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Stryke's Tour Diary
Hologram Tour France/Germany
February 6 - March 2 2003
Thursday,
February 06, 2003
4:43 PM
Miami,
Florida
Well, I
suppose it’s about that time again. I’ve decided to keep another journal.
Keeping a journal is one of the ways I keep my sanity when I’m traveling. Since
I’m sure that I’ll end up posting this journal on the website, I’ll try to keep
it interesting. I’m at the Miami International Airport,
preparing to board for the long flight to Paris. I’ve had little to no sleep. I was at
the Murk studio till about 5 AM
this morning, cutting vocals for a new song on their album. Those guys always
keep me in stitches. I’m going to try and sleep on the plane (yeah, right…).
I’ll check back in after I land in Paris and get some real sleep.
Saturday,
February 08, 2003
12:38 PM
Paris, France
Well, a bit
of jet lag is still wreaking havoc on my system, but nothing I can’t handle. My
first gig last night was a lot of fun. The place wasn’t packed, but it was a
good warm up for the rest of the tour. It took place at a club called The
Glazart, a really cool music and art venue. Just about everyone I met in Paris
last year came. It’s so funny to me to hear people talk about how French people
can be so rude (especially to Americans). I have found this to be the furthest
thing from the truth. Everyone is so kind and hospitable here. I just woke up
from a decent slumber. Adrien and Manu are still getting used to this new
apartment, as they’ve only been here for about a week. Manu and I are taking a
train to Bordeaux today for a big gig tonight at Le4Sans, one of my favourite
places in the world to play. Time to pack and get ready. Here are a couple of
pictures of the view from my room, as well as the flyer and entry sign from last
nite. I’ll check back in later.
Saturday,
February 08, 2003
1:33 PM
Paris,
France
All packed
and ready to go. Adrien, Manu, and I were having some breakfast (bread w/
butter and jelly and some very strong coffee) in the kitchen. There in the
kitchen is a picture of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. Manu was explaining
that he got the picture from a French History book. I must have seemed a
little perplexed. Adrien then explained that American film was important
to French history (yikes). As a part of the post war Marshall Plan, France
agreed to distribute and show American films in France, as a partial way to pay
the US back for their help in the war. I thought it was so strange to have
a picture (an illustrated one, nonetheless, as you would find one of a president
or some other historical or political figure) in a history book. Here's a
pic of said picture...
Sunday, February 9, 2003
7:23 AM
Bordeaux, France
We arrived in Bordeaux just in time to have dinner,
before getting ready to go to the club. As soon as we arrived, my mind
flooded with memories from my trip to France last year. A certain someone
was with me, and wasn't this time around. I stayed in the same hotel as
last time, and couldn't get the thoughts and memories of last year out of my
head. I wasn't affected negatively though. Life goes on, and so have
I. Dinner was fabulous, as expected. Phillipe, from Le4Sans took us
all out to dinner. I had a wonderful canard (duck) with a sugar sauce.
I also tried escargot for the first time. It wasn't bad. I'll eat it
again, I'm sure. Anyway, what an amazing night! Le4Sans is officially my
favourite place in the world to play! I played here last year, and had an
amazing time. I didn't think anything could top that. Tonight did.
The place was packed and the crowd was just really up for it. It was the shiz bam nizell (or in french, le sheez bam neeezel!). I feel really
honoured to play at one of the top techno clubs in the world. When we
arrived at the club, I saw posters advertising Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, and Sven
Vath. Amazing. I played an edit I did on the laptop, on the train,
especially for tonight's party of "When You Touch Me" (that was the song of the
night last year). It went over even better than I planned. I also got to do some
live 909 action. The club allowed me to do an encore, after the night was
over. After my final record, I had to sign autographs for about a half
hour (if you ever want to see how nervous and stupid I feel around people, watch
me get asked for an autograph...especially if she's a beautiful girl).
Everyone was just amazing. I'm not even sure what else to say.
Bordeaux is amazing. Amazing people, food, and club! Here are some
pics of working ont he laptop on the train, the club, and the flyer. I
have to get some rest, as I have to take a train back to Paris in a couple of
hours. Nite!
 
Monday, February 10, 2003
6:00 AM
Paris, France
I have awoken from an extremely long slumber!
