Back and Forth

Being back in The Netherlands, well...it takes some getting used to. Don't worry, this is the last dramatic line you'll hear me say for at least a while! It's particularly nice to be back and rehearse with the bands again, getting ready for shows and working on new stuff. I'm now checking out what I've written in Palermo, trying to figure out what's really there and making some improvements. This being away for a longer period has really helped finding a new approach to writing songs. I'm already planning the next trip. What else can I do? :-) If you're a songwriter, tell me, how do you find new approaches and ways of writing?

Maurizio asked me what my Palermo Top 5 is. I need some time to think about that. What I am sure of though, is that Palermo's a special place. It's going to be a lot of traveling back and forth in the future...See you there?!

All about the videos

From sunny Palermo still I'm greeting you! We've wrapped up the videoshoot for Homewrecker and it's been an exciting and intense experience. I'm dying to tell you all about it, but I don't want to give away too much too soon. We've been working with a great group including a few incredible actors (more about them soon). Check out Maarten J. Boer and Ewoud Bon working on set on these 2 pics.

Furthermore I've got some news. The video - by Turbo Turbo- for my song Crazy has been nominated for the Dutch Music Video Award- Shoot-me Festival! Congrats to Turbo Turbo and Terrence Sinclair for his amazing performance in it.

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

Ready To Go

After a few days in The Netherlands - including a lovely gig at Spijkenisse Festival and an inspiring rehearsal with The Mirror Conspiracy - we are now ready to go back to Sicily and shoot the video! First thing we're going to do when we land is visit Nino's Beach for a jamsession. Excellent opportunity for Maarten and Ewoud to check out the place before we're actually filming there tomorrow. Can't wait to get on that plane! Ooh, still gotta finish packing...

Cheers!!

Breaking Away

It's hot. It's sunny. Every single day! And I'm so used to it. :-) Our days here are laid-back no matter how much work we're doing on some of them. Still, I have to realize that we'll be taking a short break from Sicily soon, but I'm glad to say it's for a nice purpose - we're going to the Netherlands to perform at Spijkenisse Festival on Saturday. Soon after we'll be flying back to Palermo bringing with us director Maarten J. Boer (Rotterdam-based filmcompany Turbo Turbo) and Ewoud Bon (camera). They'll be shooting the music video for the new single Homewrecker! The beach bit will be shot at Nino's Beach in Cinisi, the place I mentioned before. I feel great about shooting it there, especially after meeting Nino earlier this week. Enough about the video now. Gotta leave something to your imagination, right?

I'm currently reading a funny and very interesting book that I found on the bookshelf in the apartment. It's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. Just thought I'd let you know.

Driving and Spotting

Today we're going to continue our drive across the island. We've started it yesterday by driving southwards from Palermo to Agrigento - from there it was on to the west where we had lunch in Sciacca (with amazing sea view). We're going to experience a lot more of the island today as we'll drive to the east and learn more about the Etna and its area.

Last night Marco and I had a great time with Maurizio and Andrea (both of them are running Visit Palermo) and their lovely daughter Martina in Cinisi where we checked out a bar at the beach where we might just shoot a part of the video. It's a cool place with a few unexpected elements as you can see in picture. So who knows...:-)

Now what are we still doing inside the house? Let's hit the road!

The Magic Rooftop that we are or are not stuck on.

I'm writing from our rooftop again. I know, it seems as if we're stuck on this little piece of Palermo. Well, believe me...we're not. Although maybe we should be, because somehow it leads to productivity (why am I suddenly obsessed with productivity? Unhealthy). Not only do songs that I'm happy with emerge on this terrace - ideas and plans for the video do too. We had a short get together here with Maurizio yesterday regarding the videoshoot. He has a location in mind for the party bit of the video. We're going to check it out very soon!

Last night Marco and I went over to Piazza San Francesco. A pretty piazza, that's obviously very well known by everyone here as the place was packed. Lovely atmosphere and delicious food at Antica Focacceria. Check out Marco looking relaxed and satisfied. :-)

P.S. Did I mention the rooftop's great for reading as well? Haruki Murakami's the word.

Just lazing around...

Getting things done isn't easy when there's so much to enjoy and the heat is getting to you. It did get to me today, in a good way. It felt absolutely wrong to do anything that didn't involve just lazing around and I wasn't going to fight nature. So I went into a state of extreme relaxation. The giant, impressive trees in Giardano Inglese turned out to be the perfect place to read, as well as a nice hiding place from the sun. Back in the apartment I fell on the bed and a few hours later I found out that siësta's are quite hard to come back from. Might not do that again. But I'm awake now and eager to start and complete the mission...the 2nd song.