European Tour

11/15 Mercado Lisbon, Portugal

11/17 idunacaffe Porto, Portugal Dj Gig

11/18 Sugar Factory Amsterdam, Holland

11/19 Jazzsole Rotterdam, Netherlands

11/22 Jazz Café London, England

11/23 Flog Audit. Florence, Italy

11/24 Big Club Padova, Italy

11/25 Blue Cheese Rome, Italy

11/27 Le Trypptique Paris, France

Tuesday November 14, 2006 - Lisbon Portugal

here we go. day 1 of a 16 day european promo tour. it started off a little shaky with some intense 'almost missed the plane because i lost my credit card and somebody hit my rental car drama'. that 's a crazy way to begin such an important journey. however, somehow it's much easier to let things like that go as you walk the streets of downtown lisbon and randomly spot snipes of your own face blasted on walls of buildings older than your country. combine that with sipping good wine, eating delicious tappas, and a solid team of world class musicians and you'll get what i call a perfect start.

Wednesday November 15, 2006 - Lisbon Portugal

Second day. Let's call this a half day. I woke up extra late due to jet lag and the time change. It was a rainy day in Lisbon but I went walking through the old part of town. Needless to say, the drizzle became a storm. Noworries. L. A. Is so dry that I let myself get soaked just to remember what I felt like. Sometimes it feels good to experience life to the fullest.

Thursday November 16, 2006 - Lisbon Portugal

Woke up late again today. I'm not used to hitting Europe via Cali. The 8 hour time change makes it seem like the day is running from me. Tonight is the first gig. Our rehearsal time at home was minimal so I was anxious to get to sound check early. It didn't quite work out like that but gig at Club Mercado was big fun. The people were full of energy and helped push us through a shakey start and into a fantastic finish. Obrigado Lisboa.

Friday November 17, 2006 - Oporto, Portugal

Oporto, Portugal. We've all heard the over used expression of 'a city with charm'. This place is the real deal. The combination of unlimited historical beauty and the sea's soothing energy makes the home of Port wine a destination worth it's weight in hype. While the band had a night off (hosted by Diogo and Kika Bonita), I switched into dj mode at Idunna Cafe.
The vibe was sweet. From tempo to tempo and genre to genre, we rocked till 6am. All of us regreted having to leave at 8. There's something special there. I will be back.

Saturday November 18, 2006 - Amsterdam, Holland

The trip to Amsterdam started with a not so fun airport experience. We stayed up all night long thinking we'd sleep on the plane to the Netherlands. That's a trick we use on occasions when the event ends late but the flight is early. But on this day, every bit of good vibe from the night before was counteracted by a check-in nightmare. Since we were flying on random cheap euro air carriers (this one was TAP), we found ourselves with 100 kilos of excess baggage. If we were flying on one of the bigger airlines like British Air or Air
France, all would have been fine. Instead, I was jammed with an extra $1000 usd's before breakfast. When you're on a promo tour, every penny counts. The moral of the story here is pre pay for excess baggage or bring an American Express card that's ready for action. I was irritated but still cool. We still had to move on to the next city.

The rest of the day was relatively smooth. Sugar Factory was the venue. Bigger and more high tech than the others. We did our thing and then hit the streets to check the night scene. Unfortunately, I ran out of gas due to the days events. I grabbed a schwarma and turned in. 5 countries, 5 cities, 4 concerts, 15,000 miles. All in 6 days. 10 days to go.

Sunday November 19, 2006 - Rotterdam, Netherlands

I woke up feeling rested. The first week of the road gave us a great mix of fun and culture. I was ready for the next adventure. I didn't know it was coming at noon. The Jazzsole crew came to ride us to Rotterdam in cars. It's a 45 min ride from Amsterdam so the ride was
gonna be quick and easy. Right. That would've been the case if one of the cars didn't stall after the battery wore down from the lights being on. This was a minor detail. A taxi van solved that issue. We hit the road.

On the road, I started feenin' for some non-fancy food. I've traveled to so many places that I'm a little bit over fancy restaurants. Wine, Champagne, Caviar, Blah blah blah. Done it. It's all very nice but today I needed some Jamaican food. Brown stew chicken. Yum. As we
rode threw Rotterdam, Egbert (from Jazzsole) told me the closest thing was food from Suriname. So, after checking into a fly little boutique hotel, we ventured out into food land. We hit this spot across the street from the venue (Toko) with our impromptu tour guide/ chef and co-owner Manuela. Hell yeah. Just what i needed. Beans, rice, chicken, curry, veggies. Soul food. Off the hook! I knew this day was going in the right direction.

Cut to later that night.

