Buenos Aires

So we made it to Argentina. I guess it's the first visit to this country for everyone of us but we hope it won't be the last! Let's start with some food talk for once...the first month of the tour in Cuba and Colombia the food experience was pretty much dominated by rice and beans. Don't get me wrong, I really liked it especially because i don't get it too much back home in Switzerland.
In Brasil we got to eat lot's of fried stuff like Coxinha or Pastel. Both of them were available on every gas station and on little streetfood places in every city. And of course I should not forget to mention Prime Dog, Sao Paulo's number one spot for late night burgers and Acai.
Now in Buenos Aires we can totally feel the influnece of the Italians that immigrated to the city in the early 20th century...there are lots of pizza places all over the city and they are good and really cheap! And they like to add A LOT of cheese to their pizza. So the last couple of days we have been on a pizza diet...
So far we played three shows in Argentina and all of them were great fun! One of them took place in the center of Buenos Aires and the other two in Berisso and Temperley which are smaller cities in the greater area of Argentina's capital. Getting to the gigs here is quite an experience because other than in the countries before we're only using public transports which is kinda funny because we're getting a lot of attention when we try to squeeze into the subway with all our gear during the rush hour. But it's all worth it and to be honest I'm quite surprised in a really positive sense how well the shows went so far. I would not have expected so many people to come out for example in Temperley on a late sunday night.
Argentina definitely is a great experience so far and it' not over yet! We're stoked for what is to come!

Obrigado Brasil

The Brasil tour went by in a rush! Constant travelling, meeting a lot of old and new friends and most of the time playing late at night made the last two weeks a very intense but incredible experience. And like in the countries before we feel like we spent more time here than we actually did.
During the last couple of days we got the chance to play with and get to know some really cool bands and artists that you definetely should check out. Amongst them are Rooftops from Russia, Chris Snellgrove from Canada, Better Leave Town from Brasil or Overseas from Costa Rica. The latter experienced the worst nightmare that could happen to a touring band...after their gig in Porto Alegre they were just about to leave as a guy with a gun popped up at the driver's window of their car, forced them to get out and stole the car along with all their instruments, merchandise and personal belongings. They were left with pretty much nothing but the clothes they were wearing. I guess at that point most bands would have called it a day...but these four guys didn't! They moved on and missed only one of the four other shows in Brasil which was pretty impressive and inspiring.
The show in Florianopolis took place in the Taleysin Rock Bar, a cave-like place with a cool tiny stage in a corner. It turned out to be a really cool show with an enthusiastic crowd that was willing to party throughout the whole night! Floripa is actually an island with a lot of beautiful beaches. So the next day we really wanted to get a taste of that. Of course we did not get up before noon and of course by the time we arrived at the beach the weather turned and it started to rain...we finally realised that winter in Brasil actually exists...
Later the same day we played in Blumenau, home of the biggest Oktoberfest out of Germany - and home of our friend Luis from Nunca Inverno who booked our last tour in Brasil. It turned out to be a really cool night with lots of familiar faces, beers and cheers. Unfortunately we weren't able to spend more time in Blumenau because we had to drive back to Curitiba straight after the show. We were all kinda passed out in the back of our two cars and did not even realised that we had to stop and exchange a flat tire somewhere on the road. By the time we got to Curitiba the sun had set already a couple of hours ago. So the day was spent resting and getting ready for the first edition of the Prejudizo Fest later that night which was scheduled at 92 Grados. This place was probably the coolest venue we came by in Brasil! For over 20 years it is run by the same guy. He built all the interior pretty much from scratch and puts an unbelievable amount of energy into it and already hosted bands like Fugazi at 92 Grados!
The show ended really late and we only could close our eyes quickly becore all the bands hopped on a big bus back to Sao Paolo for our last show in Brasil where we were supporting Title Fight! It turned out to be complet change to the shows before. The venue was huge, so was the stage and for a change we really had to stick to a schedule. The show turned out to be an amazing experience for us! Although we already played around 6pm there were already a lot of people at the venue. And they took a lot of interest into our show - we even managed to get the first stagedives of the night!
The Title Fight show was insane! People went totally crazy and made this an unforgettable night. But eventually it came to an end and it was time to say goodbye to our friends from Under Bad Eyes and to Xao who stayed with us throughout the whole Brasil trip. We want to say a huge thank you to all these guys, to Rosanne and Wellington who made their home our home, to Luis and the BNU Punx and to everyone else that helped us out or came to our shows! We hope to see you all very soon! Überlove/Überyou

