STARCLEANER RECORDS

Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Final Word

This is the final writing from last years Shellshag Japanther European Adventure:

I'm so tired. Days and nights have collided and formed one long non stop journey through time that seems to stand still. The first day and today are the same long day. Images of movies just released, Mac Donald's signs, white lines and black tar are a collage of normalcy, although there is nothing normal about what I am doing. Traveling with artists, a group of medicine men selling variations of the same potion, have left me feeling like an over worked doctor whose patients get better as he grows sicker. All will return to normal with rest, but although that rest is only a few days away, a few days are an eternity in a world where the clocks have stopped, or perhaps even begun to turn slowly backwards. It's days like this that make it hard to remember what I am doing here and why. Not here in England, but here in this world, in this life. In a week the memories will flood my senses and the days will separate and distinguish themselves in my mind. Then I will tell the stories of my journey and boast of my triumphs and confess my failures. A tired body and mind can tell a confusing story, just know that I am happy, so happy.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Glasgow belated

Glasgow was fast and furious. Our hosts were awesome, dinner was great, sound was good, and the show was furious. We got there at 630 and were on our way to Manchester, our half way point to London, by 1150. The show was at Captains Rest, a nautical themed pub and restaurant with a show space in the basement. Our friend Allistars band Streets of Rage were killer! They really went off for Japanther there. I'm in Manchester waiting for everyone to wake up and then it's off to London for the final show over here. The entire tour has been amazing! The London show tonight is at Tufnell Park Dome, and then we play in Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall tomorrow.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Harley and Islington Mill!

The Harley is rad! We were there early, about 230 pm, and the sound check was smooth and we had a hotel room right upstairs. We took a break after the check and watched the movie Red, it was pretty good. The show started at 7pm, 5 bands. Cusswords were on the bill with us again. Three young guys, really sweet, and their band name comes from the Big Lebowski. "do you have to use so many cusswords dude?". They play trashy garage punk, quite excited and fun. We are gonna have them in NY soon, you guys will dig it the most. The other 2 opening bands were great as well. Shag was hammered drunk for this one, but it was still great, and we destroyed the crap outta the drums at the end. Japanther killed as well. We got good sleep and after hanging at The Harley all morning, we were on our way to Salford, right outside of Manchester. We played the Islington Mill there, and met the other two Carlin brothers Mark and Morris. Paul Carlin hooked up Berlin for us, and Mark and Morris teamed up to take care of us at the Mill. A really cool brick complex with art, a show space and a sweet bed and breakfast! Our set at the Mill was one of our finest, we played really well, and the crowd was all smiles and so friendly. Japanther had a great night, all dancing and smiles. After the show we danced to the killer DJ's, who also did projections all night. We danced with cute friends and later got some nice rest in our room. I'm up now having coffee in the courtyard. Three shows left, Glasgow, London, and Brooklyn!
See you all soon-
Shell

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Dial House

We were only 10 minutes from going through the border patrol and English customs, so before i was completely awake the dogs and French and English cops were done doing there thing, and we were driving onto the train. We pulled the car right onto a train and sat in the car for 30 minutes, and presto, we were in the UK. So I am driving on the left side of the road now, with the steering wheel still on the american side, so I'm way over against the left side. I've been doing a lot of the driving, I've been doing pretty good. Like being in the mirror now, no big deal, I'm driving on the left. Keep left, keep left. We drove up to Epping where we spent an hour trying to find this hard to find farm house, the Dial House, in the countryside where we would meet Japanthers friends Gee and Penny, members of Crass. We finally found it, and it was a really cool old farm. They had tea and soup waiting for us, they were quite nice. So I'm chatting with Tony, bass player for the Buzzcocks, and I'm wishing I had my  brothers knowledge of Crass and Buzzcocks. Instead, all I can hear in my head, are the lyrics to the Hickey-Million song 78666. "I don't know dick about the Buzzcocks". I'm looking at Pete Shelleys old guitar case and the Buzzcocks original bass players bass cabinet and Crass amps, talking with Tony about his new recording studio in a little cottage on the farm. These guys were so nice, and it was really cool to be around such old schoolers. I was young again. I was the guy with the shorter history in music. I was the kid. We stayed as long as we could by the fire eating soup, but had to be on our way to Halifax, we were running late. We arrived to a crowded bar and a really loud band was playing called Cusswords. They were quite fun, we are hosting them in NY this spring. We had to load in and get set up really quick, I had a few shots and 3 beers in about 10 minutes and I was ready to rock! We couldn't find the UK adapter for our power transformer, so we had to use Cusswords gear, which they were super cool about, even when I stood on the guitarists really nice amp which he had borrowed from his dad. We were loud and trashy, but the crowd was loving it. While we were playing, an altercation caused the night to end earlier than planned, and after a lot of commotion and a visit from the cops, we left early, and you guessed it, got an Etap hotel. Up next, The Harley in Sheffield-
Shell

