So, after over two straight weeks living on a crazy ship sailing the archipelago of the Northern Baltic, I have been giving a short respite in Copenhagen. How does that Martin Sheen line go in "Apocalypse Now"? "For my sins?"

Well, for whatever reason, this has go to be the most mixed-up part of any trip I have taken working in this business in ages. First off, I want to preface all of this with the fact that things are cool, that I am happy, that things are moving along, and that everyone involved is great. But, this gig in crazy!

An agent friend of mine has been raving about this little gig in this cool little niche of pub singers for years, that there is a about 10 bars in downtown KBH, owned by the same guy that employs a stable of troubadours from around the world that play in them all every night, and that there is this big musicians' flat a little out of the city centre where a handful of them live for free. Sounds cool, right? Well, it is actually cool, but what people fail to realize is that where eight musicians live together in close quarters, and they are from all over the world, it gets a little crazy.

What muso do you know cleans up after themselves in the kitchen? Or puts the beer cans in the recycling? Or sweeps up or wipes up and stops making noise in the middle of the night, or in our case, first thing in the morning? And, with all these clubs going through different singers week in and week out, for 15-20 years, if you don't have your own system and gear with you, how do you trust the house stuff which is probably untrustworthy. Something about "grinning and bearing it" comes to mind.

So, with all that, let me reiterate that things are cool. My partner and I had arrived to a messy flat(...showers ...ugh-ly) bad gear and no concern from the higher-ups. But what we also encountered was a cool crew of players, a little mix of Danes, Brits, Yanks, Germans, Greeks and little old me from Jersey, all comprising the city's pub singing elite. It's almost like a big hostel combined with college freshman orientation, but for thirty-somethings.

Everyone has been pretty cool and I've spent my free [time] sitting in at other's gigs, wandering through the surreality of Christiana, or dipping my feet into the cold Baltic waters at the brand-new island park of Amagerstrand, a few minutes walk from the flat, all the while swapping stories of clubs, instruments, one night stands, and, ahem, one night stands.

I've got a few days and nights left here, and after our initial arrival into one of the most "liveable" cities in the world to some horrific conditions, I am starting to turn around and see it for what it is. A place to hang for a little while, a place to dig.

Questions? Comments? Email me at James_Dalton@hotmail.com.