Dylan recently returned from a trip to Stockholm, playing bass with the Indo-jazz fusion band autorickshaw at the Stockholm International Jazz Festival. What a fantastic trip!
Where to start? Well, Stockholm is a beautiful, historical city with gorgeous summer climate: imagine Muskoka if it were designed by Ikea. The show was great… fun performance, wonderful audience, great support staff. When we asked for some "backline" equipment (some drum stuff for Patrick and a bass amp for me) they led us to two tractor-trailers full of gear and said "just choose what you want and we'll deliver it". Now that's how you run a festival! We also got to see some other great acts including Steely Dan, Dave Holland, India.Arie, Joe Sample and Margareta Bengtson, former soprano for the Real Group.
Ed and Patrick had to rush home, but Suba and I spent a few days checking out the city. It’s a stunning place. We then headed off to London to meet up with Kevin Fox, my old partner-in-crime from Cadence and the newest member of the Swingle Singers. We had a great time hanging out, checking out the classic sites, sampling British beer, and avoiding British cuisine.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip was our decision to go see the Swingles (Kevin came with us… he starts performing in September) in Fishguard, Wales. First, the car rental. I had a very interesting time learning how to drive on the wrong side of the road… starting with downtown London. Talk about trial by fire! Then came the 7 1/2 hr drive to Wales, which included getting lost and crossing the England-Wales border twice before getting it right. We scrambled in to the concert 1/3 of the way through. The Swingles sounded great, and we had a great time hanging out with them after the show. Suba and I then slept for about 2 hours, got up, and headed back to Heathrow! That's Wales, kamikaze-style. All in all, a great trip. Can't wait to go back!