That's not exactly what the job description said

It looked promising up to a certain point. The vinyl got ready just on the day I had to leave, after things seemed to not work out at all just ten days prior. Gigs went down nicely, merch could have been better, but still kinda OK. Good vibes peaking with the Perpignan show I had the pleasure to share with Boucan. Playing some of the album tracks together felt like flying. Bliss. Utter bliss.

Followed by a sunny morning after weeks of drizzling rain. Just as if all would finally be fine, take an enjoyable twist. As if the spell was broken. That being the sunny morning of Friday, 11 October 2024, when loading in and hugging the Boucan boys a last time before setting out for the Teruel concert. Before the fragile flower of optimism crumbled, fell to pieces, disintegrated on the hard shoulder of a Catalan motorway, a few miles south of Macanet. The second hold-up in my touring history.

Diary Travelog, Mäkkelä's BlogMartti Mäkkelä16 October 2024blog mäkkelä, tour diary, tour blog, travelogComment

Spring 2023 - a short summary

Still time for a coffee in the old town of Split. Coffee. It's the thing here. Everything is discussed with coffee. Negotiations, arguments, plans. Business, family, weather. Coffee here is the glue of society. The black liquid that keeps it all running.

Diary TravelogMartti Mäkkelä23 June 2023blog mäkkelä, road blog, tour diaryComment

Braunschweig

Nur das wir an diesem Abend gerade mal fünf sind. Coltello, Mäkkelä, unser Veranstalter, der Bar-Besitzer und die australische Theken-Kraft unseres Veranstalters, Fucker. Fucker durfte auch mit. Fucker heißt vermutlich nicht wirklich Fucker, wird aber von unserem Veranstalter nur so genannt und ist lediglich dabei um die Spielautomaten zu bedienen.

Diary TravelogMartti Mäkkelä17 February 2023blog mäkkelä, blog, tour diary, Braunschweig, Coltello, MäkkeläComment

2022. Halftime.

If you haven't done it yourself, touring for a couple of months or longer on your own, you probably can't imagine how this feels. Changing places on a daily basis, losing ground both literally and metaphorically. It can feel, or rather it does feel, marvellous. Being free to do what you always wanted to do. On your own, walking across the sunny main square of Maribor, having a coffee in one of those unique, renown Kaffeehauses of Vienna, meeting wonderful, interesting people. Sounds great? Oh it is, but there are those other moments or times, the dark ones. When you realize being on your own is not always a walk in the park, when you realize it's just a nicer expression for solitude.

A brief summary of touring Europe in times of the pandemic

I’ve been touring a lot over the past years. I think it’s safe to say an average of 150 shows a year. I wouldn’t have done that without serious reasons. If a routine like this comes to an immediate halt this feels like I imagine it must feel like stopping a vehicle going 300 KMH down to zero in a split second. It has a strong physical effect. I felt mentally and physically terrible in any imaginable way. Never thought I’d need it that much.

Touring & travelingMartti Mäkkelä18 January 2021touring 2020, tour diary, europe 2020

Brive-la-Gaillard, 09.10.2020

After eight hours of driving here from Basel my interest and enthusiasm in exploring yet another town has completely disappeared. My first evening in France on this leg of the tour, trying to make my way down to JL’s Celtic Pub in Tarbes, doesn’t feel special or particular or anything even near. Empty the closest. Just driven here by the urge to perform. From Germany, to Poland, to Slovakia, to Czech Republic, back to Germany, to Switzerland and now — finally — France.

Touring & travelingMartti Mäkkelä18 January 2021touring 2020, tour diary, Mäkkelä, folk noir

Homeland. Corona. Tour 2020. (German)

20.09.20, Wroclaw
Zurück in Wroclaw. Ziemlich kaputt. Zumindest lädiert. Es strengt gerade an. Aber jeder Gig, jeder Tag eine Belohnung. Wäre da nicht die ständige, unterschwellige Angst, fast steinerne Angst, doch noch irgendwo, irgendwie den Virus einzufangen

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 4

Thunder Bay Greyhound station. Oh my. Been there? It’s the place where excitement starts. I have to admit I was pushing my luck here.

The Mayor in Winnipeg — no, that’s how they call him, he’s not the mayor of Winnipeg — set the show for 7.30/8.00pm the very night. According to Greyhound’s timetable I’m supposed to make it to Winnipeg by 6.45 pm. Unfortunately the hydraulic ramp for the wheelchair refused to do what it was designed for…

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 3

They looked at me with a both knowing and pitying smile, an expression of “well, good luck son. Some just never learn…”, a respectful undertone (“oh, he seems to be mad but, wow, he apparently really does it”) and at the same time pointing out what a great thing it is riding a coach from Toronto all the way to Winnipeg via Thunder Bay.

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021maekkelae, canada, roadblog, tour diary, toronto, ontario, greayhound

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 2

… running into Em first thing on arrival. Snow globe queen of Ontario. Sort of slightly shaky start, testing the grounds, an almost surreal little thing to start this tour with, sharing stage with Bird City and Wax Mannequin. Wax being the thing on this night with an irritatingly beautiful set. I will be back in a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand…

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021canada, tour diary, maekkelae, heather valley, bird city, wax mannequin, alt. folk, roadblog