Boston, USA: Give Your Special Someone A Peasant CD For The Holiday!! Just one email and you're shopping is DONE. Why fight with crowds at the Mall. RELAX!! Enjoy some time off. We have three different CDs plus many different shirts. Go to CDBaby.com (CDs Only) or me at petecassani@yahoo.com for CDs/T-shirts! We have tons of great shirts! That's it! Commercial over.

Am working on a short one back to Europe. Made many friends on this last one and would like to return soon! Meanwhile it is good to be home. Snow has fallen and it's already cold but the New England sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is out and brilliant.

In other news, I made the centerfold of The Noise, The Monthly Music Magazine of Boston. Here it is:

http://www.thenoise-boston.com/content/blogcategory/17/38/

Slow month or did you really miss me?? Regardless, I am truly honored. Thank you T Max.Thank you Noise. And THANK YOU Catherine for taking that incredible shot!! Who the hell is that guy?? It's good to be home.

6 december 2007

Boston, USA: We, The Peasants, no longer work with Gaby Schwarz. We have absolutely nothing to do with her. If you are trying to reach us for the future, call Nils Bloch at 0162.6276.300. You can also email me directly at petecassani@yahoo.com. Thanks!!

30 november 2007

USA: Whew!!! What a tour!!! Very tired. Very happy to be home, even if the gov't still sucks. Everyone is counting the days till Bush is out of office but the damage has been done and the future don't look good. Still I am glad to be home. Need to sleep for about a week. Many things happened on this tour that I did NOT write about because it would've been dangerous for me. The jury is still out whether I reveal these things. Some really unbelievable shit took place with the booking agent. We'll see. My Gibson SG is still over there in her possession. May never see it again. Like I said, we'll see. For now I am just really grateful to be home.

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! To all the people that put me up in their houses. Took me home. Fed me. Came to the shows. Bought CDs! Bought T shirts! Fed me in their restaurants (Einstein's/Ulm). Thanks Thomas!!! Said hello. Said Hang in there. Said ANYTHING!!!

Special Thanks: First and Foremost!!! ARNO and Linda of SIDEKICK BOB!!!! Without this amazing couple and the formidable talents of Arno there is NO WAY The Peasants would be able to come to Europe and play for you!!! No Way!!! Nils, Steffi, Kai, for putting me up and keeping me sane!!! Thomas and Susanna (MissesWonderful) Yes! you ARE!!! Tobi and Christian, and all the kids at The Seewald in Horb!!! Long Live Iron Maiden!!! For Peter and his partner at Gleis 3 in Aitrach!!! For that incredible crowd of people in Schweinfurt when the gig shit the bed!!! Thank you to The Bodega Bar, The Tapas, The Bastion, The TRUCKER in Pijnacker Rock City, Esmeralda and Eve for coming to The Memphis and cooking me Dinner!!! Thank you Hedi, Joszi, Sandra, Steve, Matt and Peter of The Steve Shuffert Band, Thomas, Matthias, Nadine, The Fat One, The Cute Blonde Going To Ireland and everyone else at The Mighty Trucker. Can't say enough about Holland, Pijnacker and The Trucker. And what about Splotsz, Orkz, Tilburg and Amsterdam!!! What about Cheap Thrills, The Renderings, The Rock and Roll Family of Deventer, especially Jerry!!! What about all of you!!!! Thank you!!!

And a very, very special thanks to my good friend and associate, Ed, Webmaster Extraordinaire, who makes this website, this news, this awesome Internet presence possible. THANK YOU BROTHER!!!! I gotta get some sleep.... thank you.....thank you...

25 november 2007

Live MusikClub Seewald, Horb, Germany: Last show. Tons of local musician kids showed for me. Iron Maiden Fans! And Parents too!! Great audience! Played well. Really starting to fly around on that Martin guitar. Wish I had a good recording of this show. Anyway, it was the best place in the world to end the tour. Saw folks from first show we did a year ago @ The Rainbow! Many T-shirts lighter after this one. Glad to end on a high note. Glad to be going home. Thank you Seewald!!! Thank you Tobi, Christian, Simone, Stephan, Hedi, Esmeralda, Christoph... you know who you are!!!

24 november 2007

Aitrach, Germany: Third time back to this place in Aitrach. Really a sports bar run by two very cool guys. Make great food and serve ALOT of drinks. Show was free to public last night and place was packed. Saw alot of faces from when The Peasants played here a month ago. Did three sets. Great audience. Very loud, very drunk. Friday night in a Sports Bar ... only here it's Soccer. They like the clubs in Munich and Stuttgart, two closest cities.

Am getting very pumped to be nearing the end, basting this turkey and putting it in the oven for good, so to speak. Last show TONIGHT in The Black Forest. Back to a place The Peasants had a great night about a month ago. Deep in the woods, a community run music hall in Seewald. Tons of kids. Heavy into good old Metal. Many Iron Maiden fans. Will play LOUD acoustic, I guess. What else can I do?? Looking forward to seeing Toby and Crew again.

23 november 2007

Yea another cancelled show. The Turkish Clubowner was a piece of shit after all. So that's how it is with the Turkish people. Hopefully they are not all scumbags but definately this guy. Figures Gaby books a show with the biggest scumbag in Krumbach.

Wandering the streets wondering what to do with yet another free night in a foreign country I met a crazy german guy. Army vet. Lots of knives. Likes American Indians. Loves rock and roll. Part Hungarian. Likes to drink and fight. Hung out with me all night. I crashed at his apartment. Went to his mother's this morning and had breakfast. It was really great. She had a kid by an American GI. Very sweet woman. Worried about her son but what can you do. It's that hot Hungarian blood boiling in his veins. We cannot help our natures. Sometimes we are slaves to the genes we've been given. Nice guy though. Took me under his wing. Gave him a T-shirt with the Statue of Liberty Slut on it. He loves me now. Is coming to Horb. We shall see. So that was my night. How was yours???

22 november 2007

part 2

Krumbach, Germany: Unfuckinbelievable!!! Another fuckin cancellation. Club closed down. Scumbag clubowner didn't bother to call us and say anything. Showed up for nothing. My apologies to anyone who showed up. Should've been at The Green Tree last night. Or go to Aitrach tomorrow. Sorry. German clubs kinda suck, don't they? So sorry. Out of my control. Still here, trying to turn lemons into lemonade. Peace!

part 1

Memmingen, Germany: Good show last night at The Green Tree. Good audience. Cool clubowner, Christoph, who took care of me with food and all. Great staff. Got good sound in there too. Utilized a little slapback for a rockabilly song. An old dog CAN learn new tricks. Three shows left. All business.

21 november 2007

Memmingen, Germany: Drove back from Holland. 7 Hours. I dunno how many kilometers...ALOT!!! Filled the tank up. 112 euros. That's about $165. Crazy. And that's the cheap stuff. Diesel is cheaper than regular gasoline here. Allegedly dirtier too. I dunno.

Holland was great. Always great to see my friends in Holland. Listening crowds. Rock Loving Crowds. Buy tons of merch. Pay great. Food great! Crashed at the Rock and Roll family's casa close to Deventer. Jerry, his girl and I hung out a bit the next day then I drove, drove, drove!!!! Stopped in Wurzburg. Beautiful German city. Now back in Memmengen! Waiting for the show tonight at Green Tree. Posters are up. Hopefully we get some folks in on a Wednesday. I'm sitting in an internet cafe next to the international phone booths and I can hear an Italian girl going OFF on somebody... but it's Italian... it always sounds like they're arguing but they're really just talking!! Beautiful language. Anywayzzzzzzz spending alot of time talking to myself in the van, walking the streets of beautiful cities, lost.. wandering around europe. I think it is time for me to come home! 4 to go!!!

19 november 2007

Deventer, NL: Great show tonight at Backstage in Deventer. Worth the seven hour drive from Bavaria. Eight Balled Jerry (Rock n Roll Family) did support. I did headline. Great crowd for a Sunday night. Incredible sound. The Backstage always has great sound and tonight Eric was spinning so it was Godlike. Did nice long acoustic set. Played all the hits. Deventer came out for me bigtime. Owner of Backstage, can"t write but his name sounds like the Dutch equivalent of Moran, did me right. Hooked me up with a last minute gig, great dinner and good guarantee plus a ton of people bought merch. Great gig. Thank you HOLLAND!!!

Go see Arno and Linda tomorrow then back to Germany for Four in a Row!!! Nearing the end. Almost home. It has been a long tour. Started back in September, when it was still warm and summery. It snows every day now in Bavaria.

Stopped off in Recklinghausen to chill out with my man Nils and his main squeeze Steffi yesterday. It was a much needed breather. Those two were just what the doctor ordered. We set things straight and now every little thing gonna be alright. Must crash. Peace!

