A Farewell To Aaaams... terdam!

Said goodbye to Amsterdam once more last night. Waved farewell to "Sitting Men" by Tom Claassen at Schipol Airport and headed back north to the UK.



No guitar over the weekend, obviously. A fair amount of music, though, mostly the car-crash Dutch disco-meets-oompah bar mixes. Spent some time on Sunday at a dance event called "Rapido" at Paradiso, just off the Leidseplein. Very cool venue... an old church renovated into a "Temple of Music". Last time we were there was for "Steelin' & Slidin'" with the Derek Trucks Band, Sonny Landreth et all. "Rapido" was definitely not the same scene!

Amsterdam's one of those cities that I'd like to visit for a month. Arrive with nothing but my guitar and a change of clothes, rent an apartment and just hang until the money runs out. To me, Amsterdam is Europe's take on New Orleans and a good example of how geography influences the spirit of a place. I can only imagine the kind of music I would create there, though. New Orleans is about jazz, blues, swing, zydeco... Amsterdam's vibe can be dark and moody, more East meets West. A true melting pot. I'm seeing carnatic music reimagined through psychadelics. Music to describe the darkest corners of one's soul.

Ach, we've only been back in London for a few short hours, but already I'm feeling the sirens' call. Just need to finish the design for my next tattoo and I'll be back. I promise...

Oh, and on the subject of New Orleans... Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Starting From Zero...

...Got Nothing To Lose.

Almost a year ago my husband and I were bellied up to the bar at one of our now-traditional "beer & ribs" joints in Amsterdam. It was mid-afternoon, New Year's Day, and we were well on our way to resurrecting our drunk from the night before. Our last day in Sin City was slipping by. London, and real life, beckoned.

Neither of us are big on making New Year's resolutions but as we sat there chatting about how far we'd come in the past year it seemed only natural to speculate about what we might achieve in the months to come.

During a discussion which ranged from getting more tattoos to deciding whether or not to adopt a child, one theme kept on rearing its ugly head: music. More specifically how I manage to constantly under-achieve when trying to improve.

Another twelve months have passed and I have yet to make significant progress in my playing. Why am I not in a band? When am I going to be good enough to play open mic's or jam sessions?
So, here it is, the question that I'm asking myself for 2008: how can I go from zero to hero in a year?