I woke up a couple hours ago in time to call my sister and wish her a happy
birthday. We got home from Bordeaux around 5:30 PM and I decided to take a
nap. Somewhere in there, my body decided to get rid of the jet lag and
lack of sleep and right itself. I slept till about 11 PM and then just
took really long naps until about an hour ago. I really don't think I can
sleep anymore. My mind is too active. I've decided to write this
entry in the journal and work on the miami meets detroit website.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
11:57 PM
Paris, France
What an amazing day. Yesterday was spent
chilling quite a bit, still getting my bearings. Today, we went out into
the heart of the city and walked for a while. I got some great record
shopping done and had an amazing dinner and a quaint little restaurant (it seems
I'm talking about food a bit too much...) Got some phone time with some of
my family members and friends, checked some e-mail, and struggled to get my
laptop on DSL (to no avail...which means that this tour diary still isn't
uploaded...oh well). I'm going to chill for a bit, and do some reading.
I doubt I'll have anything exciting to tell for the next few days.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
2:21 PM
Paris, France
Heading into the city to do a big more music
shopping (mostly CDs today, I think). Tomorrow, Bryan Zentz is in town,
and we'll go and check him out at the Rex Club. Really not much else going
on. Taking it really easy. Working on some special edits of some
music and finally catching up on some reading (Paulo Coelho's The Pilgrimage).
10:24 PM
Got back to the apartment a little while ago from the day out. Today has
been an epiphany of sorts. My head is swimming with all sort of thoughts
and emotions. I think I'm about to go off on a tangent. You may want
to do one of the following: 1) grab a cup of coffee and come back to
the computer with an open mind, or 2) switch to another website while cursing me
for being too idealistic and upsetting. ready? here goes...
reinspired:
walking the city streets of Paris, taking in the
entire thing: the sounds, sights, and even smells have had a really positive
effect on me. having decided to take a little break from production (the
combination of writers block, lack of direction, and moving my studio), this
trip came at a perfect time. being in Paris this past week has given me a
sense of renewed musical strength and direction. techno is now more
important to me than ever. I can't wait to get home to start writing
again. new sounds, new ideas, new directions. the musical future is
starting to look a little better to me now
war:
with everything going on in the world right now, and
the US seemingly ready to go to war, the anti-American sentiment seems to be
growing here. i do hope it doesn't come to war. it seems so much
easier to get along with others than to make war. war requires so much
effort. hate requires so much work and energy. why must we make
things so difficult for ourselves?
racism:
this is always a constant subject in my head.
here, it seems to be in my head a little more I suppose, because I feel a bit
more comfortable just being me here (don't get me wrong. i'm not saying
that there is no racism in france or in europe. i know this is not the
case.). in the states, I always worry about how I'm being perceived.
I have a notion in my head that when people see me for the first time, they see
a black guy first, then everything else after. I'm tired of that. I
do my best to see people as they are, not how society trains us to. I'm
tired of being uncomfortable asking girls of a different ethnic background out
on dates for fear of rejection based on me being "black" or Chinese or "mixed
blood." That's crazy, in my opinion. I just like the way I feel
here. I am proud to be who I am, proud of my Jamaican and Chinese
cultures. Here, I really feel like I can be me, and be those things,
without them getting in the way of people seeing me for me. I even dare to
say that I feel a bit easier (but not less shy) about talking to people
in this part of the world.
dreams:
Far too long have I been putting my personal dreams
on the backburner because I thought they were finally too hard to obtain.
I let the world get to me. The necessity of personal finance to obtain
"things" and a mortgage, and a wife and family. Yes, the wife and family
are important to me. But, I would never be true to them, if I were not
truly happy with my life. I am recommitting myself to my dreams.
That dream is to communicate with others through my music. Through making
music, and playing music. The other day, I read a chapter in Paulo
Coelho's book The Pilgrimage which will forever stay with me. It seems to
have come at a perfect time in my life. Here is an excerpt:
"We must never stop dreaming. Dreams
provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many
times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but
we have to continue dreaming. If we don't, our soul dies..."
