WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27^TH:
Today I begin a very LONG trip overseas producing festivals that allow me to pay my bills.  J   I begin in Interlaken, Switzerland with the Bellamy Brothers, Carlene Carter, Heather Myles, Augie Meyers and the Texmaniacs.   From there , I stay with the Bellamy Brothers and we start in Austria, then 3 cities in Ireland, LATVIA, and finally Germany.  I fly home for 3 days –I know, crazy, but when I booked my flights I couldn’t figure out the remainder of the itinerary at the time.  I go back to Europe and jump around from country to country until I fly home on August 11^th.  Not exactly what I envisioned when I think of the phrase, “spending my summers in Europe”. 
Beginning of the tour got off to a rocky start when I had to leave my car downtown last night with a flat tire.   But, my flights were all on time today and the weather was pretty good.  However, some of Carlene’s group had fight delays out of California and her manager may not make it out of Nashville at all today.  Guess we’ll just deal with when we land.
Sat with a really nice lady on the short flight to Atlanta.  She hates to fly as much as I do but thankfully we were on a large plane, not one of the little puddle jumpers.   She was going to Italy to ride bikes throughout the Alps.  Also found out that she had worked with the attorney who represents Carlene.  Same attorney that a friend of mine set met up on a blind date with many, many years ago. 
Short connection in Atlanta for my direct flight to Zurich.  I thought the seat next to me was going to be empty but turned out that a lady across the aisle had switched with a man who was to sit by me.   He had a Swiss/German accent but not sure where he was from.  Just know that he had the typical “European” mentality when it comes to personal space.   The flight attendants kept us regularly supplied with bottles of water which they would sit on the console between us – lined up horizontally.   Every time I would reach down for a drink of mine, he had moved them so that they were lined up vertically and I had no idea which one was mine.  I finally had to start putting mine in the seat back in front of me.  Learned NOT to put it beside me in my seat after the flight last year where I fell asleep and the entire bottle of water emptied into the seat. 
I watched a really funny, light movie starring Diane Keaton that reminded me of “me”.  It was about an over-protective mother with no personal life.  J

THURSDAY, JUNE 28^TH:
Plane landed right on time and my bags arrived as well.  Always a good thing, although I do love to shop.   Augie and the Texmaniacs landed on time and I got them out to the bus which was waiting for us.  Carlene’s group landed a couple of minutes early.  We left for the 1 ½-2 hour drive to Interlaken.   The driver took us on the “scenic” route because there was less traffic. I saw parts of Switzerland I’ve never seen in the 10+ years I’ve been coming to this festival.  Only bad part was it was a small, winding road up and down MOUNTAINS.   I was nauseous after the first 10 minutes. 
Jrene who works with the event met us at the hotel and helped us get checked in.  Only a couple of the rooms were ready so I volunteered to watch the luggage while everyone else went to eat lunch.  Rooms were ready by the time the came back.  I went for a 5 mile jog along the beautiful river.  The river is GREEN because the water is glacier run-off.  I always forget how incredibly beautiful this area is until I return each year.  The weather is unusually cool for this time of the year – about 60 degrees for a high today.  Perfect running weather. 
Came back to shower only to find that flights were canceling all over the U.S.  The Bellamys had to leave two of their people behind because of canceled flights just so they could get all their musicians on the flight.  Those two finally got a flight out of Chicago tomorrow (have to drive there tonight) and will arrive on Saturday.  It has been a very stressful afternoon.
We had a really nice reception tonight.   The promoters for the festival are first-class professionals.   Augie, Texmaniacs and Carlene all attended and I was able to relax a little knowing that most of the flights were in the air – FINALLY!  The absolutely best part of my day was when a European group called the “Country Sisters” arrived at the party.  They were introduced and Augie was sitting by me.  Augie doesn’t hear all that great in a crowded room and he leaned over and said, “The Turkey Sisters”?   I fell out of my chair laughing. 
Brian/Alec, I was surprised by how many people came up to me to tell me how YOUNG I look this year.  Must be that new Youth Serum you launched.  That stuff is working!  J
So, now it is 1 am and I am going to go to bed.  Big day tomorrow – Bellamys arrive and Carlene and Augie and Texmaniacs perform. 
Jude

FRIDAY, JUNE 29^TH:
So, I lied.  I didn’t get in bed until almost 3 am.   But, at least everything was worked out with the flights.  At least I thought so when I finally passed out.  David Beecham was going to make it into Nashville for the flight on Friday to Iraq with Josh Gracin.  The Bellamys flight out of Nashville left a little late, but they were airborne to Zurich via Frankfurt.  The Bellamys’ wives were driving to Chicago in their tour bus to fly over today.   Taylor from my office and Carlene’s manager were airborne from Newark headed toward Zurich.  Whew.
