21 and share the interest a blog is soon to appear in Hustler. We stayed at a place which seemed to have been a temple for touring bands for the last century. Stained and mouldy coffee cups, broken glass on the floor, no hot water, limited power supply and a thousand unwashed beds. Ahh, what it is to tour!

14/04/06

2006-04-19T18:43:00.000Z

Day 5 - Bochum.

The bus had never been so quiet since arriving. We felt terrible. There really is no other way to describe it. The fact we had to drive all the way to Bochum, and then all the way back down the same roads, past Bremen again, and into Hamburg the next day, well the task seemed unthinkable for the state of mind we had found ourselves in. Still, our doing, so we soldiered on. We finally arrived at 'The Matrix' in Bochum and unpacked with slow and cautious movements. The backstage area to this venue was possibly the most unappealing room we could never have dreamed of finding ourselves in. Renowned for its 'metal' music, the walls were plastered with posters of angry looking people who had previously played there. Frightening. We were then informed of a leather clad goth night which happens every week...and of course that particular night was tonight. Over the next hour, things had started to become fairly natural again. Recovered from our hangovers and in good spirits!!!! After another stellar show from Goldrush, the evening took a very large turn into the depths of men in latex, women sporting outfits accompanied with whips and chains and an array of very different arses. And i really do mean that in the literal sense. Half way through Nada Surf's set, half the audience were treated to some odd industrial type music from the room next door and found themselves surrounded by people fitting the description above. After the band had ended the last song, the crowd ran a fair distance for cover and the comfort of loved ones. Sorry, i exaggerate. It's just for all my efforts, i still can't understand the gothic appeal. But god bless you all!

13/04/06

2006-04-19T18:39:00.000Z

Day 4 - Bremen

It was a long drive from Darmstadt to Bremen, more or less 475 km, and for the bigger part of the journey the bus was silent with sleeping bodies. Pulling in to the venue, tired eyes widened with excitement as a small fair came in to view! A big wheel, a roller coaster and a few slides. So we unpacked and soundchecked. A few went to the attractions while others carried on sleeping. The venue was more of a small stadium atmosphere compared to what we'd seen over the last few days. Instead of a large standing area, the floor space was minimal while the walls were lined with near vertical steps reaching for the ceiling. It made the gig all that bit more personal though. Things moved quick and we were close to selling out of our supply of cd's, which was supposed to last for the whole tour. Good news but bad news, as there was no way of us getting anymore till we arrived in France...in four days!! But the bars were open and we wanted to celebrate.

12/04/06

2006-04-19T18:38:00.000Z

Day 3 - Darmstadt

The day kicked off with Robin, Garo and Joe performing a few songs acoustic in the living room of the student flat we had slept in. A good bit of fun for everyone, then we headed torward Darmstadt. Once we got into the city we had to drive drown narrow cobbled streets weaving in and out of passers-by, eventually ending up in a big square where the venue, 'Central Station', had an overbearing presence compared to the neighbouring buildings. This place really was huge, probably packing the best part of 1000 people overall. The must have been near enough that amount when Clovis finished their set. Goldrush followed the same routine they had since the start of the tour. In soundcheck they seemed dwarfed and miles apart from each other due to the sheer size of the stage, but come 9 o'clock they looked the exact opposite. A big stage meant more space to move, more space to shine. Their size really was quite fearful. After the set, the signing began, then a quick photoshoot backstage before taking part in a live video shoot for Nada Surf's new single. This basically involved us and several handpicked young ladies from the crowd dancing and getting the words wrong onstage as the front row scream back 'Oo Fuck it, I'm gonna have a party'. And that we did. In the early hours of the morning we made our way to the house we were staying in. Odd little place it was. Great set location for some sort of teen slasher film. As the large wooden tour creaked open we were greeted with a bright yellow poster of a band who went by the name of 'Brainless Wankers'. Enough said. Through the virtual pitch black, we bundled into a large room and set up camp for the night.

11/04/06

2006-04-19T18:34:00.000Z

Day 2 - Nürnburg

The drive was an easy one, 350 km, but it was never going to take the guys long to get back into the touring mindset. With a couple of stops along the way, we arrived at the venue around 5. The venue, Hirsch, was a strange thing situated in what seemed to be an industrial estate, completely out of town. Nevertheless it was had a big capacity of 900 and the sound and lighting was very very good. The boys got onstage at 9 to a big cheer and started their set. Once again, their delivery of the songs and willingness to involve the crowd was rewarded with chants of 'more cowbell', which seems something of a new catchphrase for the band, as Joe takes us into the next song. Fuck air guitar, when the crowd see the cowbell make its last appearance towards the end of 'Everyone of us', their fists are pumping, bottles are hoisted into the air, all imitating and keeping time with Joe. Another glowing performance, and with the band agreeing to do signings of their album 'Ozona', the crowd's eagerness to meet the band is more than apparent.

