I wish I could tell you stuff...

[LISTING]

Great !
I bid on something including Fabio and Henry.

[dafttart]

it's December 13 / and I'll tell you all more in about 12 hours

I haven't been on here for quite a while but it looks like I picked a good day to visit! Tick tock...

[policefan]

[Echidna]

Im guessing this announcement relates to the pending Oysterhead reunion

[Dietmar]

well, this was already sort of guessed:
so I'm going to the SACRED GROVE with my buddy FABIO
we'll JAM with STEWART

we went there today and jammed with Jay Skowronek and Thomas Lang
just a few songs, the rest was talking, eating, taking photos, really sweet

I'll write a report for a German drum magazine about this experience
should it be good enough (and with TONS of photos including Stewart and Thomas Lang it should be) then it'll probably printed in early 2015
will let you all about it when it's out

there will be a PoliceWiki page about it, soon, of course
right now I can't upload any photos / this'll have to wait until I return to Germany

the other part is still a secret, sorry:
my buddy is also working on some great ... of ...
just sent some ... to ..., ..., ... and ...
so far so good

[New Zealand Promoter]

Oh, it's obviously this:

so I'm going to the PUB with my buddy MAURICE
we'll DANCE with DRUNKEN WOMEN
my buddy is also working on some great EXAMPLES of PICKUP LINES
just sent some PICTURES OF KITTENS to WENDY, PROFESSOR POOPSY, FALCOR THE LUCK DRAGON and DAVID LYNCH
so far so good

[Dietmar]

we played just a few songs, with huge amounts of jazzy jamming parts / among them Theme For Kinetic Ritual and Walking On The Moon
used instruments included the 1978 Fender Stratocaster and the bass used for Klark Kent songs (which he had got from the Curve Air bassist)
and the drums including THE snare used for all The Police recordings...

The Flag was present, of course

We also watched a Klark Kent video "it's gonna rain", which was one of the first videos produced in the Sacred Grove / but sadly unreleased

Thomas Lang is a great guy. We had some burgers in Malibu later. Check out his drumming skills on youtube if you don't already know him !!

[Dietmar]

first video bit online - shot by LA drummer Jay Skowronek

* correction: Thomas Lang posted this - Jay filmed the first bit and then used Thomas' cell phone for this part

loud drums and not much else in this section of the room

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u44FMwTeVM

[secretjourneyranch]

Too cool! How much fun was that!!
Stewart knows the song still right? Seems like a little reinterpreting going on there...or re-remembering...

fun video

[Dietmar]

it felt like playing it twice as fast ! I now feel for Sting...
and when we thought we were done with the song, some kept playing and it continued even faster and then faster until it was ridiculously "punky"

[secretjourneyranch]

I guess you needed to pull a Pink Pop and turn to him shouting "Slow Down"...

Andy would be proud

[Dietmar]

for facebook resistant people:

http://www.thepolicewiki.org/Police_wik ... opeland%29

[Dietmar]

OK, a longer report before the event is way too far in the past:

December 9-12
Fabio flew from Italy to Germany on December 9. We had a quick rehearsal with a fellow friend on December 10. On December 11 We took a plane from Düsseldorf to London Heathrow with 2 hours in Heathrow to get the plane to Los Angeles. Or so we thought. There was a delay in Düsseldorf because the air traffic in Heathrow was somehow busy. In mid-air the captain told us they had to fly slow as again Heathrow requested it. We flew some more circles over London. Security was slow in our line. We got searched. Speeded to our gate and only thanks to a flight servant who announced that we were on our way did we get the destinated plane to Los Angeles.
This flight was also longer than expected so that we were late in Los Angeles again. Took a taxi to our Hotel in Santa Monica where we were expected by Jay - we hadn't seen him in years, but it didn't matter at all. Went to a nice diner to have our first load of fat and sugar. When we get out of the diner it's raining a bit.
We later learned that airplane traffic in Heathrow was completely shut down after our departure due to some computer problems....
December 12 was our day off. It's the day after the heavy storm and there are still occasional showers when we spend the first half of the day at record and guitar shops in Hollywood, checking out West Hollywood with some Police-related venues, before ending the day with a visit to Megan's new place and a nice dinner with her family. We're too tired to spend more time with Jay at some concert as originally planned.

December 13
It's 10:30am in the hills above Los Angeles – after a breakfast at the diner next to our hotel Fabio, Jay, Megan and I arrived at the Sacred Grove.
After ringing the bell for a second time Stewart opens. The studio is as comfortable as I remember it, decorated with sofas, pillows, antique chairs, carpets and lots of instruments and memorabilia. The lighting is a bit dim, with only some narrow windows letting in some of the December sun and some artifial lights.
Stewart is just being Stewart. So after some chatting, cokes and coffee the newbies don't feel initimidated for long.
There's a lot of interesting stuff to see - a snare from Curved Air in a window, those Klark Kent instruments in the middle of the room (a Gibson SG, the Fender Telecaster Bass and a Fender Stratocaster that has seen the world with The Police, too). The Van Zaling bass "Fred" is still there, as is The Flag. And there's an old Roland Chorus Echo which was used so much on stage on the 80s!
Probably hundreds of other instruments there as well, a lot of them bought cheaply from ebay. Books, Grammys, photos, memorabilia, masks, prices... too much information.
The bell rings - and special guest Thomas Lang enters the Grove. Fabio knew him before. I was in touch with him for the PoliceWiki. And as he was in Los Angeles at that time due to an operation to his left hand he was a safe bet to be another guest at Stewart's place.
Although we were at the Sacred Grove for several hours we only played three numbers - but it felt right to spend most of our time there talking.
Fabio, Jay and I started with a kind of blues, because I had to do something "easy" to get warmed up. Didn't work at all. Everything I could play at home remained there - at least that's my impression - Stewart joined playing octobans and percussion, while Thomas Lang still rested his injured hand. Megan took photos all of the time.
The next song is our surprise for Stewart: "Theme For Kinetic Ritual". Again my guitar skills were reduced to cramps, but it was fine anyway. Stewart joined on several brass instruments and Thomas Lang took over the octobans.
The song is over, I'm sweating, because all the air gets into the Grove at the other side of the room. We're having a break, listen to the recording, have drinks and sandwiches.
After the break Stewart puts up a microphone - there's only one guy who can sing and that's Fabio. Stewart takes over the drums. Our song of choice is "Walking On The Moon". Thomas plays Octobans while Jay starts filming with his cellphone.
Soon we know what Sting must have felt so many times: the song is way too fast!! And where the end was supposed to be the drummers just don't stop drumming, so we keep on and with Thomas on percussion and Jay on Octobans we've got three drummers now. This means that the song becomes faster, even ridiculously so!
We stop the song with a Telemark landing of mine and everybody laughs. This was cool. Even my guitar was kind of OK.
We don't feel the need for another song - we just go on chatting. I take photos of almost everything inside this room as I might need them for a German magazine article.
Jay has got to leave for work. Later Stewart gives the audio files to Fabio who's already looking forward to mixing them. We'll get the video files later.
Fabio, Megan and I drove to Malibu with Thomas Lang where we had dinner at Duke's. Now there's another very talented and likeable drummer!
Megan returns us to our hotel, where we wonder it is was all real...

December 14-16
Fabio and I started the day with another breakfast with Jay before meeting one of Fabio's friends at a market in Santa Monica. After Jay has to leave for work (again?) we go to the beach, walk to the Pier and then to 3rd Street Promenade. We decide to get to the airport rather early and get our luggage from the hotel.
At the airport it seems we're lucky. There's only hour in Heathrow to change planes, and we know how the two hours on the flight to LA were reduced to nothing. So the nice lady from British Airway gets us seats on an earlier plane from American Airlines, so that we now have three hours to switch planes. Isn't that great?
At our gate it's time for boarding and we hear a voice on the microphone. Only he doesn't tell us that boarding is about to start, but that there are problems with our plane. There's a defective generator which has to be replaced. That's why boarding time will be in three hours.
Thank you, American Airlines.
This leaves us quite some time for arrangements. They tell us that everybody with connecting flights from Heathrow will be taken care of. There's no precise information yet, but once in Heathrow we'll be contacted about our connecting flights to Düsseldorf.
After three hours the generator is replaced and tested. We're boarding, sleeping, waching films, eating... hoping that everything will be alright in Düsseldorf. Because if there's no plane to Düsseldorf on that day Fabio will miss his flight back to Italy the very next morning.
In Heathrow everything works just fine. We get our new boarding passes, pass security again and have enough time for another meal and such. The flight to Düsseldorf is easy peasy, just about 1 hour.
Another problem in Düsseldorf. I booked a rental car, but forgot to bring my driver's license as I didn't need it in Los Angeles. Thankfully Fabio had his and so we drive home to Dortmund in our rental car. We arrive there on Monday - December 15 - around 10:00pm. Have to share lots of our stories and photos with Sabine. Then a quick 3 hour nap until it's time to get Fabio back to Weeze airport - arriving there in time to get his 6:40am flight back to Italy.
Me: back home - back to my bed.

December 16-18
Sleeping, working on the PoliceWiki, sharing some of our photos here on facebook. Starting the magazine article. Getting in touch with Stewart and Thomas about their approval of some of the photos I've taken. Getting in touch with the magazine editor. Working on the photos, etc etc etc
while Fabio did a bit of mixing back in Italy
from what I've heard the guitar on Moon isn't all that bad
the drumming however is like a landslide - like several drummers falling down a hill
and now I shared this story and you're up to date !

[exit0]

Thank you for the detailed report Dietmar!! What a fantastic time!

[Dietmar]

a response ! man, this forum on fire...