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In der neuen Ausgabe (05/09) des deutschen Soundcheck Magazins gibt es einen zweiseitigen Schelker Bericht. Unbedingt kaufen und lesen:

Tour Overview US-Tour 2008, Bettina Schelker

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30.11 Montclair New Jersey Jan Loe Showcase 01.12 Rockwood Music Hall New York 03.12 University and Artful Dodger Harrisonburg VA 04.12 Babes Richmond VA 05.12 Hershee Bar VA Beach 06.12 The Chart Charleston 08.12 Eddies Attic, Atlanta GA 09.12 Java Monkey, Decatur Georgia 11.12 Neutral Ground Coffee House, New Orleans 12.12 Last Concert Cafe, Houston TX 13.12 Momo’s Austin TX 15.12 Modesto, CA 17.12 The Bistro, Hayward CA

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We had a great tour start, kicking off at Tierney’s Tavern in Montclaire, NJ. Jan Loe organized a night of female songwriters, of which I was the headliner. There was a great crowd of new faces as well as some fans from my stop in New Jersey last year. The event got great press and I was featured in a local newspaper. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was when all of the performers from the evening joined me on stage during „The Honeymoon is Over.“

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The next stop was in the Big Apple, New York City. The venue is called the Rockwood Music Hall and I had the chance to play there last year as well. The acoustics there are terrific and really suit my style. It’s more of a listening room than anything else and I always enjoy playing there. We were joined by some of Ina’s old school friends which made an evening in the big city, a lot more fun. The turn out wasn’t huge, but I was also competing with a Tina Turner concert on the same night. I assume all of the Swiss people were at her show!!

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From New York, we headed south for two shows in one day in Harrisonburg, Virginia. First of all, I played for and spoke to a Gay and Lesbian organization on the campus of James Madison University. There was a great turn-out and it was cool to see how Univerisity life in the states differs from that in Switzerland. On the campus of JMU, over 17,000 students live and study. I was really surprised. The day prior to the concerts, I was also able to catch a women’s basketball game. It was quite exciting to watch the game with hundreds of cheering fans, a full pep band, cheerleaders and a dance squad. Just like on tv! The second concert was at a trendy coffee house called the Artful Dodger. Many of the students from the earlier show came out to show their support and we were able to make several new friends.

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Just a two hour drive from Harrisonburg, is Richmond, Virginia. I played a t a venue called Babes of Carytown. Richmond is also where Ina went to University, so we had a really good crowd. One thing that shocked me though, was prior to the show, I was warned that „swearing“ on stage is illegal in the state of Virginia. What about freedom of speech? This was also one of the few places where smoking was still permitted indoors. Virginia is a big tobacco capital in the states, and it appears that smoking in bars and restaurants isn’t going to be forbidden any time soon.

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The next stop was still in Virginia, in a Navy town called Norfolk. The venue is called the Hershee Bar. It appeared that the night was going to be fantastic when people showed up to sound check and already started buying cd’s. But, the concert itself, started off a little rough. It was a real bar crowd and I had to work the room to get everyone’s attention. However, by the second set, the dance floor was full and ended up being a super show after all. This was until we returned to the hotel and the shrimp that I had eaten for dinner decided to disagree with me. I was terribly sick the whole night, but we had to get on the road early the next day as we had a long drive ahead of us. The show must go on!!

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After an eight hour drive, we reached our destination, Charleston, South Carolina. The venue was a new, trendy bar owned by some friends of ours. There was a super turn out and cd and t-shirt sales were great. But most importantly, we were able to look forward to a day off following this gig. By the following day, I was feeling better and we were able to do some sight seeing in Charleston. It is a very historical city and it was great to enjoy a little free time.

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From here, we had another 6 hours to drive into Atlanta/Decatur, Georgia for two shows. Our first stop was at Eddie’s Attic. This venue is very well known among touring artists and has a great reputation and built in crowd. I was featured in an open mic night, which was sold out. It was great to mingle with and talk to many of the other singer/songwriters and get advice and tips about playing and touring in the states. I was surprised to have some of my own fans there! Small world!

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The next day I had a solo gig in Decatur at a coffee house called Java Monkey. Opening for me was a friend of ours called Gwendy Joysen. She is a well known singer/songwriter from Atlanta who has worked with many country greats such as Garth Brooks. The crowd was quite enthusiastic and we were able to get film of the Americans singing „Wenn du Lachst.“ It was so funny!!

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There was no time to enjoy the evening as we had another 8 hour drive ahead of us the next day. We were off to The Big Easy, New Orleans, Louisianna! I had two radio interviews scheduled so we had to get to town the day before my actual show. Unfortunately, weather conditions were terrible and we ended up missing the first interview. But, at least we were in the deep south where it should be warm. Right? Wrong! We woke the next moring to find the city covered in snow. It was only the seventh time in recorded history that it ever snowed in New Orleans, of course on the day we were there. The entire city was shut down. Schools were closed. Businesses were closed. Even the bridges to get around the city were closed. So, my second radio interview on the campus of Tulane University, was also cancelled. We were able to meet up with some of Ina’s family who live in Louisianna, for dinner that evening. The show was at a small coffee house called Neutral Ground. I followed a jazz band. The sound system was not very good, and the weather kept most of the crowd away, but it was nice to play in New Orleans nonetheless. We stayed on Bourbon Street. And when people say that New Orleans is the city that never sleeps, they are not kidding!!!

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Next, we had about a five hour drive to Houston, Texas. The venue is called The Last Concert Cafe. Here, I opened for a well known local artist called Robin Kirby. The show was great and we really enjoyed meeting her and hanging out after the show with her and her percussionist.

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Following Houston, we had just a two hour drive to Austin for one of the biggest shows on the tour. I played a showcase/ benefit with gfire and Patrice Pike. gfire is a pianist and singer/sngwriter who organized the event. Patrice has a very large following in this area as she was recently on a reality show with Tommy Lee called Super Nova. On this show she competed to become lead singer of Tommy Lee’s new band. The show was a great success and proceeds went to benefit Safe Place which is a shelter for battered women. We left the venue after 2am and had a flight the next morning at 7. It was a very short night.

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The next day we flew to San Fransisco, California. The tour is staring to wear us out and it’s good to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just two shows left.!! The first show was another big event called Pink Noise. This was also a benefit show for a local gay and lesbian youth center. The event was organized by Moon Trent. The venue is called Fat Cat in Modesto and the turn out was super. We were able to spend time with Moon who we have been in contact since „The Honeymoon is Over“ was released. Despite the great show, we are now getting exhausted. We got lost in our hotel and couldn’t remember our room number.

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The last show was at a cute little music venue called The Bistro. It is located in Hayward, California, just outside of San Fransiso. I opened for a well known local artist named, Scotty Rock-n-Roll. He reminded me a lot of Jeff Buckley. Some German fans showed up during his set and asked if I would go back on and do some songs in German. It ended up being a great night. The owner, Vic, invited me back to play the next day. I passed on this gig, but would love to play the venue again on another tour. All in all, the trip was a great success. We didn’t bring any cd’s home with us, so that’s a good sign! We were able to meet a lot of great people along the way and make some great connections for the next US tour.

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