Slept 4 hours and got up to go jogging.  Decided to do sprints today. Weather was fabulous.  Came back to find voice mails from the Bellamy’s road manager and Penny in my office.  Bellamys flight was late getting into Frankfurt and they missed their connection into Zurich.  They were booked on another flight that would put them in 2 hours later.   I called Taylor to tell him he and Cathy would have to just wait for them since we only had the one bus.   Taylor could not find Cathy.  Then Cathy called on the hotel line and she couldn’t find Taylor.  ARGHHH!!!   I finally gave them each other’s cell number and they connected.  Taylor found the bus and bus driver and gave him the scoop.   About 2 hours later, Taylor called and said that he could see the Bellamys through the glass at baggage claim.  Only, they weren’t coming out and their road manager was at Lost and Found!   I finally reached David on his cell phone and he said that NONE of their luggage and NONE of their equipment came in on the flight.  The only thing that came in were the 2 bags for their wives which had already been checked before they gave up their seats.   Their road manager spent another hour or so filling out forms and trying to find the missing pieces.  The bus driver had other pick-ups, so they finally had to leave the airport with a phone number to call for the missing pieces. 
In between all of this, I was running back and forth from the hotel to the venue getting Carlene’s musicians over for sound check and Augie and the Texmaniacs over for sound check.   My cell phone bill is going to be about a thousand dollars because there are roaming charges of about a dollar per minute!   
The Bellamys and their group finally arrived at the hotel and I had all their keys ready for them.   Their road manager and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find the missing pieces and figuring out what we could borrow from other artists on the festival if theirs didn’t show up! 
Augie and Texmaniacs performed first and from what I was told, it was great.  All I seem to be doing is trouble-shooting flights and luggage.  Carlene had an awesome performance, too.  She is really a super star in Europe. 
So it is 1 am and I am still at the venue.  Carlene is signing autographs and Texmaniacs are performing again.  We finally spoke with someone at the Zurich airport (almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a real person on the phone) and were told that 9 or maybe 10 pieces had arrived.  They could not tell us if it was luggage or equipment.  It is being put in a taxi and delivered to the hotel some time tonight.  Then we will send the Bellamys sound tech over with the bus picking up Heather Myles group (God, I HOPE they don’t have flight delays.  She is flying in from Norway via Copenhagen and has to perform tomorrow night!) to see what else he can find. 
Just received a call from the Bellamy’s wives that their flight has mechanical problems and they don’t know WHEN they will get out of Chicago.  We have to leave tomorrow night after the Bellamy’s performance to bus overnight to Austria and perform there Sunday night.   Worse case, I guess we can swing by the Zurich airport after the show and pick them up if they make it in as some point. 
So, I am 7 hours ahead of CST.  Let me predict the future for you.  June 29^th will have 72 hours in it!!!!  I know you are saying that things like this is why no one wants to perform overseas.  But, honestly, I get the brunt of it and the entertainers only see a little of the “discomfort” .  Me and their crew!  And it’s pretty “typical”, unfortunately. 
The festival has a record number of trucks this year.   The way it works, the truckers make a “reservation” and then they all come in on Friday and park and “camp” in their trucks.  They are not allowed to leave until Monday AM.  There are 1,500 trucks this year!  Can you imagine the traffic jam on Monday?  There are also people camping and then people who stay in the local hotels.   The festtent hold 4,500 and it is packed.   There are at least 3 stage outside the festtent that I saw.  They use “local”, “European”, and “non-celebrity USA entertainers” on those stages.  There are food booths, “western” booths (clothes, bolos, jewelry), and lots of displays by sponsors (Yamaha, BMW, beer, etc.)  It is really a cool event and the promoters that I work with are awesome…some of my dearest friends ever. 
A couple of years ago they moved the dressing rooms from the backstage area to about a half mile away.   Since it rained both years and transportation wasn’t always readily available, it was a real hassle to get the entertainers to and from the dressing rooms.  Then, they also moved the “backstage saloon” (with food and beverages for entertainers and sponsors) to the top of a huge hill that you had to climb very steep steps to access.  There was a beautiful view at the top but the entertainers had to walk through the audience and then climb all the stairs.  So they didn’t spend a lot of time there.  This year, everything moved backstage again and it was perfect.   Thought we were going to make it without any rain but noticed that it is sprinkling now. 
