Move over sex tourism, now we’ve got disaster vacations. Voyeur vultures? Nah. There’s something poetically humbling about disaster. I’m seriously considering the Chernobyl tour.

Frequent man.under.stress contributor and former book reviewer, “chilly,” or in the preferred Taoist nomenclature, “chi-li,” began podcasting interviews with friends and acquaintances, the unsung celebrity of the everyman sort of thing, some time ago. Well now he’s expanded the service into a full blown blog, complete with the continuing series of podcasts, PLUS, psychedelic arcana, [...]

McDonald’s, refuge for the weary traveler?
Indeed, despite its vaunted reputation as a juggernaut of American culture, McDonald’s has come to function as an ecumenical refuge for travelers of all stripes. This is not because McDonald’s creates an American sense of place and culture, but because it creates a smoothly standardized absence of place [...]

Photos from my trip to Ireland and the Magnapop Belgium/Holland tour here.

So I forgot to mention the interview with Studio Brussels which happened the day after the first show. We get up way too early for rock tour and haul hours away to SB HQ. It’s a generic corporate building on the outside but pretty mod interior, and you can tell from the designer [...]

After Helmond I went into a slump. Anyone who has played music on a stage knows how variable the sound can be: it is truly a mysterious nearly untamable beast. You never know how to get it right but you certainly know when it is off. And curious thing when the drummer has an off [...]

Helmond translates to “hell mouth,” and it is here that we are to play our forth show, which is shaky from the get-go as a couple of days before there is some problem with ticket pre-sales, and opening acts. Whatever, it doesn’t seem to big of a deal when we get there. The excited receptionist [...]

Hung out yesterday in Leuven to see the sights. Walked around the markets, had a waffle, pondered the abstact statues, and drank koffie. Hit the road about 3 for Repmond Rock, outdoor tent festival in the quaint village of Repmond. There are castle tower remains on site. We are backstage in the lofty attic of [...]

Arriving in Amsterdam via Aer Lingus, I am hungry and hit Vlaamse Frites for a smaak of frites n’ mayonaise. Mmmmm, greasy goodness. I take the shuttle to town and meet up with the crew at Canal View hotel, which is in the Rembrandtplein. Rooms are basic but adequate, right off a canal. We eat [...]

Woke early Monday, showered and hit the road as soon as possible after complementary Irish breakfast number 2. It’s nice that this place has their own parking…this will be my hotel in Dublin from now on. Head out for Glendalough and immediately get lost trying to get out of town, but recover without having to [...]