Monday, February 7, 2011

Moulin Rouge

Bordeaux was much different than everywhere else we have been in France. We arrived after dark and there was dinner waiting for us. We played at Le Saint Ex, a punk bar filled with smoke, and there was much less English and way more French. The gang got haircuts from this nice man Vincent, everyone but me. We had great sets, but wore out quickly afterwards, it was so smokey and everyone there was so trashed. A ton of fun. We headed out late, about 230am and drove 1/2 way to Paris and got an Etap hotel- slept 5 hours and then we had to get going to our 3pm load in at La Machine in the Moulin Rouge! We arrived right on time, and this place was really cool- huge! Loading, parking, and sound check- it was a little chaotic, but once we were done we relaxed and hung out. Japanther had a bunch of interviews and photo shoots, and we all played together for a recording. We played this song we wrote together, Red String, inspired by our friend Alex Hiller who is on tour with us. These music blog guys filmed us. We went for a traditional French meal, it was really good! I had duck and a steak. Shag had a tomatoe anchovie salad and fish and veggies. Back at Moulin Rouge we began to drink and socialize. The band, Ninja Wolf 2 played first and they were amazing!! Really cool 2 piece band. It was a wild Saturday night crowd, and shag and I played accordingly- wild! They loved it- we had guest singers and did our AK77's cover in French; kind of. Petan' Societe!
Japanther killed it. So many dancing girls, it was a sight to behold. We stayed and danced and partied til late, it's Moulin Rouge! Our host Sofia had set all this killerness up for us and she was such a fun person! Our friends Alexione and Camille from Lyon trained over for the show and hung out with us. They are the sweetest girls. We had a hotel down the street and I was asleep by 4am- back up at 10 am- load out. Then we went to Kiki's Apartment, he's the drummer of Death Set, and we finished up a recording Japanther had started a few weeks earlier. It is such a killer track, Kiki is a really fun guy, and fast as lightning on the recording work, so we got a lot done. Paris was all it's said to be  and we really enjoyed it. We drove to the edge of the English Channel and got a room. I'm sitting here now and soon we will take the fairy, car, gear and all, into the UK. Tonight is at Bar Up in Halifax! Looking forward to English and seeing the Slits gals this week. 5 shows to go, then our Back in the USA show is this Saturday at Williamsburg music hall!! What a phenomenal tour this is, and we are ready to rock the UK all week!! See y'all soon,
Shell

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Frito!

Hell to the muthafukin Yeah!! We smoked tonight at the Apolo! We're playin at Apolos! Like a frigging circus show, traveling around, we killed it! We, knight toilet, shellshag, and japanther, had a really great show! The night before in Toulouse was really fun, our friend Patty had made us an excellent dinner, and we were ready for Spain.  We had headed out right after that show to increase our time here in Barcelona. We had arrived early in the day and enjoyed the sunshine and atmosphere. Ian's  brother Matt and his band Knight Toilet were here in town, and after a great day we all met up for an even greater night. Knight toilet set the tone with their wicked slide show and noise set thru tiny orange pignose amps.. They conjoured a spirit that carried shellshag and Japanther into a seamless night of good times and memories. We got the guitar up high in the ceiling during our set and Shag was making drum sticks stick in the ceiling right next to it. We danced up a storm. After the show, we were so amped, we slung all the gear on our backs, amp, drums and all, and carted it all on foot the 7 blocks to the hotel! I must of looked insane hauling this big amp down the street, and Shag and Ian renamed me "Frito" because of it. We hung out in the rooms for a while and then headed out to a party. We walked into a sing along acoustic jam session and Japanther quickly took over and were playing songs. I jumped in and played the one Japanther song I know how to play, come back home. We made friends with a fellow Texan, John, who lives here doing underwater sub operating. He came to the party with us. We walked back to the hotel and I crashed. I woke up later and had obviously missed a movie party- there were extra people sleeping in our room, and I learned this morning I missed The Fly, in Spanish. Now it's Friday and I'm sitting in the Magoo, our tour car, chillin in the sunny weather about to drive to Bordeaux France. Spain rules, I wish we could stay longer. Adios-
Shell

