Plaided did America!

we’re back. for a few days already. we have been, the Plaideds, Cordula Thym (the Filmmaker, for making a film) and me (for helping out on the bass) in the US. playing shows and hanging around. in fact. to also make this documenatry, called playdates, where Veronika and Julja were interviewing nice & interesting people.

we were dreaming of going to the US w/ Plaided for a long time. in febuary, when we were in London (Plaided did that show w/ Versus at the Damnably showcase), Veronika got an email with an invitation from Grass Widow to open some shows for them on  the west coast.

we made plans. some things happened, some didnt, which turned out fine the way they happened.

i was the only one who wasnt writing a diary, also, i did not take any pictures of food.

(Plaided in front of the Manhattan Skyline on the Williamsburg/ Brooklyn side, pic taken by Cordula Thym)

° New York City °

our first stop was New York City. Jocelyn was so nice and took care of us for more than a week. you should be rewarded Jocelyn! the Plaided show was set up by Mindy of Tom Tom Magazine, thanks to Ian of Japanther who introduced Plaided to Mindy. it was my very first Plaided show playing the bass, so i was slightly nervous. this club, the expo 929 is on the brooklyn broadway, a NY place we were really looking for. oh. and Mindy played in that really awesome band called M.A.S.S. just drums and singing, and so wonderfull.

NY has the most beautifull subways, greatest food (thanks to jocey who let me use her Veg Out NYC  guide for the week, we were flexible as can be and found out about the best vegan places), most beautiful buildings were nice people are housing. thank you Ian for that nice ice birthday cake. wish id taken pictues! what a warm evening ❤ (and cheering me up for not having seen the Descendents play, as their show got cancelled just one hour before their stagetime. stupid tornado!)

° Seattle – Tacoma – Olympia – Seattle – Olympia °

after a 7 hour flight we arrived in Seattle. renting a car which took us ages, ending up with that Ford Flex Sopranos Car. i did not take a picture of that either. bummer. we spent the night in a travelodge motel in Tacoma, which reminded me of the first time i have been to the US, staying at a Travelodge after a long flight. so nice. we arrived in Olympia the next  day, at noon. checking out the Voyer, and finding the Northern right away plus having had enough time to lurk around the two mainstreets of OLY, finding out that everyone’s in that small town the same day we are. Henry Rollins did his spoken word performance just one street further, at the Capitol Theater the same night we played our 2nd show, this time with our friends Grass Widow and Broken Water. i was very nervous and everyone could tell.

we were really lucky and happy having met our friend Eli, who we knew from playing a show together in Prague w/Lake. he introduced us to his housemate Stephen Steinbrink. we ended up staying at their nice house in Olympia. Stephen became an integral member of the Plaided gang for the next few days we were in town. he took us to all these cool house shows – and – most importantly: showed us the Reef. a diner where i think i had  6 Chicken Fried Tofu Burger the time we spent in Olympia.

we went to visit the K Records headquarter the very next day. Eli took us there, showing us the Dub Narcotic Studio, introducing me to Mariella in person. we loved that place, of course. Mariella is also a founding member of the Northern, the Olympia all ages club we played at. very inspiring. thank you all at K: Mariella, Danielle, Sarah, Calvin. too bad Joel that we didnt meet.

(at K Records w/ Danielle Ruse. pic taken by Sarah Cass)

the next show w/ Grass Widow was in Seattle at that place called Chop Suey. a fun show, even though we had to play on a stage (it was the only venue w/ a stage we played in the US). we then spent our first night at a big and beautiful house. Sam’s place. and the other two nights we could stay at the  Pharmacy / Tacocat house. thank you Scott, Lelah and Shannon!

we went back to Olympia. staying with Ians parents John and Jean. it was overwhelming, the house on the Puget Sound, John and Jean being so nice to us. we couldnt believe it. <3. during the day we had more fun time w/ Ashley, Eli, Nico and Stephen Schatzie. we loved Olympia so much, felt really bad to leave that place and people.

° Portland °

after a short stop at the Evergreen State College, we went to Portland. playing our show at the Valentines. we met Jen and Joel there who let us stay at their house. Joel is in that really cool band Cockeye and Jen does this label called Punk Start My Heart. we were in the right place.

the next day we went to the M’lady’s Headquarter, meeting Brett and Fiona. funny – as we figured out that Plaided played once w/ Fiona in Vienna, when she was here w/ Vivian Girls. it took  a while until i remembered as well. Fiona’s in rad bands such as Chain and the Gang (so is Brett) and my all time favorite: the Coasting. the Both of them took us to the RNR Camp, where the Girlsrockcamp movie was made. the biggest and funniest coincidence, since Plaided partly named themselves after a band appearing in that movie. Brett was looking after us the next days we were in town. it was very strange not having him had with us later, driving us around showing us everything – like he did in Portland. for the last day in Oregon, Plaided were invited for a house show. a dream came true: playing one of those cool basement thingies. it was a bill of 4 bands, all with a “P” in the beginning. Kaitie and Thaddeus, who are in Pink Slime, invited Plaided over. best night!

(Plaided + Cordula in front of Ooga Booga Store, Los Angeles)

°San Francisco, Los Angeles°

unfortunally no shows in these towns. too scared to play Oakland, but ending up staying in Inglewood in LA. we are dumb. but. we met a lot of nice people, drove through the Redwoods, stopped in Santa Cruz and the Big Sur,  saw F.Y.P play in LA, hung out at Burger Records and Ooga Booga Press, spent some time at the Beach in Santa Monica with our Boogie Boards and eating the best food at places like LA Vegan, Herbivore or Gracias Madre. thank you Cynthia and Luz for letting us stay at your appartement!

°°°

we miss the U.S. and you wonderfull people already!