17 november 2007

Recklinghausen, DE: Stopped off to see Nils on the way to Holland. Just drove 366 miles. In five hours. Feels faster than it was. Still it is fun to drive as fast as you can on the Autobahn!!! I will miss that!!! What the hell is 180 km per hr anyway?

Good show last night at Eddy`s BaRock. Saw some kids from when the band was there. Good crowd. Eddy treated me very well and his beautiful girlfriend is going to look incredible in that Peasant Tee... as ... er she is already incredible. Anyway it was a good show. Getting the hang of the acoustic thing. Am very tired...

16 november 2007

Asbach, Germany: Tiny village outside Munich. Driving along small country roads surrounded by fields of snow and ice covered trees. A Bavarian Winter Wonderland. Never would've found the place without the GPS (Global Positioning Device). Best investment this tour.

Arrive at Old Fashioned Restaurant. Basically a big Farmhouse with a small Dining Room heated with a Wood Burning Stove. Patrons arrive, ate dinner and listen to me do my thing for a few hours. Really nice people. Run by a family. Brother, Sister, Husband. Musicians and Actors running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. They love The Who!!! They want to hear Bob Dylan, Neil Young, House of The Rising Sun...!!! They love the original stuff and buy discs!!! Really sweet little gig. Middle of nowhere. Nice!! Slept on the floor upstairs. Head stopped working middle of the night but it was ok. Dinner was great too!!!

Tonight I go back to Eddy's BaRock Cafe, a small place in Babenhausen where just a month ago The Peasants raised the roof. Curious to see who shows up. Then back up to Holland!!!

14 november 2007

Snowing alot here in Bavaria. Am one half hour from The Alps. Last day off. Killing time many ways. Last night went to my fave local Italian restaurant. Brought the Acoustic in and cut a deal. Played a bunch of songs for the help and they fed me a killer Penne Alfredo Carbonara!!!! Bene!!!! These guys come from the Adriatic Side of Italy, just down the coast from Pesaro, where my Grandmother came from. My Grandfather was from Milan. Love Italians. Love the language too. Manuela, the beautiful 22 yr old waitress keeps asking me why I'm not married? Do I like kids? Of course I do. Is that all women care about?? Why aren't you married? Why don't you get married? I say let everybody else get married. I say "Go the other way. Do Not get married. Do NOT have kids. Let everyone else do that. Still it was nice. The Padre is a huge Beatles freak. Doesn't speak a word of English but knows all the tunes. The Beatles... International.

So tomorrow we start shows again. Thurs and Fri playing then Saturday I drive up to Nils in Recklinghausen on the way to Holland. Been an awful slow Acoustic Tour riddled with cancellations but nothing to be done about it apparently. Seems this is business as usual. What do they care that you fly over here for thousands of dollars to play for them. Fuck ME!!! Still it's great to be here. Had another killer swim today. It's the little things that make you happy. A chocolate bar. A swim. A smile. Could use a good song. Am in the godawful corporate Internet cafe again!! Where do they get this crap?? Peace!!!!!!!!!

13 november 2007

Schweinfurt, DE: Cancelled. So far on this tour we have had SEVEN Cancellations but I am very happy for the shows that have happened. Audiences have been incredible. Whether 5 people or 500, there is always love between us. I find the german people to be very receptive to the style of music I play. I don't know why this is but I am glad of it.

In Schweinfurt there was much misunderstanding about the actual show so we opted out of the whole thing. The good people at The Tapas Bar in Schweinfurt were kind enough to entertain ME for once. The owner fed me some INCREDIBLE Tapas food and everyone was tres sympatico!! I want to send some very warm thanks out to the good people of Schweinfurt. You know who you are!!! XOXOXOXOXOX (Hugs and Kisses)

Today, Tuesday, woke up and went for one long, ass kicking swim. I had a lap lane all to myself. Swam so much almost made myself sick. Was great! Have one more day off then shows on Thursday, Friday (Bavaria) and Sunday (Holland). Then back down here for four in a row the following week and home sweet home!!!

10 november 2007

Gig tonight SNOWED OUT. Isny! Irish Pub! One of the best gigs on this tour. Snowed out! Another kick in the balls. Just keep coming. Another night off. As if I need another night off. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Gig last night was good. Nice little club. Great people. Bunch of old punks. Knew I was in the right place when I heard Radio Birdman playing. Great crowd. Even did a singalong to Out of My Control. Fuckers were dying to sing. Who knew? Tonight, who knows? Driving back to Schweinfurt tomorrow. Scrambling for some last minute gigs. Got a new show added for next Friday, Nov 16th at Eddy's BaRock Cafe. It's a return engagement. The Peasants ripped the roof off this place last month. I return for a quieter, gentler evening solo acoustic.

9 november 2007

Another cancellation. A Saturday. The clubowner is dying of cancer but says I am welcome to come back in the Spring if I am back in the area. Have a feeling she will have a miraculous recovery once Nov. 9th passes. I hope so. Don't want anyone dying of cancer on my watch but I'm starting to feel like the substitute teacher. I have heard every fuckin excuse in the world.

Had a good show last night. Big, cavernous cafe with Cathedral-esque ceiling. My voice sounded HUGE. Played a great show to whoever was there. Made some fans. A German businessman in his beautiful suit bought two discs. Two Football fans bought everything! A punk rock kid showed up too!! Out here in the middle of nowhere. I don't really know what the hell I'm doing out here but as long as people show up to listen, it makes it ok!

Woke up to huge flakes of snow blizzarding down on the little village of Lauben. Todd would've loved it. Living and Hating LA as he does. Missing the change of seasons. Missing snow of all things. I guess pretty soon we'll all be missing snow, ice, cold weather in general. Anyway it was cool.

If they don't cancel, I have a few good shows coming up. Just trying to get through all the loads of downtime. Thank GOD for the pool. They even gave me my own lane today. Cheers!

5 november 2007

Memmingen, DE: Went to the pool today. Total anarchy again. Very surprised at The Germans. For an orderly people, they have no rules in the pool. Its a goddamn free for all. Almost took out a pregnant woman. No Lanes. Just swim wherever you want. OK!!! Two more days off to get thru then the shows start up again. Playing the hell out of the acoustic. Diggin that thing more and more. Mebbe I'll become a Folkie. Alot easier than dragging around a band and paying thru the nose to play.... but way more FUN!!! CIAO!!!

4 november 2007

Memmingen Internet Place: 4 bucks an hour on this sucker. Killing time in the closest city till showtime Thursday. Got Four days off to go. Found pool in town but was too late to get in today. Weather is wet, cool, grey, autumn. Beautiful countryside. Try to stay out of my head.

Loving the Martin Acoustic. Sounds incredible in Lauben Farmhouse Kitchen. Beating the hell out of my fingers and loving it. Watching lots of MI 5 episodes. Thanks Catherine. Mebbe throw in Goodfellas tonight. "What do you mean, you think Im funny? Funny like how?"

Miss Todd and Nils. Miss everybody. Guess thats good since I'm always crying for my precious space. And sure I'll be doing that again soon. Wish I had more to write. Guess I don't. Maybe next time. Happy Sunday!!!! Go to Church or somethin'!! Jeezuz!!

3 november 2007

Mindelheim: The Style Bar and Cafe. Same place we did the last minute pick up gig for 50 euros when our regular show got cancelled. Really a fancy pizza joint/board game place where german kids in designer jeans can listen to Rap lite and drink. Not really a place to go hear music. Still a mess of people showed up for me and made it GREAT!!! Esmeralda and Eve, Misses Wonderful and her crew, and of course Tess from Taiwan and her brother Pfeifi. Made it cool to be there. Otherwise it was like playing in a sports bar where all the people would rather be watching a game.

Now the daunting task of five days off. Try not to go insane out in the middle of nowhere. Am definately NOT a country boy. Feels alot like the time I took off across country on a two month solo acoustic tour that sometimes had me driving 1,000 miles a day. That was nuts. This is a little more relaxed but still way too much downtime. Just wish I knew someone around here for a few days. Oh well. Maybe I will learn to meditate or something.... then again... maybe not.

After this break I have a string of great shows!!! Really looking forward to it. Last night at my premiere solo acoustic outing with the new Martin Acoustic guitar, Pre amp and PA System I was a bit baffled. Never really had to mix an acoustic in a PA for an entire gig. Too many knobs. Too many choices. Not sure how to get it to sound. Still screwing around with reverb. How much effect to use. How to make the guitar sound crisp without taking peoples heads off. Technical bullshit for which I never paid much attention. Much easier with a Marshall and an Gibson SG. You basically turn it on, turn it up and GO!!! Will figure it out. Maybe over the next few days. Peace to you all out there. Pls write! I could really use it. petecassani(at)yahoo.com

1 november 2007

Got another cancellation. Saturday in Spraichingen is NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Just spoke to the club owners wife last night and its off. I dont know what happened or why and I just cant afford to care anymore. Hopefully that is the last cancellation. That makes two cancels in two days. Not a good sign. Was really looking forward to doing this acoustic part. Bought a new guitar especially for the occasion. Hope it doesnt fall apart. Would be a big disappointment to me and alot of folks we saw on the Band part. Keep my fingers crossed.

