La casa del sol naixent

Dia 5 de Gener tocam, de nit, al Passeig Marítim, a n'es Cultura Club 2, és a dir, a l'esquerra del Cultura Club, (si deixes la mar darrera teu), a n'es Club Caramelos. El mes adequat per una nit com aquesta seria tocar això;

We're playing, the 5th, at The Caramelos Club, which is (was?) usually a striphouse, so we should be playing something like that;

Monkeys

Tocamos en Donosti en el Bukowsky y molaría si alguien simpático y majete nos pudiera enviar una foto de cuando estábamos haciendo el mono.
La colgaríamos aquí: 

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Hacer el mono nos gusta. Nos recuerda a cuando éramos jóvenes, hace millones de años,
Vivíamos felices encima de los arboles y solo nos dieron una voz a cambio para que nos bajásemos. Algunos no vienen de los monos sino de la arcilla etc etc, ese es otro tema. Nosotros, de los monos.

El dia antes dormimos en un hotel-gimnasio-instituto. En Durango era el ultimo día de escuela y estaban todos los chicos y chicas bebiendo sidra a costa del Instituto. Eso es un Instituto molón.
Una chica muy simpática nos dio una hoja con letras y acordes, con este título;

HASTEKO ABESTIAK

El señor Serious Moustache, que es nuestro mánager psicodélico, nos dijo que probablemente Hasteko abestiak significaba algo parecido a las canciones de las bestias, y con el rollo patatero que llevamos con las fábulas nos pareció fantástico.
Una chica nos dijo, ala!, sois unos bestias! eso significa las canciones de empezar... Me temo que vamos a repetir curso a este paso. Y ya van tres. Un chico muy amable nos prometió partituras con notas musicales y tempos y claves etc etc. Nosotros las sabemos leer muy muy poco a poco y probablemente y normalmente leemos una cosa no parecida del todo a la realidad. Pero sin errores no se aprende...

En Durango comimos alubias muy buenas. Un señor nos dio castañas. Porque Pichurra Verde las miraba fijamente. Y es una chica. Y eso le mola al señor de las castañas. Y las chicas ya se sabe, si quieren, tienen super poderes.

En Durango y en Donosti seguimos nuestra campaña de promoción turística Mallorquina; "con Mallorka, una sonrisa" "Mallorca es tan tan grande que no cabe dentro del mundo" etc etc.

Merecemos una subvención.

Ongi Etorri!

Avui tocam a Durango,

today we're playing in Durango,

this is a beautiful drawing we've found on a Durango wall

traveling light

We are flying over the sea,

 to Tarragona,

 and then over land to Durango and Donosti, 

this is a lot of moving to do, so we're traveling light, taking only small instruments; the beautiful charango, the kazoo, the bicycle horn, blah blah blah, etcetera etcetera.

 As usual, we have some aerial pictures and maps from the place where we'll be landing,

we need;

1st, a hiding place for our instruments 

2nd, a good observation post to watch, listen, and steal tunes from the birds; 

-We are going to do this to follow one of the ten commandaments for guitarist, preached by Captain Beefheart:-

 1st Commandment; listen to the birds, birds know everything about how it should sound and where the sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere.

(We are a little bit scared because of the second commandment):

2nd Commandment; Your guitar is not a guitar, is a divining rod, use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over,  a guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one.

(and specially because of this;)

3rd; Old delta blues player referred to amplifiers as "the devil box". and they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you're bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

This time only Casper and Wendy are gonna come. (we are playing acoustic shows) We're getting ready to deal with the devil himself next year. 

(this picture is from a devil that lives in Lekeitio, Bizkaia)

Anirem volant damunt la mar cap a Tarragona, i després damunt terra cap a Durango i Donosti. Això es molt de moviment per fer, així que esteim viatjant lleuger i només em agafat instruments petits; el charango, un kazoo, un clàxon de bicicleta, una maraca-ou, un djimbe tamany pot de cafè i uns 14 o 15 cacharros mes. Seguim essent uns escarabats piloters però no tant un camió de mudançes...

(...)

Adventures

The second marzipan man record is being cooked,

You'll find there explained what happened when, finally, the marzipan man left his hole and went on an adventure taking photos with his soul-caption camera.

He's superstitious about being photographed himself,

but he loves being drawed, 

particularly by Rafael Adrover, 

who painted this picture on the top.

El segon disc de l'home de massapà està en marxa,

en ell s'explica que es el que va passar el dia que va sortir del seu cau i se'n va anar d'aventures i a fer fotos amb la seva càmera capta-ànimes,

l'home de massapà es supersticiós, sobre això de ser fotografiat,

i només es deixa dibuixar,

li agrada especialment quan el dibuixa mister Rafael Adrover (com aquí dalt)

BBC club

"We are in London, mr Marzipan, 150 miles or so from where you live, doing some shows and playing your songs,
this was last tuesday,
at the BBC club, at the BBC, in Great Portland Street;"



"Following your instructions, we´re now using x-ray photographs as a musical instrument. When are you gonna send us a Triangle and a violin girl player?"

