Feb 23 Coffee House Sessions: First Week Recap!

6:30 am. It is time for me to go into the guys’ room, a final checkup to make sure nothing is left behind, as we are not coming back to this hotel anymore. I didn’t sleep at all last night, as I figured out I’d sleep through my alarm if I were to go to bed for only an hour. As soon as I enter the room, Alex, as the enthusiastic person he is, laughs at me “because I look like someone who just woke up”… Well, thank you, but no, that’s just me after a sleepless night. We finish packing everything, pack the many small items we don’t know where to put, and make sure what we need for the radio interview and first acoustic performance of the Coffee House Sessions is at reach! We left at 7:20am, 5 minutes late on our schedule, and thus unable to grab a coffee! Let’s say, we understand exactly why they are called “Coffee” House Sessions… The coffee is an essential part of it!

We drove all the way to Southampton, where we were expected for an interview at VoiceFM, on their morning show “The Morning Zoo”. We couldn’t have thought of a better name for an interview with the band! It somehow reminded me of the Bla Bla Bla we do on Sundays, super early in the morning! The interview was super nice, we’ve had an incredible time with the people, and basically just really enjoyed it! It made us forget it was so early in the morning!

We had a little time off before we needed to go to Southampton uni, so decided to go at Starbucks! Where else, and we didn’t have any coffee yet either… So that was a perfect match!

The rest of the day went by in a flash! We would arrive at a university, find ourselves lost, manage to find the place where we were scheduled to play, Alex, Ben and Sef would do the soundchecks with Matt, YB would be filming, Miss Isabel, Jeff and Moose would be talking with the people around, and I would be taking pictures and tweeting at the same time! That time was quick, even more so than the live performances themselves, that lasted only 2 songs. The band decided to play the songs Kerosene as the first one, and Where Did We Lose Each Other as the second one of the set. You know, that nasty feeling of being on the verge of something very very very cool, but missing it? Well, that was exactly it! The last show of the day, though, lasted a little longer. The Coffee House Sessions we are doing at the moment are supposed to be only 2 songs, an original one and a cover. That’s their concept. But the people at the University of Winchester were so into it, so enthusiastic, that we couldn’t tell them “no” when they asked us for more songs. We were waited for anywhere else after, so decided not to please the audience, but to please ourselves and play a few more songs!

Back to our hotel, we unloaded everything. Some left to do some promotion, while others stayed and practiced a little more. We then gathered all together a few hours after, shared a meal, and all the stories that happened to each and everyone of us throughout the day. Favorite moments, meaningful encounters, thoughts we’ve had… We say everything!

Our first show is at 1pm today, and we are only a few minutes drive away from the Hertfordshire University. That means we can allow ourselves to wake up late! We decide to gather all together at Starbucks (open 24h and just beside our hotel – we don’t even have to cross the street! Perfect place to be!). We spent an hour over there enjoying Americano coffees, or teas for the 2 of us who aren’t allowed coffee (to our biggest disappointment)! Comes 12, we leave and head to the university, where we are greeted by incredible people. The sky was bright blue when we arrived at the Starbucks. There was a lot of clouds, but it was nonetheless very beautiful. It didn’t last very long, though, and by the time we left for Hertfordshire uni, it was gray and raining again. Typically England, we thought…! And then we saw it, very faint, but hinting bright in its own way… A rainbow! And a full arched one, at that! A great reminder that even when things seem dark, there’s always a bright side to be found somewhere. And this rainbow followed us all the way to Hertfordshire University, where we have been greeted by incredible people! It was still quite early, but already, people were gathered in the cafe where we would be playing. We started setting up everything, and then it was time for a radio interview! Alex and Jeff then left the cafe, to head to the Crush Radio station inside the university! We talked about the band, about the different backgrounds we come from, the artists who inspired us, and about how hard it was to define YFE’s music…! Oh, and we also spoke French! That’s probably the last thing we expected being in England! We came back to the cafe where everything was ready, and we started the show! Once again, 2 songs were far from being enough! But it was a very soulful and meaningful time. As short as it may be, the passion the guys live on the stage knows no limit! We were fortunate enough to have a little time to talk after the show, so we enjoyed every minute of it! Having 2-3 shows a day, plus radio interviews, it means we’re usually in a hurry all the time! And don’t worry, we were in a hurry right after this!

We drove to the Queen Mary University of London, and the rush of the day started! Got there very last minute because of traffic and road diversion, emptied the van, sound checked, had problems with the equipment, but Matt found a way to fix everything – hopefully, because there was no tech guy at this university! Friends had joined us for this performance, so it made it a little bit more special! Right after this, we had an interview. Unplanned, but when they saw us perform, they knew they had to have this time with all the band members!

