Over the next few months,  a dozen+ alt-rock bands get added to the bill, J Mascis miraculously agrees, and soon I’m booking my berth aboard the Bonkers Boat for the inaugural Weezer Cruise.

Setting sail January 19-23 from Miami to Mexico, the theory was that 2500 indie rock fans and 15 bands would hit the high seas, get drunk, listen and play music and generally party. The reality? Yeah, that. So in order to facilitate, I became Julie Cruise Director for Lou and Sebadoh (Sebadoh had three gigs, Lou SEVEN) and kinda “tour” managed the band’s way onto the ship.

I mean, how could I NOT be on the boat? I’m mates/acquaintances with a third of the bands who’d be on board: Dinosaur Jr, London, England’s Yuck, San Diego’s Nervous Wreckords and Brooklyn’s The Antlers, among ‘em. Plus Boom Bip, Wavves, Free Energy, Ozma, The Knocks, Sleeper Agent AND our friend Andy from Wye Oak, who was coming just for fun? Uh, yeah. This was going to be a boat of such indie-rockness, it’d be amazing if it didn’t sink from awesome.

Let’s set sail, shall we?

We begin, the night before, in ghost-town down-town Miami at a cool club called Grand Central, where Sebadoh are playing. There’s a pre-Cruise party upstairs, and we try to go for food but find out from local bands Plains and Jacuzzi Boys that the next best restaurant is too many blocks away (WTF Miami? You are SO weird), so Lou and my cabin-mate Terri and I have to order in sushi from a local joint. It’s dodgy, but none of us puke on stage or off. Win?

“We haven’t played together in three months” Lou says from the stage, “so welcome to our rehearsal.” But it doesn’t sound like that all – shhh don’t tell anyone, but the Sebadudes are tiiiight. Afterwards I snap the above pic of the band with promoter Mario, then we all bundle into a mini van. Gods bless him, Dinosaur Jr’s tour manager extraordinaire Dan has come to collect us and take us back to the hotel.

Cruise Day. I run into Max Bloom from Yuck ambling past the hotel pool, but my number-one priority is basically getting Lou & Co on the boat. Once I get ‘em on board, I can relax and begin the long, arduous task of getting drunk. I feel like a sheepdog in the lobby trying to herd everyone, including wives and gear, on the Artist Shuttle. BUT WE MAKE IT TO THE CARNIVAL DESTINY. Reeee-zult.

But our rooms aren’t ready yet! Boo! Lou grumbles about how the rest of Dino didn’t have to come until later and I make a joke about the Lou Barlow Jealousy Vortex – the one where he disappears into a hole of envy at his own other band. But we’re all pretty stoked anyway and hang out on the Lido Deck, babbling varieties of “HOLY CRAP! I’M ON A BOAT!!!”, “WHAT THE FUCK?”, “JESUS, I’M HOT”, “UGH, THIS RUM-BASED DRINK IS TOTALLY TOO SWEET” and “CAN YOU WATCH MY STUFF?”. I am in charge of watching stuff. That’s Lou’s bass, above. I’ve got my eye on you, Lou’s Bass. Don’t make any sudden moves, ‘cos I’m really preoccupied by the fact that I’M ON A BOAT!

Soon it’s time to find our rooms. En route, we run into the rest of the lovelies in Yuck who drop their gear to hug us. I adopt them, and they adopt me. We’re a funny-looking family.

Marvel at the splendour of our “stateroom” and bask in its cheap hotel room feel! We do. We also marvel at the fact that right up until push-off, there was a dude outside PAINTING our window and that during the cruise, someone seems to enjoy banging  above or below us at 8am on mornings when we got to bed at 6am. But nevermind. This room will see little action except for towel animals, when I wake up half-naked with my contact lenses in, and when I fall backwards off the bed.

At 4pm sharpish, we’re all supposed to meet at a “Muster Station” – an area we’re assigned to go to in the event of an emergency. Bands, including Weezer, line up next to fans, and we cozy up with Andy from Wye Oak. That’s Andy.

We run into Brian Karscig and his band in the production office . Brian used to be in rad band Louis XIV, and is now the chief of equally rad band Nervous Wreckords. Brian and I go way back to a night in Vancouver when we all got drunk on the tour bus (read about that, here on their blog) and I taught him how to use teh Twitters. He now has a band of good-looking people who make good-sounding rock choons. I’m excited to finally see this incarnation – and I do, twice. That’s Brian on deck in his uniform: black, hat, and beard, as we’re all awaiting…

….WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZER! Holy shit I can’t believe they’re doing “Hash Pipe” first! I can go home now. No wait, I can’t..I’M ON A BOAT!

Would you look at that adorable nerdy guitar solo face? Oh, Rivers. I’m sorry if I ever doubted you and told people I was basically going on the Lou Cruise. Weezer, you’re kind of really good.

This is the new thing. Never mind cam-phones. How about an iPAD in your face, Scott?

Yeah, so Rivers dons a captain’s hat and goes for a walk in the grinning crowd. Did his trousers rip or summat? Check out the little girl’s face behind him. But this is a fun moment. I’m wedged dead centre by the sound tent and Rivers basically straddles his way up the pole while singing the hits. (It was the Hits and Blue show – Pinkerton and rareties would come later.)

And what, pray tell, is Rivers gunning for? THAT. THE GIANT BLUE WATERSLIDE. Which he promptly climbs. (Note the drummer: that’s Josh Freese, who is, basically, the best US rock session drummer everrr. He’s stellar and pinch-hitting so Patrick Wilson can play guitar. Freese is so good that even Murph from Dinosaur Jr  tells me he wants to meet him.)

So Rivers gets to the top of the waterslide, the sun is starting to set on his face, and I’m guessing someone asked him if he could touch his tongue to his nose?

And there’s the sunset. Nice! So long, Vice City! See you in a couple of days! Following Weezer’s set, we wander  trying to get our bearings, and eat the buffet. And in no time, it’s time for….

…SeBADoh to confuse all the mainstream Weezer fans and delight all the hardcore fanboys with their raucous melodipunk! (Or indie rock, whatever.)

