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Pete's Europe Tour Blog
Rehearsals
22 June 2011
FM Tour Diary: Pete's Europe Tour Blog - Rehearsals - 22 June 2011
Okey dokey it's the second leg of our European jaunt. As you can see I'm going to try to blog my way through our trip. The only thing which may stop me sending them through is getting internet access, I'll do my best, promise.
We're rehearsing up at Kings Langley as per usual. Steve and Jim meet at mine and we load our respective vehicles. Oh marvellous! It's started to lash with rain which only goes to make this overrated task even more tedious. A last check to make sure we've not forgotten anything and it's off to FM group rock practice.
We arrive at Rhona's Rehearsals to hear Steve Church has been let down by the van hire company. They delivered the van 2 hours late so he's running behind, poor love. We have a band but only drums and some guitars, all the rest of the gear is with Steve C. The next problem is that the crew have a ferry to catch tonight so we really need to finish by 6pm, 6.30pm latest so they can get packed away, loaded up and on the road to Dover by 7.30pm at the latest. We give Steve C a call and he says he's about an hour away.
It's now 2pm. Steve C is meant to be popping into FX to pick up some Peavey gear
so to save time Jim and the Overlord head off to pick it up. That way all the gear
should arrive about the same time. Sorted. The cunning plan comes together and we're
up and running by 4pm. Everything goes smoothly.
Merv has a brand new Peavey bass rig and it sounds 'kin amazing. John Oz has come up trumps once again. What would we do without him? Not have this cracking bass sound, or guitar sound for that matter. Oz, you da man! I just had a thought... our backline is the 3 'P's... Paiste, Premier, Peavey... perfectamundo, gear people!
All is going swimmingly until Steve C gets a call saying the hotel they've got booked in France will only hold their room until 9pm tonight, which is not entirely helpful seeing as they are not sailing from Dover until around 11pm. Hope you got it sorted geezers.
We, the band head off to our respective abodes. Jim, Steve O and yours truly do what any self-respecting rock-type person would do and head for the pub. We meet up with Bob Skeat from Wishbone Ash and Clayton Moss from The Cross, have a couple of cheeky ones and it's time to hit the long and winding. Back home, I book a cab for 7am to take Steve, Jim and me to LHR Terminal 1 for the start of our next European adventure.
Watch this space... (Wifi and t'interweb permitting).
Sweet dreams…
Jim, Steve and Pete 'preparing' for their show in Holland in time-honoured fashion - at the Haven Arms Ealing, with Clayton Moss and Bob Skeat