Th' Mole tour report

Hi everybody. I'm still in the middle of my crazy tour, currently in Ohio. I started on April 6 and will continue through July 25 or something. I've been all across the US and Europe, and now I'm heading back across the US in the opposite direction. It's been super fun. There's way too much stuff to tell, so I'll summarize it with some photos and lists. Check 'em out, if you give a hoot.

things i lost:
air cannon* (seattle)
salt shaker (LA)
food containers (austin, new jersey)
silverware (austin)
bag of salt (austin)
2 mason jars (?)
2 travel mugs (? and cassis)
ice pack (?)
computer "ilok" key (new jersey)
cell phone (st. etienne)
eurail train pass (paris)
2nd cell phone* (paris)
computer power cable* (paris)
100 cd's* (paris)
computer discs w/ demune acapellas* (brooklyn)
sweatshirt (?)
(*found)

things i broke:
$20 k-mart clearance luggage
$25 downtown LA luggage
dollar store tupperware
sock
boxer shorts
mask*
(*fixed)

where i live according to flyers on this tour:
hawaii
oakland
san francisco
nevada city*
canada
new orleans
(*correct)

percentage of flyers that spelled my name correctly (th' mole as opposed to the mole) on this tour:
62.5

toughest crowd:
hamburg

best crowd:
zurich (druckerei)

number of girls i had crushes on:
2

number of girls i hooked up with:
0

number of times i was hit in the face:
1

number of speeding tickets received:
3

things that are better in europe than US (in my opinion):
pretty girls
nice girls
intelligent girls
architecture
lack of obesity
fashion/style
visual art
preservatives and additives
ingredients are listed on alcohol and tobacco products
treatment of livestock
drinking allowed on the street
getting paid at shows
being fed at shows
sound techs at shows
lighting at shows
mediatheques
vegetation in cities
fast food (kebabs)
french fries served with curry sauce
availability of public transportation
multi-lingual ability
smaller cars
tap water
education
squats, AKA artist havens (especially in zurich)

things that are better in US than europe (in my opinion):
toilets (netherlands and germany)
showers
cost of everything
cleaning up dog poop (france)
dancing at shows/body language
non-smoking indoors
spicy food
mexican food
availability of nutritional yeast
wheelchair access
tea says "caffeinated" or "non-caffeinated"

things that are different in europe:
mcdonald's sells beer
everything is smaller
people kiss strangers on the cheeks (france)
heterosexual men kiss each other on the cheeks (france)
french fries with mayonnaise
butter on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise

things that are the same in europe and the US:
people use pots/pans with flaking teflon (bad)
people cook w/ olive oil (bad when heated above boiling point)
public toilets often cost money
there are nice people and mean people
there are dumb people and smart people

superstars i hung out with:
dj 0.000001
vankmen
h8ers
body holliday
endykryn
bazooka jo
filastine
dj collage
demune
drewslum & gravesend
hinterlander & puritan
cartoon monster
tang li wheebs
greenjon
lukas whatwhat
aaron spaz
baseck & cristinky (sonic death rabbit)
bizzart
k-the-i??
mc homeless
dj stere0type
walter gross
unconventional science
a. passerbye
branded
featherbeard
ted nava
strange powers & cletus galacticus
jubbs
univac
id obelus & random art projects
myn dwun
j-stat
thesis sahib
james p honey & james reindeer
roma
pierre the motionless
moshe
sontiago
brzowski
the scrapes
sole
ceschi
awol one
factor
cars&trains
mc zayde & dj buti
machine
ancient mith
albane
babel fishh
sax
anathallo
subzero permafrost
riddlore
sept
adtri
dj scientist
doktor krank
dj koola
mentalcut
the ohlsons/knertz
goran & kraaterman/quiet
ghislain poirier
lucy 7-inch, aka william s. blake
self destruct
le pingouin
flail
davey of dreadnots

worst day:
leaving from marseilles to paris (on a full moon), missed train, then realized that i had lost my 2nd cell phone and my train pass (which cost $1100). finally made it to marseilles, and my host immediately got in a car wreck. went to police station to settle dispute between drivers, ended up the loser. next asked the police to make a police report for my lost train pass (because in order to get a partial refund i needed a police report within 24 hours), and was denied. other band canceled the gig for that night due to a motorcycle wreck. very small audience at the show. at end of night, organizers of show got into a huge yelling match. next morning, returned to police station and was denied a report again. (finally found a new police station and made the report in the nick of time.)

or maybe the worst day was leaving from bordeaux to netherlands, realizing that i misread my itinerary and was over 5 hours late for my train. i needed to get there, not only for a show that night, but because a guy there owed me money, i had most of my things there, and i was leaving the next day back to the US. i took a cab to the airport (35 euros), bought a plane ticket to paris (300 euros), and took trains to netherlands from there. 5 minutes before the 1st train left i was informed that i needed a reservation. with no time to spare i tried to get one, in vain, tried to buy a ticket, also in vain, and then ran back to the train, incurring a 100 euro fine. this train was 10 minutes late so i missed my connecting train. then i missed the next train too, cause i misunderstood where to catch it. when i finally arrived at the venue i was 6 hours late. luckily there were still enough people to perform for, but half the audience had left by that time.

best day:
day off in switzerland - swimming/drinking wine/eating cheese in lucerne, then took train to zurich and visited the amazing squat, binz, which is a gigantic disneyland for artists - took a dip in gigantic hot tub and ate a good meal - for dessert, barbecued chocolate bananas.

other highlights:
williams, oregon - playing in the middle of nowhere for a packed restaurant of super hyped kids.. seattle - opened for filastine, then after party, performed again with filastine and dj collage.. LA - played a show in a rad gallery, included in audience and/or performing: k-the-i??, bizzart, baseck, wet mango, mc homeless, dj stere0type, branded, youth:kill, etc.. santa barbara - playing for a houseful of hyped college kids, vegan breakfast in the morning.. austin - watching the incredible jubbs perform.. austin/indiana/michigan - recording/hanging out with strange powers/id obelus/myn dwun.. portland, me - meeting thesis, jameses, roma, pierre motionless, brzowski & sontiago.. paris - riddlore opens (?) for me.. poland - seeing the ancestral homeland & hanging with dr. krank & koola.. mainz - watching incredible performances by ohlsons feat. babel fishh & jamesphoney w/ james reindeer.. zurich - super hyped crowd, hanging out with ancient mith, goran, manu, staying up all night.. toulouse and cassis - paradises.. paris again - free sushi.. lucerne - hanging out with ghislain poirier and william s. blake, after party in army bunkers.. DC - performing on the street w/ flail & unscheduled co-vocalist 'uncle jesse'.

Upcoming shows:
June 10 - Kent, OH
June 11 - Chicago, IL
June 13 - New Castle, CO
June 14 - Denver, CO
June 17 - Spokane, WA
June 19 - Everett, WA
June 20 - Portland, OR
June 29-July 5 - Mutant Fest, location TBA
July 7 - Nevada City, CA
July 20 - Los Angeles, CA
(see myspace.com/themole for details and last-minute additions)