First time in Genova, and WOW! What a great – I mean GREAT place – and so many cool people! Boy did we have a night! I was getting ready for the Italian leg of my Psychedelic Secession Tour, and Massimo Perasso contacted me on Facebook to do a show at Taxi Driver Record Store in Genova. Then Sara Twinn jumped into action and wrote me another, longer mail. Y’know, I had never been there before – what was I missing? So I booked the show, wondering what would happen.
I was met at the train and immediately taken to the cool as hell Taxi Driver and there was a square filled with tents and set about hanging posters, while the great hosts at Taxi Driver brought out some really yummy focaccia – a specialty of Liguria. I’d lived in a small town on the shoreside of Liguria for 7 months (as if anywhere in Liguria is NOT on the shore), and it was a mystery, this Capitol of the Ligurian province, Genova. What met me was the friendliest welcome you can possibly imagine!
As the show wound to a close, we went in a group of 12 or 13 to dinner, through the incredible maze of streets of Genova. I had dinner with Sara who runs Taxi Driver, with poster artist Kabuto and all the members of Gandhi’s Gunn, Massimo’s band, and assembled friends and artists. I decided then and there that I’d return in October for a print demonstration – as much to spread the word about silkscreen printing as much as to hang out with all these cool people again! We took a walk down to the harbor, and I saw the amazing lighthouse of the port. We topped off the night at Giovanni Chirico’s Checkmate – hauling the festivities kicking and screaming into the dawn – and early morning munchies. Along the way Gio kept offering me the very very best Trappist Brews – saying, “This beer, of which there are only 8 bottles in Italy, is very nice … try” or “This one I am taking for you from my private stash…”
I made Sara and Massimo a drawing and left my mark on Checkmate’s wall – a reminder of the incredible spirit of Freedom demonstrated by the folks of Genova during the struggle over global capitalism during the riots of the G8.
Cafe Leningrad has this amazing spot on the Arno River which runs from Florence to Pisa. Firehouse mounted a show there for two nights. We drove nails into the 15th Century flood wall along the river and hung our posters along “Pisa Beach.” Dome La Muerte, was the incredibly cool DJ for two nights. Dome is so friggin’ cool; he was a member of the legendary bands Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, Not Moving, and plays with The Diggers now. Cristina, Dome’s beautiful lady, and performance artist of great reputation joined us for the night. Good to catch up with Mark Byrne and Sara Barsocchi – who have always been so kind and helpful on our trips to Italy. Mark recently toured Europe with The Angry Samoans. Sara, we call her Mrs. Wolfe, she can fix any problem, and I send my heartfelt thank you’s! Herve Peroncini from Club Shake in La Spezia, and front man for The Peawees (who was playing two shows later that month with Bad Religion), showed just in time to share dinner with Dome, Cristina, Francesco, Mark and Sara on the river. Happy to see all the rockers who made this event – Toscana Rocks!!!
Many many thanks to Francesco Mariotti who organized the night at the Argini e Margini di Arno of Cafe Leningrad, and who also made a fantastic night for us the preceeding evening at Keith Cafe – where Firehouse got to show our posters in front of Keith Haring’s Pisa Mural (I’m still hunting for pictures of this event!). We have big plans in the future to work with Francesco in Pisa!