Then we rushed to our 3rd university of the day, Essex University. We were supposed to perform at 6pm. Plenty of time, as we left the previous university at 4:15pm. But that was without traffic. And roads closed. And more traffic. So it took us 3 hours to get there… Which meant we were late! Hopefully, the stage was set up, and we only had to practically plug and play. The thing is, there was a football game going on that night, and kickoff was at 7:30pm. People were looking forward to it. And I mean, really looking forward to it! A little bit like a Canadiens-Bruins hockey game, or a Giants-Dodgers baseball game. Nonetheless, when we started the first song, Kerosene, people changed their focus from the tv screen to the band that was playing behind them. We finished around 7:28pm. The big screen got turned on, people turned back to their original position, and it was game on! Right on time… 🙂

Only 1 university for us today! We are going to Reading, where the coffee they serve is Starbucks… And that fact alone makes us excited! We have met incredible people over there, involved with Amnesty International. We had a great time with them, and it was already time for the show. Alex started saying he was pleased to be able to play the famous Reading Festival, but that he was expecting something a little different from the festival. Yeah, maybe we should have told him it was the University of Reading, and not the Reading festival. Same city, different vibe…! The show, though it didn’t allow any bodysurfing, was a very intense one, deep and meaningful. We came back home early, as we had something very special planned that night… A digital date with the members of our fan club, the Secret Family Cult Club! We decided to invite them all to a rehearsal from the guys’ hotel room…! We were all gathered together, in the room, away from the camera, but very active on the chat with everybody who gathered from all over the world, at some crazy hours of the day for some people. Many of you told us that you’ve been uplifted and inspired by the music that has been played, but especially by what has been shared by Alex in between the songs. But let me tell you how inspired we have been by you. Opening up, letting go, being yourselves, being free. You’ve really, really inspired us. And after the camera was turned off, we kept talking about you. For 3 hours. Nonstop. And then we went to bed. Not because we felt like it. But because we had to. We were leaving early in the morning.

On the menu today for us was the University of Loughborough, then the University of Leicester, then the University of Warwick. And if 3 acoustic performances weren’t enough, we also had a radio interview and a live performance scheduled right after. So we knew the day would be a very busy one, and that every stop we’d do at every university would have to be very short. If you get late on the schedule only a little, you’d be late for the rest of the day… We’ve learned from experience 2 days before with Essex! It’s a little more stressful to see it this way, and an additional pressure, but it’s something we need to remind ourselves all the time in days with a schedule like this! We arrived at the first university in advance, enough for us to get ready without stressing out too much. Seeing everybody wearing shirts, sweatpants and sweatshirts, it didn’t take very long for us to realize that this university was renowned for its sports program! The cafe where we were playing was a wide open space, all white colored. And even though the atmosphere of the room itself was a little cold, the light was flowing in – because yes, there was a lot of sun that day! And that sun was the perfect representation of how the people welcomed the music as we were playing. It’s as if everybody stopped what they were doing to listen to what was going on. This is also where we have met our self-proclaimed milk-drinking fan, who had never heard of the band or of the Coffee House Sessions before, but just happened to pass by, and couldn’t help himself but stop and enjoy his time with us all. We’ve also met an incredible world changer, involved with amnesty international. Followed an interview for the university tv station.

And then we left, direction University of Leicester. We’ve heard from a friend that Leicester was the first city in England where non-English people became a majority. And driving through its streets, we could notice just how multi cultural of a city it was. The people walking around, the different buildings and the shops that inhabits them… It was as if we could smell the odors floating all around the city… We reached the university of Leicester, set up everything real fast as nothing was ready when we arrived (despite the big pink elephant that was standing right next to where we were playing – we never knew if he had been put up in honor of Sef, though!), and then started playing. And people were on fire! As soon as the music started, you could feel that the whole vibe of the place changed. And that feeling was proved right by the quantity of tweets/mentions/retweets and hashtags that got in! It was absolutely insane!

Then very quick, we left and headed to the university of Warwick. But road construction slowed us, and we got there a little late. But everything was ready for us, so we were ready in a few minutes only. We got on stage, and the show started. And once again, the reactions left us speechless! The band was playing against a glass wall, and we were blessed to be there right in time for the sunset, which added a magical, movie-like touch to the acoustic session! Another interview followed, and then we left for the HillzFM radio station, not far away from there.

