First day in Cannes!
Very first morning in Cannes! And it’s sunny today! 🙂 The little apartment we have doesn’t allow much sun in, but it’s enough to know the sky isn’t gray outside anymore! We started our morning as any usual morning… on our computers, sharing and catching up with you all! That’s also the last thing we’ve done last night before going to bed! We’ve had a Skype with the people at the HQ, sharing with them the adventures we’ve had so far, and then read all the blogs that had been posted all together. I think it’s the first time we do something like this… I mean, we read all the blogs/posts that each and every one of us post, but to read them out loud… that was a first! And hopefully something that we will do again! 🙂
So we’re here gathered around the table, sitting on the couch, on the chairs, and on suitcases before we leave and head for our rehearsal studio in Nice.
Jeff: When are we leaving?
Band: As soon as we’ve had breakfast
Jeff: When are we having breakfast? Not that this is a way to have breakfast now… I just wanted to know… But I am horribly hungry! I could have breakfast right now!
Now guess which breakfast was Jeff’s one, and which was Alex’s… Easy? 😉
We ate, loaded the van, and then we were on our way to a rehearsal studio in Nice! Knowing we had a 45-minute ride ahead of us, we decided we would watch the second DVD of Julien Temple’s Glastonbury documentary. The screen in the back still didn’t work, but we were accompanied by Nick Cave, Kaiser Chiefs, Radiohead, Pulp…
We had one stop to make downtown Cannes, at Orange, for the problems we still had with our wifi connextion (or should I say non connextion!). It was the first time for each and every one of us to be in Cannes, except for Jeff, who previously came twice! He was super excited to show us around the places he knew, his favorite spots and streets. “And just around that corner is the McDonald’s!” Thank you, Jeff, for making our experience such a cultural one!
Then Matt wanted to please us, so we stopped at a Starbucks in Nice. But try and ask for directions in Nice… Nobody’s from Nice! “Ah non, désolé, je ne suis pas de Nice.” This is what we kept hearing over and over again! We finally decided to go to a nearby McDonald’s to ask for directions… There’s no way an American corporation wouldn’t know about another one! And we were right! They directed us exactly where we needed to go!
A few more minutes driving and we arrived at Nice Sound Studio! And what a wonderful place it was! The people who welcomed us over there welcomed us as family, making sure everything was perfect for us to rehearse, that we were comfortable and felt like home! And then the rehearsal began! And it was a memorable moment! It amazes me every time to see how much a rehearsal is similar to a real concert – by its intensity, its passion, and the amount of sweat that drips through their pores! I really feel privileged to be with them in studio. I am not a musician myself, but every time they play music, there is no such difference anymore. It doesn’t matter who’s playing or not anymore, as what is going on is a pure communion of hearts. You’re not in the band, you’re not a member of the crew, you’re not a fan. But together, we are. And at that very moment, it is the only thing that really matters. We are alive. And free.
Those 3 meaningful hours of rehearsal ended with an incredible conversation with the owner of the studio, Olivier, who built everything by himself, in order to give a little place to music here on the Côte d’Azur.
We then went to the oceanside, where we walked a little bit, remembering the different emotions we lived during the rehearsal… A simple moment, looking at the lights reflecting in the ocean, some very close to us, others very far away in the distance… A little bit like us. We’ve all been very close, and at times very far. But that fire inside of us never stopped burning… Even though this light is something we have stopped believing in, even though it is at times something that we cannot see anymore… Before we can even notice it, we find this fire alive and well… we find each other again.
We are now back home, after a stop at the Morisson’s Irish Pub, where we will be playing tomorrow night! We are on stage at midnight sharp, and the gig is free! Bring your friends!
– Stephanie
PS: Miss nothing, and follow the band absolutely everywhere! That’s an experience you definitely won’t regret!