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Grazi Italy!

Pescara Italy was really killer. Pauolo was so cool. We arrived after dark and had calamari at a place called Posidens. After a walk we loaded in a met our host Pauolo- we had a great dinner across the street. A home cooked meal!  Spaghetti, except it had a cooler name, chicken, salads, and expressos. The show was really great! We all sounded good. We went over to Pauolos house for a while and met his girl. We talked for a while. He's like a brother now. We had a cool little hotel with a balcony. It was a great stop. The next days drive was 6 hours to Trieste, a seaside cliff town that was extremely windy. The venue was hard to find- little narrow streets, hills, and there is no sign at the club. It's called Tetris, and was like a private club. They were fun there- Juan Marie and Max a million. We had a nice band room where we had hashbrowns and Pizza. What I gotta say is, Pepperochini Grappa. Grappa is like a liquor that we had tried the clear version of in Milan. This nights Grappa was made locally, and we were doing shots of it. It was so good! I tried the apple grappa first, but once I had the Pepperochini grappa, that's all I had. I'm going to try to get a bottle sent over to the states! You all would love this stuff. The show was packed and the promoter, Adrea, was really cool. We had a killer set, so fun in fact we made them turn on the house lights so we could see the smiling faces better. We hung around selling records and drinking grappa til late, then went over to the hotel. We awoke to a sunny morning on the water, frigging beautiful! We went back and loaded up before going shopping and for a picnic. This was to be a night off, but we had 12 hours to cover to Toulouse, so we drove 9 and got an Etap (motel 6) near Nimes and slept good before driving the rest of the way today. We drove along the French Riveara and it was really pretty. Now we are in Toulouse at Le Saint De Seins, the place we play tonight. It's pretty cool, like a youth center, game room, show space and bar all in one. We are about to do sound check and then have a look around. Italy was so great, and being back in France is pretty magnificent as well. With 10 days left we still haven't had our fill. We got plenty of juice left to rock these final shows, and although I could stay in the EU longer, I'm excited to get home and play the DG showcase in Brooklyn. That's it for now,
Shell

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Pierre's Roma

Okay, we are still talking about Rome 2 days later. We made such good friends with Pierre and Aubrey in Rome. Pierre gave me this really cool ring, and Jen a killer little coffee maker. We were talking at the show and a few hours the next morning, and we bonded so hard we wanted to stuff these guys in the Kangoo and take them with us! We are hoping to have them in NY asap, as they feel like family already. Come to NY! We have a lot more to write about, as it's been a few days since, but I had forgotten to mention our two new best friends, and they certainly deserve there own blog anyway. I wish I could get a picture to upload from my phone so y'all could see how pretty and sharp these guys look- we love you Pierre and Aubrey!!

