Day 7:

Ostrava, Czech Republic to Nürenberg, Germany.


We played the Colours of Ostrava Festival last night to a packed house full of people of all ages.
For me, this was one of those moments when I was glad I became a musician and not a pilot. The first time I came to the Czech Republic was in 1993, with a singer/songwriter with a pretty big following, worldwide.

I met Václav Havel three times, and once was held at gunpoint by his Secret Service men. Havel saw what was happening, and called them off. He gave me a big hug and kissed both my cheeks and said it was good to see me again. The man I was working for looked up from his famous Ray-Bans and cracked a rare, brief smile. Havel was huge fan of my boss's work. Haha. Thanks, dude.

So, yeah, I've been lucky enough to have been to the Czech Republic many times since. This time with XIXA, my T-town homies. It was spectacular. There's something about this country and what has been through that makes me keep coming back.

Ok, enough for now, we just crossed into Germany, where I can understand and speak the language. I need to work on my Czech.

Thanks for coming along.

Stay tuned.

Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn...

-Winston Watson I Somewhere in Germany... 

DJ Shadow with Mophono
Rialto Theatre
July 19

Appealing to the psychedelic purple chakra and the primal red root at once, Mophono and DJ Shadow took us on a rollercoaster of the mind, through moody, soul-deep bass, melodic jazz and classic hiphop. All the elements were masterful—the cuts, the breaks, the scratching and the samples. Two turntables and hardly any microphone had us alternately listening hard and pounding our fists in the air. And the themes Shadow tackled were heavy—namely the aural and visual manipulation of time. From his scratch solo right after, "This is a story about being free" to the remixes of each classic Endtroducing track, to his shirt which read "We're never going back," the legendary DJ demonstrated mastery over this key component to our world, both rhythmically and conceptually. The paired, projected visuals were, of course, time-lapse photography. Shadow also played with space, creating aural (paired with visual) topographic maps of oscillating reverberations, ably set in motion by collaborator and opener Mophono, who took us back to the Silver Apples conception of electronic music with spinning magnetic sound. From the atomic beats and melodies to their limitless molecular combinations, Shadow's show tackled nothing less than the act of creation itself.

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Nature

Seed Processing Workday. It’s time to turn your lackluster backyard into a botanical paradise. Come help out Native Seeds Search Conservation Center and learn about seed saving. Free chile seeds from their walls, sort out the best beans, shell corn and winnow squash. Children welcome but parental supervision is required. 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 20. Native Seeds Search Conservation Center, 3584 E. River Road. Free.

Edible Desert. The desert gets a bad rap, and it's not well deserved. These thorny lands are thriving with life and life-sustaining tools. Tohono Chul Park will be teaching the relationship between the people of the Sonoran Desert and the plants of the region that provide food, shelter and medicine. Take home samples and recipes. 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 22. Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave. Free.

Cool Summer Nights. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum continues its “Cool Summer Nights” series. On Saturday, July 22, the focus is on “Insect Insanity” and you’ll be able to get up-close and personal with the insects and arthropods of the Sonoran. On Saturday, July 29, “Creatures of the Night” will feature a live animal show, animated animals and art activities. Saturday, July 22 and July 29. 2021 N. Kinney Road. More info at Desertmuseum.org and 883-2702.

Food and Drink

Cooking Class. Ever wonder how you can prepare a meal like legendary local chef Janos Wilder of DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails? Here’s your chance to learn from the master and his team. Janos is presenting a cooking class and pop-up dinner at downtown’s Carriage House on from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 21. For $80 (plus a service fee and tax), foodies can learn about the history of food in Florianopolis, Brazil, see a culinary demonstration by Chef Devon Sanner, and then enjoy ho’s d’oevres and a four course meal.

Peach Mania. Apple Annie’s Fruit Orchard in Willcox celebrates peaches with wagon rides, peach picking, free samples of peach product, and all-you-can-eat peaches and pancake breakfasts. This weekend and next (July 22-23, July 29-30) is Watermelon Weekend paired with a Sweet Corn Extravaganza. On Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30, there will also be a craft fair from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. More info at Appleannies.com or 520-384-2084.

Day 6 (or so):

July 19. Day off (not really). Travel Day.

