The rat in the RV

Our cosy bedroom
Our cosy bedroom
Our cosy bedroom

You know the rat in the pizza myth. So there’s a couple of misperceptions about our tour and the RV, and some of them are so reaccuring that I felt I had to write a little post about it. Everyone’s been really sweet and I know they all mean well and just don’t know better but here’s the most common things people think/ask/tell us about our tour and the RV. It always makes me smile đŸ™‚

“You can stay in our guest room and have a good night’s sleep in a REAL bed”
Well, we actually have a brand new IKEA Sultan Queen Size mattress with a real feather duvet in our bedroom in the RV, but thanks đŸ˜‰

“You should come over for dinner, when was the last time you had a home cooked meal?”
Probably for lunch, or dinner yesterday… Actually most of the food we eat is home cooked, in the RV. I actually wish we would have more money to spend on eating out. But we ALWAYS appreciate being invited for dinner, so please keep inviting us!

“It must be nice to have a two year vacation, just cruising around the US!
Seriously, that would be a dream come true. But we have to work every day with booking shows, doing promotion, driving to the next gig, performing etc. We work more and harder than we ever had before. And it’s worth it for sure, but it’s NO vacation.

To check out the before and after pictures of our RV redesign go here!

Ripping off artists

I just got contacted through my Sonic bids EPK by an organization called Bands With A Mission. They took on a personal approach by mentioning one of my songs, but I’ve gotten these kinds of emails before and soon got suspicious of their motive.

After doing some research online I found this blog: http://samsongs.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/band-with-a-mission-not-a-chance/which confirmed all my suspicions.

I think it’s so mean when people try to profit on struggling bands and artists. It’s like this online magazine called Indie Music Reviewer that I sent my album to for a review a while back. I instantly got an automated email saying that I’d be guaranteed a review if I bought this or that advert space. So now every time I see a band being reviewed by them I just wonder if the score they got reflect how much they paid.

I really think companies like that suck and I feel sorry for the artists that get lured into paying money for shit like that.

In love with Alabama

Sofia Talvik live at The Bama Theatre
Sofia Talvik live at The Bama Theatre
Sofia Talvik live at The Bama Theatre

At first it seemed like a real challenge to book gigs in Alabama and Mississippi, and some people actually told us we would probably be better off skipping them altogether. Well, let me tell you I’m pretty happy we ignored that advice. If I haven’t played the best venues there is in Alabama, I think my head is going to explode because the places I’ve played here have been some of the best gigs on my tour so far. In beautiful Birmingham I was invited to play Moonlight on the Mountain and got to discover a great singer/songwriter called Nathan Reich who also happens to play guitar in the new hip band Flights. In Auburn I played the low key intimate The Gnu’s Room and in Tuscaloosa I played at The Bama Theatre with local Sparrow and the Ghost and also did a show at the Alabama Art Kitchen. In Cullman I had standing ovations at the 60’s style coffee house Berkely Bob’s Coffee House. Alabama has been so great, it’s actually the only state where I’ve had ONLY good shows.

So here’s a few pics and videos. See you in Arkansas and Texas!

Performing Delusional at Bama Theatre

Sofia Talvik live at Moonlight on the mountain
Sofia Talvik live at Moonlight on the mountain
Keith, Sofia and Nathan at Moonlight on the mountain
Keith, Sofia and Nathan at Moonlight on the mountain
Sofia Talvik live at Berkely Bob's Coffee House
Sofia Talvik live at Berkely Bob's Coffee House