Bike Fest Norway

So we are having amazing weather again after some rain (which I also love) at this camp/fest.

You can see I had my traveling help in a newly built diddleybow (w. Norwegian cookie tin, thanks Borre!), black coffee and sugar-free Ricola. Many gigs in a row, the old guy has to have a bit of voice help. Got a little cold but by God’s grace hasn’t affected my singing… pretty amazing.

The people are very cool, warm reception and it has been a long time since I played an acoustic blues set for them in their WWII bunker above a fjord in Oslo…

This rally drew from all over including Scandinavian nations (Norway of course) but also Germany, Russia and beyond.

Holy Riders are the real deal. We have had a great time.

Tomorrow is the last show of the tour with our longtime Icelandic friend Ole, who has lived in Norway for a few years now. Looking forward!

Next weekend on Sunday myself and harmonica master friend Joe Filisko bring an acoustic blues set to AudioFeed Festival. Looking very forward to that!

And in between, SO glad to get back to Chicago for a few days with my Wendi before AF Fest. Then we take a few days off together, yahoo!

Ok, enjoy the pics, especially of the home-brew bike w. sidecar and a Volkswagen engine 🙂 Sweet!

Thanks for prayers and stopping by! -Glenn

Advertisement

Lot More From Norway GKB Tour

Two nights ago GKB played a small town, great room, p.a., crew and people at Betania!

Slept in a super-comfortable little bedroom in the half of the house built in 1860 overlooking a river where the salmon are now running from the North Sea which is five minutes from our lodging. Beautiful.

Last night we played a packed house show on one end of a larger island where we also play at a camp right on the ocean tonight, an outdoor set with an opening band. Very beautiful place!

Norway? It is sweet flowers, endless mountains, rock and moss formations, forests, large pines, stands of birch trees, rivers, rapids and waterfalls, little brooks, lakes often including swans, fjords, the ocean. After several tours here I can tell you there is much to enjoy! Lots of pretty horses, flocks of sheep grazing on every 4th hill, daylight past 11pm this time of year- sweet.

But our friends here, for example Kurt and family, old friends Dag and Jorgen and many more -are even more beautiful. Big hearts, warm, kind.

More than any other, they are the reason I find joy in traveling the world or simply doing a show right at home in Chicago: the people.

Yesterday on the way to the house set I played an hour-long gig in a Norwegian prison. So grateful to hopefully have brought a little light their way.

We took a car-ferry ride after driving under the sea via a couple long traffic tunnels on the journey.

I type this from a cabin not 30 seconds from the Atlantic. But the people are what keeps me moved and moving.

Tomorrow the tour continues at a large biker rally Fri. and Sat., then on to a city to close out the tour, meeting w. our longtime friend Ole with whom we have done many shows in Iceland. The people.

Missing my Wendi and family but called and grateful.

Here are a some pics from the past few days.

Thx for prayers, and as always thanks for stopping by!
-Glenn

Norway After 3 Shows

Day off! Next one is the Tues. we fly to Sweet Home Chicago.

Amazing sweet crowd last night. Opening bands have been great, old and new friends, first-time peeps coming out and a lot of kind responses.

All of us are healthy and grateful. And of course nice to get laundry done, sleep until we woke up today and get a break in the schedule.

I love rain- and as beautiful as it was yesterday (AMAZINGLY so) it is blowing, raining and foggy in Kristiansand today. No problemo.

We have had beautiful picnic stops during our journeys and the coffee has been fine. Postcard views around every turn.

Today I will change git strings on the Strat and also build a 1 string acoustic diddley bow to take into the prison set we will do. Got a Norwegian cookie tin and a piece of wood and some tossed out screws from a place we were at two days ago… just had to :)!

About 9 more sets to do, a couple were added so two days of the tour we do two sets.

Missing my Wendi and family but so thankful for grace.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Norway, Thoughts

Interestingly about half the crowd last night had seen us in Norway before or had our records… first show w. REZ here was in 1982.

