Sweden 2010, Day 8

I do not enjoy flying. Have I mentioned that? I get nauseous and sweaty and have to rely on mass quantities of Dramamine or Valium. Today, as it was a bit early for a date with Prince Valium, I opted for the Dramamine. Weird… that particular drug comes not as a pill here, but in a chewing gum. It worked hard and fast and I slept or sat in a stupor for my two flights which delivered me to Östersund. My band was waiting at the little one-horse landing strip at Åre and it was like no time had passed, though it had been over a year since we last met up. Timo is a giant of a man… 6 feet 8 inches tall and pushing 300 pounds. Definitely a guy that can shield you from overzealous fans and strong gales with equal aplomb. Johan (Joey the half-kangaroo-man) had not changed a bit either except for the strange furr on his face that called a beard, but to me looked more like… well.. let’s just say I hope he shaves it soon. Not likely, as he is apparently wearing it because he lost a bet.

We grabbed my suitcase and were off. We had several hours to kill in town while waiting for a call from the company that was duping the CD. We had lunch and went to a museum which chronicled the history of the region. OMG talk about feeding my Viking fetish! I was in heaven!! In truth, it was all very fascinating. One can see how the Swedes evolved to be the culture and people they are today. The artifacts were amazing! Swords, clothing, tapestries, jewelry, bones, and items of everyday life such as furniture and cookware. I LOVED this place!!

We discovered afterwards that there was a problem with the CD duplication, so we drove on to Hammerdal where Timo lives and where the band rehearses. After a brief rest, we went to see Timo’s mom and step-dad, whom I just adore, and then to see his awesome grandparents in Strömsund. They invited me to stay where they are house-sitting for their other daughter, who is in California with her husband on vacation.

This house is AMAZING!! Typical Swedish architecture and appointments… form is minimalist, function is efficient, lines are clean and unadorned. I could live in a place like this forever… but I am only staying 2 days. The man of this house restores classic cars, and we were treated to a tour of his garage. I do not even want to go into details of what was in there, but any gearhead regardless of mfg affiliation would DROOL.

Once accommodations were settled, we headed back to Hammerdal for a rehearsal. One by one my band members trickled in… Tobias with the pretty blue eyes, Henrik and his shy but somewhat insane humor, and Jocke who is… well, just Jocke. We dove right in and ran 10 songs quickly and efficiently. But like all metal bands populated by 20-somethings… they need to TURN THE HELL DOWN so the singer can hear herself! Lol!!

Henrik drove Johan and me back to Strömsund, where I tried unsuccessfully to decipher the sheet upon which, somewhere, the network key for their internet connection lurks. Bedtime now… see you tomorrow…