Back at the hotel.  NOTHING came from the Zurich airport.  Figures!  Bellamy’s wives are still stuck in Chicago.  It’s after 3 am.  I’m going to bed!
Jude

SATURDAY, JUNE 30^TH
Hard to believe it’s the last day of June!!! 
Got up to get the Bellamys production manager off to the airport to check on lost items.   NOTHING was delivered to the hotel last night and when the road manager called this morning, the airport told him only ONE piece had come in.  Didn’t make sense because we knew that at least 9 pieces were coming I on a flight night.  David heard from his wife that their plane finally left Chicago headed for Munich last night. 
Went for a quick jog again to relieve some stress and clear my head.  My allergies are killing me over here.  I can’t quit sneezing.  Think it’s all the things that are “in bloom” .  Jogging does not help the situation but it sure keeps me “sane”.
Got a call around noon from the Bellamy’s guy at the Zurich airport and FINALLY some good news.    Everything except one musician’s personal bag, an “effects” bag, and a merch bag are here.  And, we now have a way to track the missing last two items.  REALLY good news!!!   And, the wives have landed in Germany and will be in Zurich at around 3:30 pm.  They will take the train to Interlaken and make it in time for the show tonight AND get on the tour bus to Austria with us. Whew.  Much less stressful day.
Heather Myles and her group all made it in.  It will be a quick turnaround for her to make it to the hotel, check-in, go do a sound check, a press conference and then the show, but we’ll pull it off.
Howard, David and I had lunch with Tom and his wife from Germany – a long-time friend and promoter.   We thought we were having lunch with a wonderful couple from Grindelwald, Switzerland but they thought we were coming up to Grindelwald!  No way we could have left here with all the drama taking place.  J
Heather said that the promoter for her show in Norway last night put her group on a PUBLIC BUS to send them on about a 4 hour drive to the airport right after the show.  None of them got any sleep and had to run for the plane today.  But, they all made it.   Sure were some tired and hungry musicians with her though. 
We had the press conference and it went relatively smoothly although one of my main artists didn’t show up.  Both Bellamy wives made it to the hotel by 7 pm – after having one of their trains delayed from the Zurich airport!  We’re all watching the news about the bombings in the U.K. very closely.   We travel overnight to Austria tonight and perform Sunday.  Then we fly out of Vienna to Belfast via London.  That’s the part that scares up.  Hopefully things will have settled down by Monday.  We have three shows in Ireland – all several hours from Belfast.  I’m sure the threat level is going to be heightened and we’ll need to plan for more time to check in with all our luggage/gear. 
So, this hotel has been renovated and is a lot nicer now.  For those of you have been receiving my Road Kill Reports for several years, you know all about the “attacking shower heads” over here.   This one isn’t too bad but it is mounted in a way that makes it impossible to reach the soap without getting your hair wet AND have all the soap sprayed out of your hand before you can get it on your body.    There are NO washcloths in Europe and this hotel has squeeze soap dispensers mounted on the very back corner of the tub/shower.    I have to use both hands just to squeeze a “drop” of soap out of the dispenser only to have it washed down the drain before it comes in contact with my body.  And, the plug for the drain is defective so that it keeps closing and the tub fills up with water when taking a shower.   Needless to say, showers have been a “real” challenge these past couple of days.  But, still not as traumatic as the Norwegian models. 
Both of our bus drivers showed up with our tour bus mid-afternoon today.  One less worry.  
The concert was unbelievable. I have never seen so many people attend. 
What is so different about this year’s event is that in the past, it was predominately drunk truckers and bikers who wanted to party.  This year it was “families”…lots of pre-teen and teenagers in the audience and it was a listening audience.  Usually when I walk through the crowd, I am lucky to return with all my clothes intact.  This year, they were very courteous.  I walked Taylor back to meet one of the promoters and he said, “Do you know what you don’t see here”. My response was Afro-Americans.  He said “That too. But there are NO SECURITY personnel.”  Which was true!  The autograph line was incredibly polite and in the past, it has been a shoving, screaming mob.  Loving it.
We got checked out and loaded onto the double decker bus by 2 am.  All the bunks are up top.  Mine had a light panel that was loose and so the entire trip, it vibrated and sounded like a jack hammer in my ear.  I had ear plugs but they didn’t help much.  Our normal bus driver was too busy to take this tour so he contracted with someone else.  This guy is really nice and it is a great bus, but there was no water on the bus and no toilet tissue.  A bit of a problem. 
Jude