This is officially one of my fave pictures of Sebadoh’s Jason Loewenstein, aside from this one with his pet pig Emmett. This is also Jason Loewenstein rocking out. He does that. I mean, seriously, have you HEARD the track “Careful” and all the other ones he belts? Gah. LOVE.

Love this pic of Lou, too, even though he’s already complained to me about the double chin. And the crowd’s pretty ace. You gotta hand it to the devotees for showing up to Seb’s first of three shows on t’boat. Is that Max from Yuck watching? And acclaimed music journo Brian J. Bowe (author of books on Judas Priest, the Ramones AND the Clash, writer/editor for Creem and SO MUCH MORE)? And “the Indie Rock Professor” (no, really, she’s an anthropologist who specializes in indie rock) Wendy Fonorow? YUP, all watching. I mean, seriously, when is this much cool going to be on a ship together again?

Oh hai, Bob D’Amico, drummer and Animal (the Muppet) for Sebadoh! I like to describe him as the punk-rock Marlboro Man. He doesn’t smoke, though. He’s too cool.

But soon! It’s time to pry ourselves from the Lido Deck and go find a bucket of beer in the big venue, the Palladium, where there’s comfy seats, waiters and a ploosh front-row vantage point for these guys:

Oh, Antlers. How I love you and your albums Hospice and Burst Apart. Peter’s voice sounds stunning, per usual. I last saw/met The Antlers at Music Fest Northwest in Portland, where me and the gang were imagining what it’d be like on the Cruise, and if Wavves would be the ones who’d be bringing the pot onboard. (Not saying a word, here.)

Darby Antlers is kind of ridiculously handsome (good ‘boardist too, hell, everything about the Antlers is amazing) but…

…drummer Michael Lerner is my buddy. Also handsome. He gives good drum face. Musically? You can’t really fault anything tonight. Because we have a bucket of beer. And Antlers are like 10 feet in front of me.

Shortly after, with only a half-hour in between sets, Mr. Lou Barlow steps offstage on the Lido Deck with Sebadoh and directly onstage at the Palladium with…

….Dinosaur Jr! Not the tightest musically, but I gotta say, this is the most eventful and rocking Dino show I’ve ever been at. Not only is Barlow playing at Warp Factor Bass God (no, really, everyone’s mouths are hanging open and for a guy who’s JUST PLAYED, he’s going INSANE on stage), but J is throwing some minor rock poses AND HIS HAIR GETS IN HIS FACE! That’s when you know he’s really letting loose (see below). Seriously, this was quite awesome. And he’s even chatty! “I’d like to thank Weezer, ‘cos without them I woulda never met the Fonz”, drawls the White Wizard, while Scott and Patrick from Weezer look on.

… But that’s not all! There’s a drunk/stoned couple next to us throwing shapes in the aisles so emphatically they have to be escorted back to their seats five times by the tolerant security guards. Back at their seats, dude puts his hand in his missus’ shirt and pulls her boob out. Fun! Then he falls on his girlf and they both get gently escorted out. At which point, another dude tries to stagedive during “Feel the Pain” into the 2nd row, lands on the back of the (at least padded) bench, and splits open his face. It’s a MONSTER of a show, and actually one of my faves.

But that’s STILL not all! We all pile backstage after, and Lou’s missus, Kath, is screaming: OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODTHEREWASACOUPLEINROWSIXWHOWEREHAVING…….SEX! We think it’s the same couple from before who’d come back, ‘cos apparently he had her bent over the bench, thrusting during “Forget the Swan.” Kath’s traumatized. Note to self: Do not sit in the sixth row for Weezer’s Pinkerton show. Even J smiles at the news about the audience participation/sexytime.

Then a couple of us head out to the Lido Deck for Brian Bell from Weezer’s Midnight Movie. Young Frankenstein? ALL KINDS OF HELL YES. *Applauds* We hang with Murph, walk past J at the back of the boat looking at the wake of the black water whilst hanging with his band friends, Sweetapple, talk about the show for a bit and admire all the folks in lounge chairs under blankets. Nice one. But by this time we’re drunk and hungry (drunkgry?) and LO AND BEHOLD, the “New York Deli” onboard is open until 3am. I get a sandwich and pile my plate high with pickles, then run into…

…THIS GUY. This is the adorbs Daniel from Yuck, who’s hanging around with bandmates Max and Mariko in the restaurant, where they’re availing themselves of the hot drinks. I tease them mercilessly about being English and needing a cuppa tea, but Daniel insists he’s having coffee. They’re deliciously tipsy and Daniel follows us around. “I”m just going to follow you around,” he says as we walk by Mascis (we do a lot of walking past J Mascis over the course of four days), whom he goes to thank for letting Yuck open for Dino on the return show in Miami. I can’t watch. I have this thing where every time a fan or ANYONE approaches J, I have to look away ‘cos I’m afraid we’ll all die of mutual awkwardness.

As we’re walking around,  plate in hand, we come up on afro’d Yuck drummer Jonny, and Sleeper Agent’s teen singer Alex Kandel. I offer Jonny some of my pickles, which he takes (he’s from Brooklyn, of course!), and Alex slurs at me to come see her band at some point. Uh….whoops.

Soon, it’s time for bed. We get in the room and are greeted by this guy:

Night night, Towel Creature! For tomorrow is another day and I’M ON A BOAT! \m/

STAY TUNED FOR MORE HIJINX ON THE HIGH-SEAS AND DAY 2: “I’m never drinking wine again”.

Last month, Lou Barlow and I sat down over sushi in Seattle – post-soundcheck for Dinosaur Jr – to discuss and chew on what the new year might look like for Sebadoh.

It seems that the trio are actually planning to do some new music. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIRTEEN YEARS.

For those who’ve rediscovered our indie rock heroes and those old songs from the 90s, this is enormous news.

The band had a busy year – back-to-back-to-back tours of the US-Canada-Europe-Australia-Asia-US again and now on the Weezer Cruise next week – but they’ve been touring albums that were released when grunge was a real word.

So here we are in 2012 and the scoop is this:  When Lou finishes recording and writing with Dinosaur Jr in February, it’ll be go for Sebadoh.  The re-release/remaster of 1987’s Weed Forestin’ will also hit metaphorical shelves (or mailboxes)….

…and yes, Sebadoh will be recording new music. With  a new drummer (Bob D’Amico) and renewed sense of purpose. The time is right, the tide is high, planets are aligned, the drummer’s an Animal, musicians have been trained on how to use social media, and hey, you know, Sebadoh are really kinda awesome…again.

The details as I know it (which is pretty much as much as the band knows at this point):

• Brooklynites Jason  Loewenstein (who reminded us this past year on tour that the songs he writes are even more ENORMOUS than you ever remembered) and Bob will likely be flying out to L.A. to record with Lou in and around April.
• Though this is still under discussion, the album may be fan-funded (in part at least) with possible help from a label. It’s lo-fi, baby, just the way nature intended it.
• If that’s the route they take, there will be all kindsa awesome incentives for fans: maybe some vinyl, limited edition artwork, credits, signed things, possibly even the stuff that dreams are made of. We’ve been asking fans on Facebook (fb.com/realsebadoh) what they’d like to see (first choice: NEW MUSIC) and have been compiling the votes.
• “This will be a good year for writing…I know that,” Lou told me yesterday. Now that he’s got some time back at home, post-holidays with the family, he’s been sitting in his studio strumming and putting ideas down for both Dino and Sebadoh. This. Bodes. Well.
• We’ll need fans’ help to spread the word – got a couple of bucks to put towards do your mates run some really cool blogs? Know any friends at record stores? Do you know how to retweet or post on your Twitter and Facebook? Every little bit will count.
• Release dates? Likely end of year, beginning of next, and the band is expected to head out on the road again in the summer/fall to try out the new stuff.

This is all good news, right? OH YES. I’ll be sailing the high seas with the boys next week on the Weezer Cruise and maybe between margaritas we might firm up some more details, so stay tuned here as always, on Facebook or via Twitter.com/RealSeBADoh.

Sebadoh AHOY! \m/

This year was good for music, sure, but there wasn’t a ton that blew me away to the point of drooling obsession. There were drool-worthy MOMENTS (meeting Matt Berninger of the National for a brief, shining second being one, crossing the border into Canada on the Dinosaur Jr. tourbus with Henry Rollins, being another, doing an exclusive photoshoot and meeting Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer for a third), but not a lot changed my life.

Still, let’s hear it for the really, really most excellent albums released this year, and the ones I played the most:

• Wye Oak – Civilian
  
• WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
• Austra - Feel it Break
• Duran Duran - All You Need is Now
• Girls – Father - Son, Holy Ghost
• Mike Doughty –  Yes and Also Yes
• Pack AD - Unpersons
• The Antlers - Burst Apart
• Yuck - Yuck
• Baxter Dury – Happy Soup

…but that’s getting rather list-like, innit? There were also some  lovely chilled offerings from Dan Mangan, Richard Buckner, Kate Bush, Kurt Vile , Thurston Moore, Wire, Bon Iver, M83, Beirut and on and on. Lovely albums, yes. Mind-blowing? No.

So I’ve decided to look ahead. Be positive. Future-thinking. Buck the trend, etc etc.

Here’s the Top 11 things I’m looking forward to in 2012, yo:

1. WEEZER CRUISE – I will be drunk on a boat for a week in January cruising from Miami to Cozumel with Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr, The Antlers, Nervous Wreckords, Yuck, Wavves, Gene Ween and, yeah, Rivers Cuomo et al on the Weezer Cruise. Even Andy Stack from Wye Oak will be joining us on board for fun. How can this not be absurdly awesome? Note that I will also have the mother of all Weezer prize packs to give away in January. Stay tuned.
2. THE ELDERS OF BRITPOP RETURNETH – Apparently Blur will be meeting up over the hols to decide whether Alex can leave his cheese farm long enough for the guys to make some new music. Hmmm. Add to that, the car-crash?/amazing? news that the Stone Roses have reunited for a tour and new album (this was one of my fave columns written this past year). PLUS possibly/definitely more car-crash from Shaun William Ryder’s Happy Mondays reunion or the La’s playing New York’s Sound City? Let’s see how this all turns out, shall we? I’ll be pulling up a chair to watch.
3. GENTLEMEN, RE-START YOUR ENGINES– please dear gods, let this one stick. The Afghan Whigs mighta broken up 10 years ago, but announced in early December that they will be playing ATP festivals in New Jersey and England in 2012. Praying for news of a complete tour that comes close to where I live. I’d really like to hear ANYTHING off of Gentlemen come out of singer Greg Dulli’s mouth again. And new music? Uh, fuh yeah.
4. BOLDLY GOING TO GIGS I’VE NEVER GONE TO BEFORE – tons of bands touring next year that I’ve never seen live: Kasabian, Gotye, Bombay Bicycle Club, folks tell me I should like Fanfarlo, and more. Hell, I’ve never seen the Kaiser Chiefs, which is weird. Look forward to lots of “Huh…they were better/worse than I expected” posts.
5. LIKE A MONKEY WITH A MINIATURE CYMBAL- My favourite show of almost all time happened back in 2008, and was Hot Chip. The band itself even rated Vancouver’s gig as the best of their entire North American tour. But they’ve not been back and the five-piece’s now in total side-project mode. I’d really like to have Hot Chip back, please. At least live? Maybe this year? Al from Hot Chip told me a few months ago over  Twitter that the band were aching to tour again and hadn’t forgotten the Vancouver show.
   
6. GIMME MORE INDIE ROCK… – A new Sebadoh record? YUP. Their last album happened in 1999, but after a series of pretty rad “Bakesale/Harmacy Remembering Time” tours last year, the addition of an amazing new drummer Bob D’Amico, and a new lease on indie rock life, it looks like the band that never really broke up is gearing up to put together some new music in 2012 as part of a fan-funded project. Expect Jason, Bob and Lou to record in March with hopefully an autumn release and all sorts of goodies if you help them make it a reality. I’m pleased to announce, too, that I’ll be involved this project, too…which may be unsurprising to anyone who reads BSR regularly and saw the umpteen posts about how I went on tour this past year with Sebadoh in the US and Germany.
7. …AND MORE GOTH: Rumour has it that when The Cure recorded their 13th album 4:13 Dream (which was wayyy more poppier than any of us’d like), they also recorded a batch of suitably gloomy stuff for a possible “Dark Album”. And rumour ALSO has it that that album may show its birdsnest-hair-head in 2012. I will weep tears mixed with gothy black eyeliner if not.
8. BRONZE SLIPPY – electro duo Underworld were named musical directors of the London 2012 Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremonies, and are teaming up up with Slumdog Millionaire/Trainspotting director Danny Boyle to direct this big insanity, happening on July 27th. I reckon this could be interesting, ‘cos there’ll be lots of cool folks involved. Am I curious? HELL YES. I mean, Vancouver had Bryan Adams. SO TOP THAT, KARL HYDE!
9. RECORDS BEING SET STRAIGHT - Mike Doughty has spent the last, oooh, millions of years dissing his former band Soul Coughing and talking openly and honestly about life as a drug addict in the 90s. His very first book (not including Slanky, his poetry collection) is a memoir called The Book Of Drugs, and will reach deeply into how Soul Coughing came together, then fell apart and also look at the anatomy of a musician addict. Doughty’s a superb writer and I’ve got an advance copy going beside my bed. It’s brilliant, honest and really bolshy. Pre-order The Book of Drugs now, it’s out on Jan. 10.
10. BORN TO DIE OF OVEREXPOSURE? – Fascinated by how mainstream media glommed on to quirky Florence and the Machine a year or two ago, I’mma gonna be watching as the squeaky and annoying wheels of MAJOR MARKETING continue to spin around Lizzy Grant, aka Lana Del Rey. I’m not really buying it – though clearly everyone wants us to. Lizzy will be playing SNL before her first album comes out and she’s got mega bucks invested in her. I’m guessing they wanna fill the void of Lady Gaga/Crooner Girl hybrids? Should be fascinating to watch this THING explode.
11. THE BEST ROCKHANDS ARE YET TO COME – I’ve got my fingers in so many pies that I feel like a really sticky octopus. There might be some festivals, too (though I’m broke), some partnerships with the coolest of the West Coast music scene, and there will DEFINITELY be a lot of surprises coming up on BackstageRider. One thing I can guarantee that I will look forward to next year: knowing that you’re reading me, tweeting me, FB’ing me, Google+’ing me, and supporting this one-woman show. So keep talking to me, okay? And in the meantime, seriously, why aren’t you on the Rockhands Gallery? Send in your pics of you and friends throwin’ the horns for our gallery now.

Have yerself a merry little holiday and a groovy 2012. Rock on! \m/

And hey, guess what? I was there, too. Why? Because Portland rules: there’s beers, hippies, hipsters, fixie bikes, good food, nice venues and awesome donuts. And I spent three outta the five nights doing what I like to call SERIOUS MUSICKING.

Here’s what transpired on September 8th: Part 1.

Couldn’t quite get up in time for Sweden’s Little Dragon, who played Thursday’s “HOW early?” 10am KEXP session, but made it to the Doug Fir in time to catch my fave new US band, Unknown Mortal Orchestra. “Ffunny Ffriends” sounded particularly sunny, and lead singer/guitarist Ruban thanked folks for coming to the set so early. “Normally I’d be getting up around this time. And thinking about whether or not to smoke a bowl.”

After the sesh, and a chat in the Green Room with my new KEXP mates (including friend Shelly Corbett, who is a live-session videographer) and UMO, we all bail upstairs to the outdoor patio. It’s about 14 degrees hotter than Hades and we’re all digging the Indian Summer. By sweating.

…and drinking gin and tonics. Portland local and UMO bassist Jake Portrait and I catch up – he’d given me a list of great places to try out in town, including the almighty Sizzle Pie pizza shop. (Kind of rock n’ roll pie place down the street, which had conveniently renamed some of its pizzas for its favourite MFNW bands. Over two days I had the Kylesa and the Explosions in the Sky. They were out of the Sebadoh.) I also make him do the rockhands, but he insists that at this time of the day, this is all he is able to muster. It’s pretty fucking pathetic…

…so we teach him to straighten up and rock right. I mean, these things are important, yeah? \m/

Around the time, my boys in Sebadoh show up in their little silver rental car, and get set up for the next KEXP session. Jason Loewenstein does some pretty swift thinking during “Careful” and drops the “bullshit” at the end of the line “Watch out for my bullshit/Everybody’s got it” for the benefit of radio listeners with sensitive ears. Quick thinking, JL! And it makes Lou Barlow laugh…

After a seven-song set, including the rarely played (this year) “Soul and Fire” and the always awesome “Forced Love”, Sebadoh zip out to the street to do a KEXP photo shoot, and then we hang out with a fan who’d driven 22 hours to see them from Las Vegas. The band is pretty impressed and the fan – Jake – and his brother end up hanging with us after the night’s show. But first! There’s musician geek shopping to do! So we head nearby to the Old Town Music shoppe ‘cos the guys need strings for the bass and guitar.

After chatting for a bit with Jason, and not quite making the connection that he’s got Sebadoh shopping in his store, sales guy Hank looks up to see Lou Barlow pottering around the guitar section…and the penny drops. (Though his sandwich doesn’t). “Holy fuck,” he says, it all falling into place. “That’s Lou Barlow…. Wow, huh…okay now I get it.” He gives the guys t-shirts and helps ‘em out with strings. Meanwhile Bob has fallen in love with a snare drum and both he and Jason spend time drumming on it. I walk around admiring pedals like the “Big Muff”, which will never cease to make me snicker. Because I am a child. We also put Hank and his buddy at the store on the guest list for later that night. As a thanks for letting us interrupt his lunch.

Then it’s off to the Crystal Ballroom for soundcheck. Still unsure how “Just Gimmie Indie Jock” rockers Archers of Loaf have the headline slot tonight but Lou assures me people really heart them. I never got the Archers, and am actually curious to see ‘em first timey.

At the venue, Lou catches up with Matt and Eric from Archers. They re-acquaint, though the bands have -strangely- never actually shared a bill, though are from the same circles/era. Matt appears to be quite the Sebadoh fan. It’s kinda cute.

Opener Kevin Robinson from the night’s third band, Viva Voce, was pottering around during soundcheck and approached Sebadoh’s Jason for a chat. He had a nice clear drumkit. Aaaand that’s about all I can tell you about the duo of Viva Voce. I watched their set, but…yeah. Fine.

Anyway! After Sebadoh played (I was too busy drinking half of Lou’s bottle of white wine to shoot pics by this stage.), it was Archers o’clock. THE ‘DOH AND THE LOAF, together for the first time!”  The 1500-capacity room was PACKED and the crowd awaiting Icky Mettle stuffs. The Sebadudes and I all came upstairs to watch from the wings. Eric Bachmann rocked out, indeed, and bassist Matt Gentling bounced about like Flea from the Chili Peppers’ bro. Some of us shrugged, but yeah, seemed like the Loaf were winning with most folks.

Returning back downstairs,we returned to getting squiffy and laughing like loons…when at precisely the perfect moment, actor/comedian and former Trenchmouth drummer (“he was really good!” said Lou) Fred Armisen knocks and I let him in. He’s got a long history with Sebadoh via mutual friends and record company connections, and he’s insanely sweet. It also blows my mind that I’m standing backstage chatting in Portlandia with the co-creator and main dude of…PORTLANDIA. Stick a bird on this picture, stat!

What would the end of the night be without a strange ceramic cat bank? Nothing! Marvel at the gift of psychedelia kitsch that was bestowed upon cat-loving Mr. Barlow by a rad girl called Alix who hung out with us backstage. She had, apparently, painted kitty herself. It was pretty….scary. Its green eyes still haunt me in my dreams.

And soon it was actually time for dreams. I think. Not entirely sure. I was a bit drunk. ROLL ON the next day!

NOW READ PART TWO, FEATURING THE HORRORS, DAN MANGAN, RHETT MILLER, SHARON VAN ETTEN, TYPHOON AND MORE!

NOW READ PART THREE, FEATURING ANTLERS, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, TYPHOON, AVI BUFFALO AND OFF!

FOR MORE PICS FROM MUSICFESTNW, PEEP MY COVERAGE IN CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND

As if back-to-back tours of Canada, the US, Europe, Japan and Australia all this year hasn’t been enough, Sebadoh are announcing NEW tourdates in the US through October and November:

They are:

Tuesday 10/25 – Pittsburgh,  Brillobox
Wednesday 10/26 – Detroit,  Magic Stick
Thursday 10/27 – Cincinnati , Southgate House
Friday 10/28 – Indianapolis,  Radio Radio
Saturday 10/29 – Columbia,  Mojo’s
Sunday 10/30 – Chicago,  Schubas
Monday 10/31 Madison, High Noon
Tuesday 11/01 – Iowa City,  The Mill
Wednesday 11/02 – Minneapolis,  400 Bar

Friday 11/04 – Louisville, Headliners
Saturday 11/05 – Memphis,  Hi Tone
Sunday 11/06 – New Orleans,   One Eyed Jack’s
Monday 11/07 – Athens, 40 Watt
Tuesday 11/08 – Asheville,  Grey Eagle

Thursday 11/10 – Baltimore,  Ottobar
Friday 11/11 – Hoboken, Maxwell’s
Saturday 11/12 – Brooklyn,  Music Hall

Wednesday 01/18/2012 – Miami, Grand Central

The band will hit some of the cities it missed the first time out in February/March, and bring their 30+ setlist of Bakesale, Harmacy and other Sebatracks to happy ears, before Lou joins a West Coast Dinosaur Jr “Bug” tour. They then meet up with EVERYONE (including me!) on the Weezer Cruise in January. After that? The band were pretty clear about their desire to record something new, for the first time in one-trillion years, following the exhaustive touring. Here’s hoping. Can I get a hell yeah? \m/

For BSR’s epic three-parter on touring with Sebadoh in Germany, check out posts from Berlin, Hamburg and Köln

For BSR’s epic four-partner on touring with Sebadoh in Canada and the US, check out posts from San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

Missed the first two installments? Go here for Part 1 and Part 2 of my road-trippin’, German-stylee with Sebadoh.

August 10: All good things must come to an end, and I’m getting spoiled by travelling with friends to cities I’ve never been, then hearing 32 of my favourite songs at the end of it. This is my last day with Sebadoh, and it’s starting out hysterically.

The lads have allowed me along for the ride in the SebaVan, a sexy Benz Sprinter that holds their gear and my ass. (Click on all photos to embiggen.)

We had to get going early (10am) and so Jason and I are outside chatting and having a smoke. There’s no sign of Lou. “Do you know what room Lou’s in?” Bob asks. I shake my head, no. “I have to give him back his pants.”

“What the fuck?” I ask, laughing. Turns out that late last night, Lou put his jeans on an open window sill and they blew out of it. Conveniently Jason, Bob and Mattias were outside chatting when the trousers fell from above, and behind them. “We thought it was a body or something and didn’t wanna touch them,” said Jason “but then we walked over and saw that there was a Sebadoh pass attached to them!”.

Lou is reunited with his pants (“Bell-bottoms! Do you know how hard it is to find proper bell-bottoms?”) and comes down to the van, hair scruffy and laughing. We load up the van and head off. Lou picks up a conversation we’d started the day before, about the Muppets. He loves the Muppets, Grover in particular. We get into a friendly argument over the name of the guy who wears a salsa outfit, and hits fuzzy animals to make noise. Lou tries to insist it’s Pepe Prawn and I insist that it’s just a normal name, not an animal muppet. (I win: it’s Marvin Suggs) It’s no wonder Bob and Jason plug themselves into their iPods/computers.

We make a couple of roadside stops. At one of the petrol stations, an American guy starts chatting to Lou. He’s driving to Köln…for the Sebadoh show, and has been at the previous two in Germany. It’s a nice moment and underscores the new/enduring interest in the band. He’s not the only one, several fans are driving across Germany to see ‘em.

Lou and Jason hang out, waiting for us all to reassemble. A vast discussion about moldy water ensues.

We head off again to our next stop: the backline rental company, Gate to Hell. Located near Dortmund in Lünen, Gate to Hell has a huge warehouse that’s probably like a candy store to musicians. Sebadoh’s been having trouble with their twin reverb amp (turns out you can just pull a plug out a bit more – who knew?) and want to give back a few things they’re not using. And they’d like a new drum carpet,  thanks very much. So they unpack the van and go in to test out the amp.

While the guys are standing around being nerdly musicians and talking shop, I wander over to Gate to Hell’s neighbouring store, Novum Fachmarkt…

….Not to be confused with Novum Fuckmarket, which it pretty much what it should be called. It’s a GREAT enormous and random-Canadian-girl-friendly erotic sex shop. Of course, the guys all want to check it out, but they’re pros. And nice. Decent. Plus, they’re not here to fuck about. Me? Not so much. I, uh, check out the wares. The girl on her knees on the sign outside LOOKS SO INVITING!

Anyway.

The van is loaded back up and off we head to GEBÄUDE 9 in Köln. It’s a sparse cement-y room with a back bar in some cool grafitti’d area, near some highway overpasses. I’m getting a good tour of Germany’s warehouse districts. The views are incredible!  This what I saw of Hamburg to Köln:

We arrive in Köln about 5 or 6 hours after setting off. At the venue, we meet a Canadian security guard originally from Ottawa.  He tells us a joke while we all eat our faux-Vietnamese meals (half have tasteless neon yellow tofu stuff, the rest of us have tasteless brown stuff): Q: “How many Canadians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” A: “None. Canadians don’t change light bulbs, we accept them as they are.” The Americans laugh. The Canadian laughs. #Funnycosit’strue

After an al fresco dinner on picnic tables in the alley by the venue, the band do another photoshoot with Jens. Seems “the Australians” want some exclusive shots for the band’s upcoming tour. So they head out to find a good backdrop. Jens discovers a log upon which the three can perch. Jens is very professional…and bendy.

While Jens is all business with the snapping, I snap in between snaps. “I never know what the hell to do with my hands” one of the guys says…and the band laugh and relax. It’s nice to see. There’s some good chemistry now in Sebadoh 5.0.

Jens walks the band down to another part of the alleyway to shoot ‘em in front of a new wall. It’s kinda rad, so I beg the pro to take one of me with ‘em. He obliges, as do the band, because they’re nice like that. See the pic at the beginning of this War & Peace? Rilly cute, right? I keep snapping the inbetweeners. In this photo, they’re looking at me! (Not really. They’re looking at graffiti and posters on the walls. Apparently Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is coming soon!)

Following the photoshoot, Lou and I go ’round the corner to record a wee video that I promised to the team at the Edinburgh Edge Festival where the band play this week. Here it is. (Though they edited out the bit where Lou says he can’t understand a word that Scottish people say. If you wanna see the whole thing, go here.) And while I’ve got the camera, time to get goofy:

Let it be said: Lou Barlow is a very honest man.

Anyway! The show is strange. The room is filled, which reassures Lou, who’s played there solo, to a much emptier space. The crowd seems totally wrapt, but utterly silent and are clapping politely in between songs. It’s not that Sebadoh aren’t connecting – all shows have been super-tight, and epic in their own ways – but the vibe is odd. The band are working hard. “What day is it?” Lou asks out loud, wondering if the day of the week is having any affect on the crowd, and gets the answer that it’s der Mittwoch. “It feels like Monday at 8am” jokes Jason.

And things get even more silly….

…when Jason decides that for fun, he’s going to wear Lou’s glasses through “Two Years Two Days”. Like me, Lou’s pretty blind, so he doesn’t notice. But Jake does – he has to play most of the song with his eyes closed. We spring the surprise on Lou after the show and all have a good guffaw. As we do when Jason and Lou fling open the door from backstage onto the alley as people are leaving…

“Goodnight!” they chirp cheerfully.”Thanks for coming!” they wave as the crowd leaves. It’s funny. Nobody in the band knows what to make of the show itself but then,  suddenly, the guys are approached by countless fanboys at the door, asking for autographs, holding merch. “Maybe it was just that their heads were exploding internally with your awesome,” I suggest. “You never know.”

Oh and by fanboys, I mean fanBOYS. The above pic is of my fave one-of-three boys who had driven 300km from “nowhere, it’s a cow town” they told me, to see Sebadoh. They looked like they were 12 years old and we all kinda fall in love with them. “So, do you have to come into Köln normally to see shows?” I ask. “No, just for Sebadoh”, they say, starstruck and I take a pic of them with Jason and Lou. It’s astoundingly sweet. Next generation, and all that.

Oh! Here’s another bumps on a log pic! Hey Lou! Over here!

Soon it’s time head back to the Holiday Inn Express and we all huddle in the lobby where there’s free wi-fi. It’s my last night with the band and we celebrate a late check out the next day by drinking beers and surfing the web. RAWK! But soon, it’s bed. After check out, I get a ride with the band to the main train station, near Köln’s massive cathedral. Bob is starving so off they go for lunch. I bid them all farewell and wheel my bag towards the great big church….I suppose I should do some sightseeing, right?

Thanks for the beauty of the ride, Sebadoh, you’re made of amazing.\m/

NOW READ PART 1: BERLIN!

NOW READ PART 2: HAMBURG!

August 9: AND NOW….Hamburg!

Just for fun (I’m lying), I decided to get the train to Hamburg and see das German countryside. Which means I have to get a taxi to Hauptbahnhof/Central Station in Berlin at arse o’clock, because it’s a bit of a fiddle from where me and the band are staying in East Berlin. My taxi driver looks like he wants to kill me and attempts to do so in traffic. But I make it to Hamburg  and try to find my way to the modular, weird hotel that the band has booked. It is a hotel that looks like it has been dropped there by aliens – yesterday – and is all neon colours with thin walls. They have also lost my reservation. It gets sorted after I insist that a touring group of 5 men and one girl cannot possibly share two single rooms. OR CAN WE? Heh.