Some more construction on the road forced us to do detours. And that’s one thing we learned about road signs in England. They NEVER annouce an upcoming blocked road. NEVER. Neither do they indicate what way you should take to contour it. So you’re basically just left to yourself, wondering where it is you may go… We may complain about all the road repairs in Montreal, but at least, they warn you beforehand and tell you which way to go – though it’s not an absolute fact those indications will be any good at all…

We were greeted by a very nice woman, fashionably dressed and with her hand tattooed. She guided us to the studios, upstairs, where reggae music was flowing all over the place, with DJs dressed accordingly. Incredible people, warmly welcoming the band and the large crew that follows them. We were allowed 30 minutes for the interview, from 6:00pm to 6:30pm, a slot that happened right in the middle of the reggae show that was already started when we arrived there. Different music, indeed… But still, the people working at the station loved the music so much that they absolutely wanted us on the show, as we were in the area. There was no other choice, we needed to be on that radio, and the show that was going on wasn’t really important. They wanted to meet the band, talk with them, and present them to the listeners. And this is exactly what happened… The band performed 3 songs live (Kerosene, Where Did We Lose Each Other and City On Fire), all while talking about the community values we have, our DIY ethos, the different places we’ve traveled to so far, the spirit that feeds the music and the lyrics, and the upcoming projects. The interview and live performance lasted around 40 minutes, until the DJ came back in studio to tell the interviewer that her time was well over and that she was stealing his show time! Well, that was until he closed the door of the studio behind him and sensed what was going on… And realized that there was not one guy in studio with his guitar, but 3 of them playing and singing, and 8 others, for a total of 11 people in studio… “You are really one… One family. One love. One united all together”. And then we started talking with him, about the meaning of the name of the band, about how fears & doubts are our biggest enemies, and that behind all our differences, we are all the same. And this is when he asked us to play another song. He wanted more of this. He wanted to keep that show going, even if he wasn’t DJ anymore. It didn’t matter anymore. Because this very moment had already been turned into eternity, and it was as real and honest as it gets. We drove all the way to Bristol listening to that radio station… Or at least as long as the coverage allowed us to!

Our first show is in Bath. I guess we were all curious to see what that city looked like, all a little intrigued by its name. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t be?! We left as the sun was shining bright above our heads. Definitely, that is a very good point for this region of England already! And then, as we were making our way to the university of Bath, we were left speechless. But completely speechless. The valleys, the sceneries, the green of the never ending fields against the blue of a sky where huge grayish clouds where hanging… It was simply too beautiful to be true. And then we entered the city itself. Completely different from the nature we had just seen, it was however just as breathtaking. Old stylish buildings, pale colored, with huge wooden doors and artisanal iron fences around the yards… We all fell in love at first sight with the city. And that was before we met its heart, its people. We were even more under its charm when we entered the university and met the people who were studying or working there.

And it was a magical moment as we played. Nobody wanted the show to end. But we had to leave the beautiful city of Bath, that surprised us all not only by its appearance but also by its looks in order to go to the university of West England, located in Bristol.

Bath sure is beautiful, the traffic that haunts its streets is still pretty dense… But we made it right on time to the university, plugged everything and started playing as Canada was competing against England in a curling game – for which we won gold! Special background for a Canadian band playing in Bristol… And despite losing the gold medal, people at the university totally flipped about the moment we shared all together! Right after the show was over, as we were on a rush, we learned that we had a radio interview as well! So we went upstairs, met the interviewer (who happened to be a fan of the band since 2008), and had an incredible time, talking about different inspirations for the band when it comes to lyrics and music, about faith and hope, and what’s coming next for the band! We said goodbye as the interviewer and cameraman were telling us we’d see them again in not too long, as we will be touring and playing in Bristol.

We left for a radio interview at the Bradley Stoke FM station. Tired and exhausted, Alex felt sick and was starting to lose his voice seriously. But after he heard the story of the station and how the people built it from scratch over a long period of time, finding a little bit of equipment here and there, in order to make this dream of theirs come true, a place where they would be able to share music they love and is meaningful to them, giving back to the community in this very special way, as well as giving them a place to express themselves through music.

We came back to the hotel and tuned in to the SFGLive stream, directly from Scottsdale, where the SF Giants were having their batting practice! And this is how we’ve ended the first week of the Coffee House Sessions… You may think that it is because we want to rest over the weekend… But the truth is that we’ve been offered so many opportunities of things to do this weekend that we just can’t wait to see what moments will unfold before our very own eyes!

– Stephanie

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