вторник, 11 септември 2012 г.

'Vultures Become Eagles' Days 5, 6 & 7 (Poland)


Cold showers, magical vegan food and extremely beautiful girls, this pretty much applies to all three days we spend in Poland.


Touring in the name of Jesus (Cocksucking) Christ <3
07/09/12 Warsaw, Poland
w/ Ceaseless Desolation

After the Budapest show we packed our crap and got in the van for another twelve hours. I'm writing this diary three days later so my memories are a bit blurry. I remember sleeping on a gas station, some of us sleeping outside on the grass, the other ones packed in the van. However after what looked like forever we reached Warsaw. It was grey, cold and immense. Our GPS was surely not able to cope with the route because of construction works. The other GPS we have got fucked up too. So a cab helped us to reach the venue. I think we almost didn't see anything of the city as it was a drive around its suburbs far from the central parts. Maybe that's why we couldn't really feel better about Warsaw. What we saw was grey colors and cold. When we got to the venue things got better. We had the best meal so far on the tour. The best baked potatoes, some vegan gyros and the vegan version of Bulgarian soup with sour milk and cucumbers. However the next hours we spent waiting and I mean we waited a lot. This was the first time I felt the clash of cultures. If in Bulgaria a show would start so late after its announced hour probably no one would stick around for long enough to actually witness the show. However the people stayed. Ceaseless Desolation had way too many issues and technical problems. But what I heard was a fierce mixture of crust and black metal. I guess in Poland and Czech Republic they'll never start playing anything else. And maybe it's a good thing. The tech issues kept happening during the Eaglehaslanded set. Maybe because that pissed them off they played like beasts. Our set was nothing special, just the same old songs. During the sets I felt the cultural clash again. People were mostly hanging around, not partying a lot, but after the show a lot of them came by the merch table and showed appreciation. After the gig we went to sleep in a recording studio, after a cold shower and quick chats with the awesome and hospitable people we went for a sleep. During the whole night there were those people playing in the studio and when we woke up at around 10 they were just leaving the rehearsal room. That's what I call dedication.

08/09/12 Krakow, Poland
The dudes at Krakow had the coolest decorations like ever and Furia we miss you :@
Due to too many shows happening in the region we had to switch the gigs in Warsaw and Krakow so basically we had to travel the same routes twice. So after another six hours we reached our next city. And if Warsaw felt cold as steel this one was totally different. I totally fell in love with Krakow. All amazing little squares, tiny streets and huge old buildings, totally different from what we previously saw in Poland. And the women. I totally reconsidered my dedication to blonde and red-haired women. And it was so nice to see women who are actually appreciating your attention even if it comes by a bunch of punks from Eastern fucking Europe. We went for a nice walk, then we easily found the venue. It was located in the Jewish Quarter and despite such great bands like Finisterre and Beyond Pink had played there, we were told it was about to be closed. I guess Expectations and Eaglehaslanded were the last bands to ever play that spot. And hell it was nice, small and comfortable. Not many people showed up that night however it was the same as in Warsaw. They were enough to sufficiently show us their appreciation by being super nice and buying music and merch from us. Tonight it was only two of our bands playing so it became quite a nice and intimate show which I guess was the main reason people appreciated it. We ended around 10 and an hour later we went to the place where were supposed to sleep. An awesome old appartment in the central part of Krakow, inhabitted by punks and decorated with super cool god free stuff. And most importantly the home of Furia, the coolest pitbul on Earth, who was something between a rad freerunner and a super sweet girl. Few hours of sleep, the usual cock talks and in the morning we're back in the van heading for Poznan. Unfortunately Furia didn't come with us.

