Catl, Last Show, European Tour Invasion, Part 10 - NOVI SAD, SERBIA

 It's catl's last stop, before sweet home Canada!

Look for them this July, at Munich's Raut Oak Fest! 

And don't forget, they'll be touring the U.S this year! 

"We drove an hour with all our gear, our host Aleks, the driver Zoran, and Iggy the harp player, to the charmer of a town called, Novi Sad. The car was a small Ford ‘something or other,’ and you couldn’t squeeze a piece of rice into the cramped cabin if you wanted to."

catl-radio Novi Sad is on the air!

Our first stop in Novi Sad was a local radio station to promote the show that night. We had no idea what was being said.

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 9 - BELGRADE, SERBIA

 catl's tour in Europe is winding down, and coming to an end...one more stop to go!

 

"We hopped in a van to get to Serbia, where we met our first, official, border hassle. The rather large Serb, with the machine gun, asked us for our papers for being musicians. We handed him the only things we had - our very ripped up itinerary, that had been in Sarah's purse all tour. That seemed to be enough, and off we went."

Near the outskirts of Belgrade at a toll booth. An incredible fog had descended on the city, which had lasted two weeks by the time we got there. This is one of many stray dogs. #fogdog

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 8 - BUDAPEST

It might have been a Sunday, but it didn't deter the rockers in Budapest from coming out to see catl! 

Stunning architecture, delicious Turkish food, and welcoming/ beautiful people...these are some of the things Budapest is made of! 

Check out what catl had to say about their Budapest stop!

Having a snack on the train. Sarah insists it's an elephant, Jamie says it's something else....

The train to Budapest, was the last train we took on the tour, and it was by far the most ghetto train of all. Rickety. Old. No food or drink. But it still looked fucking cool as hell! It made us miss the cushy trains we'd experienced earlier on this tour.

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 7- FELBACH, AUSTRIA

This here is the OFFICIAL VIDEO for 'Gold Tooth Shine'  Featuring Pete Ross on harmonica, and Dani Nash on extra vocals. Director: Brett Van Dyke, Cinematographer : Brett Van Dyke csc, Editor: Kyle McNair


Life on the road isn't always easy! Sometimes all you want is quite, a clean place to rest your head, and food that won't make you sick!

Thank goodness for the friends catl made in Europe! It helped make the rest of their European tour a comfortable success!

Read more about their travel success and tribulations in this, and future blogs!

"Our host Didi met us at the train station and we went straight for dinner. Sarah couldn’t eat anything on our second train (the ‘ghetto’ train) because she's vegetarian and celiac so she was starting to chew on her drumsticks for sustenance."

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 6 - PRAGUE

Canadian greats, catl, have been hitting the road hard! 

Here's a peak into the fun, and struggles, they have been encountering on their European tour!

Jamie's ongoing amp roulette - Marshal Stack baby!

"We traveled on the train for about 8 hours, to get to this weird little pub in the middle of a park. It was their staff Christmas party, and they were handing out gifts, like socks with 'Jameson's' written on them. They were also pretty well oiled, just like the rest of Europe.

There were long pauses after our songs ended, and they seemed to like it with some polite applause; but when we threatened to stop playing, they got feisty and wanted us to keep going. One fella stopped us afterwards, and said our music was 'good quality'. We said 'thanks but our hygiene is becoming of very poor quality', and he stared at me blankly.

Catl European Tour Invasion Part 5

Catl European Tour Invasion Part 5

After getting picked up at the train station by our host Mark, we met him at the Deep Blues festival in Clarksdale, MS this past October. Mark and his beautiful girlfriend Andrea let us stay at their country home, and the hospitality was over the top.

Rosenheim is a smallish city and the Asta club where we played was one of the only games in town. The soundcheck was easy and I finally got an amp that was easy to drive - a fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The skin on Sarah's floor tom is getting stretched out and is starting to sound like she's hitting a piece of bologna. Sadly the only music store in Rosenheim didn't carry the right size so bologna it is!

Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

Catl European Tour Invasion Continues In Part 4

We had 9 minutes to transfer to our connecting train to make the show on time and we made it! With all of our shit that we're carrying it was no small feat. We then proceeded to get drunk on the train once the hard work was over. Sarah ate a curry that wasn't bad. We arrived in Vienna and met up with our host Stefan. Super nice guy, who just happened to be the manager of the club we're playing at. We walked to the club in the rain and I ate a falafel from a Turkish food stand that was pretty tasty.

Catl Invades Europe On Tour and Lands In Freiburg, Tour Write Up Part 3

Catl Invades Europe On Tour and Lands In Freiburg, Tour Write Up Part 3

We left our friends Sabina and Frank in Cologne. I bought and consumed a delightful cheese sandwich from a local vendor and off we went to Freiburg which signaled the beginning of 8 shows straight. This will either turn us into the tightest, sloppy rock and roll band or we'll drop dead trying.

After arriving at the Slow Club and got ripped off by the cabbie. He's what you call in German - a dickhead (very similar to English). The club looked kinda non-descript from the outside, but what wonders filled its hallowed halls. Never have we been taken care of better than the people that ran this club. All the local beer and organic wines we could swallow, a beautifully prepared pumpkin soup and lasagna dinner and a place to sleep upstairs. I've seen some band crash-pads in my day and I wouldn't let a blind dog sleep in them. This place was gorgeous with a fully stocked kitchen, linens on the beds, a shower and fresh towels. Spotless.

Catl Invades Europe, Tour Write Up Part 2 While Rolling Through Belgium

Catl Invades Europe, Tour Write Up Part 2 While Rolling Through Belgium and meeting the good luck monkey.

So we got driven to Mons, which is an hour away from Brussels in two small cars with all our gear. I said "wouldn't one giant American-style car be enough?", and everyone hugged and laughed and lit their cigarettes.

We played downtown near their city hall where they had a beautiful giant Christmas tree surrounded by some very unsteady skaters. Apparently, we shouldn't expect any hockey threats coming out of Belgium.

Sarah and me prepped for the show by 'touching the good luck monkey' near the Mons City Hall. We reluctantly rubbed its shiny little noggin and wouldn't you know it, the show was killer. Thanks Mr. Lucky-Monkey-Man!

Catl Lands In Europe and Is Documenting The Invasion - Show 1 - Rock Classic

Watching bands tour from afar can be quite entertaining and we have decided to open up our news feed for bands on the label and bands that we really dig. This is cool way to document tours and for an expose into what it takes to move from show to show and all the great things that can happen along the way. Over the next few weeks our favorite Canadian blues rockers, Catl will be broadcasting about their current European tour. Have a read below: