The sweet taste of adventure is about to begin for Cherry Pill. After months of planning, we’re finally “leaving on a jet plane” to bring some South African musical flavour to an assortment of venues in the Netherlands and France, from art galleries to music clubs to living room concerts and more. Exciting times indeed!
Travelling with musical equipment can always be an interesting challenge to overcome, as the airlines can be sticky about anything out-of-the-ordinary. There seem to be more allowances made if you’re a golfer or high-school hockey team, but no so for shady guitarists, violinists and their ilk – to say nothing of bulky mic stands, amplification and the rest. But, on a tour like this, we need to be self-sufficient and open to whatever opportunities for the odd busk or impromptu house concert may arise, so “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.
So, Kristel managed to pack Rory’s guitar into a slim-and-trim bag so that it practically looks like a tennis racquet (no shrinking ray involved, as far as we know), and Rory manufactured two lightweight mic stands out of PVC and a bit Pratley’s putty which could be disassembled and packed flat into a suitcase. Add to this our trusty Roland AC-33 “cube” amp and a itsy-bitsy teeny weeny…umm, grey knobbly mixing desk, and we’ve got everything we need neatly packed into two bags, ready to unleash a bit of Cherry Pill magic on anyone at any time!