Bad Chopper South America Tour Journal Part 1

This is a tour journal I kept on the road during Bad Chopper's tour of South America in August of 2008. A special thank you to all the people who made this trip possible and helped us out along the way: Mariano Asch, Caca Prates, Vera Kikuti, Marcio Faveri, Mariano Perez, plus all the local show promoters in each city. Also, thanks to all the fans who sent in their pictures and uploaded their videos. I've done my best to include as much as possible here. All photos by me unless otherwise indicated. Thumbnails with white borders are links to pages with multiple pictures.

We landed in São Paulo yesterday morning from an overnight flight from New York. I am chronically unable to sleep on planes so I picked up a bottle of rum in the airport to help me doze off. Ended up finishing off the whole thing and crashed out for a few hours, but paid for it the next day. Marcio and Vera brought us to our hotel where we had a few hours to relax before the day's activities were to start. CJ had an interview with Show Livre, then we went to rehearse one last time at a local studio, then CJ did another interview. We capped the night off with an excellent dinner at a churrascaria (Brazilian barbecue restaurant) where literally a parade of meat is constantly brought around you and is sliced off the skewer for each individual as they want it. It was all fabulous. The caipirinhas (Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar, and lime) were good as well.

Leaving New York	On the streets of São Paulo		Rehearsal before the first show		Group shot at the rehearsal studio
Dinner at the churrascaria		Our hotel in São Paulo		The view from our room

We've been having the craziest weather back home this summer. Gargantuan thunderstorms nearly every day with deluges and violent thunder and lightening. Even a couple of tornadoes, which are virtually unheard of in our region of the country. Yesterday we had a similar thunderstorm here, but Vera tells us that they've had no rain for like the past month-and-a-half. It's now raining again today. It appears we've brought the crazy weather with us. Well, first gig of the tour tonight. It's 8/8/08. CJ says 888 is a lucky number. Hope he's right. We fucking need some good luck after the ordeal that preceded our departure (don't ask). Hope the show goes well tonight. We didn't even get to do the set twice at rehearsal like I hoped we would. Still, we sound OK. We'll see.

Yesterday was a long day. We did an autograph signing session at the London Calling record store, which seemed more heavily attended than I remember it being when we did the same thing there back in 2001. Good to know the Ramones' beloved status hasn't waned here. From there we went straight to the gig at O Kazebre, a really cool outdoor venue way out on the outskirts of São Paulo. Kazebre means something like "log cabin" and, true to its name, the place is all constructed of wooden logs. One gets the feeling they're in Wyoming or Montana instead of Brazil. Very, very cool venue with two stages, a full kitchen, food & drink vendors, and some other stuff I didn't even really have the time to investigate. Great sound system and backline too. Just a fucking fantastic venue.

Attendance, unfortunately, more than likely suffered due to the fact that it pretty much rained all day. We suffered due to the fact that there were 7 bands on the bill and the show didn't get started until 23:00! We didn't start our set until 3:00! It was a long fucking night. MTV did a quick interview with us backstage. From what I could tell we played quite well. I couldn't hear CJ & Brian all that well, but it sounded good from where I was. I have no idea what the crowd was really like due to my usual focusing on my task and also due to some pretty heavy fog machine action. We did one encore and got through our whole basic set. All in all, a very satisfactory first show and start to the tour.

We didn't get back to the hotel until about 6:00 and we had to get up at 9:00 to be here at the airport for our flight to our next show in Cascavel. I've heard horror stories about these small internal South American flights and I'm not all that gallant about flying even on big commercial flights. I was really shocked to learn upon arrival that we're flying between pretty much every show, from what I can tell. Guess I'll either get used to it or go home with a hole in my stomach.

Yesterday's flight was no problem. It wasn't on some little puddle jumper like I expected. It was a regular plane. We flew into Foz Do Iguaçu on the tri-border with Argentina and Paraguay. It's the location of what I understand to be some pretty spectacular waterfalls. Much to my disappointment, we didn't have time to visit it, though. The gig was in Cascavel, a good two-hour drive northeast. We were all expecting it to be a small town in the middle of nowhere. It turned out to be a really cool, respectable-sized city in the middle of nowhere. We unloaded our shit at the hotel and then went to do another autograph signing at a local record store then went and did sound check at the venue. Amazingly, we sold the last of the vinyl LPs we brought with us at the signing. It's a shame we didn't have the ability to bring lots more with us.

Arriving in Foz Do Iguaçu	Lunch at another churrascaria	Brian & Vera checking out the artisanry outside	Interesting wall art setting out from Foz Do Iguaçu
Our hotel in Cascavel	Billboard advertising the show	Pics from the autograph session in Cascavel	Soundcheck at Master Music Hall

The venue, Master Music Hall is a smallish, blocky concrete room. Looks very much like an auto garage turned into a rock club. The gig was pretty good. Not quite as good as O Kazebre, but not bad either. We got back pretty late again even though there was only one opening band that night. Got up, drove back to Foz Do Iguaçu, and flew straight here to Curitiba. We leave for the club in about a half hour. So far so good.