I'd never played Rotterdam. My expectations were few. However, the restaurant turned night club called Toko was electric. The 150+ heads were packed in so tightly that we had to walk on stage with our coats on as soon as we entered the building. The energy was high. The ladies were fly. The fellas were positive. We smashed it. They knew every song. Old and new. It was an unforgettable evening. The highlight of this night was when I opened the mic to some local talent. The crowd went nuts. It's really a love movement. No city is immune.

Monday November 20, 2006 - Rotterdam, Netherlands

The next morning, we met what seemed to be half of the party for brunch. We all had the feeling of not wanting to leave Rotterdam. It reminded me of fall in Philly. There's great energy there. Looking forward to more time there. But, London is up next. Another day of
airports and check-in lines. Yay!?! $500 in overweight fees again. I'm more than irritated but we press on. We fly into an airport I never heard of. London City?? It took 2 hours in London traffic to get to the hotel in Camden. The dreary London skies made my tired body feel relaxed. This day was designed for sleep. I took the chance to catch up.

Tuesday November 21, 2006 - London, England

London is a special place for me. Not because of the landmarks and history. I like those things. They deserve the attention. My connection to this place is defined by the large amount of close friends I have here. It makes it tough when I only have a few days to kick it because I end up missing at least 100 or so close friends. Most of the day, I continued to rest and kept most of my activity in the Camden area. There's a million shops to hit. My only indulgence was a nice long lunch I took. I did manage to spend time with 2 of my fav people. My first UK publicist, Lisa Lindal who's now an Exec for Puma and my good friend Uzo by way of Philly/Nigeria/Jamaica. We chilled and had big fun catching up. Today was dedicated to relaxation and human connectivity. Soul Food in the purest form.

Wednesday November 22, 2006 - London, England

Tonight is the hit at London's famous Jazz Cafe. I've played here a few times before. I'mfinding it hard to get excited tonite. I think jetlag is working it's magic on me. Maybe I'm still on a high from Rotterdam? Not sure. My normal zen vibe is extra chilled. Whatever
the case may be, I know the energy has to increase before I hit the stage. I got an unexpected spark from the opening act Slow Train Soul. Z and her crew put on a great cutting edge performance as the Londoners were coming in. I found energy in watching the show. It's funny how things work sometimes.

My time on stage was good. The surprising thing was that so few of the faces seemed familiar. I don't think "The Heads" go to Jazz Cafe anymore. Most of the crowd was filled with curious minds. They've heard of me but have never heard me. I like how this works. Although I love it when everyone in the room knows every lyric, I also enjoy the challenge of introducing myself to new fans. That's the only way a career can grow. The end of the night brought more encores and smiles. They must be buying into the dream.

Thursday November 23, 2006 - Florence, Italy

Disaster. Well, close enough. We had a 9:15 flight to Florence with a 6:45 pick-up. Sounds about right to me. Wait...the driver shows up and says since we didn't leave at 5:30, WE'LL MISS THE FLIGHT thanks to good ol' fashioned London traffic. I was shocked by the possibility. It didn't help that I was a bit slow getting downstairs for the lobby call. A missed flight on a budget tour could mean collapse. As it turned out, the driver was on point. We arrived at 8:50. Flight closed. We wouldn't have made it if we left at 6:45 or not. The departure time was way off. Compounding the stress was the fact that our tickets were cancelled. The 'Policy' of British Air is.. miss it and you have to buy a new one. Of course there's always an executive over ride for anything. Apparently, this wasn't the day for that. $2000. I was so tired from the previous night that i could barely find the energy to argue with the agent and ticket salesman. I paid the tariff and found a bench to sleep on until it was time to board.

In Pisa, a relieved Marco (our Italian promoter) picked us up and drove us to Florence. The thrill of having our first true Italian meal over shadowed any of the days other events. The joy of good food and wine gave us the fuel to rock the crowd to 3 encores. The highlight of this show was when a sweet Braziliana did an impromptu 10 min Samba on stage. We all loved that...

Friday November 24, 2006 - Florence, Italy

Next up was a ride down to Padova. If you've never seen the Italy by car, you must see Italy by car. The countryside is breathtaking. Fields with sheperds, tunnels in and out of mountains, hills that take you through clouds. The list of eye catching wonders is long. I didn't get to see much of this city because we spent so much time at soundcheck. The language barrier was the challenge of the day. It's tough trying to communicate small details when words escape you. A tremendous amount of patience is needed when there's really no time. While the rest of us continued on our wine and pasta tasting mission, my tech/soundman James Allen managed to pull it together in time enough for us to have another quality show. We resumed the wine and pasta tasting immediately after. How do Italians stay so slim???