Heading down south to Curitiba

Brasil....! It is being so intense and so much fun! During the last six days we've been playing five shows in Sao Paolo, Piracicaba, Santos, Rio de Janeiro and Sorocaba. We're travelling with two kinda small cars which makes fitting all the gear and smelly clothes into the trunks quite a convenient challenge every night...But also besides our Eau de Cologne moments there have been so many impressions in such a short time that it is kind of hard to get a hold of it all. Every city and every venue had a charme of it's own. In Piracicaba for example the show took place in the basement of this old school kinda bar where we got treated with homemade Cachaça and Rabo De Galo. Don't even ask what the latter is...you gotta try it for yourself! In Santos we played in a lovely small studio and got our asses kicked in the playststion Tony Hawks Pro Skater contest that was driving people crazy before and after the show.
Rio De Janeiro has been a really special experience to us. After a long drive we arrived at the Dona Vegana Restaurant which was the venue for the show. It is a really nice and welcoming place with great food and lovely people that also offered an art exibition. Although it was a rainy Sunday (and someone told us that the folks in Rio are kinda afraid of rain...), lots of people came out for the show and made it a beautiful night. The next day was an off day so we got the chance to do some sightseeing in Rio. Even though the weather was kinda shitty we just had to go for a swim at Copacabana. The good thing about it was that we pretty much had the whole beach for ourselves. And the Caipirinha bar was serving drinks despite the gnarly temperatures...It was already getting dark when we paid the Sugarloaf a visit. But this didn't make the view less spectacular! From up there we could overlook the many beaches, bays, neighbourhoods and hills of Rio enlighted by thousands of lights...it was really epic!
Tonight we just played in Sorocaba and we were looking forward to this show a lot because two years ago it has been one incredible night. And we should not be disappointed! This time the show took place in a tiny but really cool bar and again the kids were such an energy driven, welcoming and just beautiful audience!
We're heading for Curitiba right now which will take us about six hours and will be the starting point of our next four shows in Brasil: Florianapolis, Blumenau, Curitiba and Sao Paulo again...fuck yeah!

Off to Brasil!

A couple of hours ago we arrived in São Paulo, but the last days in Colombia are still very present in our heads. The last show in Bogota was just amazing! We played in an abandoned chinese restaurant together with really awesome bands from Bogota: Isla Tortuga, Whites and Ximena Tenemos Que Hablar. Altough it was a monday, there were already a lot of kids even before the doors opened. And just after the first band started to play the venue was packed and both - the crowd and the bands - delivered a nice energy. The show was promoted by the super nice guys from the "Rattrap" cultural center which is a really cool place that offers screenprinting facilities and workshops, a rehearsal space and art expositions, just to name a few. This place is DIY culture lived to its fullest!
Anyway, when we were about to play it was already getting late and people not only hung out inside the venue but as well on the sidewalk in front of the venue. Because it was a monday and a rather quiet neighbourhood and there were no permits for the venue or the show, we heared some whisperes that we might get a visit from the police...and we did. But luckily they just arrived during our last song of the set. Still it was a bit of a bummer because everyone had to leave the venue immediately and there was no time to hang out and talk to everyone.
The next day we met up with Julio from Discos Sin Fronteras - this guy really made our time in Bogota an unforgettable one - and went up the Montserrate mountain to get the perfect view of the city. From up there we truly realized the huge dimensions of Bogota. Later we visited the Rattrap and said our goodbyes to everyone before we left for the airport. So now a couple of hours later, here we are in São Paulo, Brasil! We got picked up at the airport by our friend Favela and right now we're enjoying the hospitality of São Paulo's finest Rosanne and Wellington. Tomorrow will be the first of nine shows in Brasil together with our friends from Days of Sunday and Under Bad Eyes... we truly can't wait!

Back to Bogota

Our time in Colombia is coming to an end. Right now we're on a bus heading for Bogota and thereby crossing mountains as high as 3500 meters. Not only the views you get on those rides are breathtaking...but so are the driver's ambitions to overtake every slower vehicle on the road - regardless of the limited view or the traffic.
The last week we've travelled a lot, encountered totally different climates and landscapes and visited different cities in Colombia such as Medellin, Cali, Armenia and Perreira. In the last couple of days we also enjoyed the most different accomodation experiences such as being the only guests in a big recreational village in the middle of nowhere, sharing beds with cats or staying in an old "art deco" hotel that still preserved his charme from the 50ies and would have made the perfect background for Shining 2.
All the shows in Colombia were kind of a last second thing so we are really greatful for all the help we recieved from everyone involved! Thanks to David from "Desnudos en Coma" for adding us to the Cucumbo Festival in Cali and making his home our home. And another huge thanks to Jorge from Armenia for organizing the shows in Perreira and Armenia and for looking after us during the last couple of days. We hope we can hang out and share more beers and rum very soon!
So...before getting all sentimental about leaving Colombia...we'll play another show in Bogota tonight and we are really excited about it! And altough we would have loved to spend more time in Colombia we're really looking forward to Brasil!