Diary of a merch guy.. Freiburg 10/4/06

2006-04-17T22:23:00.000Z

It was an early Monday morning start in the sleepy town of Steventon as Joe and Robin parked up in the van and we prepared to load everything in. The events of the previous night was were already beginning to take its toll on Garo and Growler, who'd been finishing some recordings for the new album. First we headed 5 miles out of our way to the train station where only hours before, Growler had stepped off the train and onto the platform with some poor foreign lady's luggage instead of his own. Luckily both bags made their lonely journeys back into the arms of their owners without much trouble. Off the to pick up G and the rush hour drive to the airport began. While Robin had previously told everyone we were flying from London, his younger brother shook his head, smiled, and without a word drove us to Stansted.
We boarded and took our flight to Basel, Switzerland, where we were met by our driver Jaime. We all went through the polite introductions and headed for Freiberg, Germany for our first show with Nada Surf. The weather was complete crap, and having been lost in the city centre for 15 or so minutes, we suddenly found ourselves outside the venue. We shared pleasantries, ran smoothly through the soundcheck and took a stroll through the drenched streets in search of food.
By the time we got back to the venue, the tour's opening act Clovis ahd already begun. Their sound is a collection of wisery vocals, keyboards and acoustic guitars. It sets a dreamy tone for the start of the evening as Goldrush make their way onto stage and belt our Wait For The Wheels. The venue has already reached its full capacity and I can't help but feel a certain sense of pride as I look out at a crowd of 800 applauding as the last note rings out.

Texas

2006-04-12T18:44:00.000Z

The bloggers must apologise for the severe dearth of blogging. We are now deep in the mists of Germany but first, some comments from our recent outing to Texas, where we played 7 shows in 5 days at the popular and reknowned festival of music bizness, South by Southwest. Better to leave it to the esteemed press of America to comment.. and to follow soon, some sardonic comment on our travels with Nada Surf.

Johnny Chiba (CMJ) www.textpress.net

Cruised across street to Nuno's Upstairs to see Goldrush. I met 3 of the guys on airline stopover from NYC - Austin. Nice guys! Like most SXSW bands, the 'Rush played at least 3 or 4x, parties and showcases. Nice songs, lead singer's chops garner warranted attention; the band is a solid anchor, with a keyboard player who leans towards a noisy edge, then picks up a guitar and adds a distorted cluster of sounds. I told the guy he was the "meat and potatoes" of the band. In his english accent he asked: is that a compliment? By jove, yes mate. meat

www.mudsugar.com

After that day, what could Friday night’s official showcases offer to compete? Well, immediately following the first-ever public listening party for the forthcoming Bruce Springsteen album, “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” at Waterloo Records, tonight’s Best New Band, Goldrush, takes the stage at Nuno’s Upstairs. With traces of a Gram Parsons influence amidst power pop songs so good, and so hummable that they feel both fresh and familiar simultaneously, Goldrush has me wanting to sing along (and actually singing along) despite the fact that I’ve never heard most of the songs before. That’s good stuff there.

Austin American Statesman By V. Marc Fort | Friday, March 17, 2006, 11:34 PM

Goldrush — composed of two brothers (Robin and Joe Bennett) and three friends (Garo Nahoulakian, Hamish Tesco and G. Roby) promises the potential to be HUGE!
The perfect songwriting and the three-part harmonies are in place. They’ve got a double shimmering-guitar balanced assault, and their rhythm section has listened to enough American country and R&B to give their music a requisite dose of melancholy heart and transcendental soul. And they are just right at crafting the guitar rock that Radiohead abandoned after recording “OK Computer.”
The Bennett brothers and band appeared off-the-cuff and super warmed-up when they took the little stage at Nuno’s Upstairs. Only a few beers earlier, they finished rocking an open backyard party at Homeslice Pizza, which was thin on atmosphere, but ear-splittingly rockin’.
“Waiting For the Wheels” is Goldrush’s signature track, and the reason was obvious as they blazed through a searing version of the Brit pop, Neil Young stomp instant classic. The best tracks from their Better Looking Records, Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, the Flaming Lips)-produced album “Ozona” followed with equal enthusiastic rock ‘n’ roll abandon.
(Ask a friend or neighbor in Travis Heights about Goldrush’s super-secret South Austin, Sunday evening house party gig.)