Whilst navigating my way there, I spot this  sign and it makes me enormously happy. “Why, are Kraftwerk from Hamburg?” Lou asks me the next day. “I dunno, but it was cool!” “It was probably an actual, you know, KRAFTWERK, shop” he said. “Yeah, duh,” I said. Wouldn’t it have been cool if I had stumbled across an German electro pioneer robot workshop?

This will be the extent of my sightseeing in Hamburg… as it begins to chuck with rain. I get to Knust, a cool club that resides in a sort of retooled warehouse openspace with shops, a cool resto (where the band, me and their German promoter Renata, go for dinner) and offices. I remind myself not to misspell the name of the place.

I hang around for soundcheck and am treated to a few seconds of a sort of terrifying jazz lite version of “Two Years, Two Days.” The fact the band are checking with a song that Bob D’Amico played live for the first time the night before is cool because it’s an ace song and one of Bubble & Scrape’s genius bits of songery. I’m happy to see it make the cardboard setlist. Here’s my phone-cam vid of ‘check.

Here’s the backstage at Kunst Knust. The comforting glow is Mattias’s computer, trying to field about 8,000 requests.

And this is the lovely Mattias, the band’s European tour manager. Lou’s got nothing but nice to heap on the Swede, who just came off touring with Kyuss, and whom Lou’s worked with for years. The night before, Mattias was on stage to take one of the guitars. “This is the probably the first time I’ve ever been able to hand my guitar off to someone…and probably the last,” Jason jokes on stage. Mattias – and his mate, photog-extraordinaire-by-day-along-for-the-ride-as-merch-guy-by-night, Jens – are cool additions to the Sebastable.

Here’s Lou and Mattias trying to figure out which kit they’re going to exchange or ditch in Dortmund the next day, at GatetoHell, a backline company from where they’ve rented their gear. They’ve been having problems with the Fender Twin Reverb. I have no idea what that means. But I pretend to.

But first! And before dinner, there’s more insane partying backstage. Jason’s really good at this…

….though Bob’s arms are more interesting to look at. I <3 drummers.

While some sleep, others email…here’s Lou sitting next to the stage door, nodding intently to the lovely loops and cello of his old friend Sophie Williams, aka Mrs. Pilgrimm, who is opening for the band through Holland and tonight in Hamburg.

Meanwhile, the BackstageRider sticker tour continues. Now live in the on backstage doors across Yurp, the BSR! “Where should I put this one?” I ask no-one in particular. “Uh, in the middle of course”, Lou says. And so it goes right next to my new favourite other sticker: that of the Itchy PoopKid.

Ever wonder what’s on a band’s backstage rider? HUMMUS FROM A CAN. I offer to carve a face in it BECAUSE IT CAN BE SLICED. The German promoter takes a picture of it and we ponder a new Tumblr idea: Horrible Food on White Paper Plates.

…also on the rider: bottles of water. I’m telling you, SEBADOH IS SOME KINDA KERRRRRRAZY!

But they’re saving their crazy awesome stuff for the stage…as it bloody well should be. Tonight, the crowd is polite but into it. Jason’s “Careful”, “Got It” and “Shit Soup” are all genius tonight. “Two Years, Two Days” sounded a bit more meaty this time, after concerns the night before’s first attempt sounded “heroin-y” (INTERESTING FACT REVEALED ON THIS TOUR: Did you know that “Skull” is about the time Lou smoked heroin with Evan Dando from the Lemonheads. TRUTH.)

Not Awesome/Awesome of the Gig: the string on Bob’s snare snaps and Jason makes a joke about how it’d be great if someone had a spare. Unbeknownst to the rest of us until after, a guy named Marten – a friend of Sophie Williams’ husband, Paul – bounds out of the club to get a spare that he has and brings it back before the end of the next song. Lou and Jason play “Not Too Amused” (if I remember correctly) as a duo, while Bob fixes the drum. Way to go Marten!

Best of Lou? “This one’s sloooooooow. Not sloooow like Low. Not slooooow like Codeine…but slow” before “Brand New Love”. And it is slow, but lovely so. After the show, we there’s a bit more of a hang backstage. Funny smoke wafts, beers are drunk and friends of friends totter back. One guy  - who’d been at the OFF! show across town – comes back and tells us how good the punks were. Everyone’s a little bummed we weren’t actually there. But we better rest up. Tomorrow there’s an early, early start and a stop in Dortmund! I say my goodnights and retreat into weird neon bedlam, I mean, bedland. \m/

STAY TUNED FOR PART 3: IN WHICH THE BACKSTAGERIDER RIDES SHOTGUN (ACTUALLY, TAKES THE BACKSEAT) ON AN EPIC JOURNEY FROM HAMBURG TO KÖLN VIA DORTMUND AND A SEX SHOP.

NOW READ PART 3: KÖLN!

NOW READ PART 1: BERLIN!

2011 is the band’s year, as far as I’m concerned, and all the hubbub around Bakesale’s stellar reissue and the groovy reviews, is warranted. They’re better, faster, more. And I’ve been proud to be along for much of the ride in my official capacity as press robot/soshul meejah irritant/cheerleader. Plus, they’re my friends. I’m kinda ridiculously lucky to know ‘em.

So for three days in August I took time away from family bonding in Copenhagen and flew down to neighbouring Germany to tag along with Jason Loewenstein, Lou Barlow and Bob D’Amico as they made their way through Berlin, Hamburg and Köln.  The enormity of awesome enjoyed cannot be explained with mere vowels and consonants.

BUT… herewith Part 1 of 3, as I hang with Sebadoh in Berlin. Join us on the trip and click on the pics – proper and via iPhone -to embiggen them!

August 8: I show up at the venue around 6ish after a day and a half of partying, sightseeing and checking out Destroyer in Berlin. Festaal Kreuzberg is a cool live music place in Berlin’s hipster ‘hood, near some great Turkish bakeries and donair huts (Lou calls falafel “feelawful”). There’s great little outside beergarden/smokery at the venue, too. And I like imaging what those weird words in German actually mean. Besides “7Up” of course. Oh and “Backstage”.