Pics from the show	Videos from Cascavel	Shots of the hotel before leaving	Views heading out from Cascavel
Near the tri-border	A couple faraway shots of the falls from the plane	Flying into Curitiba	Stopping at a gas station, I spot some random dude selling ferns wearing a Subterranean Jungle shirt!

Last night's gig in Curitiba was fucking intense. Not a lot of people, but overflowing with enthusiasm. The show started relatively early so by the time we flew into town there was no time for us to sound check. Luckily the sound onstage came together with no problem. In fact, it was better than the previous two nights. We played really well and the crowd was super into it, which really bolstered our spirits. During the final song, R.A.M.O.N.E.S., people rushed on stage and chaos ensued. The guitar and bass were alternately cut off and the crowd of course took over the vocals. Amazingly, my drums remained undisturbed so I was able to maintain at least a semblance of the song throughout. It was an incendiary ending to a great show.

So, we flew into Porto Alegre today around 14:00. Checked into the hotel then did a round of press. First a radio interview, then a newspaper interview, then two TV shows. Pretty exciting. I was expecting it to be kinda cold here as it was on the cool side yesterday and this is further south, but the weather here is absolutely fucking gorgeous. After the crappy weather we got during our first two days here, I was afraid it would plague us, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The promoters are expecting a much better turnout here (in numbers, that is) than last night. Like I told someone last night, though, it's quality, not quantity that matters. If we could have a tour full of Curitiba's that would be a fine thing indeed.

The newspaper interview

First television interview

Group shot with our driver in Porto Alegre: Santa Garcia

Second television interview

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15 : PORTO ALEGRE (BR), BUENOS AIRES (AR), SANTIAGO (CL), MONTEVIDEO (UY)

Phew, I have a lot of catching up to do. Amazing how little free time I have to write, or do anything for that matter. OK, so, on our night off in Porto Alegre we went out to a rock club just to have something to do. There was a very respectable turnout for a Monday night. At the end of the night, after all the bands had played, CJ & I jumped up on stage to play a few songs with some local musicians (Brian, or should I say Gus, had retired earlier in the evening). It was a good time for a Monday night off.

The show the following night in Porto Alegre was OK. We didn't get quite the expected turnout, but no one's complaining. Hoping to recapture the Curitiba experience, CJ invited people onstage at the end of the set for R.A.M.O.N.E.S. It got a bit out of hand. There had to be like 25-30 people up there. It was a clusterfuck. This was our last show in Brazil and we wanted to celebrate. Backstage we found this old bottle of Jägermeister and knocked it off. Between that and all the rest of the beer and wine and whatnot, we all got totally fucking trashed and ended the night hanging out in CJ & Gene's room.

View from our hotel room	Gene fixing CJ's pedal	Donkey cart on the streets of Porto Alegre
Pics from the show	Videos from Porto Alegre	Backstage at Manara Bar

The next day we bid fond adieu to Vera & Caca at the airport. Our plane was late so we got to enjoy an extended goodbye. We got into Buenos Aires around 14:00. There was a ton of press scheduled for the remainder of the day, like 9 interviews or some crazy shit. Thankfully, CJ said we didn't need to do it if we wanted to hang back and get to bed early, which we definitely did. There's no point in us being there anyway. So Brian and I went out to eat and get some drumsticks (people keep stealing them from me) and walk a bit around the city before turning in early for the night to try and finally get a solid night's rest. Our room here at Hotel Napoleón was not very good. It was positively tiny, the door to the bathroom didn't close and the temperature was controlled by the front desk. Probably the worst hotel room I've ever stayed in up to that point. I was up the whole fucking night. Not because of the room, but because of other factors. It was hell. Absolutely miserable. Amazing you can be that tired and still not be able to sleep.

The following morning we had to get up super early to catch our flight to Chile. I was bummed to find a heavy overcast sky and fog when we landed. Couldn't see hardly any of the amazing scenery. Not that it would've done us much good if the weather had been clear. Couldn't see shit from the van and I asked the guys in charge three times if we could stop somewhere just for a few seconds to see something and maybe get a picture or two of the incredible Andes mountains. "Oh yeah, OK," they kept saying, but they never did. Humorously, we stayed at Hotel Bonaparte, but aside from the name, it couldn't have been more different than Hotel Napoleón. Where Napoleón was possibly the worst hotel I had stayed in, this was probably the best. This place was fucking paradise. We had separate, very spacious rooms. Everyone there looked like a model. I felt like I was in a real life Benson & Hedges advertisement. The show was at this place called Rockola, which had a ridiculously high stage. The crowd was relatively small but they made up for it with their enthusiasm. All in all, a very good show.