Such a beautiful country, sweet peeps, plenty daylight until around 11pm this time of year. Sweet. So here is a finally dark shot from our deck:

On to second show now… it turns out 11 in 12 days or so, one day off, one travel day so 2 shows per day in two different days. We are just sittin’ around… not!!

Borre (longtime friend and organizer) had picked up a cheapo acoustic guitar that brought me right to North Mississippi blues playing, sounded very cool.

Looking over his deck this sunny summer morning I can say the view, coffee and vibe is calming and good.

We play a prison set in this tour as well which if you know me, my heart so goes out to inmates and such gigs are special to me. So many prisoners are just forgotten.

Well, time for a shower and prep to travel.

BIG thanks for prayers.

Oh- GO USA in Copa America! So proud of the boys to make the semi-finals in Houston.

Thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

GKB Norway Tour

Will begin tonight! You can find details by searching here in my site or via the GKB (Glenn Kaiser Band) Facebook page.

British Airways was great… though while waiting to take off the a.c. was out… think “sauna” 🙂

This morning in our guest house I am happy it’s cool and w. a bit of rain which I always love.

Missing Wendi but will be occupied with work so that is grace for me.

Smacked my toe at the end of the Ohio tour and so hobbling around some but no biggie… well, it’s my big toe, heh.

Looking forward to old and new friends along this trip.

Ready for some blues/rock. One set is in a prison as well -so blessed to be able to do that.

So a few pics here, football via Heathrow in London (could only catch 10 mins. of Euro 2016 England vs. Wales but caught up prio via the in-flight tv for a few hours) and of the view from our friends amazing home!

And their beautiful old amazing heater which after 3 hours warms the house for 24.

Hoping the U.S. will win vs. Ecuador tonight!! And my beloved Chicago Fire win as well.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

US-Norway!

Wow. Just wow. SO many shows, kind people both doing the gigs and in the audience!

I have a bit more to say about the West Virginia and Ohio dates, also pics and such but am flying with GKB to Norway tonight. You can use the search function here and find that info, also via GKB FaceBook and Grrr Records.

Lots more shows booked including AudioFeed Festival -w. my ace harp-playing friend Joe Filikso. That set is on the Sun. afternoon… but many more shows scheduled through early November. I just don’t have time to update now but perhaps while on tour overseas.

The response to both Long Way From My Home (new solo blues project -w. Joe- release) and Homes For Heroes CCO Shelter benefit release has been so encouraging!

Well… must finish packing. Missing Wendi…

Much Love and Thanks to God and all you who have been so very kind. Prayers deeply appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by, -Glenn

West Virginia Tour

Wendi and I have had the most amazing tour. WV is all we remembered and more!

Been through a number of times but the extreme beauty of the mountains, valleys, rivers and several state and national a park we visited were nothing less than breath-taking.

So many kind friends have been SO hospitable.

Our time with Eddie and Mary Day (The Bridge, Princeton, WV) and their staff, folks coming out this past Thursday and Sunday have been over-the-top with kindness.

No doubt, the same has been true in NY and PA. We have been so blessed! The hot sauce gifts will see me through the next year or two 🙂 And there have been those cool lil’ local discoveries.

A bro. drove clear up from North Carolina to see us today. Amazing. Then The Bridge threw us an Anniversary party w. cake, gifts and just a gracious time.

I’ll include a few pics but nothing compares to seeing the scenery with your own eyes.

On to Lewisburg, then to Mansfield, Ohio and a number of prison sets in OH.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Glenn, Shane Speal Video Show/s

Tomorrow and Sunday (June 2 and 5, 2016) finds me w. a dear bro, Eddie Day at The Bridge in Princeton, West Virginia.

This just came in via good friend and “King of the Cigarbox Guitar” Shane Speal who rocked it solo and w. me in PA last week in two shows. Just scroll through vids to Glenn Kaiser and Shane Speal – Live in Concert -via http://www.cigarboxnation.com

We had pre-determined to talk a fair bit inbetween tunes about why we love to build, play and perform w. these little instruments, but you can move along to the songs of course.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn