Raport Nicko McBrain'a - MEDIOLAN, ZURICH

[WICKER MAN]

Nicko: Stuttgart

Hotel room - Stuttgart Germany
Time: 4: pm
December 7th 2006


Well, well, well, how are you all doing today?
Have had a most splendid time over these last couple of days I can tell you!!!!!!!!!


We had the second of our two shows in Milano on Sunday. It was a great night. No problems for us on stage and all in all a fantastic night. Highlight was the audience singing FoTD. It was especially funny that they sang the ‘Your turn’ bit and the laugh. Talk about laugh, I couldn’t stop. I even missed the downbeat of the verse. It was so funny.
Thank you, you crazy, ‘kin Billie’s in Milano, what a great time!!!


After the show we did a runner back to Blighty. I was home by 2am and in me bed and lights off for 3.
Got up late that morning and popped down the village again for a spot of brunch. Got back to me drum and decided to go for a drive around the local area. Went and found a great rubber dub in the next village along called Chalfont St Giles. Great watering hole called Merlin’s Cave, good drop of IPA in there I can tell you. After a pint I decided to have an early supper. Found a gem of a restaurant called ‘Cape Fish’ just at the top of the hill up from the village green. I had a great starter of Scallops followed by a fantastic piece of Sea Bass. Lovely jubbly!!!!!!!!!!!
After dinner I went for another wee drive and ended back at my place a little after 8pm. I watched some telly and had an early night.

Tuesday we were off to Zurich. We left London at 1:30pm and arrived at the hotel for 4pm. After checking in I decided to go to the gig early. Me old china Danny Zimmermann was going to meet me, he is the artist relations man for Paiste cymbals.
I arrived at 5:30pm and did a small interview with Danny for a top Swiss news program that will be aired tonight. The cameras were at the factory as well. I’ll tell you more about that in a little bit.
I had a special room arranged for my guests from the company. Ted Voellmy the financial director and a group of the production guys came. I haven’t seen Ted for an age and it was great to see him at the show, as well as the rest of me chums.

We hit the stage at 9:05pm and had a blast. I did however make a complete balls up on BTATS; I had a ‘Kin brain fart right at the point of the second swell just before the end of the song. I completely missed it. We got out of it well and things seemed to be a wee bit on the quick side from there on in. After the show, Harry, Bruce and meself had a chuckle about it but in general all thought that it was a storming show. What do I know!!!

After the show I took a shower and went to meet with Danny, Ted and the guys. We had a drink and then said our farewells. I got back to the hotel by 1:30pm and made last orders in the bar. Had me night cap and went to bed.

The next morning I was up and ready for a 1 pm departure from the hotel. I was due a visit to the Paiste factory, Geezer was coming with me especially as he has so much history with the family as well, after all he did tech for me for 13 years AAAAHHHEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I haven’t been to the factory in such a long time. I usually take a pilgrimage at least once a year to present to the production guys a gold record from myself as a token of my appreciation to them for their great workmanship and commitment to meself. I love this part of me job. I get to shake their hands and they stop work for the afternoon and we have a beer or two and a laugh. This time Ted had arranged a picnic table and food and wine along with copious amounts of beer, Bless ‘im.
We all had a fantastic time.
I presented to the guys an award for the last three studio albums.
It will look good on the wall next to the vending and coffee machines that already have a number of our gold discs on it.
I am honored to have such a wonderful relationship with this family and the workers, they make such great sounding cymbals.
I Love you guys I do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After my presentation, they gave me a wonderful 26” cymbal that all the production guys had signed and there was a very nice message written on it thanking me for being a great ambassador for the company. It most definitely bought a tear to me eye I can tell you.
We finished up around six after everyone had left to go home.
Danny, Geezer and meself decided to go visit with me very dear friend Bobby Leiser. He was the man responsible for me getting my number one deal with Paiste way back in the late seventies.
He hasn’t worked with Paiste for the last 16 years. He has his own company called ‘The Swiss Cheese and Chocolate Company’, they retail and rent music equipment. What a crazy name for a rental company AAAAHHHEEE.
He has a new home in a village which we would pass on our way back to Zurich and so we decided to make the wee detour and go see him and his lovely misses, Dominique, she runs a wee bar out of their home called Bar Luna, and Bobby has made a sort of museum of Hammond organs named, ‘The Hammond Gallery’. What a lovely, sweet and peaceful feeling there was in his home. I was very happy to be able to go and see them both.
We took a glass of beer and a wee drop of local wine and then made our way back to town. We were all feeling very hungry and so Danny took us to a great, French restaurant that he new. We had a great meal.

After dinner we had a wee libation in the bar at the restaurant, It was called Jules Verna. Great place, can’t remember the name of the restaurant though, bollox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After dinner we got dropped back at the hotel. We said goodbye to Danny and I hit the hay
What a phenomenal day it was. Thank you to everyone at ‘Paiste’ for the most memorable visit yet

This morning we made the journey to Stuttgart. It was a short flight and we arrived at the hotel for 3pm. I had a spot of room service and then wrote this diary. It’s a little after 4:45pm so I’m going to have a wee siesta and then head down to the show.
Me old china, Christian, from HK audio is at the show today. He has brought me a powered bass monitor cab. I had one of them in Japan and it really had the ‘Kin Bollox I can tell. Anyway I’ll get to see him later and speak at you lot later.

Stay safe and well
God bless you all.

=Nicko=