I had a lot to learn and a short time to do it; first thing first was how to correctly pronounce Gotye (Go-Tea-Yay) then within the first 5 minutes of meeting the tour manager I learned the most important rule of life on the road which is do not take a shit on the bus, ever. Knowing how to tell military-time as was real important, too!
Derived from Gauthier, the French equivalent of Walter or Wouter Gotye the band consists of bassist Lucas Taranto, keyboard/synth-wizard Tim Sheil, Michael Iveson on drums, guitarist Ben Edgar and of course Gotye himself, Wally De Baker. These boys are truely a band of friends and the friendships extended to throughout the entire crew! From stage techs, audio techs and guitar techs to light techs and video techs the band may consist of 5 but there was a total of 13 mates on tour who made up what and who I came to know as Gotye.
Along with getting to know and work alongside the Gotye gang, I also go the privilege of working with the supporting act and other half of "Somebody":the young, beautiful, talented, stylish and extremely driven Kimbra.
The 19 show tour brought me all across the country to destinations and venues I otherwise may have never visited:
- 9:30 Club, Washington DC
- Tower Theater, Phillidelphia
-Terminal 5, New York
- Webster Hall, New York
- House of Blues, Boston
- Corona Theater, Montreal
- Kool Haus, Toronto
- University of Michigan
- Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
- EPIC, Minneapolis
- Ogden Theater, Denver
- The Vogue Theater, Vancouver
- The Crystal Ballroom, Portland
- The Showbox, Seattle
- Coachella Music Festival, Indio CA
- Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
- The Nokia Theater, Los Angeles
- Coachella Music Festival, Indio CA
The 9:30 Club's decedent chocolate cupcakes were the tastiest post-show treat, Terminal 5's mech manager was a darling (and is now Kimbra's tour manager!), Webster Hall reminded me of the Great American Music Hall back home, The House of Blues in Boston was filled with history and beautiful art, I even got to visit good ol' Canada and by the time we got to Coachella Gotye had hit #1 on the Billboard charts!
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| Photo-Op with Wally |
Needless to say the entire experience was a highlight in and of itself but weaving through thousands of people with Wally to see M83 at Coachella was something else: I was watching an amazing performance with an amazing musician, an amazing man. It blew my mind.
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| Photo-Op with Lucas |
When I stopped to think about where I'd been, where I was, where
I was about to go and what I was doing I could hardly believe it myself: I was doing what my dreams are made of and never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would be on tour with such wonderfully humble rockstars.
Being on tour is hard work: long days turn into show nights turn into rushing on to the bus before rolling out to the next city in another state, often with no time to shower and I absolutely loved it. After being on the road with the band and crew for over a month the day came when it was time to go home:I felt like Dorthy saying goodbyes to my colleagues who by that point felt like family and just like that I was back home.
Currently on tour in their native Australia, I couldn't be more happy to hear that Gotye has been nominated for three Grammys: Record of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (for Somebody I Used To Know featuring Kimbra), and Best Alternative Music Album (Making Mirrors) plus their hit track "Somebody" has been named the UK's biggest-selling single of 2012 so far! As the boys would say, "BOOM! SLAMMIN!"
Sounds like a rockin' good time in various ways!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to hear such complimentary words about a group of committed musicians who have always seemed...well...lovely. I had the pleasure of meeting Wally and some of his bandmates in New York City several months ago and the whole gang truly is comprised of the best sort of people: genuine, intelligent, kind, and generous with their time.
Thanks for sharing your account, and best wishes on future endeavors and adventures!