Monday, January 31, 2011

Tony's Roma

I talked to Tony on the phone about 1 hour from the club and it was like I had known him for years. We met in front of the bar, del Verme 8, and his smile was so warm his face looked familiar. We loaded in and went for a walk, beer in hand. Rome, with the reputation and all, was easy to fall in love with. Everywhere we went Tony had friends. Bringing beers out to us on the street, introducing their dogs to us, (Tony has a Spuds McKenzie dog named Fetus), and
it was easy to see Tony was the man. We saw lots of cool tags and graffiti, I've been learning more about the tagging culture from Ian of Japanther, and Im getting super into it. We went to a cool record store and were back at the bar in no time. Killer friend #2, Adrea,  arrives after a while with, I shit you not, the very best lasagna I've ever tasted. I don't think I'll even eat lasagna back home anymore. I can't even brag about it enough to explain just how mind blowing this was. We learned later he is a chef in the works, almost done with his culinary training. Later around 2am he tought me about wine and wine tasting- in Italy!
Oh yeah, he also was the sound man and bar tender! The show was so frigging packed!!! You couldn't move through this place. They really got into Shellshag- we had such a good time playing. It's great how close you get to people on a special adventure like this, and we are just loving the Japanther cats and super assistant Hiller. So much fun. 
Ian's even been jumping up and jammin drums with us on 1984. These guys had a killer set, great crowd, and we are up to speed and singing along and dancing now. Another new friend, Roberta was a fierce dancer and singer during the Shellshag set, and also seemed like an old friend. Everyone was kissing on one another and the friendship and fun was so thick, I wish so much to introduce you all at home to these guys in Rome that we spent the time here with. Someday soon I hope. We saw an old friend Hollis from Philly who was there with his friend Drew, and it was like a quick "cheeseburger" ( their words) seeing other folks from the states. We stayed out late drinking Grappa and wine and fuckin Russian vodka- so great!
Toni's house was a short walk away from the bar, and we got there around 3am. We went straight to sleep, and after 6 hours, Jen and I got up and went to the Colloseum. It's pretty incredible. Cappachino, expresso, and a mocchiato later we were loading up and heading out. Pescara is just 2 hours away, and along the drive through the mountains we hit some rain. We drove through, not near, not close to, but right through the brightest double rainbow, and we must of plowed right into the pot of gold. Magnificent drive!
Next up, Pescara Italy-
Shell

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Lyon to Milan

Grrrnd (ground) Zero in Lyon France is a really cool place. It's in a warehouse area, in a pretty big building with a ton of rooms. The show space is on the first floor, and upstairs are offices and rooms for bands to sleep. Lots of friends have been here before us, and we saw many posters of bands we know and like- Brilliant Colors were here recently I think. Our hosts, Alexione, Camille, and Guam had cooked up another amazing meal, there was so much food, these guys worked really hard for us; they were awesome. The show was really crowded and the opening band Biner(binary) also had a 2 person mic stand. There's was a T shaped stand for 2 guitarists. They were great! Shellshag had a great set, and we dedicated ourselves to some outstanding gear smashing at the end. Japanther had a roudy crowd at this one and the people at the show were so friendly and fun. We saw Elizabeth from Athens, and did an interview with Julian, who knew quite a bit about us and our friends. We slept upstairs at the show space, and awoke to yet another meal!
Running behind schedule we left asap for Milan. Every single place and host has been amazing, but Lyon was the most like home for me so far. Lots of hugs, smoking and dancing. The drive to Milan took a while, there was some traffic. We arrived at 8 and checked into our hotel, which was pretty swanky. Our host, Gian Lucca, was waiting for us there with the promoter Enrico, and these guys were great. Gian Lucca booked 3 of our Italy shows, and like us, is also good friends with Bjorn from the fabulous ZZZ. They took us to dinner at Stella Marine (Starfish), and I had some killer pasta with cream sauce. FYI, Alfredo isnt a real dish. It's a totally fake thing that's just in America- embarrassing when I tried to order it; The waitress kinda laughed even. The show in Milan was at a great place called Plastic Club, and both Japanther and shellshag played short sets back to back in the middle of a killer DJ dance party at about 2am. It was really fun. We were totally in the dark, with almost no lights, in the middle of a raging dance party.
We loaded out and got back over to the hotel around 4am. 6 hours sleep and we were off to Rome, which is where we are now. There is so much graffitti, and it's such a beautiful place. We are about to sound check and eat- it's going to be a wild show, I can tell-
When in Rome- what is it that someone was doing when this phrase was first uttered I wonder?
Cioa-
Shell