10/09/09 Poznan, Poland
w/ Fight 'em All @ Rozbrat Squat
I guess it was okay to be everything in Rozbrat, everything cool and nice of course, such a rad place.
The show in Poznan was the first time we are playing in squat on this tour. All around Poland we met people telling us Rozbrat would be awesome so we were really anxious to get there as it was the oldest squat in the country with 18 years of history. After a walk in Poznan and few moments on their "beach" under a bridge somewhere in the city we went in the squat. It was a whole new world existing in another one. A closed community of punks, bikers, crust punks and all types of people. All of them were super friendly and for less than half a day spent there we were able to feel safe and to feel the atmosphere they were able to create in this place. It's such a pity Bulgaria doesn't have that culture, that willingness to build something more and subcultures existing only online and for a bunch of shows. Actually Rozbrat has some really rough times now and it's highly possible to get closed. So I won't be going further into details about unpacking, travelling you've already read that several times. But I will mention the food, which for a third day in Poland was awesome. Won't be making a chart in order not to offend anybody but those three days were totally my favorite days of the tour in terms of eating. Sandra was the coolest promoter ever, she took us on a walk, put a show for us in the awesome Rozbrat squat and cooked us great dinner with dessert and she even woke up at 5 next morning so she could bring us breakfast. The show was awesome, pretty packed and the people seemed really into it. We played every song we have and this is always a proof we're enjoying our time. And how could you not enjoy Rozbrat?After the show we went to Kebabistan for a quick falafel. Earlier in that day I didn't taste what the other guys said was the best falafel they've ever tasted. And I hope I got a treat by Dancho cus this felt as if I'm eating falafel for the very first time. One more thing Bulgaria has to learn a loooot about in the future. After a nice walk in Poznan at night we went back for a quick bath and went to bed because the road to Prague was expecting us.
Just a piece of advice, don't be ignorant like me. Read more about such active and awesome communities as the Rozbrat one, if your country and life allows it help them, start one, whatever. Just do something. That feeling you are a part of something different, of a collective looking out for something more... that's unique.

събота, 8 септември 2012 г.

Whoever needs words

Seriously... whatever I've written here can describe this. Hopefully you can feel a bit of it, go look.

'Vultures Become Eagles' Days 3&4

06/09/12 Sibiu, Romania
@ Bohemian Flow

After a decent sleep in the van we hit the road to Sibiu. It was a short ride which we pretty much didn't feel. Needless to say we got there on time, we also had a plenty of time to get lost and also hang around. We pissed of a granny by stopping by her window, we gave her an apple she promised to come to the show (using body language). However after a decent struggle we found the venue which was placed on a really awesome square in the heart of Sibiu. After loading in we still had some time to kill and we spent all of them online like total nerds, don't know what I was doing as I obviously am posting this a day later. What else we did was eat the awesome food Andrei, Alek and their crew made. And that vegan cake whooooo. However the show started, it was only us playing so it would be a fast one. A bunch of people were already at the venue, Eaglehaslanded started and the people responded great. During our set it was the same. People went insane. Last year we gotta blast in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca (some of the people who came there were at Sibiu too) so I can pretty much say Romania is one of the best places on Earth. After the show we talked with pretty much everybody in the venue, who were possibly the kindest people ever. Then we went to Andrei's place and we slept for few hours before we started our 12-hours-drive to Budapest.