As Lou and I return from a surprisingly good and simple alfresco meal at a fish place around the corner from FK, he is immediately approached by two fans/also musicians – Micah and Tommy – who quietly ask if I can take their pic with Lou. I do. See? (Important tour secret: the bag he’s holding? It has TOOTHPASTE IN IT.)

But jetlag is hitting. The band’s been overseas for three days yet traveled back from Poland earlier in the day, where they played their first show of the Yurp tour at the Off Festival. I’m expecting a party backstage. The band is expecting naps.

I tiptoe downstairs to find Lou, Jason and Bob being all slumberly on the sofas. It’s kinda sweet.  Tour manager Mattias quietly shuts the door so the boys aren’t disturbed…about 38 seconds before the loud opening act starts banging away upstairs. Whoops.

…So the boys get up, to adjust straps. Jason wants not to lose his pants, while Lou wants not to lose his guitar.

Live, of course, the band are spot on. Lou asks if people wanna hear “Together or Alone” and the crowd’s kinda quiet. So I blurt out “Forced Love”…twice. I mean, I started to panic they’d dropped it from the set. This would not do!  It is my fave track, and sounds more and more muscular each time. Hear the song from the Berlin show, brilliantly, (and me, stupidly) here.

“Wow, they’re so much better than we expected” said David Phu, guitarist with Vancouver band (now living in Berlin) City of Glass, who came to the gig as my guests. “So tight!” Which is…right. A modern Sebadoh playing classic songs. Nice. Now, where’s the funding for ‘em to make new music, hey?

“That pic’s cool,” said Lou when I showed him some of these in the van, a few days later, “it’s kinda a muso shot.” Jason hates seeing pictures of himself, apparently. And has thusly and rightly learned to ignore me every time I wander around snapping.

But still, there he is, being all handsome and rockstarry. With a beer. Sebadoh generally request Beck’s on their rider, though we put away some Kölsch in Köln. (A fan of the band, Karsten, who travelled to be at all three German gigs, said that the locals called the Cologne beer “piss”. We all kinda liked it. Jason said that was because he was used to drinking crappy American beer and so this “pissed” all over that.) Lou doesn’t drink beer on tour. In fact, he rarely drinks at all…and in extra fact, Jason and Bob weren’t drinking much either. So I didn’t. *tap tap tap* HATH HELL FROZEN OVER?

Towards the end of the set, the aforementioned fan Tommy asked if he could take the band’s ONE setlist, written out on a piece of ragged cardboard. Like, even more lo-fi than paper, right? Jason was concerned,’cos it was their only one. But Lou reassured him that Mattias their tour manager had transferred it all to his laptop, so they were okay to give it away. Bless. The fan stood proudly with it afterwards as fans snapped pics of it. Why? BECAUSE IT IS A MIGHTY SETLIST. So….

WAY TO GO! GOOD SHOW SEBADOH! \m/

NOW READ PART 2: HAMBURG!

NOW READ PART 3: KÖLN

What could possibly be more bonkers wonderful than the idea of a bunch of pasty indie rockers and tons of their fans aboard a cruise? Probably nothing. I have never wanted to bear witness to – and write about – anything more in my life.

Weezer and theme-cruise kings Sixthman have teamed up for THE WEEZER CRUISE – a four-day floating festival that’ll sail from Miami to Cozumel on January 19-23. More info at
www.theweezercruise.com.

But lest you think that “Hey, I’d really like to hear Weezer (“The Blue Album”) and Pinkerton in their entireties, as well as b-sides and greatest hits while drinking cocktails on the Carnvial Destiny ship sailing the Caribbean, but IS THAT ENOUGH?”, Rivers & Co. have searched land and sea and tour schedules to bring together a ton of bands including a ton of Lou Barlow: Lou will be doing TRIPLE duty on board playing sets with Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr, as well as solo stuffs. And J. Mascis will also be going solo! That’s right, Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr will be ON THE SAME BOAT TOGETHER FOR FOUR DAYS. *head explodes*

In fact, Lou said it the whole thing was “some signs of the apocalypse shit, right there” on Facebook, but then proceeded to tell me after that he’s actually kinda excited by the idea. SO. AM. I.
Also joining the bill is - YAYYYYYYYYYYY! (waves arms about like Kermit the Frog on the Muppets) – UK band and my faves, Yuck, Gene Ween (and Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz), The Antlers, as well as Wavves (I mean, with a name like that?), and friends to the BackstageRider, The Nervous Wreckords (Brian Karscig from LouisXIV’s band). Boom Bip, Free Energy, Ozma, The Knocks, Sleeper Agent, Yacht Rock Revue and Keepaway will also be rockin’ the poopdeck.

Multiple stages, Weezer-themed games (“Quick, everyone, let’s play Destroy The Sweater! Hold this thread and then walk away!”), and the potential for seeing Rivers Cuomo playing Bingo, J. Masics at the buffet table, Lou Barlow lounging by the pool, and the poor, spindly, translucent Brits in Yuck hiding in shadows whilst trying not to burn? I cannot type this enough: THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.

Now I just have to find a way to get there. UPDATE, JULY 21: I AM GOING TO BE ON THE BOAT. I will also be bankrupt. But I WILL BE ON THE BOAT. BOOKED!

If YOU want to go, tickets start at $799/per person for a double cabin or $599 for four friends travelling together. Sign up for pre-sale info at www.theweezercruise.com. Pre-sale will begin on July 21 and cabins will go on sale to the general public on August 3.

And in the meantime….Hi! I’m Mikala! I’ll be your Cruise Director on this (I) Love (Indie) Boat! I’m here to present:

The BackstageRider Imaginary Soundtrack EP to the Weezer Cruise:

• Weezer – Islands in the Sun (I couldn’t find a playable link for “The Cruise” but, duh, that’s obvious)
• Dinosaur Jr – Does It Float?
• Sebadoh – Drama Mine (or Ride the Darker Wave or yeah, Ocean, o’course)
• Yuck – Cousin Corona (‘cos the boat’s going to Mexico, geddit?)
• The Nervous Wreckords – Doin’ it to Do It
• Wavvves – King of the Beach
• Ween – Ocean Man

Dinosaur Jr pic by Chris Gersbeck and Gene Ween pic by Kris Krug.