Tintenfisch

2006-02-09T23:15:00.000Z

Astonishingly we are all still alive. Cold feet though....

From the wilds of Belgium into Germany and heaps of table football in Koln. Thence to Munster where we have a gig with Rogue Wave, who once kindly lent us all their gear for a gig in the US. Good to see those guys again, and revelry ensues before we part in the morning, having jump-started our van with theirs. Betsy the tour van is now making a bewildering variety of low gutteral sounds, struggling up hills, and often failing to start. We shan't speak of it.

The following night's gig is in an old cinema in Austria, nothing but mountains for miles around, and we're not sure what to expect.
Blimey. What a night..
We play for over two hours and end up having a sludge metal jam with the 'slightly-the-worse-for-wear' promoter in an adjacent building, wearing absurdly large hats. Ebensee rocks. A definite highlight.

On to Munich and a party given by German music magazine Musik Express, where we can be spotted doing Bossanova versions of some of our new songs, and, in true Bavarian style, attempting to eat our own body weight in boiled meat.

The less said about Garo's nocturnal attempts to check into every hotel in Munich the better, and we head to a gig in the Czech Republic, where the table football is nailed to the ceiling above the stage and Hamish downloads some pictures of Gary Mabbutt.

The word 'solids' has died a death every night since it's promising start in Switzerland, and a band meeting is called to discuss the possibility of replacing it with a different word, or perhaps omitting it altogether from the set. After 44 hours of intense debate, however, an alternative word can not be found and we vow to stick with it for the time being.

We arrive in Vienna early, and a happy afternoon is spent ice-skating in a beautifully lit square in the city, before playing at the B72 Club.

This one's a riot, what with G's 'Incredible Hulk' impression, the dancing pensioner repeatedly calling for 'Twist Again' (we eventually oblige), and a rider which charmingly includes 'self-made' muffins.

'Solids' is initially met with disdain but rallies itself admirably and, on second showing receives rapturous applause.

Some of the band are led from the stage in tears..

Another day, another Autobahn but Betsy the tour van is in less than tip-top shape and now sounds like a slowed down recording of a hippo going berserk in an ironmongers.

We decide to seek professional help near Linz, but the prognosis is not good. It will cost a bomb to repair and we bite the bullet at dusk and decide to abandon Betsy in Austria. Two of the band are despatched on a train to do the night's show acoustically, and the remainder go drinking in St Valentin, where the barman does a nice line in tinned pears.

Right. Now how the hell do we get to Stuttgart...?

Hock 'n' Roll

2006-02-02T20:13:00.000Z

Ah, now where do we begin?....

Started off in Switzerland at the weekend and a bloody marvellous time was had by all.
First gig was groovy and second gig, weird & groovy, taking place as it was in a small crazy isolated spot, run by a
Peter Lorre lookalike with a severe cough who looked after us good & proper & even consented to an after- hours jam session.
Cheers Ibrahim! The Swiss give a inordinate amount of applause when the word 'solids' is used on stage, and we decide
to try it elsewhere in Europe..

The following morning brings hilarity when the van requires a bump start....
In icy conditions the van is pushed towards a downhill slip-road and Hamish, not yet fully awake, and without money or any form of ID, ends up visiting France and Germany, with assorted border control shenanigans, before breakfast.
If we'd known that the direction we were pushing in led to a major road out of town....

Brussels next and we are introduced to Trappist beer and an inexplicably posh hotel.
Best bed G has ever slept in apparently..

'Solids' falls flat.

Hier gehen wir wieder...

2006-01-25T11:13:00.000Z

Well, with Europe in the grip of it's coldest winter for thirty years (or something..) the plucky boffins at Goldrush Mission Control have decided, in their wisdom, to despatch us on a European tour taking in Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, where the Alps, of course, go up to eleven.

Thus far, Chicago in December will take some beating as the coldest place we've ever gigged, but we're steeling ourselves for the worst, and the sled is, as we speak, being stacked with a month's supply of sealskin undergarments, tweed socks and emergency Oxtail soup.

Robin has gone on ahead , doing promo stuff, and is currently to be found walking the streets of Dortmund, phrasebook in hand, asking the way to the Garden Centre and explaining that his hovercraft is full of eels.

So then, once more unto the breach dear friends, once more!

Stay tuned...