Giant pinapple-like trees in Santiago	The only shot I managed to get off of "the scenery" from within the van	Gene and CJ waiting in the lobby of the hotel	The view out my window of the turquoise pool, which we didn't get to use	Jorge, the local promoter, and CJ in the van on the way to soundcheck
The venue, Rockola	Unloading the van for soundcheck	Soundcheck	Walking around Santiago, looking for a public phone to call home (mission impossible)
The exterior of Hotel Bonaparte	My luxurious room in the calm of night	Backstage at Rockola	Pics from the show	Videos from Santiago

We had to get up really early again the following day to fly to Uruguay. Customs nabbed us at the airport when we landed and found our tour shirts. Despite the local promoter insuring us that this wouldn't be a problem, it was. Fortunately, however, they let us go after confiscating a few shirts and CDs as booty, thus avoiding a lengthy delay and hefty fines. We're now in Montevideo, Uruguay. Just got back from soundcheck and a meet-and-greet/autograph signing at a music store.

At the airport, leaving Chile	Views of the mountains from the gangway	Despite the fog, a halfway decent picture as we ascend	Touching down in Uruguay
Soundcheck at Complejo Troya	Crammed in the van on the way to the autograph session		Pics from the autograph session in Montevideo

We're staying at this old hotel from the '30s called Hotel Los Angeles. More like Hotel California. We've checked in, but I'm not sure we'll check out. This place is creepy as all fuck! It's not at all an exaggeration to say that this place is straight out of a nightmare. Everything's dingy, old, musty, and ornate in that creepy turn-of-the-century way. The ceilings are like 5 feet too high, painted black, and the smell of death permeates everywhere. The furniture, the paintings on the walls, the paint itself even, all emanate this subtle but overwhelming effect of dreadful horror.

To make it even worse, the hallways are not constantly lit. The lights are on motion sensors, so when you emerge from your room, the hallway is dark. Then, as you proceed, the individual pale, yellowish lights click on briefly before quickly shutting off again. Our rooms are at the far end of a series of these incomprehensibly-arranged hallways. (Seriously, this place must have been designed by a madman.) This is the quintessential place where you expect to see some kind of fucking apparition as you turn a corner. And it's not just me who feels this way. CJ and Brian are also creeped out. The 6 floors are serviced by this cramped little elevator that runs up a caged shaft. Right before it comes to a halt it makes this sort of extended howling sound that sounds like some kind of fucking evil spirit. Random pool-shaped stains darken the already dark carpets. CJ even noticed a small patch of dark red spots on the front of our wardrobe that looked like blood spatter.

We were all laughing our asses off at all of this when we first showed up, but this is absolutely a bone-chillingly creepy fucking place. I can't imagine that these rooms have not borne witness to scores of murders and suicides over their near-80-year existence. There's so much malevolent energy oozing out of every facet of this place it's not even funny. If we don't get pretty lit up tonight I don't think it's possible we could get any sleep. And I shit you not about this, and this is possibly the creepiest thing of all... I had made this Hotel California reference to Brian as I was leaving our room to come down here to write in the reception area (he's watching TV so I figured I'd be able to concentrate better down here). There was a radio playing nearby and I shit you not, as soon as I sat down a snippet of Hotel California came on. Not the whole song. They must've used just a bit of it in some kind of commercial or promotional thing, but it came on just as I sat down to write. My blood ran cold. I moved shortly after to this private conference room to get away from the noise in the reception area. Maaan...

Anyway, we're going to eat in a half hour. Hopefully the show goes well tonight. Who knows what to expect from fucking Uruguay? As long as we make it out of this hotel with our lives and our sanity I'll be happy.

Last night's show in Montevideo was at this huge venue called Complejo Troya. The show was well-attended and we played well from what I could tell. The crowd was a bit weird, though. At times they seemed really into it, and at other times, key times, they just dropped the ball, like they were either confused or lacking an attention span. Mariano Perez, who filmed the Do It To Me video, met us there and started filming us. He's gonna be with us for the remainder of the tour. During the middle of our set, while he was up front filming us, someone in the crowd pissed on the poor guy's leg! Fucking unbelievable. Talking with Mariano (Asch, the tour manager), he told me he's been pissed on by drunk audience members several times, including once on the head! I was speechless. I've never heard of such a thing.

Got back to the horror hotel around 3:00. I pounded some whiskey, augmenting my night's existing alcohol intake in order to insure a sound rest amidst the disquieting surroundings. Got up around 6:00 against every fiber of my being, took the van to the bus station, took a bus to Colonia, now we're on the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires. The remaining 5 shows of the tour are all in Argentina. Tonight's show is going to be recorded for a possible DVD release. I hope we play well. That shit always makes me nervous and distracted.

Pics from the show

Videos from Montevideo

Waiting for the van. No idea who those two people are in the middle.

On the "Colonic Express", crossing the River Plate to Buenos Aires