the longest day

Day 20

i hadn't really noticed this little gig

in Krefeld

a 4 and a half hour drive from Hamburg

with no guaranteed money

we were back safe and sound

but completley worn out

in our home away from home

Casa Buskies

in Hamburg

it didn't really make any sense for me

to travel 9 hours round trip

to play tiny Krefeld

especially for no money

but at the Tapete headquarters

early that morning

Gunther and Basti voiced their desire for me to play the show anyway

as Kulterrampe was a new club they'd never booked before

and me cancelling might hurt their relationship

with the club

i understood

and agreed to "take one for the team"

one of the nice Tapete interns

Matthias

kindly agreed to accompany me to Krefeld

we left at about 3:30

he'd never driven an automatic before

so it was kind of funny

and scary

when he got behind the wheel of the Toyota microwave

for the first time

after some start stop jerking he began to get the hang of it

we didn't get to Krefeld until 8:30

the club owner was outside

nervously pacing the parking lot

he was obviously concerned about whether or not

we were gong to actually show up

even though the practicality of this gig

didn't make much sense to me

i'm glad i did it

a girl named Nicole

who had travelled several hours to my noisy show in Buchen

also made a 2 hour drive to this one

i would have felt like a world class cad

if i'd cancelled it and then found out she showed up

if i'd cancelled i also would've never gotten a chance to meet

the extraordinary Mojo Mendiola

a photographer

musician

writer

and world traveler

who happened to be living in Krefeld

i've attached a photo of him

playing in New York

in the 1970s

i've also included this review he wrote of the show

Salim Nourallah: A quiet magician at the Kulturrampe

By Mojo Mendiola

His Daddy a Syrian, his Mom an American, born in Illinois, grown up in Texas, as a kid presented with the Beatles’ White Album by his Granny after begging for it for a long time, meanwhile a much in demand studio owner and producer in Dallas and honored as a singer/songwriter – so much for the history of Salim Nourallah.

There he stands with his guitar on the Kulturrampe stage, a soft spoken, almost shy seeming young man, and fights a loose connection during his first song. The title "Don’t Be Afraid“ is getting an unexpected ironical connotation. Then, with his warm baritone voice, he sings his songs, reminding time and again of Lennon/McCartney melodically, yet full of original ideas and rhythm-wise moving towards West Coast Rock. He strums his Guild in full chords, now and then blends in descent flat-picking. It doesn’t sound a bit like Texas and he doesn’t even speak (or sing) the typical accent.

Well, the Texas Twang wouldn’t fit his sensitive ballads anyway. They come in a simple but profound, sometimes even enigmatic manner. His relaxed vocals can suddenly jump into sharpness, but then he doesn’t take himself too serious and immediately – with a twinkle in his eye – draws back. Almost slapstick like and as if parodying himself he builds in those little eruptions, creates dynamics, only to return to his warm basic tone a few bars later.

As a kid he was often harassed because of his Arabic name. So in many of his songs he talks about his attempts not to be anxious. Fear leads people to evil outbursts, and at those he is aiming. “Love is for heroes, hate is for fools”, this is his credo. "In this violent world I applaud your innocence“ another line reads and he is thinking of his children, the four year old son and the baby to come. And he sings these lines without any false pathos, almost just by the way, humbly on one hand, nonetheless decided on the other.

So the audience is hardly realizing how fast his magic is making time pass even without spectacular highlights. Only when Nourallah is about to finish his performance the ban loosens. The man, who tours more in Europe than he does in the States, has to travel on to Hamburg the very same night. But he is not allowed to go there without giving a few encores first.

after the show Matthias and i inhaled a cold meal

and then hit the road

it was only 11:30 but that would put us back in Hamburg

around 4am

it rained the whole way back

which was kind of stressful

but M was a methodical

and safe driver

we listened to the entire Tapete 100 compiltation cd

which was nice

i felt proud to be on the 100 cd

and blessed to be invovled with such a fantastic record label

really a dream come true for me

to actually love my label

and i do

i love you Tapete!!!

when i dropped Matthias off

we were so out of it

delirious and floaty feeling

i soon realized he'd walked off with the keys to the car

weird thing is

it was still running

so i went home

with the sinking feeling that we would be stranded

the next day

unable to start our microwave on wheels

by the time i finally got to bed

alongside my sweet family

i don't think i'd ever been more tired

it felt so good to be back home

safe and sound

J and G sleeping peacefully in the dark upstairs room

brought me comfort

my longest day

finally over

at 5am