Leif Bodnarchuk

On a mental health vibe, today was somewhat unremarkable. That means it was bearable overall. No day is ever going to be perfect. There will always be something to rub you the wrong way. But if you were to list every little annoying thing…you’d have enough time on your hands to get properly annoyed.

Some decent sleep last night. When that happens I get my mojo back. It’s easier to cope with niggly things when sober and rested. Took me years to figure that out because rock ‘n roll equals party. The thing with parties is, the day after. Today if I was feeling rough I would’ve hated the load-in…

They wouldn’t let us park right outside the venue. The bus was around a hundred yards from the doors, and we had to lug the gear up the street, a slight incline. Never used to be like this. Been here tons of times and…ah it sounds like I’m complaining.

Otherwise they’re nice to us. We can get in before load-in to shower and have a nibble…unlike in Köln. Speaking of Köln, I missed an opportunity to catch up with a chum. Dino from the Leonard Cohen band said I should’ve visited. Totally forgot he lives there. But he probably knows this: you don’t really see people on gig days.

Even if you manage an escape and see someone, your head is always at the gig. When I’m on tour it’s best for my head to keep it close to the gig.

‘Hey, you wanna meet for a tea?’ Nope.
‘Can I come to the gig and buy you a tea?’ Nope.
‘Can I swing by and at least say–’ God no!

There’s no point. If it was a day off, sure. But if you’re getting me on a gig day, you’re only getting the shell. In this job, making time for real life is stressful. When you’re on the clock, it owns you. Sometimes for long stretches.

We’re making our way through a straight run of six shows. Today is number two. I need to take everything easy to keep my sanity intact until the next recharging day. I hesitate to call it a day off. You never know what you’re gonna get on this tour.

As for the shows, things are settling down. We’re getting into a working rhythm, a routine of sorts. We’re setting up, changing over, and packing down quicker. When that happens, when things settle, the diary starts to get dull. It’s the same every tour. Daily entries become… I had the soup for lunch…

Still, not each day is exactly the same. There’s always a bit of gear in need of some TLC. Today I struck a victory against a noisy pedalboard. It was doing my flippin head in, buzzing. Took mere minutes to diagnose. But I’m sure reading about it would be mundane:
Dear Diary – today I fixed a thing.
Of course you did. It’s your bloody job.
Copenhagen tomorrow.