The long journey north

2005-12-18T02:14:00.000Z

The band has clocked up well over a thousand miles, driving up and down the west coast of North America. I have tourer's arse from sitting in a tour bus too much. Numb bum. Need some exercise or a massage, or a sauna and a swim, maybe a jaccuzi with a bottle a champagne....and cake. Perhaps some home cooked food and fine wines and cheese, y'know, the good stuff. It's not too much to ask....not really.

Played Sacremento, Portland, Vancouver and tonight in Seattle, home of Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and of course Frazier. Oh and Starbucks coffee emporium was set up here apparently. Tonight we play a sold out show for the benefit of local radio station KEXP which should be a good night. Our last gig of the tour so we'll give it something extra, by krikey, so we will.

Flying back to Blighty tomorrow to reunite with loved ones, to drink proper beer and to bask in the cold, damp winter in Oxfordshire.

It's been a riot, met some cool people and had some great shows, so until next time America......Goodbye and thanks

Go West young man

2005-12-14T22:09:00.000Z

Radio session completed,we head north througth wine country to Monterey, where we hook up with label mate MC Lars, whose folks have the most desirable home any of us have ever seen. Nice.

In the morning we stroll along the beach in a languid fashion and stock up on strings, drumsticks etc in the local music shop, before steaming up to San Francisco and rocking the 'Bottom of the Hill' with a storming set, during which a member of the audience takes it upon himself to leap on stage and play drums for a spell. We would have kicked him off, but he played well, and we thought we'd run with it...

I think some sort of party happened afterwards, and I'm pretty sure Ricky from the Jonestown had a major effect on the procedings.

Word has it tonight's gig is in Sacramento.

Episode IV: A New Beginning...

2005-12-13T20:21:00.000Z

Down the centuries man has sought to express himself through word and song; to voice his inner dreams and fears in the hope that they may reflect in the eyes of a kindred soul.

Some have also managed to keep their trousers on while they’re at it.
Ahem..

Chicago comes through for us in raucous style despite seriously cold weather, and the cowbell receives its most rapturous response ever. These people are crazy. We like Chicago.

Best gig of the tour so far and the rhythm section are particularly delighted when, whilst awaiting our crack of dawn flight to San Diego (at the bar, naturally..) the staff of the Empty Bottle crank up the Rush and other prog classics for our delectation after hours. Xanadu anyone? Ooh!

Our ‘Oiseau Matinal’ flight takes us from frozen solid Chicago, via a tepid Denver to baking hot Southern California where a period of readjustment commences (coats off, cries of ‘that’s more like it’, general delirium etc…)

Pausing only to descend on our friend Lisah in order to procure vitamins and startle the bejesus out of her loony dog, we valiantly head north to Orange County where time and reality invert themselves and the appalling vortex that is Saturday night spits us out dazed and confused in LA on a bright Sunday afternoon with a birthday party to go to.

Danny Power is a good mate and getting on a bit, so we have cake together on a roof downtown, while four of the band get a haircut in under ten minutes!!

Tonight’s gig is at the Knitting Factory on Hollywood Boulevard and lots of hobnobbing occurs which is the way we like it. Gig runs like a Swiss watch and off we pop to an after-show ‘do’ across town in Echo Park, where we offer dance stylings not witnessed since the culmination of the Salem witch trials.

Pausing briefly to lie on the floor, we compose ourselves sufficiently to be at our KCRW radio session at 7.45am.

Yes, that’s 7.45am. Ouch.

Oh Canada..

2005-12-09T17:51:00.000Z

Montreal is cold, French and Mark gets a birthday cake.

On to Toronto, which is also cold, less French but gig is groovy and we are taken in by the lovely Nancy and Chris, and wind up playing Hey Joe on a lute at five a.m. The full-throttle 'You'll never Walk Alone' also deserves mention...

Border control OK on the way in to Canada, but for hapless Amish boys Hopewell things turn sour on re-entering the US. They are forced to strip and sing show tunes by over zealous customs oficials, but manage to pull it together for the evening show in Detroit.

Snow gets thicker through the night, and we adjourn to 'The Firehouse', with a dude named Rob, who has a bar/pool hall in his basement, and a band room stocked to the gills with BIG drums, BIG bass amps and other BIG stuff to bang about on.

Goldwell & Hoperush (who have fused inextricably over recent months) lay into musical standards by the likes of Rush, Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin, at absurd volumes and we play pool until we quite literally drop.

2005-12-09T17:10:00.000Z

Boston is best summarised by this picture. Alternatively you can listen to our set with Mark Gardener here. I'd write more but it just hurts too much inside.

