Have plane, will travel

...One thing that's happened during my time in America is a warping of distance. Or rather, a warping of my perception of distance. This country is mind bogglingly vast yet people are willing to travel hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to party. I did that myself this past weekend, jetting on a five thousand mile round trip to go party for a weekend. That's right, five thousand miles. For a weekend...

...It wasn't just any old party, mind. It was the 30th birthday party for techno DJ Richie Hawtin, aka Plastikman. He's held these special "Lodge parties" every three years in a wooden lodge in a secluded forest in northern Michigan, up near the Canadian border (a three hour drive north of the Motor City, Detroit, the birthplace of Techno). This was the final party in a series of three (three  parties, every three years, his 30th birthday - it's all in the  numbers, see). It was strictly invite only, for about a hundred souls, and we went river rafting, danced to the beat for 48 hours straight and did all manner of crazy sh*t. However, I was invited strictly on a personal level and not in any journalistic capacity so I can't really say any more. My lips are sealed. However, I have included one image for you, which should hopefully speak volumes...

...But I'm not really wittering on about the party anyhows. It's more about distance and space and how it changes when you live in a  country so damn gigantic. Most Londoners can't be bothered to cross town to visit mates, let alone go "up north" for the weekend. Yet Americans will gladly drive for a couple of hours to a good club, or fly half way across a continent to go to a good gig...

...But I think my perception of space - and particularly of the American continent - is going to be distorted even more from the end of next week when I embark on a mammoth five-week trip around the States. I'm touring with a bunch of DJs and bands - in a full-on tour bus - who are playing at various clubs and raves in promotion of a new electronic music magazine that's launching in July,  called Revolution. The mag wants me onboard to document the trip in words and pictures and try to capture the insanity of the road experience and the electronic music scene in Middle America...

...Most DJs/bands I've talked to say touring's hell. Although that  does depend on who you tour with I suppose. Hawtin (again) toured with techno-rave troubadours The Prodigy way back in 1991/2, just when they were hitting big with toytown rave anthem "Charly". As you can imagine, Da Prodge were out of control, causing chaos on a Led Zeppelin scale everywhere they went. Four young Essex boys, in the US for the first time, with a stack of cash in their pockets. You do the maths. Quite how bands like Metallica tour for *two years* on the trot is beyond me...

...Back on Earth, I'm delighted to hear they're repeating "This Life" on BBC2 (every weeknight, 11.20pm). Although I saw it back in the UK, I've just finished watching the second (and final) series again here on BBC America. Why oh why didn't they continue with a third series?...

...Go check the BBC's Wimbledon section: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/wimbledon2000/default.stm Ignore all the boring profiles of players of yesteryear and the ridiculous jingoistic claptrap about British players one day winning the Men's Singles title and instead head straight for the sound sample that contain's John McEnroe's infamous courtside verbals from 1979/80. Hilarious stuff (although you'll need a fairly fast  connection and decent computer to listen to it).

...Finally, one site you should check is http://qix.lm.com/cgi-bin/fun/glamname.pl which if you type your name into a box will churn out your very own "Glam Name". My mate Jon Comyn's glam name is Ginchy Tinselpants. Ha ha...

You cannot be serious,

Typhoon Blowfreak

He was born with a gift of laughter
and a sense that the world was mad.

Rafael Sabatini