3 OCTOBER, ZAGREB, CROATIA

I went to Zagreb with my younger cousin Marko. The last time I was there was some 17 years ago, when I went to see Miracle Workers. WE had great fun, but the war started the very next day (nothing to do with me being there, hehe).

My friend Zeljka picked us from the train station, we left our stuff at her place and hit the town. A couple of hours later we met Goran, who was our host for next couple of days. Goran was in seminal Croation punk band Babies (now sadly defunct). They left two great albums behind, the second one was produced nad mixed by Tim Kerr. Goran now plays in equally awesome garage punk trio Wwelcommin' Committee In Flames.

First night we checked a coupleof venues in the city and had some drinks. We were exhausted from the trip and had an early night. The next day we did some sightseeings and tried some local food, very nice. At 6pm Zeljka took me to some University Radio Station where they interviewed me and I had a chance to play live on air. No guitar though, so I only used the lead, but it sounded pretty good. To me, at least.

Then we went to SPUNK where I had a show booked. That night they had a DJ who played strictly punk rock, so I thought my gig might not go that well. And I was right. I took the stage around 11pm and five minutes into my set I could fel the bad vibes from the crowd (the place was packed). The set was pretty noisy, I must admit, and 15 minutes later I decided to bring it to an end. To my initial surprise there was a very loud applause, but soon I realised the crowd was clapping so loud because they were happy that I have finished!

Now, I'm not concerned about the crowd reaction anywhere and I knew they were there to get smashed and listen to some punk rock, but I cannot say I was too excited. Luckily, there were lots of cool people there and with most of them I've been in touch for years, so at least I had a chance to have a drink with my friends and forget about shitty response. Needless to say I didn't sell any CDs.

The next day we hang around with Goran for a meal and one more drink and we took the train back. The next show is in Belgrade on my birthday, 8 October. Hope it goes better than Zagreb...