Touring with the Angry Samoans

I have a cold today, so my writing flow might be staggered, as I reach for tissues to blow my snozz.

To continue.. Cameron is Tom's Identical twin brother, and even though I had never met him before i landed in SF, it seemed instantly like he was an old friend of mine. He had the same mannerisms, dress sense, taste in music and humour, and we hit it off straight away. His girlfriend was the manager of this awesome cocktail bar, called the Red Room, and according to Alison and her rock mates, this was the latest 'place to be'. Before I knew it, Cameron had me in the Silver Room out the back doing 'extreme confidence raising' activities with the coolest folk in town. It was my good fortune to buy a bag of goodies from his mates, as later on, when I was touring with the band, I offered the goods first, and they were amazed that a guy in the country for 3 days could have stuff. For the next month, I was in a haze, and it took me nearly 6 months before I could smell properly again. I felt like David Bowie in the 70s!

The tour was kinda strange, as Metal Mike (the main man from the Angry Samoans), is an obsessive compulsive, and he had made all kinds of demands on touring with Green Day and Rancid that they had to start their tours without us. Things changed, and before we knew it, we were on the road to San Diego as headliners for a 12 band metal tour. I can't seem to remember any of the names of the bands, but i know i got really toasted with the singer from 'Insult', who he described as a band that: "plays mostly 30 or 40 second songs of grind core metal that get straight to the point". Mike drove all the way down the freeway at 55 mph, as he wanted maximum fuel efficiency, and he refused to go any faster. He also only ate baby carrots, which made his skin yellow, and he obsessively wiped boogers on the steering wheel. I don't know why I remember that.. it must have disturbed me! Anyway, Mike was a pretty nice guy, but with some major weirdarse habits!

We also cruised up the coast, and I remember we did a show in Santa Barbara, just next to the fun fair where the Lost Boys was filmed. I forgot to mention, my job was to be the videographer, and I filmed the shows. A funny incident, now I wish i had a copy of the video, was at that San Diego show. When we got there, just as i was getting ready, and the crowds were coming in, my shaving cream exploded and trashed all my clothes, in front of a large group of teener punks. So I had to wear this soggy t-shirt, and spoiled any chance of meeting any hot punk chicks for the night. Later, just as the Samoans were climaxing at the end of their set, Mike yelled to the frothing crowd: "see that guy over there with the camera? He's from Australia, so kick his ass!" It was kinda like crowd surfing, but with extra punches and extreme pushing. I didn't die, or get really beaten up at all, it was in good fun, hehe, and I did get a few free drinks out of it.

Yeah, Alison was really cool. She set me up in her friend who was out of town's pad in this snazzy apartment on Pine and Leavenworth, and I also spent time down the hill at the border of Knob Hill and the Tenderloin district on Bush Street. I think the area was known as the 'Tenderknob'. On top of it all, to make my trip just that little bit better, Cameron set me up for a few days at his pad in Height-Ashbury. And I met a ballet dancer who gave me a motorcycle tour of her part of the city. Hehe, that was a fun time indeed! I should find some pics and put them online..

Next stop: Adventures with Swedes and a crazy Norwegian on The Greek Islands.