It was now the final Thursday I was to spend in Paris and therefore my final practice day with the guys. Lotfi had gotten pretty sick on Monday, which had led to canceling the previous Tuesday's practice. I was pretty excited because we were going to try practice with some vocals in the mix this time. I think I am going to have to expedite these blogs because I feel my memory fading. I hate being old...
We stopped to get some water at the local monop and beer - yes, beer! rock n' roll bro's! The beer was Belgian, slightly warm and a perfect way to finish off an otherwise professional (aka sober) practice journey. The water was .24 euros - that's about 30 cents! - we are getting screwed for water here my friends! Nothing but smiles when we showed up to practice. Gotta love the Royal Club...
It was fun to sing a bit. I tried a Rancid cover or two and than we went into their songs. It's hard to sing and play at the same time! Pretty fun times. I spilled half my beer. Good thing I brought a back up. I miss the brief time I spend at their studio: hanging outside the studio smoking watching the passers-by, going up the rickety winding staircase to use the homemade bathroom with no light switch...the unused vending machine room...the bald guy who runs the place that made fun of my French and most of all, the music. Good times...
After we packed things up and got the studio ready for the next band we headed over to Fab and Marianne's house. He lived pretty close to the practice space so we walked there. I'll never get over the geography - how the city is built upon such a flowing landscape. We weaved our way up several blocks, through a black iron gate and up to the second floor of a traditional old Parisian building. I liked Fab's place; it had a lot of charm. And a really furry cat. That thing was crazy. We sat around his living room relaxing drinking wine and snacking on various vegetables, breads and cheeses. As I looked out the window listening to their conversation I felt as if I had lived in Paris forever. Even though most of that nights chatting was in French I didn't feel out of place. It was almost like I knew what they were saying by the way they were saying it, as if the words themselves, like in all languages, were more of a means to an end and I was going right to that end by listing with the eyes and not the ears. That night was also the first time I'd really gotten to get to know Fab. He had a charm all his own. We listened to Killswitch Engage and A Wilhelm Scream, two bands that I'd heard of before but had to go to the other side of the world to hear. Funny how that is. Later on we played a little acoustic guitar and sung a bit. Yes, the trip was at an apex and I knew that this night and the friendship I felt would be remembered forever.
We ended up leaving around 1:30am. I said goodbye to Fab, Marianne and Digo as we left and I knew somehow that even though I was going to be around for a few more days this was the last time I'd see them on my trip. Shit! I miss you guys! As Lotfi and I walked home we went through the oldest part of Paris where the buildings are actually tilted. That was so cool! It was amazing to look down a cobblestone alley and see buildings tilted like trees swaying in the breeze. The reflections of streetlights off the Seine cast ripples on the buildings...