[press here for better image quality]

"Esteim a Londres, home de massapà, a 150 milles d'on vius, fent concerts i tocant les teves cançons,
el video és de passat dimarts,
al BBC club, a la BBC, al carrer Great Portland.
Segint les teves ordres, ara utilitzem una radiografia com a instrument musical. Quan ens enviaràs un triangle i una violinista?"

Full Circle 3

Luko took this photograph, before goin' to the "Germandat" tour,
later known as the "Pillats" tour.

Where, among other things, el Prehome dissapeared inside a bathroom, while Josepitu and le Poulet, after 6 tequila shots, realized they could play drums. a-ma-zin-gly-well. after, they totally crashed and Emma-bat picked up the pieces. Then feed them with the best sandwich ever.

The day after, Hungover told us we play percussion like shit,
and that the sandwich had disgusting cream cheese.

Sundanese-Gamelan music is perfect van-hangover music;

A la foto feta per en Lukito-xaval, en blanc i negre, els quatre elements de la gira Germandat, després coneguda com la gira "Pillats", on entre altres coses, el Prehome va desaparèixer dins un wàter, le Poulet i en Joselito vàren descobrir que amb sis tequiles seguits podien tocar la bateria-de-puta-mare (mentida) i els entrepans de formatge de n'Emmanuelle-rata-pinyada son els millors. (son en realitat de formatge cremós-fastigós).
La millor música per la furgo-resaca és la música Sundanesa-Gamelan.

*Secret Show/Mariachis

Last Friday we played in Valladolid, Marzipan Man. It was a secret show, organized by Colectivo Laika. It’s called invisible concerts. Nobody in the audience knows who is going to play before the show.
It was really good, thanks a lot! The food was good. The hotel was good. The sound was good. The ceiling was close to our heads and so where the walls. And there were a lot of people and it was sweaty and we played loud and quiet. Funnnn

Laika was a stray dog, a vagabond in the streets of Moscow, she was a loving and intelligent dog and her story is a little bit sad. But she was the first astronaut. Respect!

(...)

On Saturday, we cooked a show in Bocados Pop (Pop Bites), which is located in Hortalezas [Vegetables (more or less, 75% translation)]
we where hungry after watching people munching' the Marzipan's and Alondra's and Brian's music.
So we went and had some Mexican food after the show. Sort of. Pichurra verde (who plays the kazoo and the horn and paints most of the pictures-on-the-back-when-we-play) petitioned "La de la mochila azul" to the mariachis, and they sang.
It was an intense and emotive moment.
Oh yes we love cheesy things so much.

The lyrics are great;

Que te pasa chiquillo
que te pasa
me dicen en la escuela
y me preguntan en mi casa
Y hasta ahora lo supe de repente
cuando oi pasar la lista
y ella no estuvo presente

La de la mochila azul,
la de ojitos dormilones,
me dejó gran inquietud
y bajas calificaciones
ni al recreo quiero salir
no me divierto con nada
no puedo leer ni escribir
me hace falta su mirada

De recuerdo me quedan
sus colores
dos hojas
del cuaderno
dice amores
entre borrones
yo quisiera
mirarla en su pupitre
por que si ella ya no vuelve
mi salón será muy triste

La de la mochila azul
la de ojitos dormilones
me dejó gran inquietud
y bajas calificaciones
ni al recreo quiero salir
no me divierto con nada
no puedo leer ni escribir
me hace falta su mirada

coro
la de la mochila azul
la de ojitos dormilones

*El pasado viernes tocamos en Valladolid, hombre de mazapán, en un Concierto Invisible, organizado por el colectivo Laika, son conciertos secretos, donde nadie sabe quien va a tocar antes de que empiece el concierto, estuvo la mar de bien, muchas gracias!
La comida buena, el hotel también y el sonido? Buenooo. El techo y las paredes estavan muy cerca y estava lleno de gente y sudamos y tocamos fuerte y suave. Diversiónnn.
Laika era una perra vagabunda que vivia en las calles de Moscú. Era una perra cariñosa y amable. Su historia es un poco triste. Pero fue la primera astronauta. Un respeto!

El sábado cocinamos un concierto en Bocados Pop, conciertos buenos y gratis en un auditorio en el barrio de Hortalezas,
Teníamos hambre después de ver a la gente masticar durante los tres conciertos,
Así que fuimos a comer comida mejicana, mas o menos. Pichurra Verde (que toca la bocina y el kazoo y pinta la mayor parte de los acuarelas que están detrás mientras tocamos) les pidió que tocaran “la de la mochila azul”. Fue un momento intenso y emotivo.