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Night off in Lyon France

We arrived in Lyon around  midnight after a long drive day. A little worn out we were happy to see that Alexione's place was big and we could spread out and get some space. They had a killer meal and a small party waiting for us which was so nice. I crashed at around 3am, I was tired and wanted to be alone. I watched some of Serial Mom and then had the weirdest dream- I was half man half tiger, wondering through a jungle full of my friends trying to decide who to eat! I'm awake early and i'm alone in the kitchen having coffee and smoking a French cigarette. Today I will get some gear fixed up and write a new song, probably about that dream!
Avoir
Shell

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Rosenhiem Germany

We arrived in Rosenhiem Germany at around 3pm. It was a bigger city than we expected. All we knew about Rosenhiem was that Jen Shag's mom was born there. It was very pretty, and snow covered. We went to the city center and had a walk through the park and down streets with shops. Jen called her mom and her brother, and mailed postcards. We took some good pictures. It was only 1 hour more to Innsbruck, and the entire drive was through the Alps- Innsbruck is surrounded by mountains, really incredible views of snow covered mountains in all directions. The show was at PMK, a club Screaming Females played a few months ago and that the Pharmacy has played a few times. Our hosts were really sweet; got us everything we asked for, cooked us an amazing dinner and took us out for breakfast. The PMK has great sound, it was a super fun gig! Super host Beate put us up at her house, which was really grand. We had a really nice bed, showers, and she hooked Jen up with some clothes. It was killer-
Today's drive to Lyon France was the first long one of the tour; which we made longer by going  around Switzerland, which we did, to avoid paying taxes on merch. We would get them back at the other side, since we have no show there and wouldn't have had any earnings or merch sales for them to tax.
So the added time to the drive was about the same amount we would have spent doing paperwork at the swiss borders anyways. The drive was about 12 hours, but with the night off, it could have been 2 six hour drives over 2 days. Since we went all the way to Lyon France, we don't have to drive tomorrow at all!
Je suis Shellhead,
Avoir

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Austria

Went for a walk in Vienna. Went to a graffiti shop, a drum shop, a shoe store, and I bought new shoes. They are warmer than my old ones. We went to the market and bought falafel and olives. We went to an art gallery and a tattoo shop. I can tell we will see these places again, we are comfortable in Vienna. We went by a museum and then we loaded up and drove to Graz. It was a clear night, a short drive, and we found parking right by the venue in Graz. The place was called HSG10, the address is Hans Sachs Gasse 10, so there you go.
There was an opening band, Gold Soundz, inspired by the Pavement record. We played in a stairwell with people spiraling up around us- we finished early and scored a hotel- watched some of Austria's "cops", same ole thing. 
Slept good, good shower. Now we are driving to Innsbruck Austria, and we are going to stop in Rosenhiem Germany where Shag's mom was born- cool.
-Shell

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Final Club in Praha is a private club. All night, even during the show, you'd have to ring the bell and someone would let you in. It's in an old building, a little bar and chill out area on the 1st floor and an old brick basement with arches and little nooks all over where we played. Brother Jay came, it was great to see him. We drank absinthe and talked all night. I didnt get to meet baby Carla though- The only drag so far. Praha was pretty crazy and surreal; They spoke less English than anywhere else so far, and only a few people seemed to know what the hell I was saying. It was so much fun! We needed a crazy night; the music was over by 1030, but we stayed and made friends til 2am. Shag was a hit with all the fellas, I made a good friend in the downstairs bartender Cevianne, she was nice and helped me chat with everyone. They use Krowns instead of Euros, so I had to bum drinks all night cause I never transfered any Euros. Our friend Rado let us have his flat for the night. Hiller cooked up the rice and veggies, slept like a rock. They snow set in on the way to Vienna the next afternoon. We drove around Praha first to get a daytime look, then about1/2 an hour into the drive it started snowing. It gradually got heavier as time went on, but we rose above, took our time, and we made it to B72 in Vienna safe and on time. I was a little whipped after focusing on driving; snow in the dark, so Riley took over and parked and drove the rest of the night, getting us to our spot to sleep. A good friend of Japanther loaned us his house; it's huge and really nice. That is where I am now. Japanther had just been here a month ago doing an 84 hour show on a round spinning stage at an art gallery here, so we made friends fast and everyone here seems like an old friend already! Our best set and our best sound so far! B72 is a cool bar with great sound. Today we drive to Graz, and the snow is done, the sun is shining, it's a beautiful morning. Euro tip of the day- You need a sticker to drive on the highway in Austria. It's like a toll, but there is no booth, or even an alert. You have to go to a gas station near the border, and buy this vignette (sticker) for 10 euro or less and put it on the windshield. Without it, could be a 500 euro ticket. Thanks Bloomie for the heads up, saved us on that one. That's all for now-
Shell