In Other News, went walking in the Bavarian Woods today. Beautiful sunny day. Real dull in this little village but it is breathtakingly beautiful at the same time. Saw lots of kids trick or treating last night. Reminded me of home. Now that Todd and Nils are gone its real lonely around here. Just holding out for the first show tomorrow. Dont seem to have alot of friends around here.

Loving that new Martin Acoustic Guitar. It is incredible. Easy to play and sounds gorgeous. Found a Bathhouse to go swimming. Has a pool, waterfalls, hottub, steambath. Been there a few times. Billy and I went last tour. Took Todd on this one. Went tonight and the woman at the desk was trying to tell me that it was .....Nude Bathing Night!!!

Every Thursday night. 8 to 10 pm. Unfortunately, I couldnt get past my uptight American upbringing. While I would love to see the beautiful german girls in their birthday suits the thought of me flapping around poolside was just too much. I am definately uptight when it comes to that. There are some things even I wont do.

So here I am, in Illertissen, at an Internet Cafe listening to Rap music. I must say this music is MUCH better than the awful commercial Country crap they play at the Memmingen Internet place. Younger crowd here. I guess the German Youth like American Gangsta rap!!!
So anyway am looking forward to the first show. Hope to see some friendly faces!!!

So there it is. Oh yea, wrote a little song in the kitchen today. Good acoustics in there. All My Love To All Of YOU!!!!!!!

26 october 2007

Wangen, Germany: Last night was the Last Night of our 24 show European Tour as The Peasants. Though Todd almost died the night before from Asthma, he got a reprieve for a few hours and was able to rock the shit out of the Bodega Bar in Wangen. Been hearing about this place for a year now. It was pretty good. They only have foreign bands. Alot of American groups. Saw Todd Thibaud plays there as well as whatshisface from The Georgia Satellites. A few others I dont remember. Mostly blues!!!

Charging 13 euros at the door, about, I dunno, 18 bucks?? We got paid pretty good for once. It was great!!! Beat the shit out of these people. Place was pretty packed. Clubowner was cool. Fed us real good. The Germans Loved it. Prolly thinking Thank God its not another shitty fuckin blues band!!

So it is over. 24 Shows. Great times with two guys I love dearly. Tomorrow I put Todd on the plane for Flaming Los Angeles, his newfound Asthma will hopefully not kill him when he gets off the plane. LA really sucks when it comes to breathing, especially now that it is on fire. Maybe the kids who set those fires had the right idea.

After we put Todd on the plane I drive Nils back to Recklinghausen, a poor, working class area in the industrial center of Northern Germany. Many unemployed Coal Miners!! Nils comes from that. Has no way home if I dont take him. Planning for this tour did not work out too well but we are making the best of it, turning lemons into Lemonade. Sorry to bitch so much. This IS what I love to do. Last night was inFUCKINcredible. We did two sets and a SHITLOAD of encores. Many, many encores. The people here in Germany really do love rock and roll. They try to put us in the box but like that they cant. We do it all. Punk, Metal, Rock, Swing, Latin, Ballads but mostly ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next Thursday I start the Solo Acoustic Tour. Psych!!! Peace!!! Fuck The War!!!!!!!!

26 october 2007

Aitrach, Germany: Small club. Great crowd. Sold bunch of cds. If it werent for that we would be broke. Guarantees very small. Barely covering costs. Trying to make it thru. Just want to finish the shows we said we would do. The Peasants never cancel.

Strange world. California is burning on CNN. And everyone is obsessed with sports. The world is spinning out of control in an orgy of violence and people just want to tune it out. Unless you actually live in one of these countries that are being destroyed, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, you/we dont really have to think about it. We can think about the Red Sox or some Football team. Sad...

We continue to wow these little German clubs every night. At this rate, however, I dont know if we can ever afford to return. I finally figured it out. It costs about 2500 euros a week to drive around and play shows in Europe at the bare minimum. That is about, I dunno, a little over $3,000. I can assure you we are not making anywhere close to that but thank GOD I brought T-shirts and CDs with me.

And am really looking forward to the Acoustic Tour though some of those clubs are questionable. Same old story. Killer band, questionable shows. A rudderless ship in a foreign place, plowing ahead, damn the torpedoes!!!! And you know what? I wouldnt trade it for anything.

Last night we played a great show with two sets plus encores. We brought the PA System and converted this little sports bar into a Rock and Roll Arena for a few hours. They fed us some incredible food, paid us a little money and bought our stuff, hoped we would come back, probably knew we would not. I really like these Germans. They are nice people. And they really do appreciate good rock and roll. That is all. Peace!!!

25 october 2007

Worgl, Austria: Great show last night. Great audience!!! Up in the Austrian Alps, near the German border. Govt funded Club w/huge stage and great sound. Every Wednesday night is new band night. Its Free. So everyone knows to come. Nobody knows who the band is but comes hoping for the best. Soundman said The Peasants were one of the best bands they have seen in a long time. A lott shit comes thru, he said.
Only wanted 45 min set but we wanted to play all night. Did 5 encore songs. All the kids bought stuff. Most merch sold thus far on tour is this place, Komma, in Worgl. Beautiful pension up in the mountains w/gorgeous views of The Alps!!! Tonight we return to Gleis in Aitrach. Tiny club I played w/Billy Close last tour. We signed the wall. Great crowd. Looking forward to it. One down, three to go. How bout those Red Sox? And California looks very hot this time of year? Oh yea, and George Bush is still the biggest asshole on the planet!! No health care for children. Asshole.

24 october 2007

Memmingen, Germany: Killing time in an Internet Cafe. We drive to Austria today for the first of the four final shows!!! Had a great day off. Went swimming, took the band out to dinner in a nice Italian place and watched Godfather 2... well half of it anyway. Merci Encore, Catherine!!! C´est tres bien!!!

Things continue to get sorted out, analyzed and discarded re. touring Europe. A shitload of clubs want us but the money does not cover the minimum expenses. Those who know me know it is not because I am flippant with the cash. One thing my father taught me was Money is a Tool. You use it to do what you need to do.

So we have four shows left. One in Austria and the rest in Germany. Upon completion I put Todd on a plane for LA and drive Nils back to the Turkish Ghetto. Then I do a month long Solo Acoustic Tour. See how that goes. Was figuring out the money for it last night and getting bummed out. Good thing I bought a belt yesterday. I will just keep tightening it till I get home.

23 october 2007

Lauben, Germany: Second day off in a row. Last night was first night we were not in a club. Watched The Godfather. Thanks Catherine!! It was GREAT to see American Mafia Dons again. What an incredible movie.

Last week of shows was a big zero. A few clubs cancelled. A few did not pay anything. Did a Benefit Show for nobody that benefitted nobody. Reminds me of a saying. Let no act of kindness go unpunished. Dont really believe that but you know what I mean. Pretty much spent the entire week playing for nothing. Sometimes this happens but on the road in another country it is deadly. We have lost a ton of money again. Same old song and dance.

Thing is... the audiences have been incredible. We always sell lots of cds and t-shirts to whoever is at the club. We make fans in the most unlikely places. The band is Ferociously tight. When things go wrong, we just get real mad and pour it into the music. We have played some incredible shows in clubs that were either empty, not paying us anything or full of people who have never seen a rock band and could care less BUT we always make fans.

The other night we played in a Cafe that has never had a rock band and probably never should HOWEVER one kid saw us there and called all his friends. They all came swooping down on this club and stayed all night with us, buying t-shirts, cds, all that.. so it is never a complete waste... just really expensive for us. So nothing has changed. Peace...

18 october 2007

Wiesbaden, Germany: Scumbag club owner in Idar Oberstein cancelled gig when we arrived yesterday. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with no gig. Club owner a bit slow. Looks like Lurch from The Adams Family. Does not know how to run a club. Crying poverty but nobody was holding a gun to his head when he booked the gig. So we move on. That is the way. Some good, some bad.

Tonight we start the first of five in a row. Beautiful city, Wiesbaden. This area, around the Rhine River, is really gorgeous, especially now with all the leaves turning for Autumn. Went to the oldest, undamaged Castle in the Rhine Valley yesterday. The Markesburg Castle, named after St. Mark. Atop a hill w-an ancient German village below. Stayed at a cute pension in the town. Great day off.

Three days off in a row has been good cuz soon after we left Holland both Nils and Todd got real sick. Todd developed Asthma soon after moving to Los Angeles. The air there is real shit. He had a little too much smoke on this tour and one night in Groningen he came close to suffocating on his own mucus. It was pretty scary for him. So the last three days have been good to get well. Looking forward to playing tonight!!!

15 october 2007 (part2)

Still in Groningen, NL: Squatting is The Law here in Holland. If a house or building is vacant, you can break the door down and claim it. First thing you do after you break down the door and claim the house is you call the Police!!! Then they come and witness that you have taken possession of an unused building. That makes it official. As long as you stay there and protect it, it is yours.

If the owner of the building tries to break in, you can have him arrested for trespassing!!! If he hires goons to throw you out, you can fight them off and call the Police. When the Police come, they will arrest the goons!!! God I Love Holland!!!

This place Orkz used to be the biggest squat in the world. I'm getting a history lesson from the bartender. Thought I would pass it on to my homeys back in the Evil Empire where you would be shot, beaten and/or thrown in jail for breaking into an abandoned house. Definately not protected by the Police!!! What a different world Europe is from The USA. Old Europe Indeed. Looking better all the time, isn´t it??? Peace!!!

15 october 2007

Groningen, NL: ORKZ is a giant complex of buildings that was originally an unoccupied bldg. Back in the 70s a group of people squatted in this bldg and turned it into a place where artists could live. It's great. Last night they fed us great food and put us up in the new band bedrooms. We played two sets to a great crowd. Stayed an extra day as we now have two days off. Head to Germany tomorrow.

City of Groningen is beautiful. Tons of young people. College town I think. Big old Churches and Cobblestone Streets everywhere. An old Fort that is now a Modern Prison. Thousands of Cyclists. More bikes than cars. A very cool, more relaxed way of life. Outdoor Cafes everywhere!!! Beautiful!!!

14 october 2007

Splotsz, Holland: Packed House. Dutch Rock and Rollers! We played middle slot to massive crowd. All Girl Rock Band Cheap Thrills opened up. Great energy. Cute Guitar Player. Good energy. Only together a year, I think.

We did all the fast shit for our slot. They fuckin loved it!!! Killer Audience. Super appreciative. Encores! Sold a load of stuff!!! Really great people. And the club was ALL VOLUNTEER, Not For Profit, run by Local musicians from other bands. Did an incredible job. Sound was massive too. We didn't do a soundcheck or anything but from the first chord of the first song the soundman had it dialed in 100% so it was an onslaught. Thank You Splotsz!!! Thank you Cheap Thrills!!

Headlining band was Spinal Tap without the humor. Actually had a Rider with the biggest load of pompous bullshit. Didn't talk to anyone. Used our equipment but never said thanks. All forgiveable if they were actually good but when they got up to play they were the worst band I have ever heard in Holland. If they weren't such assholes I would've felt sorry for them. Hopefully they broke up forever after the show last night. Now we're off to Groningen. Last show in The Netherlands. This has been our best tour thru Holland so far. It just keeps getting better and better.

13 october 2007

Pijnacker, NL: Most kick ass crowd of tour so far!!! Holy SHIT!!! Pijnacker Rock City is always a Ripping Good Time for us but last night was just off the fuckin charts!! Packed Room! Three Bands!! Great Sets!! Raucous Beer Drenched Affair. Much Audience Participation! Stage had a striptease act. One of the strippers ended up w/my brand new George Bush/International Terrorist shirt... and that was my last clean one.

Saw many old, cracked and faded Peasant T-shirts in the crowd. We've been coming here since the beginning in 2001. Pijnacker for The Peasants is like Detroit was for KISS when they were first starting out. The People always go nuts for us. Really great. Tonight is supposed to be another good club too. Sunny here in Holland. Gonna go for another forced Peasant march around the er... ah Dikes?

11 october 2007

Delftgauw, Holland: 2 am. Still coughing. Almost done though. Played in Tilburg at the 013 Club for second time. Huge modern place. Gov't funded. Three Bands. Got to see The Uncommon Men From Mars again. We played w/them last Fall when we were in France. They are a very tight French Skate Punk band. Great show!! Kicked ass. Then an English band called Pickled Dick. Great too!!! And we got paid. Must be in Holland. Some people drove 2.5 hours to see us in this place. Wow! Europe is cool.

10 october 2007

Went over to Feedback Music Store yesterday. Saw Ed, our awesome Webmaster and Music Store Connection. He hooked us up. Feedback is like Guitar Center in Holland but with cooler stuff. Orange amps! Then last night Arno took us to see The Stranglers, one of the first punk bands from England. 1974. They did an acoustic set. Highly unusual for them. It was great except that every fuckin person in there was smoking and I have a cold.

Every time I come to Holland I get a cold. Well not last Spring but pretty much every other time. We had two days off so I've been able to be sick w/out shows. Tonight we start again in Amsterdam at a cool Squat turned into a hotel, club, restaurant for musicians called Winston something. They do that alot over here. It's about the artists, not the big businesses. Weird.

8 october 2007

Delftgauw, The Netherlands: Back at Arno and Linda's (Sidekick Bob). Drove here from Germany last night after gig. Took six hours but was worth it. Decided not to stay at club in Erlangen after Todd saw a Rat run across his bed.

The club was a cool, below ground Stone Cellar type place. Run very much like a US Club. No guarantee, no promotion, no audience and little to no accommodations but the people that were there were very appreciative. We played a great set to those three and hit the road. Arno set up Five killer shows here in Holland. Two days off and then we hit it again!!!

7 october 2007

Kirchheim-Teck, Germany: Played in Torture Chamber last night in a Fort built in the 1500s. Sound was surprisingly incredible. We could hear everything perfectly standing in this Stone Dungeon. Audience was going wild right from the start. They were incredible!!! Best crowd so far. Every night the same thing. Audiences go wild and want more songs. Very enthusiastic, appreciative crowds here in Germany. The night before it was the same thing. And I think the night before that too!!! We always do a bunch of encores. Its really great!!

The Fort folks put us up in a killer Hotel too!!! Beautiful. Even had a tour guide for us. He took us out to dinner and gave a little history lesson about the town. They have been invaded many times over the centuries. The Spanish, The Russians, The Austrians... probably The French in there somewhere too. All that war has made them very enlightened. They build houses that are 100% naturally powered. No gas, oil or electricity. All solar and natural water energy. And it is no big deal. You know that will never happen in the United States. They would kill anyone who started building shit like that although I hear George Bush and Dick Cheney have energy efficient houses. Not for the masses though. They need to PAY.

Everyone pretty much agrees over here that George Bush is a fuckin Moron and nobody can understand how the American People allow him to rule over the most powerful country in the world. I try to tell them we have nothing to do with it. America is not a democracy. It is a corporation run by Oil Companies and Defense Industries... just like Eisenhower said in 1960. If we didnt watch out, a thing called the Military Industrial Complex would take over the United States and run things. He was right.

The Tale of Damaged Goods Dave!!!

Met a guy named Dave in Schweinfurt the other night. Chubby Mexican American guy from the US Army base nearby. He just got back from 14 months in Iraq. Had 40 days to go before he was out of the Army. He walked in and sat down next to the hottest girl. She left as soon as she could. Anyway, we immediately sympathized with him surviving Iraq and all. He started telling about all his near misses with death and of the many, many American soldiers in his unit that got blown up, burnt alive, shot...etc. Then he started bragging about the people he killed and he started to disgust me.

As the night progressed, Dave revealed his desire to basically fuck anything that had breasts and was working the band for free drinks. Started showing photos of his various sexual conquests. Tried to manipulate the band into going on patrol with him. We said no thanks. Damaged Goods Dave. Another casualty of the Iraq War. Soon to be returning home to America. Probably return to Law Enforcement, his job of 10 years before going to Iraq. Another crazy War Damaged guy with a gun and a badge, free to shoot, rape and drink his way around Texas.... Yea, Texas! That is where he is from. Like Malcolm X would say, Another case of the chickens coming home to roost. Soon Dave will probably be Sheriff of some small town. Welcomed back as a War Hero for the people he killed. By the way, the people Dave killed were Iraqis living in their own country fighting an illegal occupation.

I remain disgusted with our Illegal occupation of Iraq and yearn for the day when the Iraqis kick the United States out. They have every right to kill every American Soldier and CONTRACTOR (read MERCENARY) sent there. Every right!! Just as Americans have every right to shoot people who invade America. Nobody has invaded America in over 200 years so you gotta wonder what the fuck is our problem!?!?!?
One more show in Germany tonight and we are off for two days. Then we start Five in a row in Holland, our Home Away From Home!!!!

Peace!!!

4 october 2007

Schweinfurt, Germany: Show #5 last night was in Hungarian Style club. Tiny. Tons of famous people have played there as well as alot of the American bands that tour over here. Saw a Mezz sticker. Tiny stage. Well attended. Lost about 10 pounds sweating. Did three sets. Band starting to feel really fuckin tight. Todd locking in w Nils and me. This is up North.

We spent the first 4 shows down in the South, in Bavaria, close to our bookin agents house. It was comfortable but it is nice to finally be out on the road. We get better every night once we are out and playing every night. Voice holding out better this time too. Might be those voice warmups Todd showed me. Who the fuck knows. I am the worst singer in this business and have ALOT of bad habits so I am just grateful to be able to speak at the end of a gig.