Somos un poco moñas, la verdad.

the hairball & the big bad wolf

Jim, a friend of mine,
used to live inside a book called "the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

well,
he has a hairball that talks,
that is;
you give him pennies,
and the hairball talks,
and its gonna translate this:

Marzipan Man я послушал совсем незадолго до фестиваля и очень хотел их увидеть. У них всего одна пластинка 2007 года, да и та какая-то совсем неизвестная и, здесь это слово действительно к месту, ужасно недооцененная. Сказочный, почти что мультипликационный фолк, сыгранный на множестве странных и игрушечных инструментах и смешанный с небольшой долей электроники. На концерте все было просто изумительно – даже если бы они играли не слишком хорошую музыку, на ребят из Marzipan Man было бы просто приятно смотреть. На них пришло смотреть максимум человек 80, для группы это судя по всему один из первых фестивалей, поэтому вели они себя крайне расковано – все время улыбались друг другу, шутили, в конце концов просто устроили на сцене игру «не дай арфистке добраться до инструмента». По-моему я еще никогда не видел, чтобы люди в группе с такой любовью относились друг к другу, и смотреть на это так же приятно, как и на выкладывающихся по полной музыкантов.

its in Russian and talks about Benicassim. this I know. I guess it says nice things.*


another thing,
been diggin' in the ground and fishin' on the river for new songs; here there are some lines from one,
its called the story of the big bad wolf.

this is the story of the big bad worlf, who lives in every soul, and curses the lonely night, which left him forever in blue,
this is the story of the big bad wolf, who hunters fear, and envy,
and if you try to slit his throat, he will not die or bleed...

(...)

*En Jim, un amic meu, té una bola de pèl,
si li dones un parell de monedes,
la bola et diu el futur.
Li he donat cinc monedes, de diferents països, que he trobat pel bosc,
i m´està traduint el missatge en rus que hi ha aqui dalt,
És una crítica del concert de Benicàssim que varen fer els abduïts membres del marzipan ensamble.
esper que digui coses maques,
sinó pam pam al culet del ensamble.

* You've got to move/Giant Lantern

my abduced boys and girls keep saying to me that I should have holidays, leave my house in the hole, under the tree, and move either to a summer house, south of where I live, or go the moon. they send me books telling me this is possible;



The moon looks cold and lonely. Don't know. Don't know. Don't know if I should move there. I need a giant lantern. There's no electricity here where I live. We haven't invented it yet. We use worms. The kind that glow. You put 'em inside a tube with a crystal lens; a Giant Lantern. I have a friend living there, on the moon. I'll send him some signals. To see if can stay there for a week or so.

but there's a very disturbing mole around who's been eating some glowing worms. and I need lots of glowing worms to have a light beam strong enough. the moon is quite faraway.

Another thing; the kids have been playing south, in the village of Benicassim;






some of them had sun exposure problems. too much sun is bad... they went to festival and camped for four days. and they had free drinks. a complicated combination.

(...)
*els meus abduïts seguidors, nois i noies, al.lots i al.lotetes que formen la banda de massapà diuen que hauria de sortir de la meva casa dins el forat, devall de l’arbre, i anar-me de vacances. A una casa d’estiu que m’han trobat, tot avall, cap al sud d’on jo visc o anar directament a la lluna.

M’han regalat un llibre per explicar-me que això darrer és possible. [foto de la Terra a la Lluna]

La lluna té un aspecte fred i solitari, no ho sé no sé, no ho veig clar. Neccesit una llanterna gegant. No hi ha electricitat aquí on jo visc. Encara no sabem fer-ne. Aixi que em de reunir cucs. Dels que brillen. I ficar-los dins un tub amb un vidre. (Llanterna gegant). Tinc un amic que viu a la lluna, i li faré senyals per saber si puc estar-hi un dia o dos.

summer house

*we´ve found a summer house for you, marzipan man:



*em trobat una casa d'estiu per a tu, home de massapà

Full Circle part II

"after talking with Pierre, the tree, we went inside Berthe, the van, and looked at the map,
the way to Paris is easy; is basically straight on"



"we found typical French pets;"



"and everything is so organized,
here there's a photo of Pierre's cousins, aunts and sisters-in-law;"

Full Circle, part 1

A drunken pidgeon awoke me this morning carring this message;

"we're back to our favourite pirate island,
full circle,
here are the 1st part of the postcards that we should have sent;"

"there's a really nice view of France from Pierre, the tree"

"Jose took this photographs, after this, we went to Paris. (to be continued)"

touring/videos/etc

I'm reading this letter while returning from the Chestnut tree post office;
"Dear Marzipan Man, we are more or less healthy and sane on the tour you've tricked us to do, so far now its day seven.
there's some videos posted from the show in Heliogabal, Barcelona, in www.heliogabal.com and in youtube.com too".

"on our way to Paris we stopped in valleys in bloom and nearby ancient churces, because following your instructions we're skipping big motorways, yes the scenery is better, but we move very slowly. no sir we are not complaining. we climbed some trees too. we will post the pictures tomorrow".

Hello world!

The Marzipan man speaking;
busy busy watering the plants and writing new stories,
four of my abduced followers are starting a two week tour, the Suicidal-Germandat tour; featuring Emmanuelle Bat, el Prehome Indefinit, Josepitu Sunday and Jordi Poulet

L’Orquestra de l'Home de Massapà, formada aquesta vegada per Emmanuelle Rata-Pinyada, el Prehome Indefinit, Jordi Pollo i Josep Diumenge, comença una gira de dues setmanes que passarà per Girona dijous 24 i per BCN divendres 25 i acabarà, despres de passar per Bèlgica, a Paris dia 5…

To be continued…