"The good fight is the one that's fought in the
name of our dreams. When we're young and our dreams first explode inside
us with all of their force, we are very courageous, but we haven't yet learned
how to fight. With great effort, we learn how to fight, but by then we no
longer have the courage to go into combat. So we turn against ourselves
and do battle within. We become our own worst enemy. We say that our
dreams were childish, or too difficult to realize, or the result of our not
having known enough about life. We kill our dreams because we are afraid
to fight the good fight."
taken from The Pilgrimage by Paulo
Coelho
I will do my best to fight the good fight, and to
continue living my dreams, at all cost. I may die a financially poor man,
but my spirit will be one of the happiest this earth has ever known.
Saturday, February 15, 2003
8:37 AM
Paris, France
Had a good day. I went to bed late because I
was working on a remix (it's amazing how far technology has come if I can just
use my laptop to produce music without having all my studio gear with me).
I woke up around 1 PM and did a bit more work on the remix and did some reading
before getting ready to head into the city. We ate dinner at a friend's
apartment and then went to the Rex Club. I'm Just getting back to the
apartment from the Rex Club. What a great night! It's rare for me to
go out to a club if I'm not DJing. But, I had the chance to meet an old
friend face to face for the first time. Bryan Zentz was playing the Rex,
and I had to finally meet him in person. We've known each other for a
number of years via phone and email conversations. I've been dying to go
to the Rex, and finally had the chance to do so. I was not disappointed.
Bryan is as great a DJ as he is a producer. Got the chance to meet Oxia as
well, and hear him play. Very very cool. The Rex is a damn cool
club. I even danced in my own little space for a little while. Must
get some rest now. I've just eaten 2 crepes, and need some energy to head
to the anti-war demonstration later today.
11:57 PM
Slept for a few hours and headed into Bastille for
the war demonstration. It seemed like more of a party than a
demonstration. There were food vendors, music, the works. The
feeling was very anti-American, however. Here are a couple of pics below.
The day was really cold. Manu and I came home a little early, as we were
both still really tired from last night at the club.
Monday, February 17, 2003
5:55 AM
Paris, France
Insomnia is going to be the death of me. The
past few nights, I have not been able to sleep at all. Whether my mind is
overactive, or not, I just can't seem to get a good night's sleep.
Yesterday, I woke up at 1:30 AM, and stayed up until after 9 AM! That's
crazy! I was able to finally catch a couple of hours sleep before heading
back into the city for a few hours. Cyci took me by the Eiffel Tower and
Champs Elysees. It was amazing how busy it was on a Sunday. There
were tourists everywhere. It's funny, as I felt more like a native than a
tourist. We went to the Virgin Megastore and Fnac, and picked up some
music. Came back to the apartment for some dinner and chill time.
Then, to bed around 11:30 PM. And then...no sleep. GRRRRRRRR!
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
1:25 AM
Paris, France
Good day today. Went walking for a bit.
Went by the US Embassy, but it was closed for the holiday. I learned how
to make crepes today (watch out world). I hope to get some sleep tonight
at some point. Here is a pic of my crepe experiment...
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
4:11 AM
Paris, France
Insomnia strikes again. I cannot sleep.
After about 2 1/2 hours of playing blackjack on my palm pilot, listening to 2
Dave Chapelle comedy specials and the new Massive Attack album (all this after
finishing Paulo Coelho's The Pilgrimage).
Will try again after working on some graphics. Yesterday was another
chill day off. It was my Dad's birthday. I'm a little homesick, but
doing ok. I wish I was there to spend his birthday with him. At
least he'll enjoy the remote controlled airplane my sister's got him (that's
where my love of toys and gadgets comes from). I went into the city by
myself for the first time. I returned to Champs Elysees. I went to
some music stores. At the Virgin Megastore, Avril Lavigne was giving a
free concert. She's a pretty talented gal. I dig her stuff (yeah,
I'm a techno guy who likes something other than techno...sue me). Came
back to the apartment around 8:15 PM or so. Manu arrived shortly after,
with his brother and 2 guests. We had a nice dinner and some good
conversation. Not much else (but what else do you really need?). I will try to force myself to sleep in
a bit.
Saturday, February 22, 2003
6:28 AM
Paris, France
Just getting back to the apartment after my gig at
La Loco. It was a strange, but good night. The club is right next door to
the Moulin Rouge. At the club, I kept thinking how cool is would be if
Amelie Poulain walked in the club and into the DJ booth. But, I'm sure the
club scene wouldn't be Amelie's thing (those of you who are confused, go right
out to Blockbuster or Best Buy and rent/purchase the French film Amelie!).
