Dec 29 2006

One More Tour Is Done

Hi everyone,

Well, once again another tour has come to an end. This one was a success on many levels. It was by far, the easiest, and most enjoyable tour that we have done. Because of the fact that we were only 3 musicians onstage plus Corneille, there were no complications at any point – be it onstage or just with life on the road. Everything was smooth. As I mentioned in my last News entry, I was a bit concerned with playing a whole tour with just guitar, bass, and drums but we showed that we could play big rooms just as well as small venues with this formation.

In November we traveled to Casablanca, Morocco for a show at the Megarama. It was great ! The venue was a large movie theatre that had the screen removed. The people were very warm and generous and it was one of the best dates on the tour. I have put a few pictures up on the site of our time there.

Also in November we played the Zénith in Paris and for only the first or second time, I can finally say that we really played a great concert in Paris. The band sounded fantastic and the sound and lights were perfect, too. As usual, the ambiance was amazing and that made for a really good show. We sounded huge for only three instruments.

Our last gig on the European part of the tour was interesting, too. We played for only about 350 people in a small room at the Casino in Bal, Switzerland. This gig was quite a contrast from the bigger rooms, but it was nice to play with the audience directly in front of us. Anyway, after that gig we drove overnight to the airport and flew home the next day.

The last gig on the tour was the biggest and arguably the most important on the tour: the Bell Centre in Montreal. We had finally had our chance to play that room. For the concert we added an eight-piece string section under the direction of the wonderful Gwendolyn Smith. We rehearsed with the strings two days before the concert and they sounded fantastic in the rehearsals. Luckily for us, they also sounded great at the Bell Centre and the concert was a success. It was a thrill to play such a big venue and to also play at home.

Now that the tour is done, we will take a small break during the holidays and then perhaps we will do some more studio sessions to finish up the English album with Corneille. The songs that I have heard so far sound great.

At the end of December I went to Moscow, Russia to play a concert with Dawn Tyler Watson (Sam Harrisson was with me). We played a Jazz Festival at the Moscow International Performing Arts Centre. The concert was one to remember and the people really loved Dawn, and her music. She did a fantastic version of “Ne Me Quitte Pas” that brought the house down. We were treated very well by the organizers of the Festival and by the public as well. All of the musicians were presented with a bouquet of flowers onstage after the concert ! Wow – that was a first ! The concert was broadcast live on Russian radio so there may be some audio of the show somewhere out there. Although we were only in Moscow for two days we found time to visit the Red Square and the Kremlin in the morning of the concert. That was quite an enriching experience to see so much history in front of my eyes. I have put up some photos of our time in Moscow on the site.

I was also fortunate enough to be featured in the Taylor trade magazine last month. The magazine is called “Wood and Steel”. The article can be seen here:

http://www.taylorguitars.com/news/community/ws_fall_2006.pdf

Lastly, I have put the Xavier Coombs song that I played on, “Break The System” on my site. Have a listen to it.

Well, that’s about it for now. I’d like to thank all those who have contacted me and those who I have met after the shows. It’s always nice to hear from you and to see you.

Happy holidays !

Andy

P.S. In my iPod: David Sanborn – Upfront, Steely Dan – The Royal Scam, Brent Mason – Smokin’ Section, George Benson – Absolute Benson, Birelli Lagrène – My Favorite Django, Babyface – Unplugged in NYC, Bill Evans – Interplay, Sting – Mercury Falling, Victor Bailey – Low Blow , Wayne Krantz – Signals, Sylvain Luc – Ambre, Robben Ford – Handful of Blues, Robben Ford – Mystic Mile, Mark Knopfler – Ragpicker’s Dream, Larry Carlton – Saphire Blue, Jake Langley – Movin’ and Groovin’, Dire Straits – On Every Street, Dire Straits – On The Night (Live), Mike Landau – Live, Wes Montgomery – The Verve Sessions, Sixun – Nomad’s Land, Jimmy Smith – On The Top, Jimi Hendrix – Axis Bold As Love, Lokua Kanza – Plus Vivant, Dixie Chicks – Home, John Scofield and Pat Metheny – I Can See Your House From Here