Dean Friedman UK/Scotland/Ireland Tour 2008
Peekskill Coffee House Gig: Sunday, July 13 1:00pm
UK/Ireland Tour Kick-off a Week Away!
Hey Folks,
I just looked at the calendar and realized that the kick-off of my UK/Ireland tour is just about a week away. Yikes! I've still got a few zillion things to do before I leave - change my guitar strings, buy extra pics, learn my words, pack my gig-bag, sell a few thousand tickets... - but I wanted to send off one more email blast before hitting the road (so to speak... more like, 'flap my arms in the air', as I will be flying from NY to Ireland, to start off).
I'm really excited about all the dates, and especially looking forward to being in Edinburgh, again, during the Fringe Festival - Aug. 7, 8 & 9 at the Lot - it's always a blast!
I did want to answer some of the many queries you good folks have made about the tour itinerary, which typically went like this...
Question 1: Hey Dean, how come you're not playing a gig in my local community Theatre (insert name of your local venue here)? which is, literally, like only 2 minutes from my house - I can actually see it out my window as I'm typing this - and it'd be great if you came here to play! (as opposed to the venue I'm actually booked at which is only 20 minutes away.) Signed, Desperately trying to save on petrol.
Answer: Dear DTTSOP, Give me a *&@#% break! I'm flying a total of 12,000 miles (both legs of the tour) and driving another 5,000 miles over the course of 22 concert dates, spread out over two months. Gather up a bunch of your friends and carpool! They can all chip in for the gas and you'll wind up saving fifty pence. (grumble, rolling of eyes)
Question 2: Hey Dean, how come you never play a gig in Wales? (also substitute, LA, San Fransisco, Washington, anywhere on the west coast, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, France, the Netherlands, Florida... you get the idea). Signed, Feeling Neglected?
Answer: Dear FN, The reason I haven't booked a gig in Wales is because I've read the bible and I know all about what happened to Jonah. O.K. that was a really lame joke. Actually I like Wales a lot; it's a beautiful place, with friendly people. The real reason, folks, is that I've actually tried booking gigs in every one of those places (O.K. except for Hong Kong) but the harsh reality is I can't afford to lose thousands of dollars to do a one-off gig at a venue, in a remote territory, that won't pay a decent guarantee. Don't be insulted. It's just the economics. If you'd really, really like me to play a gig in your own backyard, I'd be happy to; it's easy, just go to the GIG section of my website www.deanfriedman.com , scroll down 'til you see the 'EVENTFUL - DEMAND IT' button and get a few hundred of your friends to do likewise. And I'll be there! ; -)
Just wanted to get that off my chest. ;-) I really do appreciate the sentiment, and the sincere invitations, but the truth is... booking these international tours, especially as an independent musician, is a lot more complicated than you might suspect. I do try... honest! Maybe I'll get there next year! Meanwhile, I hope y'all understand!
Hmmmm... what else can I complain about?...
Oh, yeah... Sam, what's a pair of wooden shoes doing in the back seat of my Ford Taurus, huh? And how come no one ever turns off the light in the bathroom? And where are my other pair of sunglasses. And who ate my vanilla Oreo cookies? And how'd you even find them, given that they were discretely hidden in a very safe place right next to my stash... HEY!, Wait a minute... Who dipped into my STASH??!!! #@%)*#(+@.
Sorry 'bout that. I guess all this packing and getting ready for the tour has got me a little stressed out.
I just need to calm down a little... I'll just get me some paper and roll a... HEY, WHAT THE *@#%&%*)!~ Who used up my last sheet of rolling paper???!!!!!!
And that's not the worst of it.
Last week I drove over to Bloom's Delicatessen to pick up some lox and potato knishes, etc... I walked up to the entrance only to be shocked at a sign on the door that read, 'CLOSED' We will miss you!
Before my eyes this delicious deli was being dismantled. Chairs carried out, boxes laden with stock.
I was thunderstruck.
If you are what you eat, I'm almost 25% Bloom's Delicatessen! Maybe more! Goodness knows, I could be the walking embodiment of Bloom's Delicatessen!!!
I was dumbfounded.
They'd been operating as recently as 9:00pm the night before. No warning. No advance notice.
Poof! They were gone.
I remain chagrined.
Anyway, best wishes, all you folks at Blooms. I'll sure miss you. Good luck wherever you wind up. Loved the kishkes.
Well... other than that, and your ordinary, run-of-the-mill aggravations, everything's fine here in Peekskill.
I'm scrambling to finish up the new BBC Radio Scotland series 'Dean Friedman's Real American Folk', before I fly out. I might just make it. The new series is scheduled to air in Scotland every Thursday evening at 8:00pm from Aug. 7 to September 11. It'll also stream on-line for a week, following each airdate, on the BBC Radio Scotland website http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioscotland. It's gonna be cool, so do check it out.
I guess that's about it for now.
Oh, yeah, just a reminder, if you're in the area, come stop by the Peekskill Coffee House, this Sunday afternoon, July 13th, 1:00pm, I'll be doing a warm-up gig for the tour, accompanied by my hardworking backup band, Hannah & Sam. It'll be fun and the coffee's terrrrrrifffffic!!!!! ( I just had some, which might explain the rest of this email!)
Take care of yourselves.
Oh, and don't forget to buy your tickets early! See you on the road.
Deano
UK/SCOTLAND/IRELAND GIGS:
July
22 ON SALE!Rosslare HarbourHotel RosslareORDER TICKETS
23 ON SALE!DublinLiberty Hall TheatreORDER TICKETS
25 ON SALE!East Kirkcarswell, ScotlandWickerman Festival ORDER TICKETS
27 ON SALE!GlasgowRenfrew FerryORDER TICKETS
August
1 ON SALE!St AndrewsInn at LathonesORDER TICKETS
7 ON SALE!EdinburghThe Lot (Grassmarket)ORDER TICKETS
8 ON SALE!EdinburghThe Lot (Grassmarket)ORDER TICKETS
9 ON SALE!EdinburghThe Lot (Grassmarket)ORDER TICKETS
30 ON SALE!Lanarkshire, ScotlandRetrofest ORDER TICKETS
October
12 ON SALE!TavistockThe WharfORDER TICKETS
14 ON SALE!PortsmouthCellars at EastneyORDER TICKETS
16 ON SALE!CanterburyCanterbury Festival ClubORDER TICKETS
17 ON SALE! Burgess HillMartlets HallORDER TICKETS
18 ON SALE!LondonUnion ChapelORDER TICKETS
20 ON SALE!Henley-on-ThamesCrooked BilletORDER TICKETS
21 ON SALE!Peterborough JUST ADDEDThe Broadway TheatreORDER TICKETS
22 ON SALE!WolverhamptonWulfrun Civic HallORDER TICKETS
23 ON SALE!LeicesterThe MusicianORDER TICKETS
24 ON SALE! Bury (Manchester)The MetORDER TICKETS
25 ON SALE! Liverpool The Cavern ClubORDER TICKETS
26 ON SALE! Leeds Otley CourthouseORDER TICKETS
28 ON SALE!Isle of WightQuay Arts CentreORDER
TICKETS
copyright (c) 2008 Dean Friedman Productions