It was more of a tech house night, so I held back a bit and played more how I
would at a Miami club. The place seemed to really dig it. I mixed a
combination of house, tech-house, techno, and a sprinlke of progressive with a
few classics. Here were the songs of the night (in my opinion):
Murk - "Some Lovin" (the original)
Plastikman - "Spastik"
Lil Louis - "French Kiss"
Oscar G. & Stryke - "Hypnotized" (Vocal Mix)
Continous Cool - "Automatic"
Robotman - Do da do (Plastikman Acid House Remix)
There were more, but these are the ones that stick
in my head right now. I will leave for Munich on Sunday night. I
will be sad to leave Paris. But, I know I'll be back. Time for some
crepes, then off to bed. Here's a pic of the Hologram guys (my booking
agents in Europe) and myself backstage at La Loco...
from left: Manu, Adrien, moi, Cyci
Sunday, February 23, 2003
4:09 AM
Paris, France
Well, we've just returned from a great evening at
our friends Bret & Chloe's place. What a great dinner! The company
was great, the food was great, the music was great! I even got to spend a
little time on the web surfing the clubplanet site and catching up on the Miami
scene. We had a bit of a scare when I got a call on my cell from Roberto
in Munich, asking me if I was already on the train to Munich. I told him
no. He said that my train was supposed to be on Saturday night, getting to
Munich on Sunday morning. Fortunately, as soon as we arrived home, I
checked the ticket, and it's for Sunday night, getting into Munich on Monday
morning (phew!). I've just eaten my nightly crepe, so it's time to pack
and get some shut eye. The guys have planned a goodbye lunch for me, and
I'm sure it's going to be awesome. Nite nite.
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Paris, France on the train to Munich, Germany
What a great day! Today's goodbye lunch was
immaculate. It was 6 courses! We must have finished 7 or 8 bottles
of wine in the process, ending the lunch with a Cognac. Lunch lasted more
than 5 hours! I am on the train to Munich now, and it's really strange.
It's an overnight train, so there are little sleeping quarters. I am
sharing a cabin with 5 other people. Me being the shy person I am, am not
taking too well to this. However, everyone seems pretty cool. Manu
introduced me to the cabin before leaving. I am going to try and relax and
get some sleep. See you in Munich! Here's a shot of my finished
plate after course #2!
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Munich, Germany
2:43 AM
Had a really chill day today. I woke up around
7 AM, still on the train. I was surprised to see snow! I didn't
think it would be snowing in Munich. The train got in around 9 PM, and
Roberto was there to pick me up. His apartment is really close to the
station. I was dead when I got in, so I took a nap for a couple hours.
But, not before having a good old German breakfast! We hit the streets and went for some lunch and a walk. We came home and
chilled for a bit. It was strange for me to get used to being in Germany
after being in France for so long. I was really getting used to hearing
and understanding the french language and way of life. Now, I have the
challenge to get used to the German language and way of life. Should be
fun. We went to see Gangs of New York at a German
movie theatre that plays english films. The movie seems really poignant
right now. Tomorrow we do some German record shopping and my studio time
in Munich begins. Looking forward to getting home soon. Here are
some pics from the day out today.
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Munich, Germany
3:20 AM
About to try and get some sleep. Had a good
and productive day. Went record shopping with Roberto and Shannon.
Met up with Chris, one of the producers I would start working with. We
shopped at a store called Optimal. Really cool shop. I highly
recommend it if you are ever in Munich. They carried techno, house, jazz,
reggae, and a cool collection of books. Very cool. After
shopping, we ate some lunch at a really good Chinese restaurant (it's in my
blood, so I can't go too long without eating some Chinese food...I'm missing
some Jamaican food right now too!). I had my first German beer. It
was a Weisbeir (wheat beer). Really really tasty. After lunch, it
was time for the studio. Roberto went to a different studio to work on
another project. I went with Chris to his studio, which is right outside
of Munich. On the way, he was telling me that BMW has a secret test area
where they test new prototypes. He said that he often sees them testing
them. A lot of times, in his neighborhood, he sees the prototypes driving
on the neighborhood streets. To protect them from being photographed, they
cover the cars in black panels. I hope I get to see one in the next couple
of days. Anyway, we got to his house, and went down the basement into his
studio. I was feeling very at home. His studio reminded me a
bit of mine (right before I tore it down before this tour). We started
working on a track that he began working on with Roberto. They had laid
down some grooves and a bassline. Chris and I went to work right away.