We play here in Schweinfurt tonight. Schwein... you know, PIG!!! And they have big plastic pig statues all over the place. Germany has been beautiful. Weather and people just sweet as hell. Night before last we were down near Switzerland in a place called Babenhausen. Tiny, tiny coffeeshop type place. Could barely squeeze in there. Played a few sets and were getting no real reaction. Around Midnight the people started going crazy. We had to do a shitload of encores and even repeated a few but it was great to finally get them!! I guess they were not drunk enough!! Didn`t know what to make of us. Not really a coffeeshop band and we don`t play any polkas.

The house down in Lauben where we stay is beautiful. Everyone has their own room. You can see The Alps faintly outlined in the distance from this house which is surrounded by fields of corn, wheat, cows and horses. Real farms. Small. Owned by regular folks. No agribusinesses. And it is breathtakingly beautiful. Nice to get out of the Evil Empire and see there is a whole other world out there!!!

30 september 2007

Have limited access to computer right now. Got here to Germany last week. Saw a homeopath about my fucked up body. There is hope. Picked up Nils in Recklinghausen and Todd in Munich airport. Practiced two days and did first three shows. Tore finger and throat up already but have two days to mend. Standard procedure. Todd is cracking us up. Lotta laughs. Went to the Baths today. First day off. Bavaria is beautiful. Already had a few incredible schnitzels. Will write more later.

21 september 2007

Well I am in Germany now. Went to a homeopath today. Both guitars made it safe! Feeling a bit out of it. Everyone speaks GERMAN here!!! Going to pick up Nils tomorrow in Recklinghausen. Looking forward to seeing him again!!

18 september 2007

Leave for Europe tomorrow. Nine Weeks!!! Todd Spahr (Cavedogs/The Gravy) on Bass, Nils Bloch (Recklinghausen, DE) on Drums. Psyched to be returning to music. Worked hard this summer! Now ready to play.

Spent a week looking for a Great acoustic guitar. Never paid much attention to acoustic guitars though I've been playing them for 30 years. Found that Martin makes the best one for the money... if you have any. Am now proud owner of the HD-28. Sounds like an Orchestra, plays like a Dream! Feel stupid waiting all this time...but now really looking forward to the acoustic gigs. Better Late than never. Story of this life.

Didn't get to do one last night in Harvard Square. Would've liked one last crack at the people of Cambridge. Perhaps we will play a show inside a club this winter. We'll see. I'll leave it up to Dave Lieb, proud owner of my old Takamine Guitar. Hear that Dave?

8 september 2007

Last night: Harvard Square. Andy Plaisted swung the lumber. Dave Lieb wielded the bass. Delivered the message from 9 to midnight to a beautiful crowd of appreciative folks plus alot of homeless folks. Wish civilians weren't so afraid of the homeless but it can't be helped. One distraught street dweller stalked around the whole time glaring insanely at everyone.
He's always out and we're used to him but it scares people. Someone started singing "He's got Charlie Manson Eyes" to the tune of "She Got Betty Davis Eyes." Maybe it's not funny. I was laughing.

Good to see our friend Caravaggio from two summers ago. He was out with a mob of girls from Tufts. Hope to get one more night in NEXT SATURDAY before leaving for Europe. Reading a good Noam Chomsky book.
Unfortunately the better it is, the madder I get. It's a collection of articles he wrote for the New York Times that they never published. All over the world Chomsky is in the Newspaper but in his own country?
God Forbid!! Anyway, Peace and thanks to everyone who was out last night.

2 september 2007

Yesterday was my last day working at the Real Estate Office. Best Day Job I've had in years. All the people were way fun. Worked our asses off all summer but it was worth it.

Can't say enough about Real Estate in Boston. It's a crazy, competitive, fast and furious business but it's never dull. And you can make enough money to go on tour whenever you like. That's the best part!! So here's to City Central!!! Rocking and Renting was never so good!!

26 august 2007

Hot in the Pit last night. Played from 8 to 12.
Charlie was on fire. Lotta good drum solos. We even sort of did Moby Dick. Late August Boston is sparsely populated. EVERYONE runs screaming from the city on the weekend so crowds not huge but we still got a great audience. We appeared as the Quietest Rock Band in The World last night so as to avoid another $75.
fine. Mission Accomplished! And we didn't have to invade any small, Third World countries either!!! The Homeless Recorder player was in danger of drowning us out!!! That's how quiet we played. Still, a great night and a great audience. Will be back in two weeks.

19 august 2007

Good times last night in The Square!! Me, Charlie and Scott on Bass!!! Got The Pit but Power Problems Continued to Plague us so we moved it over to the Bank Of America. Did a few spirited sets!!! Jeff DaRosa, former Peasant from 1998, graced us with beautiful wife on his arm. Took Jeff on the road w/me when he was 15 years old. We were doing a bit of reminiscing. Lost them during one of those meandering Dead jams. Good to see you Jeff!!!!

Got three $25. tickets for playing louder than traffic last night. Last year or was it the year before... same thing happened. Got ticketed for being above the sound of traffic. God forbid music is louder than traffic!!!! I got all pissed. Went down to City Hall and fought it. Lost. Had to pay the fine. This year? I just pay the fine and carry on. It's just another parking ticket here in Taxachusetts. We street musicians should be honored. We are no longer a fringe element to be loved or hated, or merely tolerated!!! We are a taxable, finable entity!!! Still, I Love Cambridge and Playing On The Street. Let the miserable Ticket Scribbler Scribble!!! We will continue to bring great rock and roll to the good people of Cambridge as long as Mother Earth permits!! Peace!!!

8 august 2007

CORRECTION!!

The First Video was shot this past Saturday Night in Harvard Square. The Second Video, shot in daylight, was made two months after I had a complete Hip Replacement. 2006. TWO MONTHS AFTER MY RIGHT HIP WAS AMPUTATED!!!! AND A TITANIUM ROD WAS SHOVED IN TO REPLACE IT. I am having a little trouble standing because THE LEG IS FUCKING KILLING ME!!!!!!! But I do manage to play a good solo on that stupid song, don't I??!!

7 august 2007

Here's two clips from this past weekend in Harvard Square videotaped by Ruth, Mike Perk's beautiful wife. On maraca is Mike's sweet daughter Jill. Perk is singing and playing Harp. Charlie's on the drums. Leif is on bass. I'm on guitar and Dave Lieb steps in to sing some harmonies!!! Check it out!!!!

5 august 2007

Two Nights in a Row, Harvard Square: Killer crowds!!! Some great dancing!!! Saw Mark from Germany. A German girl from Leipzig requested Sweet Home Alabama! We did many Peasant songs w/Dave Lieb on bass till 11 pm. Then switched it up and put Leif on bass. Mike Perkins got on the mike and we did The Best of The Seventies. Elizabeth Reed, Southbound, Black Magic Woman into Oye Como Va..some hot lady was dancing some good shit... Call Me The Breeze, Franklin's Tower.... great night!!! Harvard Square! Best Venue on Earth!!!

4 august 2007

Sitting here at work, exhausted. Great time in Harvard Sq. last night w/Leif, Perk, Charlie and the good people of Boston. Despite the horrific heat we delivered the goods for 4 hours. The City Of Cambridge provided the power. Allmans, Dead, Creedence, literally sweating to the oldies!!! Tonight encore!!!

29 july 2007

Went to see The Police last night at Fenway Park in Boston. Saw them at Shea Stadium back in the 80s when they ruled the world. I remember that show. Sting was The Yeooooodeling Shaman!! An incredible band. Last night they did a good job although much, much older.
Andy Summer seemed to be a bit rusty but Sting and Copeland delivered the goods. Outstanding. Thank you Rob Ortiz!!! Fellow Warrior!!

28 july 2007

Harvard Square Last Night: Finally made it out again. Honored w/the presence of the mighty Andy Plaisted swingin' the lumber around the drum kit. Andy hails from Long Island, New York. A homey of mine. We grew up a few miles away from each other, met in Boston. Andy swings like nobody else!!! We were glad to have him. Charlie is in Italy!!

Thousands swarmed the sweaty Square last night. The Dog Days of summer, here again. Many, MANY Beatiful Women out and about. A Festival. Once again our audience was incredibly attentive and generous. We sold many CDs and saw many laughing, happy people. No place like Harvard Square. The Cops were there. The Firemen. The tourists. An Asian couple that had all our CDs and rocked with us the whole night!!! Seemed to know all the songs. Love that.

Next weekend Two of my old college buddies will visit Boston. A great bassist and a real crooner. We used to play Keg parties around Binghamton, NY in the early 80s. Always a good time. Stay COOL!!!!!