Today's adventure takes us from Offenbach, Germany to Ostrava, Czech Republic. In order to do that, we had to drive the Autobahn.(11+ hours)

Contrary to popular belief, the Autobahn isn't a free-fire zone, where one can act like Mario Andretti and just haul ass and go speedy crazy. There are rules and what are called control zones.

The best rule I observed while driving here is that people stay to the right, except to pass. A concept that completely lost in the U.S.

In the free zones, it's not uncommon to see Porsches, Ferraris and Lambos fly past you, like you are standing still. The wake turbulence is something to be felt, for real.

Since our vehicle is big, heavy and slow, we keep it to the right. But, we had the misfortune to pass cars in a no passing zone. Our lighting designer, Gregory Houston also doubles as our TM (tour manager).  He was driving when we blew through a no passing zone. Enter die Deutsche Polizei. They pulled us over, gathered our passports and detained us for a bit. They demanded cash for the infraction; 95€.

Highway robbery, yes, but legit.

It felt like a shady shakedown, but after some quick research, we found it was legit.

Ouch.

Once inside the Czech Republic, Gregory and I had to deal with a Czech policeman who seemed to be more curious than concerned about us.

More showing of passports.

I spoke what Czech I know to him, and he, of course, spoke perfect English (most EU residents do, when they don't, it's usually because they don't like you.)

We were set free and hurled down the motorway toward our destination, safe, a little tipsy, and sound.

Stay tuned.

—Winston Watson I Somewhere inside the Czech Republic




Go here to read Day 5 of XIXA's tour diaries.

The enthralling, modern Planet of the Apes trilogy comes to a close with its best chapter yet.

Caesar (motion capture Andy Serkis) is holding his own in the forest with his band of ape soldiers when a crazed Colonel (Woody Harrelson) finds him and delivers a painful blow. Caesar finds himself on a revenge quest, with the likes of Rocket (Terry Notary), Maurice (Karin Konoval) and a new character named Bad Ape (a funny Steve Zahn) in tow. It all leads to a man vs. ape showdown for the ages, and the special effects that were great in the first movie are ten times better in the third.

For fans of the original Apes films, this movie is a virtual love letter to the series. It even has a mute girl named Nova (Amiah Miller), the same name as the girl who saw the Statue of Liberty with Charlton Heston in the original. Matt Reeves, directing his second Ape film, has managed to imbibe his special effects laden adventure with genuine emotion.

This is a big budget blockbuster with heart and soul. While this concludes a trilogy, it’s a safe bet it won’t be the last for the Apes. If you recall, astronauts went missing in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Events in this film seem to be leading up to the events of the original movie.

We might be getting a new dude in a loin cloth barking at Lady Liberty in our cinematic future.

Take advantage of great deals this Monday, July 24—AKA National Tequila Day! Head on down to Reforma Modern Mexican (4310 N. Campbell Ave.) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m and get $6 margaritas, or choose from their $6 drinks summer drink menu. Enjoy Southern Arizona’s largest tequila and mescal collection. Also available on National Tequila Day is Blanco Taco + Tequila’s (2905 E. Skyline Dr.) flights available in seven varieties and at varying prices. Get three samples of one-ounce shots and choose from Milagro, Patron, Azuñia, Casamigos, Fortaleza and Casa Noble. For a premium flight, enjoy Milagro “Single Barrel” Anejo and Don Julio “1942.” National Tequila Day comes but once a year. Don't miss out on these deals!
For more information, visit Reforma Modern Mexican’s Facebook page, or call Blanco Tacos + Tequila at (520) 232-1007.

Squeezing a message into a 140 character tweet sometimes results in what might be referred to as poetic compression, but rarely does the product qualify as poetry. More commonly, the compressed phrase is awkward, even confused. However, sometimes one finds a gem. Take as an example the last sentence in a recent tweet by Donald J. Trump.

The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime.The Dems scream death as OCare dies!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2017

"The Dems scream death" is a pithy, well-turned phrase, combining both the act of screaming the word "death" and the scream which can accompany death. Those words are followed immediately by the phrase "as OCare dies," repeating the death image while simultaneously referencing the Republican assertion that Obamacare is in a death spiral. The word "OCare" has an antique, almost Elizabethan quality which adds to the poetic resonance of the passage. A rich, complex interplay of words and images is contained in those seven deceptively simple words.

Did Trump intend the sentence to have a poetic ring, or was his phrasing borne of the necessity of keeping the message to 140 characters, which happens to be the exact length of the tweet? One might as well ask, is an especially evocative Haiku beautiful because the poet intended it to be so, or is the beauty of the poem an accident caused by the constraints of the seventeen syllable, five-seven-five form? Since I readily grant the author of a splendid haiku credit for the work, who am I to deny our president similar credit for the felicity of his phrasing?

Now, let's take this analysis a step further and look at the rhythmic form of the eight syllables. The line, it turns out, is written in perfect iambic tetrameter—four iambic feet.

An iamb contains two syllables, the first unstressed, the second stressed. A well known example of a poem written entirely in iambic tetrameter is Joyce Kilmer's Trees. Here is the opening couplet of the poem.

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree. 

With Tucson City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich calling it quits after three terms, Tucsonans will be electing a new representative in the north-central Ward 3 seat.

The three Democrats vying in the August 29 primary race are business owner Tom Tronsdal, attorney Paul Durham and teacher Felicia Chew. The three candidates joined me for a forum on Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel last week.

The candidates talked about why they wanted to be on the City Council, how they would improve the city's bus system, what they want to see happen with the upcoming Grant Road widening, whether they support the Strong Start Tucson initiative that would raise the city sales tax by a half-cent to fund early childhood education and other topics.

The televised edition of Zona Politics airs at 6:30 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. Sundays on the Creative Tucson network, Cox Channel 20 and Xfinity Channel 74. You can hear a radio edition of the show at 5 p.m. on community radio KXCI, 91.3 FM.

Trumpcare is dead, or in a coma, and Sen. Ted Cruz's amendment to the bill was one of the nails in its coffin (or the rubber mallet to its head if you prefer the coma analogy). But our Senator Jeff Flake, who usually plays a moderate in the media, decided to embrace Cruzcare in his attempt to court Arizona's right wing in the run-up to the primary. On a radio talk show he joined Cruz to voice his support for the most hated man in the Senate, his new bff. I didn't have to search for the talk show segment. Flake is so proud of it, he put it at the top of his latest constituent email. It landed in my inbox hours before two more Republican senators stated they wouldn't vote for the most recent version of Trumpcare which included the Cruz amendment, ending its chance of passing in its current form.

Cruz calls his plan the "consumer freedom amendment." It means insurance companies can go back to providing the kind of subprime, low cost health care packages forbidden by Obamacare. So, for example, if Senator McCain had purchased one of the "consumer freedom" insurance options, he might only have coverage for high cost care, like his recent surgery. People are estimating that his total bill, if he had to pay it, comes to about $70,000. His "consumer freedom" insurance would say he's covered for hospitalization, but when he opens his bill, he may discover hospitalization coverage is for the room and board portion of his hospital stay but not the cost of the surgery and doctors' visits. And he might also find that his coverage will be canceled at the end of the year, which couldn't happen under Obamacare, leaving him without insurance and nowhere to go for affordable coverage. That's what Cruz and Flake call "freedom."

Flake's email also spotlighted a News 12 story on his Cruzcare stand. I'll bet he loves the first sentence of the segment.

"Is Arizona Senator Jeff Flake backing the most conservative Obamacare repeal plan?"

Check in daily to keep track of XIXA's on-the-road shenanigans—the dirt, grime, and glory, and all the hangovers and warts—from the Tucson band's current Bloodline swing through Germany, France, Italy, the Czech Republic and beyond. Today's entry by drummer Winston Watson.

Monday, July 15: Day 5

Tour smells.

The sights, the sounds, the-smells of a hard-working rock band on the road.

Airplanes. "All train compartments smell vaguely of sh*t." - Al Pacino, Glengarry Glenross. It's true of planes, add jet fuel, add bad, stale food to that, and airports and you have an olfactory nightmare.  

Venues. If the venue is a club, add all the above scents, plus eau de vomit. Moving on to ...

Diesel. It's everywhere. Especially on you. 

Funk. In an all-male environment, funk happens. You can imagine for yourself. So, when one catches just the scent of a woman, it's heaven.

Hotels. Ooof. I could go on, all day. Anything below 3 stars and you are guaranteed 2. Mold and mildew.

Finally, there's home. The best part of Tour Smells. Makes all the above worth it. Stayed tuned.

—Winston Watson I Somewhere in Germany

Random road shots: 


Go here to read Day 4 of XIXA's tour diary.