MusicRatty: Miss Massive Snowflake: Carnival Wagons and Chain Stores (Kaiserslautern, Germany)

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Miss Massive Snowflake: Carnival Wagons and Chain Stores (Kaiserslautern, Germany)

2008-04-23 21:44:42 by CASEY JARMAN in local Cut

Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 8, 2008
Kaiserslautern, Germany

Video Tour Diary, Part 5:

Miss Massive Snowflake Tour Diary 5 from localcut on Vimeo.

I am back once again at my brother’s house for the final time of this tour. I arrived here last night from Frankfurt after a series of trams and trains. I was happy to take a shower and shave after accumulating quite a bit of dirt over the past 4 days. It is the morning of the 8th of April and I am here alone because the kids are at school and the parents are at work. I realize that I have not been alone for a while and this feels good. When Saskia is out of school at 1 we will go downtown for lunch and ice cream.

Let me start where I left off back in a warm bed in Weikersheim. I relaxed and around noon the W71 crew
arrived and since Stefania and Nicoletta were still sleeping, we decided to go walking around this small charming town. We went to the city center and looked at the church which was began in the 11th century. We discussed how all the chain stores in the area are ruining the small businesses in the town. I told them how my home town of Billings, Montana is surrounded by all the chain stores and that all across America every city is looking more and more alike. It is sad, because local flavors are being lost to some homogeneous giant that is somewhat appealing because you can save a quarter.

One thing that America doesn’t have is old castles and churches and the castle in Weikersheim itself isn’t super big but it does have an immaculate and huge garden filled with flowers and statues. We walked through the gardens and talked about our lives. My love of Portland and their love for their community. Way back in the early 70’s they thought of moving to a big city but instead they decided to stay in their small town and bring the world to them. It was an inspiring tale of staying true to what you want from life and being able to expose yourself to art and music by bringing artists who show art and musicians who play music come to you. The only thing better than an young freak is an old freak and these people were truly awesome.

I returned to our quarters and Stefania and Nicoletta were awake. We ate some food, drank some coffee, and hit the road to Frankfurt. Just to let Frankfurt know that Miss Massive Snowflake was coming the snow once again came down in massive snowflakes from the sky for most of the short drive. We arrived at Borsigallee Wagenplatze around 5 pm and it was fairly easy to find. We had been told to take the exit and go left, next to the shopping mall was a big 5 story parking garage, next to that a gate with a dirt road that went into the woods behind. We followed these directions and as we drove into the woods on the dirt road, we began seeing all sorts of old trucks, trailers, old circus wagons, lean to’s, and all sorts of strange homes. Borsigallee Wagenplatze has been around for 16 years and the people who are part of the community there live completely off the grid and squat the land.

They range in age from a 4 day old baby who was born in a circus wagon without running water to old men who live in their trucks. Most of the people are in their twenties and thirties and everyone is extremely polite and kind. They obtain their energy from lots of solar panels strewn about everywhere and on all the vehicles or small windmills. The club itself is built of wood scraps, old signs, tarps, and whatever they could find to keep the elements out.

Pete and the rest of the crew made us a wonderfully warm spicy soup and salad that was perfect because we had been walking around in the snow taking pictures of this unique place out in the woods. The kitchen was a carnival wagon and was heated by a wood stove. After warming up we went to the bar and did a sound check.
Pete had to shut down the generators after sound check and get the power up and running again. The people started arriving around ten and ?Alos kicked off her set around 11. The wood stoves kept everyone warm and smiles abounded amongst these modern people who have managed to live independently from society. Something that could not exist in America where all land is owned and property is more important than people.

After Stefania’s and my set, Pepe the bartender, turned on the car stereo that is hooked up to a battery and the whole place began dancing. Since it was Stefania, Nicoletta’s, and my last evening together we just danced and danced to the music. I was abstaining from drinking anything because Felix at W71 had given me so much whiskey and beer, I thought that my body could use a break. I have no idea what time we returned to our guest wagon but it was really warm because Nicoletta had come to it after the show and before the dance party and started the fire in the wood stove. It was kind of like a sauna but that was ok because outside was really cold.

We awoke around 11 and the snow was falling (making Miss Massive Snowflake legendary to the folks of Borsigallee Wagenplatze). They had made us a breakfast of hummus, Rhubarb soup, fried tofu, and bread and it was delicious. We all said our goodbyes, thanked everyone for the excellent hospitality, and left this magical community in the woods outside of Frankfurt, Germany. Stefania and Nicoletta dropped me off at the U bahn (tram) which I took to the S bahn and then boarded the Deutsch Bahn (train) to Mannheim, where I transferred to Kaiserslautern. I arrived just in time for dinner at my brother’s house. Sabine had made chicken enchiladas and they were delicious. After dinner we went out for some beers at the local brewery with Sabine’s twin brothers, Michael and Andreas. We all sat around drinking, eating, and discussing my many trips to Germany over the last twenty years. It was a wonderful time and I am always happy to be around my family which is extended all over the world. Take care and I will write more after my show in Graz while I am on the train to Italy to see my good friends there. Everything here is perfect except that I am totally missing my wife, Meredith, and our daughter, Marley, who is back in Portland and who on Saturday won her first soccer game of this spring season. Good job, Tsunami of the Laurelhurst Football Club.