Greetings from Paris, France where I am currently riding the bull that is jet lag.
I have come over here a few days ahead of my short run of shows through the UK and France and though i’ve stayed in europe after many tours, this is the first time i’ve ever come over before a tour, and it’s something I need to make a habit out of as it’s giving me time to adjust and enjoy the city without the exhaustion of having just been out on the road.
Paris feels alive at the moment - the weather is beautifully warm and everyone is out in the streets and life seems to be happening all around me. I spent yesterday floating through the city - eating food and sitting at cafes and visiting the Pompidou, where I had never been before. When at the Pompidou I especially enjoyed the Brancusi exhibit as I listened to Nicos "Chelsea Girl” - one of my favorite albums of all time.
I listened to Chelsea Girl religiously when I first moved to New York and I can’t hear it without feeling nostalgic for that time in my life. Being in Paris, and listening to that album, brings on a lot of sense memories and was making me very emotional as I walked through the museum. It’s such a cinematic album with its incredible string arrangements and I found myself tearing up more then a few times - not at the sight of the art - but at the sight of strangers looking at the art, awestruck and lost in their own wonder, with Paris as their backdrop and Nico as my soundtrack. It was a beautiful experience.
In other news, a song that’s been on my mind a lot lately is John Callahans “Texas When You Go”. Callahan was best known for his cartoons when he was alive - and is the subject of one of my favorite movies “Don’t Worry He Wont Get Far On Foot” where he’s portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix - but he was also a songwriter. The credits of the film roll to him singing his own song - Texas When I Go, and it’s become one of my all time favorites over the years.
There’s a line in the song that absolutely kills me:
Once you spoke of Paris,
And mama said to you,
There’s a Paris that’s far away,
And one in Texas too
So I’ve recorded my own little version of it in my hotel room on an unplugged Fender Coronado out here in the far away Paris.
and if you live in the UK or france, you can get tickets to my shows here.
xoxo