Huber

They are quite a lazy bunch in Oberhausen. I practised my best #Robert Plant vocal techniques to scream at the German support crew at the O2 stadium who were working overhead ( Mark Gale and Mike Haggerty take note), I was not using speech level singing . This was to get them to stop working both above me and above #Yusuf's guitars, as they were carrying hammers, bolts and spanners. Huber, however was very helpful in the sense that he did not do very much either, but he was very funny.

Germans are generally as funny as watching a dead dog trying to climb a ladder (form a mental image of that!!), but not this guy. There is nothing like good ole "German Huber" to get the day off to a good start.

I placed myself on security detail by addressing the miserable security guards ,and demanding to see their papers to make sure they were in order. I got a few laughs, and a few bemused looks. By the time they had worked it out I was off to the next one. Heels a-clicking.

"YOUR PAPERS PLEASE". ....Where is Steve McQueen when you need him? I may have to plan a not-so-Great Escape.

Oh yeah, the concert here was amazing. Indeed. There were a few technical difficulties, but watching a genuine superstar like Yusuf overcome them was staggering. I think most of us would have crumbled in the same position. Well I guess I should just speak for myself…

Now just take one more look at Huber. Like putting on a poncho, ( #NoelFielding) it's simply impossible to be unhappy when you see Huber….

Kevin Nitrovane

Thats not a bus, this is a bus

This is the type of tour bus used for bands these days. We have two of them for the crew. They have an upstairs and a downstairs lounge with a bar, TVs, games and sleeping bunks upstairs. They cost about $700,000. We travel on them between cities overnight and it's great to get the travelling done while we are asleep so that we can enjoy discovering the next day. So far we have travelled from Stockholm to Hamburg, then to Oberhausen, and now we are in Berlin. I woke up yesterday just in time to see the fresh green fields flash by as we moved towards Berlin. Amazing wind generators everywhere! Indeed.

Kevin Nitrovane

The Swedes and the Dobro

Flew into Stockholm yesterday.

I've now travelled on British Airways twice within Europe and the flight attendants are second to none.

In Stockholm I met Bjorn Borg precisely five times in one day; or is it perhaps that all Swedish people look alike?

Two things I want to say about the Swedes: they're all attractive and they're all nice. I've started to learn the language, which I test out on every unsuspecting Swede I come across. They have all been excited to help me learn.

I've spent countless hours on Yusuf's Dobro (pictured). I hope to upload some sound clips soon. Yusuf wants to play it like a normal guitar, so I had to dismantle it, pull the neck out, reset the neck angle, do a partial refret, and take humps and bumps out of the fretboard.

At rehearsals today the Dobro went really well. It's probably going to be used for Yusuf's song Popstar, but there was also a jam on Peace Train with it, so you never know.

London, day1 rehearsal

In London, that it be!  The Royal Wedding.

It's difficult not to get swept up in the pomp, ceremony and nostalgia of the wedding while I'm here in London. The feeling of joy in the streets has become quite tangible.

When I was younger, and knew much more than I do now, everything was black and white. I was completely convinced there was no value in the monarchy.

Everyone has an opinion, much of which consumes more of their life than it probably should. The interesting point is that I have met so many people interested in displaying their complete lack of interest in the wedding. That is interesting in itself. And yet, there are people here so interested in this interesting event that they have sat for 4 days alongside the road, waiting to get the prime view of the newly married couple, William and his chick (whose name escapes me at the moment). These people have formed little communities where they interact and share together, even though a few days earlier they were complete strangers. (Shame on them for wasting their lives in such a matter.) My cabbie declared his complete "disinterest" in this. Surely he was receiving much financial gain at this time?

Those uninterested in the wedding describe these people as being anything other than sane. They are calling forth the Tower of London guards to promptly arrest them so they can be sent to an asylum. I, of course, agree with them…….And now , for a more noble use of my time, I'm off to watch a soccer match in a stadium. I'm going to view a little white ball through my binoculars, and scream at people I don't know when that ball doesn't go in the direction I think it should. And I'm going to yell even louder at those folk next to me who think the ball should go some other way.

Now that I'm older and know less than I used to, to be black and white on anything seems to me rather foolish and naive. But thats what happens when you get older.

I can see my friend Emma now, cross-legged sitting in front of the TV in her Basso townhouse,  cheering with raised arm and fist at every glimpse of the Royal couple. I too, will join in and wipe a tear from my eye, seeing people happy for no particular reason at all, but just enjoying being part of the event, and living.

Oh yeah, I think I'm actually meant to be talking about London rehearsals with Yusuf (Cat Stevens). I've re-acquainted myself with the band today, and I'm slowly getting my tool kit together. I'll be setting up the workbench tomorrow to modify and setup Yusuf's guitars.

My new J200

My latest acquisition is a Gibson J200, with maple back, sides and neck, spruce top and rosewood fingerboard. It is possibly the finest sounding acoustic guitar I have ever played. It would even give a couple of Hank's 1970s Martins a shove.

I never really discovered J200s before the last tour. They don't seem to be that popular here. I played a couple of Yusuf's on tour and fell in love with them. They have a big blustery sound, with a lot of bottom end that has to be controlled. But if these guitars' harmonics are perfect they are astounding. Incorrect harmonics on guitars with great bass sounds (such as these) can produce a mess that sound engineers find difficult to rein in.

I experimented with Yusuf's black J200 in Sydney and was impressed with the results. If anyone saw it, Yusuf played it on Stewart and Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Cliff used one on the last Shadows' tour, which he had bought new in 1958. I think you can see a photo of his one and of Yusuf's somewhere in my photo collection. When I got back to Perth I just had to have one. Thanks Kosmic.

This particular one has a rich warm sound and when played lightly has amazing definition. When I play chords I can hear the individual notes quite clearly. Anyone looking to buy a guitar should listen for this quality. I haven't even had time to AAA service it yet. I can't wait for the results.

Comment for the week…." I can see you there in front of the stove, but I can't see the stove" Groucho