Talented US rapper, Trey Sykes, started a short documentary series called 'Passion' where he interviews musicians, poets and creative types in Long Beach and he has featured me in the first episode! Granted I'm not living in the US, but I am still connected to the community there and miss them a lot. There are so many welcoming and creative folk in that city. Last minute addition to my 3 week schedule: I'm performing at Rosie McGee's (still in Copenhagen) for the next 2 Wednesdays. In this grand establishment, there's a replica of John Lennon's New York apartment library, stained glass windows, old-fashioned fans that rotate with a belt mechanism, solid wood and brass statues and so many more details! Really wow. Below is a photo of my wee stage.
I was absolutely stoked to open this festival! Performing at a vegan festival was a big deal and accomplishment for me. Being vegan for about 2 years now, I'm passionate about ending animal cruelty and the negative affects it has on the environment and health. I cater and cook vegan meals for mostly non-vegans and I'm happy to advocate this way of life through food. The festival was such as success: there were thousands of people that attended throughout the day!
I played my first festival in Europe in a town in central Norway called Rjukan, famous for its sun mirror. I had 3 shows: in the tent, in the pub and on a historic ship! I was stoked to be able to share my original tunes to a new audience.
Getting to the festival was a bit of a trek from Oslo: 1 train and 2 buses and a heck of a lot of money -- public transport fares aren't cheap. When I got off the train to find the bus, I had just missed it and the next one was over 3 hours away! Rather than waste time, I decided (with the suggestion of the gas station attendant) to hitchhike. Not only did I get picked up only after a few minutes of holding up my hand-written sign, I had a ride with a lovely retiree all the way to the front door of the pub. Troubadour indeed! I'm spending a few weeks in a small village in central Portugal nannying a vegan kid and cooking vegan food for him. While meeting some of the friendly expat locals there, we got talking and decided to put together a benefit vegan dinner buffet/musical performance at the beautiful Casa Bela Vista for the animal victims of the Greek fires. Doing the two things I love the most: performing and cooking!
My first radio interview in Europe! It was to plug my performance at the local pub 'No. 9' in the cute little city of Kristiansund, Norway. The guys literally called me at 7.30pm and said "Hey, can you come for a radio interview and performance at 8.30pm?" After a quick shower, getting dressed, applying make up and a 15 minute drive, I arrived at 8.23pm. I was pretty pleased with that haha!
While in Kristiansund, I'm staying on a beautiful island nearby called 'Averoy' with my friend's folks. I have a traditional dark red guesthouse called 'Grongen' all to myself right by the ocean! Captain George -- a boisterous Slovakian street musician -- had a stopover in Athens on his way to Asia to busk, so I invited him to hang out. We'd only ever met online through a street performers Facebook group. He was pretty cool in real life too. We went to an open mic hosted by my talented DJ and sitar-playing friend, Bill Hunchback, and also went out one night and busked in the centre in front of a small old church (after we got stopped by the cops trying to set up at plateia Monastiraki). Unfortunately, it was a bit quiet that night. The few people that were there though appreciated our efforts. I've been more or less living in Athens for well over a year and this was my first time street performing there!
Today I went to the Guitar Lair in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to look at an incredible collection of acoustic and electric guitars. I am proud to announce that I have been endorsed by Lindsay Marcus custom-made guitars! I get to take a beautiful 600 series OM model on my travels now!
I received an email today from Amrap (The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project) that distributes new Australian music to community radio stations nationwide. In one month, I have had tracks played from my EP on 25 different radio stations across all states (except NT), with 5 stations adding my tracks to their station library! Woohoo!
Had a gig at the Melrose Trading Post in Los Angeles. This market has some cool vintage goods & collectibles for sale in the grounds of a high school. I'm honoured to play here as the market books some really great acts. I generally make some decent tips out there too on the cute corner stage. I love lunchtime outdoor gigs! And I got this:
|
AuthorLisa Spykers is a singer, songwriter, piano player, acoustic guitarist, instrumental and primary school teacher, porridge chef, vegan caterer, author, nomad, and unstoppable force of nature. Archives
January 2019
Categories
All
|