9/18/12 Aulendorf, DE
11am
Aulendorf is a wonderful little village tucked into the plush green of southern Germany. It resides just north of Switzerland and Lichtenstein. It is by far one of my favorite spots that I’ve ever played. The bar is called, IReal. It's a small sports bar that houses a cool little punk venue. The owner’s name is Ollie. Ollie is a young, stout, giant of a man—a gentle giant. This marks the third year in a row that I’ve made my way here. Every time we get close to Aulendorf I start to feel like all is well and right with my world.
The funny thing about Aulendorf is that not a single German that we've met actually knows of this friendly, little village. We’ve told countless folks along the way about this little gem, each time yielding a bewildered, strained look of confusion. I guess Aulendorf is ours in its own way. It's as if it doesn't exist. I think I’ll keep it. All of this good stuff and I still haven’t even mentioned the fact that Aulendorf has it’s own brewery that makes fantastic beer. Which is not to say that it won’t also give you a fantastic hangover, especially if you lead a simple life of moderate excess... Hmmm.
Tonight’s show was particularly special for me. A pair of twins came to the show. They were both blind and wearing matching outfits.They were driven to the show by their aunt, who spoke absolutely no english. The twins, however, both spoke it fluently. Turns out that they are both fans of my music and hassled their aunt into driving them to the show. They live a few hours away from Ireal. It blew my mind how much they knew about me—how much they knew about my songs. They asked questions about some of the meaning behind the lyrics. At times, It felt like they knew more about the songs than I did. But that's one of the wonderful things about music that hits you—you make it your own. I could have talked to them all night about the state of American politics, my music, and their lives. What they gave to me throughout one conversation was, I hope, on par with what those songs have done for them. I hope wherever they are right now, they're happy.
Before taking off for Regensburg, we had a huge feast with Ollie. Ollie is famous for his food. Not only is he an incredibly sweet guy with all the good intentions in the world, he's also a pretty unbelievable cook. It may take some time, but I really hope to see you again, Aulendorf.
5:45pm
Just sat down at tonight’s venue in Regensburg. It’s a tiny vegan cafe. I A friend of mine that I know through the brewing industry lives not far from Regensburg. We just found out that he had thoughtfully left his phone number with the bartender so we could get in touch. Fritz is kind of famous in the brewing industry for building beautiful brew houses. He’s middle aged with kids that are my age. We make pretty unlikely friends. Him being grey haired, soft spoken, and incredibly bright. Me being a tattoo’d, dirty musician type.
For now I'm sitting on the patio in front of the cafe listening to the cadence of computer keys being struck by Alissa at a furious pace, drinking a Schnieder-Weisse , waiting for a night to unfold. I ‘m thinking about how goddamn fortunate we are to be here—right now. I know the road is going to be long, but for right now...in front of this cafe, drinking this beer, sitting next to this woman, I'm about as happy as can be. It’s in fleeting moments like this, the ones that I’ll never be able to properly articulate, that I find all the reasons why.