Saturday November 25, 2006 - Rome, Italy

Roma. Everyone's excited. The Roman Empire. The Coliseum. History books unplugged. I've been here a few times before. The past still feels as present as ever. Walking on the same ground as Caesar has a way of making you transcend into the deepest portals of your own thoughts. What was it like back then? It's hard to say but the energy from the old stones definitely lets you know something profound happened in the area. We arrived in the evening after a 6 hr drive through central Italy. Most of us slept through this trip. But, there was much to see during those moments in between naps. The sunset visuals we caught, around our time of arrival, showed the way the new Rome is built in and around the existing stones of yesterday. It's one thing to see an old US colonial home or cathedral remnant. It's another to see one from 2000 years ago. I wonder if modern Romans
think like this. It's hard to recognize what you've got while you're in it.

We entered the venue La Palma. This was one of the more stage ready venues we played in on the tour. Some of the other spots were multi-purpose lounges or restaurants that brought in risers and things to make a stage. Not here. All we had to do was plug in and rock. Since this was the last day of our Italian food and wine tasting portion of the tour, the drinks flowed early. I was slightly twisted off of something posing as a cocktail. It tasted more like vodka with lime juice. Luckily, dinner was before the gig so I had time to regroup before i hit the stage. The pasta and roast beef was abundant and plentiful. As was the wine. Again. I tried to keep my wine intake limited to a few cheers and salutas to guarantee some type of coherence at the show. I almost made it until the Limoncello came out. This digest-if is like a liquid lemon pie mixed with Grappa. This show was to be adventurous at worst.

The crowd was big fun. After the first five minutes went by, we found ourselves in a high energy jam. I was feeling the Limoncello. The crowd was feeling me. It all worked out. For tonight's encore, Kenneth Crouch came up with a dope interpretation of my song "The WayThat I Feel". Everyone loved it. We ended the show on a very high note. Afterwards, the crew piled into a few taxis to go and see Rome at night. I chilled at the hotel. Paris was calling...

Sunday November 26, 2006 - Paris, France

Paris. Of all the so called 'great' cities of Europe, this one has taken the most time for me to catch a groove in. It's nothing to do with anything in particular. The city is gorgeous. The people are cool. The truth of Parisians becoming evil at the sound of English seems to be a myth that's fading fast. I never had any bad experiences here. It just didn't click at first. Lately, I've been understanding the hype. Paris doesn't push you around. It doesn't force you to run here and there or do this and that. It just sits there and says...'Take your time and find your way. I'm not going anywhere. When you're ready you'll understand.' I get it now.

It takes good people to help unlock the many doors of this cultural treasure. My last time here, my friends Arse and Alex showed me the soul of Paris' nightlife. I NEVER partied like that. This time, I had surprise tour guides. The co-owner and chef of Toko in Rotterdam, Manuela, and the club's designer, Afaina, met us and showed us a Dutch perspective of sweet Paris. Me and the crew bounced from lounge to cafe to restaurant to Hookah bar to creperie to walking the streets. We even got lost at 4 am trying to find our hotel. Nobody complained. It was our day off and Paris was good to us. I understand completely.

Monday November 27, 2006 - Paris, France

Today is special. The sun is shinning and the weather is like a Philly October day. 60 and cool. I love it. I jumped up and caught the train to see more of the city before I had to be at soundcheck. I had 4 hours to get just a little bit deeper into that Paris thing before the show. I could feel myself getting in sync with the natives with each passing minute. I got a chance to see 2 homeless people sing 'Don't worry, Be happy'. Had lunch at an old Jewish sandwich bar. Checked the Contemporary Art Museum. Window shopped. Saw a brawl between a 65 year old man and a 30 year old man. (The old man won) Walked through a few miles of legendary architecture and design. In other words, I took it all in. Good and bad. It put me in the perfect mood for the show at Le Tryptique.

There was a ton of activity surrounding this event. I was surprised. I ended up doing 6 interviews before the show. I called in to Aileen on radio Nova during soundcheck. There was a serious vibe building. The venue was dope. Exactly my style. Basement. Low ceilings. Dope sound system. Quality lights. Off the hook. Just like the gig.

After doing 5 gigs in 6 nights, i was worn out. I needed a strong crowd to push me through this night. That's exactly what I got. This group of Parisians came to represent their city well. We gave energy and they gave it right back. Satnam, Steve, and Kenneth played like wild men. This show lasted over 2 hrs. The crowd was a perfect blend of beautiful faces and positive vibes. We had a legendary time. I think I'll be seeing much more of Paris. Much more...