It felt good. We will continue working on it tomorrow with Roberto.
I look forward to playing the final results on Friday, then at home in Miami
next week.
Thursday, February 27, 2003
Munich, Germany
4:55 AM
Just about time to go to bed. Just got home a
bit ago from the studio working with Chris and Roberto. Chris is a really
cool guy to work with. His skill working with Cubase and his outboard
equipment is fast, accurate, and precise. He's got a lot of talent, and I
see big things for this guy. Today (yesterday, actually) was pretty much
as the day before. Did some record shopping at DJ Linus' record shop, had
lunch (and another Weisbeir), then more record shopping, then the studio.
Took a dinner break around 10:30 PM and went to a Bavarian restaurant. I
had wiener schnitzel and another Weisbeir! We went back to the studio and
continued working on the arrangement. I think we may be finished tomorrow.
I hope I get to play the track out on Friday. Here are a couple of pics
from today...the flyer for the party on Friday, me enjoying my Weisbeir, and
chilling in the studio with Chris.
Friday, February 28, 2003
Munich, Germany
4:45 AM
Just getting home from Chris' studio in Eiching.
The track is really coming along great. I think Chris and I will finish it
up tomorrow, before my dinner with the owners of the club I will play at
tomorrow. I think the track has a little something for everyone; a little
techno, a little house, a little progressive, a cool spoken vocal with a cool
message, all that good stuff. Can't wait to finish the arrangement and do
the mixdown. Now, I'm getting really anxious to get home as well.
Saturday, March 1,
2003
Munich, Germany
8:34 AM
My ears are ringing!!!!! The party went really really really really well
(minus a few small glitches...more on that in a bit). The club was a small
venue, low ceilings, and low lights. The sound system was good for the
room. All the DJs that played rocked it. Markus, Roberto, and
Shannon all gave rocking sets. I had a great time representing Miami at
the party. People kept shouting "MIAMI, MIAMI, MIAMI!" It felt good
to hear the name of home being shouted half way across the globe. The DJ
booth was really small, and I had a problem trying to figure out where to put my
laptop for my Final Scratch. I ended up putting it on top of the lighting
controller. The problem there was that the back of the laptop's monitor
panel was facing a seating area. Some people kept bumping into it and it
came close to being knocked over at least 12 times or so. Stressful, to
say the least. All in all, a great night (and morning). I did learn that
girls like to ask me to dance, and don't take no for an answer. If you
know me, you know that I do NOT dance! However, Munich girls like to
dance, and apparently like to dance with me. I danced with at least 4
different girls. Now, I know this must sound like some kind of show off
attitude. But, I promise you, I was in social hell! Well, time for
bed. Taking a night train later back to Paris, then my flight back home.
Here are a couple of snapshots from the party.
9:10 PM
I am on the night
train, headed back to Paris. It feels as if I've been gone from Paris
forever. Chris, Lilly, Markus, Shannon, Roberto, and Angel all came to the
station to see me off. I really feel a great connection with Chris.
The way he is as a person, his work ethic, all of these things I really respect
about him. He's one of the most talented people I've ever met, and yet he
is so humble about it all. It's funny, yesterday when we left Roberto's
flat, where I was staying, Chris pointed out that only 3 blocks away was the
first headquarters of the Nazi party. And only a street or so down from
there was Hitler's long time flat. It felt really strange to be in that
area, knowing what plans were laid so many years ago. I do look forward to
going back to Munich later this year. I think I may be there for
Oktoberfest...WIESBEIR TIME!!!!!
Sunday, March 2,
2003
3:19 PM (Miami
time)
On the way home to
Miami, somewhere over the Atlantic
Got back to Paris
around 7 AM this morning and took a cab directly to Manu's apartment. It
was really good seeing him and Cyci. We had a little breakfast (crepes, of
course), and just hung out until lunch time. We had a great discussion
about techno, DJing, all the good stuff. I can't wait to come back.
We headed out to the airport around noon and had lunch there. These long
flights can be a killer! I can't wait to get home. That's pretty
much it for this tour. Hope it wasn't too boring for you. Until next
time....PAZ!!!
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