2005-12-05T17:38:00.000Z

Note to self: If your going to get a flat tyre, get it in July or August 'cos it's no fun changing a flat on the hard shoulder of a freeway in the depths of winter. Still, we sorted the problem and now we are on the road to Boston, Massachusets.

Played in Philladelphia last night. Aahh....Philly; Home of the Liberty Bell, the world's first grid street system, cream cheese, Will Smith, a friend of ours called Horse( yes, that's right, a man called Horse) and of course the Philly cheese steak. That overblown buffoon Bruce Springsteen sang about the city. He still does, sadly. Now, the Philly cheese steak, for those unfamiliar with the dubious snack is a greasy bread roll smothered with beef, onions, grease, green peppers, some lard, lots of cheese, cheese, a healthy dollop of yak's fat and finally....cheese. Sounds good eh? The majority of the audience at the gig last night didn't think so.
I should also tell you of another culinary disaster that originates from these parts. A traditional Amish 'dish' that goes by the name of 'Scrapple'. Hamish and yours truly were brave/stupid enough to try what can be described as a thick, pan fried slice of pig parts. The taste wasn't altogether bad, but it had the consistency of gritty marshmallow....with a crust.

We always have a great time in Philladelphia. Last night's show was the best yet. We had a great crowd, which included Hamish's old man who came up from South Carolina to get his first born drunk on Belgian beer and to see him rock like a man posessed. Tesco the elder left the gig proud, happy and pissed. Job done.

It snowed last night. As you may or may not know, it doesn't snow much in the Thames Valley so I want to see deep snow, all crisp and even. I'm expecting to see this as we go further north to Canada. It's exciting....cold, but exciting

I keep seeing minature drum kits for sale. You know, kits for kids, which I really keen on getting, so there's a christmas present idea for someone if they're stuck on what to get me. Cheers X

The Story so far..

2005-12-03T16:58:00.000Z

Well, New York went by in a kind of bourbon haze, as does tend to happen....
Arrived on Wednesday and pleased to find good friends Cat Martino and popular Amish folkstrels Hopewell doing gigs in adjacent venues on Ludlow St..
This led to refreshments being taken and people waking up feeling unusual on Thursday afternoon..

After several hours enjoyably spent hunting for the van keys.... and the van, and a total of 44 hours restringing the sodding twelve string guitars, we got stuck in to the first gig at the Knitting Factory, which was loud & groovy, well received, and infused delicately with a hint of saffron.
The after show party was notable for the attempts made by G and Hamish to teach Hopewell how to play pool by 'Brish Rools' ("nah, nah "Brish Rools, brish rhhoools' ), and for one of our party being punched in the stomach by Meg White, in response to his request that she 'punch me in the stomach'.

So to Friday, and a jaunt down past the White House to Arlington Virginia and a packed gig alarmingly close to the Pentagon.
The IOTA club has friendly staff & a great sounding room, so a good time was had in spite of one of the guitar amps 'shitting the bed' mid way through. C'est la guerre....

More as we get it.

Impressive, very impressive...

2005-11-27T19:37:00.000Z

That's all well & good, but check out the Lego AC/DC.

Sickkkk..

Cousin of Hasslehoff

2005-11-21T23:14:00.000Z

Who is this man? Please report any sightings to to the International Mullet Hotline, 1 800 M U L L E T.
Thankyou.

Here we go again...

2005-11-16T20:03:00.000Z

Howdy y'all,

Just getting the hang of this 'blogging' business before we set off on tour again at the end of the month. Having just completed a seven week tour of the US, we felt we should document the next one for public consumption (although some viewers may find some scenes disturbing...)

The next tour kicks off in New York City on Dec 1st, winding up in Seattle three weeks later, and if the last one's anything to go by there should be plenty to report.
This one's with Mark Gardener (ex Ride) and the renowned Amish folk quintet Hopewell, who claim to be from New York. Yeah, right..

We'll start posting stuff from the road at the start of next month, and I suppose we'll take turns doing it, so see if you can guess who's writing what. Shouldn't be too difficult as some people have a way with words and others.... erm...... not have way.

Ideally the whole thing will form a sort of historical document, which sociologists of the future can look back on and say things like 'What the fuck was that all about then?' and 'A spell in the army wouldn't have hurt would it?'

Tour dates, biog etc. at http://www.betterlookingrecords.com and random postings from lunatics the world over at http://www.myspace.com

Hopewell

2005-11-16T12:39:00.000Z

Hopewell at home in Pennsylvania