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Twisted Robot

Killer! The Berlin show was killer! Paul at Twisted Robot puts on a great gig, it was sold out; people had to be turned away. Pablo was there DJing, it was so good to see him and here the awesome sides he was spinning. He played Amy Jahn, which reminds me, 50 million bass player Bloomie came to the show! He trained up from Lipzeig and we were hangin together all through the night til this morning. He came and crashed with us st the 36 rooms hostel, my first hostel experience. It was a big room with bunk beds, like we were in the army- we had to put all the linens on ourselves and return them in the morning- towels were an extra 2 euros- it was different, fun. We just had breakfast and I had French toast- it was good. I guess all the traditional German dishes are in the south, and Berlin doesn't really have anything specific they are known for. Nope, not even the Berliner, which isn't called the Berliner in Berlin- go figure. We are off to Prague, 
Shell

Berliner

The show was packed in Lisbon! The most fierce show so far- lots of energy! We had a great time in Portugal, and now it's back to Berlin. We play at a place called West Germany that is an old doctors office. We played there a few years ago, it will be fun to be back with new songs. I've got a bunch of pictures, but I can't load them with just the phone, so when I get to a computer I will get some up. It's great being here with Japanther, they are a great band, great guys- They had a really good performance last night. The crowd was so into it! The last time we played Berlin we were with ZZZ- I wish we had been able to do a show with them again this time- Im hoping to see Pablo from SF tonight in Berlin- maybe a few other friends. Berlin is a bit like a Brooklyn show, or it was last time. Tomorrow in Prague I will see my brother Jay. He is stationed nearby in Germany, he is a helicopter pilot in the Army.
I've been getting pretty good sleep, and the eating has been good- but Im not getting enough time or I'm not doing a good job of making time to try killer items. A lot of wierd sandwiches, bread and cheese, salads. It seems it's always snacking and not pigging out- the latter is the american way I'm used to- I had pork cutlets in Porto and Sea Bass in Lisbon and those were killer!! Our home cooked meals have been awesome too, guess I just wanna get down on a few more traditional dishes if I can.
Looking to have some Brautwurst for breakfast! Gettin down German style tonight, it's our last Germany show of the trip!!
Chow-
Shell

Thursday, January 20, 2011

ZDB

I am back at the beautiful ZDB after a killer trip north to Porto. We took a great train ride to get there and back. We got to see the countryside and the ocean, it was beautiful. Our Porto host and promoter was waiting for us at the station and we piled into this tiny van like car with no windows and drove to the venue. It was hilarious to see Shag, Ian, Matt and Alex in the back of this thing, I rode up front. We went straight to sound checking, and then we checked into some great hotel rooms right next door. They took us to dinner which was delicious- they take care of everything for us here. The show was incredible! A band called Throes opened, and they were really good- We had a really fun set that Ian was a dancing banner for, holding the shellshag banner and dancing for the entire set. I was inspired to also be a dancing banner when the Japanther banner went done early in the set. The people were great and we had so much fun afterwards, talking and making friends. We trained back to Lisbon, and now back at the ZDB, I realize I actually may have understated how great it is. It is a villa, an entire little village we are inside of, with our own little mansion for hanging out, several floors of art and artists, a music room; it's all in the same big building with patios and galleries. It's pretty impressive. The organization running things here has been active for several years and they are very professional. We are being treated so well, and included in something much greater than rock music. We have always seen ourselves as more of an istallation piece of art than a band, and here it seems they do too. Soon we will be installed for viewing, it's so exciting-
Shell