07/09/12 Budapest, Hungary
w/ Wasted Struggle, The New Dead Project@ Trafik Club

Won't be telling stories about spending 12 hours in the van. For me it wasn't even boring cus I'm a cool dude used to doing whatever I gotta do. After some cool and some boring hours we got to Budapest. No border issues, not a single crappy situation, just the opposite. Few miles before entering the city, at a gas station we met Last Hope with whom we played our first gig and who had also started their tour that very same day. When we entered Budapest our GPS issues got pretty serious and while looking for a tattoo studio we got into a pretty messed up suburbs full of sluts and some old people touching kids' cocks, gays fucking around. It was rad to watch and a nice start in our time in Hungary. Few minutes after we parked we were also mugged by a local dickhead pretending to be working on a parking, however some of the guys chased him and took our money back and waving middle fingers we went to look for another cool spot to park our ship. The venue here was also placed on a beautiful square. We loaded in and had an awesome meal that Bence and his girlfriend made for us. They were so cool they even prepared stuff that we'll take and have for breakfast. The venue was nice, the local bands were really intense and interesting. Especially Wasted Struggle which I'll be really interested in witnessing with a better sound or maybe on a recording. I remember hearing their music before but it felt like changed and evolved in a different way which I think is cool. What I didn't like about the show in Budapest is that there were people selectively watching the whole show. All the time going up and down the stares, out and in of the club as it is not a hardcore punk show but an exhibition where you drink wine and wear your classy clothes. However a lot of people showed up, bought merch, talked to us. I guess this is their way of responding rather than drowning in sweat like in Eastern Europe so I'm appreciating that a lot. During our set the audience was great so I guess I can put this in the list with the cool Expectations shows. Now as I'm writing this we're on our way to Warsaw. A drive that we started right after the show but we stopped and slept in the van. Not sure if we'll make it on time, but hopefully we will. Cutting the crap now. Vultures out.

четвъртък, 6 септември 2012 г.

'Vultures Become Eagles Tour' Days 1&2

Sofia, Bulgaria 04/09/12
w/ Last Hope @ Club Studio
photo by Valeri Vesselinski
Rarely would I be such a ego freak to review a show I played in Sofia. However unlike the last 5 years I've spent in this city this particular show was the start of something new. On September 4th we were about to start our first real European tour. And it was hell of a start. The day started early and we pretty much spent it all in a bunch of cars, cabs and finally the van that was supposed to be our home for the next almost two weeks. Won't brag about how awesome it was to play for all our friends who suprisingly seemed to have missed us those few months which we abstained from playing in order to make the beginning of the tour somehow special not only for us. And it was a blast. We finally were able to check out live Eaglehaslanded, our Serbian mates that are the other half of the 'Vultures Become Eagles Tour'. And they are insane. This was their second show and I remember my second shows... Nothing like that. I hope those guys stick around long enough so we're able to get more of their music in the future. Such a band was really missing on the Balkans and I'm pretty certain it won't be too much if I say they are actually the first screamo band in our region. No matter how absurd this may sound to the people from Western Europe, but I guess it's high time they learn more about the depths of our continent. However won't go further into details. It was a rad show, our people seemed to enjoy our new CD. Actually one of the coolest things was that peope were actually disappointed we couldn't make the vinyl we promissed. This is surely a blast of optimism that our scene is really growing in the right direction. So the night ended at around 3 o'clock after a mindless switch of cabs, cars and our van. The next morning was supposed to start in only 2 hours and a half.

Brasov, Romania 05/09/12
w/ I Started Into The Forest/Coins As Portraits
Brassov was the best
It is only three hours after we called it a day. It's still pretty dark outside and having in mind I haven't been awake before 10 o'clock for the last few months it was a huge torture. However thirty minutes later with my backpack and a terribly hurting neck from last night I go to the meeting. An hour and something later we're packed in the van that's pretty much supposed to be our new home for the next two weeks and off to Romania we go. And boy it was hell of travel that took us nearly 12 hours, half of which in Bulgaria, the other in Romania and a significant part of going in circles in Brasov to find the venue. Few hours before we got there our main mate Marius Costache (who was not only patient enough to record us for a second time, but even came for the show in Sofia) got a message saying the club owners didn't pay their rent so the show should be moved. 