22 july 2007

Working alot! Renting apartments to people! Swimming when I can. Just went to Walden Pond today. It was incredible! Am looking forward to not working anymore and playing rock and roll again. Hopefully forever or at least a very long time. Was listening to New Wilco Album and The Kooks w/a friend just now. Seems there's alot of good music out there if you know where to look. And I don't. Thank God for friends!

Finished new poster for the Acoustic Tour in Germany/November. Looks pretty cool. Been working alot w/Catherine Carter on new Peasant Promo stuff. She's the best and we're getting good results. What else? Not much street time this summer w/everyone always busy. Charlie in Italy the next week and a half. Andy Plaisted is coming out to bash the skins w/me and Dave on Friday, July 27th!!! We hope to get The Pit but will settle for Bank of Boston!! Look for us if you are around The Square next Friday night!!!

8 july 2007

Yesterday was 7-7-07. Pretty cool. Hit a wall of shit @ Harvard Square last night. Some guy was spray painting pictures in The Pit so we didn't get that spot. Miserable bastards were in abundance there so we moved it over to Bank of America. Seems to be our new home. Then the fuckin batteries didn't work. No Power. Was about to hang it up when we found a free electric outlet. Plugged in and played a good 2 Hours to an incredibly attentive and generous audience.

Ben, from the Guestbook, came up and bought ALL THREE CDS!!! Thank you BEN!!! Looks like Bank Of America is gonna work out just fine. May not be able to get back out again for awhile. Charlie's going to Italy and Dave is in a zillion other bands but August looks GREAT!!! Thanks to everyone last night. Luv Harvard Square!!

In other news Todd Spahr from Spring Tour 2002 will be playing Bass on the upcoming Fall Tour 2007. Todd, some may remember, is an incredible musician and a very, very funny bastard so we are looking forward to it. Billy Close is hoping to be on tour w/another band at the same time as the Fall Tour and regrets he cannot make it. We will miss him but must soldier on!!! We wish him luck. This new band is called Everybody Out!!!... I think.

Menno From Mondo Bizarro (NL) stopped by on The Fourth Of July, kicking off his four week vacation. Fuckin Europeans actually get four weeks paid vacation!!! Here is America we can't fathom paid vacations anymore. That shit is all gone!!! Anyway, I took him to the Middle East Tues night just to show him a typical American Rock Club. I walk back to check who's playing on this slow Tuesday night. RADIO BIRDMAN!!! From the Good Ol' Days!!! Right there downstairs at the Middle East!! And NOBODY IS THERE!!! Turns out they just booked it on the fly a few days before, no time for promotion...etc. Radio Birdman all the way from Australia?? So we caught the last 45 minutes for $12. a piece. Place was barely full. Maybe 100 people. In CRED ible!!! They were amazing too!!! So it just goes to show that ya never know!!!

30 june 2007

Cranked up the batteries in Harvard Square last night. Got beaten for The Pit so we ended up against the wall next to The Coop. Cool, sparsely populated Friday. Warmup night. Made a few bucks and had some fun. Working so much lately. Just happy to get out and make some noise. Barely play the guitar during the week for all the working. It's alright!!! Be out again next weekend.

15 june 2007

Been reading some History lately. Puts things in perspective. Like America, for instance. The Myth about the United States of America is that it was founded by people for all these wonderful reasons. It wasn't. We are a nation of greedy white Europeans. We left Europe because we wanted to get rich in America. America had lots of potential.

We came here and almost died. If it weren't for the American Indians, the first bunch of pilgrims would've starved to death the first winter they were here. As European diseases wiped out whole tribes of Indians, White Europeans moved in and took over their lands. These lands were already cleared and prosperous with crops the American Indians had been growing for centuries. Alot of Americans don't know this. From there it's a terrible tale of genocide and slavery, wars against Mexico, Cuba, Hawaii, The Phillipines, Spain, Vietnam... always based on lies by the US Gov't against the offending country. If we wanted something they had, we would think of a reason to invade them. It was always later shown to be lies the US Gov't made up to justify the invasion.

Now The United States Gov't, under the Neocons (George Bush, Dick..etc.) have invaded a few other non white countries (Iraq & Afghanistan) to expand US Power and Wealth. Influence. Whatever you want to call invading someone else's country, killing them and taking whatever they have. They are working on invading Iran too. No surprise there. They aren't white, they don't have nuclear weapons and they've got the black gold. OIL. Let's invade them!

I hope Iran gets the bomb soon. Countries with The Bomb don't get invaded. Eventually every country will have the bomb and the USA will have only itself to blame cuz everyone knows if you don't have the bomb, eventually the USA is gonna FUCK with you.

So there you have it. The USA is a greedy, racist country based on increasing economic wealth at the expense of whichever non-white people are in the way. If you don't know that, you don't know the history of the United States and in the words of Bill O'Reilly you should just SHUT UP!!!

Here is a quote I pulled from an article on Alternet.org.

"The neocons, wrong and stupid as they might be, at least represent a clearly-articulated dream of unchecked greed, power and big-stick foreign conquest that appeals in an elemental way to the dark side of the American psyche. Until America rejects that dream -- and don't hold your breath for that -- don't count on the Boltons and the Perles disappearing from view."

... Peace!

29 may 2007

Drove out to Saratoga Springs w/Charlie. Played a benefit show w/my band from college. All proceeds to a Fund to help families who's kids are fighting cancer. We raised some money and had a good time playing for the people. Lotta jams!! Allman Bros., Grateful Dead, Santana... music from another time. People were real sweet. Some of the kids made me up a birthday celebration. It was cute as hell!! Thanks to Jill and Brooke for doing that!!! Back to work. Still looking for a car.

22 may 2007

Sporadic News Bullets: Getting dangerously close to my 45th birthday.

Sun finally breaking out today. Been raining forever.

My Subaru of 5 years (a long time for me) finally gave up the ghost. 236,000 miles. Four trips to California and back. Many, many solo acoustic tours!! I will miss that car. Time marches on. Must buy another... Today!! No time for mourning. Must work and need car.

Endless talking about Iraq on NPR. For the millions of us all around the world who opposed it from the start and saw it for the bullshit it was, this talk is tedious. Hard not to say I told you so. All the idiots who believed the WMD bullshit should fire themselves in disgrace for their stupidity. Me and millions of others all over the world were not fooled for a second. But nobody listened to us. They didn't even cover the protests. And Bush dismissed us as "a focus group." What does that make him? Fuhrer? Dictator? How about just a Dick!! I'm just tired of listening to these idiots on the radio, tv and newspaper. If they had actually done their jobs and questioned invading another country in the first place, maybe it never would've happened. I dunno. Dennis Kucinich is the only guy worthy of the Presidency. He wasn't fooled for a second. Peace!!

29 april 2007

Last night @ The Abbey Lounge. Went on a bit early for us! Sorry to those who came late and missed the set. Nothing to be done about it. Buy the CD! Then you can listen to the songs over and over and over again!!!!

Battle of Trios! The Peasants, The Howl and Super 400 from Troy, NY. Super 400 blew everyone away. Great musicians. Very Zeppelinesque! Girl on Bass was great musician and very easy on the eyes! Highly recommend Super 400. The Howl did what they do too. Sounded great!

We won't be doing any more club shows around here. Just the Street! Summer is here and we plan to be playing on the sidewalk in about two weeks, weather permitting. Though we cannot play LOUD, we can play long and hard. So if you like it long and hard, come see us Saturday nights in The Pit, Harvard Square. Should be out there around May 12th. Bring the kids!


15 april 2007

Working Six Days a Week at the office!!! Going thru the process of getting torn in half between playing rock and roll music fulltime OR working a straight job to pay bills. Always go thru this soul wrenching period each year when I must go back to working at the real estate office. At least this office is cool. People are very funny and fun and know what they're doing.

Easing off the guitar for a few weeks. Got some tendonitis in my elbow from last few months. Hoping it goes away. Also been trying to eat organic food. Regular food in the supermarkets has been slowly poisoning me for years. Suspect that has something w/health problems. Feeling better already. Can't say enough about it... so I won't bore you. Don't want to be an Organic Food Dictator!!!

Raining today. Cold and dark. Big deal tomorrow. The Boston Marathon. Huge event here in Boston. Many friends running. Not ME!!!

Catherine Carter and I are working on a new T-shirt for The Peasants. It will feature the photo from the last Tour Poster. Been trying to figure out what girls like. Aren't we all?? It would appear that for a regular T-shirt you want to splash a cool photo on but for the girlee tees you want a small logo. Girls don't like alot of mucky muck taking attention away from the main attraction. I don't blame them one bit. Who would want a half naked man thrusting a guitar up in the air with all the phallic Zeppelin-like power it implies splashed across their chest?? Certainly not a hot female Peasant fan!!! So we'll stick with the logo. Maybe do a short run of the others w/the photo for the females who might prefer that sort of thing.

4 april 2007

Am back at work in the office, Boston. Heard on news that due to the invasion of Iraq we the American People are selling the future of our country to China to the tune of Two Billion Dollars a week. Eyes glaze over, incomprehension sets in. A government seized by Lunatics posing as rational, conservative white men.

Now millions of people, the congress and even the mainstream newsmedia are clamoring for withdrawal from Iraq. Too many bodies. Too much money. No end in sight. All I can say is .... Idiots!! I hate watching history repeat itself but so long as people are Idiots it will continue.

I was marching on the street back in 2002 with half a million people in the freezing sub zero weather down in NYC, protesting the invasion of Iraq as INSANE. Millions of people all around the world were protesting this war as insane. Nobody listened. Not the media (they hardly covered it, too busy swinging the flag and lining up behind a military attack). Not the congress, both democrats and republicans waving the fucking flag like morons, ignoring everything else. Not the government. Bush called millions of people protesting his pending invasion "a focus group." All facts, protests, questions... ignored and now we have a quagmire, a mess, a huge, stinking, stupid mess of our own creation. Idiots!

All I can say is I told you so. Sucks but it's the truth. So now what? Congress takes a few years to extricate itself from this failed occupation of another country? More billions that YOU and I will pay for the rest of our lives and your children's lives... and probably their children. It's unbelievable. It doesn't even register anymore. The Human Mind can't really fathom a billion and we are facing Trillions. Scary, isn't it? Even scarier is that George Bush got a degree in History and yet he is one of the most ignorant people in government. There really ought to be laws against people this ignorant being put in positions of power but then it was the Supreme Court who put him in power, wasn't it?? Idiots!

26 march 2007

I was one of approximately 5,000 people who gathered Saturday in the Boston Commons to protest Bush's aggression in Iraq and threats to Iran. Howard Zinn, Cindy Sheehan and Cambridge Activist politician Felix Arroyo were all in attendance. A bunch of bands played. I played a few songs too.

It was great to be back in Boston, railing against the scumbags who've hijacked this democracy. The cops were pretty cool too. I think we all agree Bush is the worst, most corrupt President in US History. Impeachment is too good for him. He should be in jail for what he has done to the people of the world.

In other news, the Democrats passed a bill in the House for money for the war but only if the US is out by next year. I don't support this war at all. There should be no more money for it. That would stop it dead in it's tracks. Bush fucked up. It is time to admit defeat and go home.

The truth is this. The Iraqi people have every right to kill every single American sent to their country. America is an invading force. When someone invades your country, you have every right to protect it. Until every American is out of Iraq, Americans will continue to be killed. If America really wants an end to violence, it will stop committing violence against the people of Iraq. Of course this means giving up control of the Middle East and most of the world's Oil supply. Like I said, Bush and Co. should be in jail, not office. But you know that. Peace!!

24 march 2007

Massive Anti War Protest against Bush's Invasion of Iraq today in The Boston Commons. I'm going down with an acoustic guitar. Maybe play The Patriot Song for the protesters. Good to be back in the Evil Empire.

21 march 2007

Brutal 15 hours back to Boston. Sunny clear blue skies. Snow on the ground. Still winter here. The end of a great tour. Always feel a little down after a tour. Might have something to do with having to return to harsh realities. Must get a job. Will start tomorrow. Already planning Fall 2007. Looks like Five week electric followed by Four week acoustic and a blowout at the end of November with Fortune Records.

I have a really good feeling about Europe after this tour. We have alot of friends over there. Next tour we will pick up where we left off. Try not to break the windshield this time. Nils and Gaby are the best thing to happen to us since 2002 when Arno and Linda of Sidekick Bob took us in. We were homeless. Had just been thrown out of our old booking agent's place. The Sidekick took us in for the rest of the tour and it went swimmingly from there. I fuckin love Europe. Thanks everyone!!! We will be back to see you all again in Six Months. Write to me at peasants2001(at)yahoo.com if you want to be on The Peasants email list for Europe. Much luv and respect!!

19 march 2007

Just dropped Nils off at the train station. Best drummer over here yet. Total pro. Kicked ass in so many ways. He is the drummer for Europe and we will be coming back for FIVE weeks starting last weekend of September 2007. Hopefully Billy can swing it too.

The staff at the Wolperdinger Club last night were really great. And it was good to see Andy from End of Summer again. We played a very energetic set despite being a bit tired. The people had a good time as always and that is all that matters.

Gaby is putting together a smoking tour for the Autumn. Billy and I fly back to the USA tomorrow. I will look for a job at a real estate office somewhere around Boston till it is time to tour again. I have not worked since August 2006. It has been great but the party is over... for now anyway. It is always a bit of a crash at the end of a good tour but we shall return. This was by far the best tour I have ever done in Europe and I have done it more than a few times. See you soon?

18 march 2007

The Rainbow last night. Beautiful girls dancing. Smiles all over the room. Many CD sales. That Red Bull sure does get the lead out. Two sets and a stack of encores. Many beautiful german girls. Finally met Freddie, owner of The Rainbow. He was in a motorcycle accident last time we were there. Nice guy. Good club. Great people!! A few stepped up and bought all three CDs. No complaints. Sunny today in Bavaria. Last show tonight.

Thanks to all the people who were dancing last night. Cant say enough how cool it is for us to see people having such a good time when we are playing. It is great!! This news entry feels a bit german, yes?

17 march 2007

Friday night. Cafe Kapilio. Tiny club owned and run by Greek couple who love alternative, Americana and other quality off the beaten track bands. We set up in the corner wondering how we are going to do this. How are we going to transform this little bar\restaurant into a rock concert. But later on that night, after an incredible dinner, the place fills up and starts to hum with anticipation. After years of obscurity it is strange to see people flocking from all around the southern German countryside to see us! Local guitarist says this place is known for having good bands and people drive many kilometers to see them.

We do the two sets plus encores, constantly balancing between too loud and loud enough. Thomas Bauer from Fortune Records is in the house holding court. Club owner gives us thumbs up but please dont blow my little business away. People are bobbing and dancing with no sign of volume discomfort. Two beautiful girls named Nadja pouring drinks. They are so young and beautiful it hurts to look at them. Audience age ranges from 16 to probably 60. I love Europe. We sell out of Love Your Enemy CDs. Nadja hits on Nils. Drunk firemen stop by to chat.

Tonight we return to The Rainbow Club in the Black Forest. Best crowd last tour. Great time. Really looking forward to seeing all those people again. Two shows to go, expecting snow.

15 march 2007

Played last minute show in American style club called Memphis last night. Original gig cancelled due to noise violations. Clubowner was afraid we would be the straw that broke his back... and lost him his licence so we played this other place. Real nice people. Only about 10 people in the club but we did three sets for them and blew the doors off the motherfucker. Sometimes its like that. Nobody has ever heard of us, no time for promotion and last minute but still great to be playing and we always try to rise to the occasion. They also cooked us an incredible meal. Feeling pretty good here in Bavaria. Food is great. Air is clean. Weather is amazing and the band just keeps getting better. Same ol` shit.

We have four shows left down here and then we fly back. The Fall Tour is already filling up. Looks to be five weeks starting late September going thru all of October. Gaby, our booking agent here, says it is very easy to book The Peasants in Germany for some reason. We will come here as long as they want us. People are very interested in what the songs are about, lyrics, etc. Its very cool.

11 march 2007

Great fucking shows!!! Germany keeps kicking ass!!! Last night was cool. The night before was even better. Germans listen to every word and really appreciate songs. Weird! We are doing great. Keeps getting better. Band getting tighter. Money better. CDs going out the door. Blah, blah, blah.... Everything about this tour is better than all the others. Seems we have hit some kind of stride. Arno kicked ass in Holland and Gaby is kicking ass in Germany. Today we have a day off and we are going to the baths to chill out, take a steam and relax. Back at it tomorrow for the last five in a row and then back to Icy Ol' Boston.

11 march 2007

Rheinheim, Germany: In an internet cafe. Sunny day. Germany has been good to us. Great audiences! Great money! Great accomodations! Last night played tiny bar in small, small town out in the middle of nowhere and it was PACKED. People were going crazy. Told us they were glad we were not a blues band from America. Apparently they get alot of that. Club owner got SHITFACED. He was really funny. And not so shitfaced that he couldnt find his wallet. We always appreciate that. Played Whole Lotta Rosie for an encore and the place just lost it. Billy sang what words he knew. It was great.

Tonight we're in another small town in Southern Germany. Saw an old MEZZ sticker on a road sign. Not gonna see Jeff this tour. Not going to Berlin. Fuck Berlin. Really loving these small towns!!! People really appreciate us. Nice to get that.

Other than that, same old shit. Having alotta laughs. Billy is a fuckin riot. Nils fits right in. LOTTA Laughs. Playing better all the time. Last night finally got Nils to play on the beat instead of behind it like most idiot drummers. That shit doesnt work with us. He is getting better and better at playing this stuff. Tighter every night. Selling good amount of cds too!!