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Smashed Glass

Where did we leave off? Ah yes, we packed Sunday for Hamburg, turned our back for a second, and someone broke the window and stole a bag- nothing too important was taken, but for 2 days we drove with a duct tape window- very american punk yes? - this made us late to Rote Flora, a famous squat in Hamburg, so we missed a great dinner, but we made it in time to play, and all the fans had stayed and waited, so it was great. These folks danced. I smoked hash from a half an apple while dancing with Shag and Fredricka to Japanther- We slept at our host Marcus' house for 3 hours and awoke to pancakes and mashed meat for breakfast at 8am- Matt and I had already gotten up and tried the 2nd place so far to get the window repaired, but they couldn't do it fast enough, so we went back and got the crew and gear and were off to Berlin to stash the car. Jan, our friend in Berlin stored the gear for us, and he's so cool, he kept the car and is getting it fixed while we are here in Portugal. We trained to the Berlin airport and flew to Lisbon, which is where I sit now in a 18th century building called ZDB. We basically have a little house to ourselves here, in the ZDB, which is where we play tomorrow- today we train to Porto Portugal to play at Cafe Au Lait tonight. It is beautiful here. We were out walking the tiny streets til 4am last night. I navigated my way through a seedy hash purchase that once done was a success- it's crazy on the streets here at night! It's so peaceful this morning, what a wonderful place Lisbon is, and we have hardly begun to explore- We started writing a ShagPanther song last night that will be a gem. I wish we had you all with us on this experience, I will try to keep telling our story- that's all for now- Shell

Monday, January 17, 2011




Here are some pictures of Shellshag in Amsterdam, and a pic of the half battlebot we have with us!! Hamburg tonight at a famous squat, Rote Flora- killer!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Killer Cologne

SOLD OUT! That's what was said to me right before we started playing last night at Aetherblissment in Cologne. There was a lot of cigarette smoking going on, we were loud and smiling a lot- they don't really dance there, at least not last night, not even to Japanther, but they cheered so loudly, I figure they just didn't wanna dance- it was packed! The drive, our first one of tour, was pretty easy- I took the wheel-Amsterdam was hard, hard to tell if you are on the right side of the 2 way, in a bike lane or not, on a sidewalk or not- I hit a curb or two- once we were on the highway it was cake- and Cologne was like driving in America- The gear fit good- we have the top half of the shellshag battlebot with us- we are having a really good time, and we are killin it at shows!! All for now-

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Amsterdam!!

Im sitting in Amsterdam at Backstage Hotel, which is a killer place. Our stay here was so perfect- The show at Paradiso was packed, they took such good care of us- and here at the Hotel we have been fed non stop, laundry, and bomb ass weed! Last night we played on Red Light Radio, in a window just like the ladies use- it was hilarious. Seeing old frinds from ZZZ and Malkovich- Its been really fun. This morning we pack up and head to Cologne Germany to play at Aetherblissment! Hopefully we'll have some pictures and videos up soon- thats all for now, killer-

Japanther Shellshag European Adventure 2011

Japanther Shellshag European Adventure 2011 -FACEBOOK INVITE WITH ALL TOUR DATES-

January 13 Amsterdam NL at Paradiso
January 15 Cologne DE at Aetherblissment
January 17 Hamburg DE at Rote Flora
January 19 Porto PT at Café Au Lait
January 20 Lisbon PT at Ze dos Bois
January 21 Berlin DE at West Germany
January 22 Prague CZ at Final Club
January 23 Vienna AT at B72
January 24 Graz AT at HSG 10
January 27 Lyon FR at Grrnd Gerland
January 28 Milan IT at Plastic Club
January 29 Rome IT at Bencivenga Squat
January 30 Pescara IT at Mono Club
January 31 Trieste IT at Tetris
February 2 Toulouse FR at Le Saint des Sains
February 3 Barcelona at Sala La [2] De Apolo
February 4 Bordeaux FR at Le Saint Ex
February 5 Paris FR at TBA
February 7 Halifax UK at Bar Up
February 8 Sheffield UK at The Harley
February 9 Manchester UK at Islington Mill
February 10 Glasgow UK at Captains Rest
February 11 London at Tufnell Park Dome
February 12 Brooklyn at Williamsburg Music Hall BUY TICKETS


SHELLSHAG LINKS
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JAPANTHER LINKS
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