I'm Coming Home

I thought this thread was going to be about the Doughtry song. LOL

Good luck Matt!
 
Well it's official now. My folks showed up in Bucharest yesterday with surprise plane tickets to The States. So in just a few hours I'll be boarding a plane home. I'll be hanging in North Carolina for a little R&R then on to Summer NAMM in Nashville on the evening of the 23rd.

Let it all begin.
 
Well it's official now. My folks showed up in Bucharest yesterday with surprise plane tickets to The States. So in just a few hours I'll be boarding a plane home. I'll be hanging in North Carolina for a little R&R then on to Summer NAMM in Nashville on the evening of the 23rd.

Let it all begin.

Safe journey Matt, hope all goes well back home!
 
Well it's official now. My folks showed up in Bucharest yesterday with surprise plane tickets to The States. So in just a few hours I'll be boarding a plane home. I'll be hanging in North Carolina for a little R&R then on to Summer NAMM in Nashville on the evening of the 23rd.

Let it all begin.

Well, that was quick!

Hopefully you'll also make it out to Winter NAMM in January.
 
Well...after a stressful adventure I'm back in the US sitting at my grandparents' kitchen table.

Customs officials in Bucharest stupidly confiscated my cymbals when I tried to bring them on a plane in the normal regulation cymbal bag. They claimed they were lethal weapons then after a half hour fight allowed me to put them under the plane (only 20 minutes before takeoff) for an additional 50 Euro ...followed by a handshake I witnessed by the same customs official and the extra baggage coupon distributor. I assumed he pulled the whole stunt for half the money ...a common gimmick here. While in the back taking care of this, the same customs official removed my best crash and positioned it like a discus thrower pretending to throw it...laughing like a fool. I'm not even going to get into the hassles about the extra baggage weight and the greasy palm negotiations related to that.

But all that's behind me. I'm back. Now to relax for a couple of days ...then get it together.
 
Well...after a stressful adventure I'm back in the US sitting at my grandparents' kitchen table.

Customs officials in Bucharest stupidly confiscated my cymbals when I tried to bring them on a plane in the normal regulation cymbal bag. They claimed they were lethal weapons then after a half hour fight allowed me to put them under the plane (only 20 minutes before takeoff) for an additional 50 Euro ...followed by a handshake I witnessed by the same customs official and the extra baggage coupon distributor. I assumed he pulled the whole stunt for half the money ...a common gimmick here. While in the back taking care of this, the same customs official removed my best crash and positioned it like a discus thrower pretending to throw it...laughing like a fool. I'm not even going to get into the hassles about the extra baggage weight and the greasy palm negotiations related to that.

But all that's behind me. I'm back. Now to relax for a couple of days ...then get it together.

Wow. This jag-off really is making the world a better and safer place.
 
I will be at Summer NAMM in Nashville this coming Friday and Saturday.

Anyone else coming?
 
Was at the much smaller Summer NAMM in Nashville this past weekend where I was pleased to MC and officiate the WFD Finals on Saturday. The hosting gig was kind of last minute seeing as how I had not been a part speed drumming for over 3 years. Actually it only went down a couple of weeks ago. But it turned out to be a good decision. I did some good side business on the trade room floor which was a big relief and it was really cool to see Boo McAfee and the old gang. They dedicated this year's comp to Jim Chapin which made sense considering how many comps he had attended.

A very talented guy came all the way from Sydney Australia to win the new hands title and had set up his participation as a fund raising campaign to fight cancer, where he lined up people back home to donate for every official stroke. What a great thing to do ...and seeing as how he won the finals and set the Australian record in the prelims, it was a succesful weekend for everyone...and for all the right reasons.

OK...now on to the next step.
 
Awesome Matt! Glad to hear you made it back and jumped right back in the saddle, even if it was only to officiate and MC.
Thanks Gary and I very much appreciated your helpful pms when I was still in Europe. I was honored to officiate the championship round of WFD's big comeback. It was a pleasure to give back to Boo after he had been so nice to me in earlier times. Besides it was a lot of fun. I only wished we had seen an appearence from Tom. His absence was noticed by all. I jokingly made my first speed run in over 3 years and was kind of surprised that I performed as well as I did.
__________________
 
Well, it looks like I'm going to start out for a while in Nashville. I've hooked up with a close by place to stay and have some minor chores already in the offing. But I would love to hear from you Nashville guys about possible hookups as soon as possible. It's starting to feel good. Last month when I was at Summer NAMM it had a good feel and suited me for the time being. I know it's a tough town to break into so any advice is welcome and appreciated.
 
Good to hear your "adjusting" well to life back in the States. If things don't work in Nashville you can always head South!
Yeah I probably could go your way. But I better try this first. I need a base I can afford until I start hooking up. I might start up a separate Nashville inquiry thread to hear from some of our members who live out there.
 
Hey Matt! How did your travel to Eastern Europe come in the first place? Is it kind
of "easier to get gigs" in countries like Romania and Montenegro, or wasn't that your
main concern? I suppose you weren't the only good drummer there, were you?
Did you meet any Americans living there?
I went to middle school in Romania when the family moved there via my dad's acceptance of a two year Senior Fulbright Professorship at the National Conservatory of Music in Bucharest. At that time I studied twice a week with Romania's greatest drummer Vlad Popescu and he became the mentor who seriously got me going. So I already knew my way around Bucharest, had been going back every couple of years when Dad would have his summer music camp, and knew that for Europe things were pretty cheap. Yeah, it's easier to get gigs out that way because so many of the artists have taken off to the west to stake their claim after being stuck for so many years. When Romania joined the EU 4 years ago the place kind of emptied out. So perfect for me. There were probably a dozen full time drummers there and Vlad remained the best one, but was always tied up in somebody's house gig. So that opened things up for me. But the money was never good so you always knew things were temporary.

I saw few Americans except those passing through.
 
Hey, thanks for the reply! That certainly clarifies everything :).
I'm sure it was a very nice and precious experience.

By the way, Gergo Borlai is one of the very few drummers I know (not personally)
from Eastern Europe, and obviously he's a freakishly good. I wonder if he plays
outside his country? Have you met him?

Anyway, I wish you all the best back in the US, may great gigs be waiting for you!
 
No Swiss, I never ran into Borali. I wish I had.

Well, it's set. On Saturday, somebody meets me at the bus in downtown Nashville. I'm going to stay at a guy's house I've known for several years about a half hour outside of town. At first I'll work on some video production and get to work on co authoring a simple method book and a hands video where they want me to show people how to do that thumb trad gip thing. Food is in the every day picture. Then until I become more wheels efficient there's another guy who will get me into town until I figure out exactly how Broadway St. works.

If one of you Nashville guys wants a reliable new guy cheap for subbing, booking or anything else, pm me. I'm your guy.

The new adventure begins.
 
Matt, once you arrive in Nashville get in touch with Dave Martin at Java Jive studio. He's a hell of a nice guy, a top-notch player and he knows what's what and who's who.

Tell him that Jay sent you his way.
 
Back
Top