Is it really March 2001 already? I can’t believe how this year is flying by can you? I suppose I should apologise for neglecting the embracecrew site of late but in my defence your honour I’ve been a bit busy dashing here and there. So, partially in answer to a question about what we get up to when Embrace are recording and not touring here’s a little run down of my year so far.
Arrived home in Blighty early February after an extended vacation, and did my first gig of the year up in Leeds, for a new band called “The Music” who are definitely one to watch out for. Gor also does the gig and it’s lovely to see him and some of my other friends in the North. A few days later I find myself boarding a plane to South Korea and meet up with some old and new chums on the way. We are beginning the first leg of a world tour with Helloween, a classic Heavy Rock band, and it promises to be a lot of fun. Korea is very welcoming and our time there far too short when combined with jet lag and work. Us noise boys get interviewed by the Korean PA magazine a copy of which arrived on my doorstep this morning as it happens. Do Embrace have any fans out there who would care to translate for me? Manage to pick up more Korean phrases than I can remember and do a quick sightseeing session the morning before we leave for Taiwan.
Ah, Taiwan, what a revelation you are. We all fall under your spell and hope to return to explore the whole island one day very soon. As it is, we have time to see quite a bit of Taipei and make the most of it, visiting the Chiang Kai-shek memorial, Taipei Tower, Feb 28th Peace park, the National Museum (where we saw the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Chinese Qin Dynasty, first time displayed outside China), Snake Alley night market and of course Hooters! We wave farewell to Taiwan and also to the bottle of Sohju Ginseng (Korean Sake plus a little extra something) I’ve bought as a present for my PA babysitter Aki san in Japan as it is accidentally knocked onto the airport floor smashing it’s penis shaped jar and oozing sweet smelling clear fluid all over the check in area. What a senseless waste of a potent alcohol that (I’m reliably informed) gives you a stinking hangover but then leaves you with an erection that lasts for a week! Ah well, at least my 1/8th size replica of a Qin Warrior is unbroken in the tumble. I’m also very chuffed because I now know four phrases of Chinese, one of which is Kampeh which means Cheers of course. Again I wonder if there are many Embrace fans here.
On to Osaka, where we start off on the right foot by being taken to a great bar called Rock Rock which we proceed to completely take over for the 2 nights we are here. Lots of dancing and drinking and drinking and dancing and meet lots of cool people. Exactly half an hours sleep before having to leave the hotel at 6.50 am to travel to Fukuoka and go straight to the gig and to work like the true professionals we are. Somewhere along the way we decide to form a crew band and call ourselves “Oki Watashi” which will probably mean nothing to you, but has great significance to all the Embrace crew.
The rest of the Japanese tour follows a similar pattern with more gigs in various places and I learn how to say “f**k you” in two different ways as well as “It’s your round” and many more useful sentences. So, before you can say “Chin Chin Burari” we’re back at home for a few days of rest before heading out again to Rock Europe.
Love Milky san x. |