And this was totally the best possible way things could have gone. We played a pretty much abandoned old medical supplies factory that became a home for a hardcore punk show for the first time. The atmosphere even before the show was sooo awesome. Dim lights, cool local people gathering, new and old friends travelling to see us and say hi. AND the RAD food Iulia cooked for us. From the first minute at the venue it was a blast and it became even bigger. The show started with I Stared Into The Forest and their wicked and complex hardcore, surely a band you want to dig deeper in their music. The next act were Coins As Portraits, who share a guitarist with the previous band. And those guys were so intense, their music is so complex and they play it like kings. All the time I was listening to them I was thinking, boy if those guys were jazz musicians they would be making all the money in the world and they deserve it so much. As to our sets I will be short. The night before I couldn't feel Eaglehaslanded so perfectly because I was stuck at the merch table, but that night I watched their set thoroughly and I can just repeat what I wrote, I hope these guys stick long enough so we enjoy more of their intense and powerful music. As to our show I'm still too excited and I'm definitely writing the best one we ever had. We had technical issues with one of the guitars but everything was solved on the go and it surely didn't spoil the fun, on the contrary it made it way more real. I hope the tour keeps being so awesome. I hope we meet as friendly people as the guys from Brasov everywhere we go. Big ups for Adrian, Bogdan and all involved for setting this up for us and everyone that showed up. A thought is stuck in my mind all evening long – we have so many friends everywhere, all it takes is to travel and meet them.

But in the end this is the place this band belongs :D

понеделник, 27 август 2012 г.

'I carry love, I carry darkness'

This is our new record, download it for free donation, learn it, share it, comment it, feel it... whatever.

петък, 24 август 2012 г.

Expectations - Vultures Become Eagles Tour


It's high time we announced this. And finally it is happening. I don't know what are your plans for September but mine are pretty clear. I'm starting this month with twenty shows in 7 European countries. We've been waiting for this since April. Back then we couldn't promote our debut album as much as we wanted, but we recorded a new EP so now we'll promote them both in Europe. I hope you are interested and if you are it will be a pleasure to meet you somewhere on the road. I'll do my best to maintain my own tour diary here so if you care just keep an eye on me, Expectations or our Serbian pals from Eaglehaslanded with whom we'll be sharing those two weeks. The full schedule is below, we'll be having a day-off in Prague but I may be able to fill it with a Mytrip show, who knows.

Sept. 4 - Sofia, Bulgaria @ Studio Club
http://www.facebook.com/events/496370650392636/

Sept. 5 - Brasov, Romania @ Ground Zero
http://www.facebook.com/events/470041503013863/

Sept. 6 - Sibiu, Romania @ Bohemian Flow

http://www.facebook.com/events/144254402382130

Sept. 7 - Budapest, Hungary @ Trafik Club
http://www.facebook.com/events/301596493261072/

Sept. 8 - Warsaw, Poland @ klub ZNOŚNA LEKKOŚĆ BYTU
http://www.facebook.com/events/483670834977338/

Sept. 9 - Krakow, Poland @ Kawiarnia Naukowa
http://www.facebook.com/events/227548950700568/

Sept. 10 - Poznan, Poland @ Rozbrat Squat
http://www.facebook.com/events/449212288457538/

Sept. 11 - Prague, Czech @ Cafe Na Pul Cesty

http://www.facebook.com/events/369866626416942/

Sept. 13 - Wiener Neustadt, Austria @ Bandhouse
http://www.facebook.com/events/412488772148997/

Sept. 14 - Pecs, Hungary @ Matus rehearsal room
http://www.facebook.com/events/251913641586596/

Sept. 15 - Subotica, Serbia @ Mladost Club
http://www.facebook.com/events/376579609080055/

Sept. 16 - Novi Sad, Serbia @ CK13
http://www.facebook.com/events/409957215689292/

петък, 3 август 2012 г.

A home for a bunch of friends

You are a new kid who lives to go to shows and listen to tons of rad music. First you are a guest, then you become a part. Finally you are the one building a home for new kids, for other kids who give a damn. You have a home where once you were a guest. You have a home which former hosts don't know about because they don't give a damn any longer. But you still do. It's because of that idea to build, leave, giveaway and always remember. Those days you'll never regret, those days you'll never forget.

photo by V. Vesselinski
// currently blasting Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Converge like hell's coming to Earth right now