6 march 2007

First show in Germany tonight. We blew doors off tiny cafe packed w/very happy rock and roll fans. Though we were definately way too fuckin loud, the people seemed to love it and were right up on top of us. We really like Germany. People here truly love rock and roll music. Always a few guys dying for some hardcore or metal but we don´t do those kind of songs, don´t even try to butcher them. Nobody left. Sold a bunch of stuff. Great gig. Have to turn down though or my weak pussy ass throat is not gonna make it. New PA is great but no match for a Marshall Half Stack and Billy playing Bass of Satan. Nils doing great.

5 march 2007

Two more great shows. Saturday in Einhoven Rock City at Dynamo and last night in Deventer we were back at The Backstage. Great sound both places. Great audiences. Backstage was like coming home. Were there last tour. Place was packed. Got dinner in fancy restaurant and crashed w/Gert, Mariam and Jerry (The Rock And Roll Family) again.

It's Monday, raining and we are headed back to Arno and Linda's in Delftgauw. Day off. Time for Nils to get really stoned while Billy and I pig out on Arno's Famous Pork Roast Dinner.

3 march 2007

Parkhof in Alkmaar, Holland. UK Subs, NOFX, The Queers. Everyone has played here. Great, big, beautiful, warm stage. Tons of friendlies. Great set though tore thumb open first song and was bleeding all over the goddamn guitar. Really great people. Nils doing great on the drums. My brother, Andrew, flew in from Leeds, England to hang with us a few days. Since he moved to England 15 years ago I don´t see him much. We grew up in the same room. He gave me the idea for Going Out The Window. True story. Great to see him. Eindhoven Rock City tonight. Home of Peter Pan Speedrock!

1 march 2007

Spent six hours teaching Nils our songs at the Trucker in Pijnacker Rock City, NL yesterday. We are very pumped for this tour. First show tonight in Delft. So great to be back in Europe. Arno and Linda Sidekick taking real good care. Jorge helped us out yesterday too. Good feeling about this one. See you tonight in Delft!!

27 february 2007

We are back at Arno and Linda's place in Delft. Got a new PA and some practicing to do before the first show. Picked up Nils, our drummer for this tour in Recklinghausen, DE last night. Nice guy. Now if he can play our songs, we're in business. Tomorrow we will kick it all around and see what's what. A bien tot ... etcetera.

23 february 2007

Fly to Munich, Germany tomorrow and start Three Week March 2007 European Tour. Only Holland and Germany. Keeping it tight. All dates in Tour Section/Europe of this website.

Always a challenge packing everything.. and I don't mean clothes. Billy flying from LAX, me from Boston. We do first week thru Green Flatlands of Holland, working down thru Germany. Can't wait to get back out with East Coast. Playing w/a German drummer haven't met yet. Have a few days to practice. Sounded pretty good on the discs. Yee Haa!!!

18 february 2007

Played w/Apunkalypse Now last night at The Abbey Lounge. Former members of Beefy DC, The Freeze, Straw Dogs. Was The Stinkin Lincolns annual President's Day Celebration Show. The Other Girls opened. Very hot! Great night of Punk Rock covers by local Boston musicians.

11 february 2007

Just back from Saratoga Springs, New York. Played benefit show wcollege band friends from 20 years ago. Brought Charlie to play drums. He was pretty great. Sold out this little Tavern in the town. $3,000. for Lou Gehrig's Disease Fund. I hope Lou is proud. Grateful Dead, Allman Bros, Skynyrd, Santana... jamfest. Totally different from Peasants. Lotta fun! Like being back in the 70s, in High School, but better. Great to play all those different things again w/good musicians. Less than two weeks till Spring Tour Europe!!!

31 january 2007

The Zombie King

Words drip like blood from his lips
No matter how many times he trips
Arrogance and swagger stagger
His time is running out
Yet the Zombie King stands unbowed
Pushing for more, more, more War.

He laughs at pleas, a woman on her knees
Flicks the switch and electrocutes her
His are the dead eyes of fears and lies
A shark in disguise of a human
Spreads ruin, sending young men
To kill and die
He calls his questioners cowards, the world a focus group
He rewrites the laws to serve him.

Vietnam and Nazi Germany
Return like indigestion
People staring at blue screens
Forced to learn their history
And screw the world all over
Frickin' Zombie Decider

Corpses wash up from the river
With signs of violent torture
The World is set on Fire
And the Frickin' Zombie Liar
Leaving smoke and ruin
In Two Years will retire.

23 january 2007

Freezing in New England. I LOVE IT!!! Was pushing snow off my car yesterday and some old man started bitching about the weather. Move to Florida Grampa!!! It's SUPPOSED to be cold!!

Been hanging around w/Dave Hull last few days. Dave just did three mos on the road with AEROSMITH. He's the best bass player in the business around these parts and Tom Hamilton was sick. Dave and I were just trying to write a song for the new Aerosmith record. Long shot but what the hell.

Playing alot w/Jamie (Fighting Cocks), Woody (Del Fuegoes), Jon (Tarbox Ramblers), Joyce, Dave and Addy for an upcoming NA Dance in Watertown next Saturday night. If you're mean and clean and want to make the scene we're playing a great set of cool covers for the NA Watertown Men's Wednesday Night Group. See me for details.

In other news, shows keep getting booked for Germany in Fall 2007. We have an incredible booking agent there. She's kicking down ALL the doors.

Watched Resident Bush's State of The Union Speech tonight. Dramatically less arrogant than the previous few. Losing the House and Senate has had a sobering effect on our Dry Drunk-In-Chief. Much was said about things he did nothing about during the last six years. Oil Dependence, Energy Solutions, Budget Balancing, Immigration... issues that have festered for six years. He even mentioned Global Warming after denying the issue even existed for his entire Residency. I found the speech hypocritical and pointless. Also pushed the Fear Factor about Terror though he's lost all credibility even w/Republicans in his handling of that mess. The sooner he's gone, the better. I just hope the Dems have the balls to do what is right and give Iraq back to the Iraqis.

17 january 2007

Freezing cold. 16 degrees. Finally it's winter. New England is not supposed to be warm in January. And thus far it's been crazy warm. I'm glad it's cold. Maybe we still have a chance against the looming destruction of Global Warming. Maybe not. Still it's great to be freezing fucking cold. In New Goddamn England!!! Yea!!!!

This is the time of the year when I start to lose my fuckin mind due to Cabin Fever, being in the house too much, not working, no distractions. It is good to lose the mind in the winter. Part of annual hibernation process. Shows how destructive the mind can be, doesn't it?

Good news: New Titanium Hip is growing in nice. Almost feels like a part of my leg. Miracle! Thank you Massachusetts Free Care!! Greatest State in America now with the Greatest Governor, Deval Patrick. The second Black Man to be elected Governor in US History. Thus far, only two. Sad but true. But the man is incredible. I predict great things from this Deval Patrick. Very inspirational guy. Fuck The War!

12 january 2007

She was bullshit. Stepped up to the microphone. Just another middle aged American woman. "That Frickin' Zombie!!" "I'm sick of people looking at me like I'm crazy." A member of Code Pink, she's obviously had it with American apathy about Iraq. One of hundreds of outraged Americans, protesting Bush's call for 21,000 more troops to Iraq.

This protest was down at Park St. All the usual characters of the peace movement were there as well as a few hundred more. Between 300-500 people protested there and then marched to Copley Square where another protest was held against Gitmo, the US Torture Center in Cuba.

So far three of the illegally held people in Guantanamo have committed suicide. There are still over 400 people being held there without charge indefinately. Is the US Gov't waiting for them to kill themselves too? Is it too embarrassing to release them? Having nothing to charge them with? After having held them illegally for 4 fucking years?

George Bush did look and sound alot like a Zombie Wed. night. He remains indifferent to the overwhelming opposition to his illegal war in Iraq. It's Vietnam ALL OVER AGAIN. The faces have changed but the shit is the same. Our asshole in Chief wages war while all around him the people who he allegedly represents protest against him.

"We haven't had a representative democracy in this country for a long time," said Howard Zinn, famous writer of many cool books. Most notable,The People's History of The United States. He's always at the protests. An activist during the Vietnam War, he's watching this shit happen all over again but remains true.

Oh well. Here we go again... fuckin history relentlessly, moronically repeating itself cuz we are too stupid to learn our lessons. We've got a Frickin Zombie for a President and this is what you get when you elect a Frickin Zombie.

I was against invading Iraq in 2001. I'm against being there now. I shudder to think how long we will be in Iraq. I'm with Dennis Kucinich. Get out, apologize to the good people of Iraq and pay reparations for destroying their country. Mainly get the fuck out of their country... AND leave their Oil alone. But that doesn't seem likely, does it?

In other news, The Peasants are all set for European Tour 2007 Holland and Germany in March!!! Yee Haaaa!!!

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