One of my favorite bands, Paperdoll, is currently on tour in China, October 12-29. I've invited lead singer (and former Angry Reader of the Week) Teresa Lee to contribute some guests post chronicling the band's journeys.
She was supposed to send this entry on Sunday, but she was delayed by a trip to the hospital. Say what? You'll read all about it in her next blog. For now, read about how PaperDoll left for China without a drummer...
So, I get up at 3:45am after getting 2 hours of sleep. I'm supposed to get picked up at 4:15am, stop by Chip's (drummer) at 4:30am, then go to LaGuardia Airport to meet up with the rest of the band where we go on our merry way to Shanghai. However, I wake at 3:45am and find an email from Chip in my inbox... subject line "Visa 911!"
I think to myself This better be a new song idea... It was not. Chip thought he had a multiple entry visa from the last time we toured China... He did not. So now, Chip has to rush to the Chinese Consulate to get a new visa, reschedule his flight, and get to Shanghai before our first gig on Tuesday. Oh wait, did I mention it's a Chinese National Holiday and all government buildings may be closed?
Luckily, the Consulate just re-opened after a 7-day holiday and they were super helpful getting him a same-day visa. He managed to get a flight out Sunday which gets him to Shanghai Monday afternoon... 22 hours before our first show at the World Expo. Cutting it a little close.
So while Visa 911! is happening in New York, the rest of PaperDoll is flying to Shanghai. Rule #1 of touring... Always carry-on your instruments. This always exasperates flight attendants. Guitars always take up a crap load of over-head compartment room, and there's never enough room. So flight attendants always try to make us check our gear.
This is usually how it goes:
Steve (bassist) and Patrick (guitar) go up and down the aisles looking for over-head room while the flight attendants chat with each other in the back. (Thank you American Airlines.) Then Steve goes up to a flight attendant:
"Hey, is there a closet somewhere I can put this?"
Flight Attendant: "No, you'll have to check it."
Steve: "Yeah, that's not going to happen."
Flight Attendant: "Right, there's no more room, you'll have to check it."
Steve: "That's not going to happen."
Then, depending on how feisty Steve feels, it may or may not get to the "pry from my cold dead hands" part of the little dance.
This trip was no different. So, PaperDoll sans Chip land in Shanghai after 22 hours of flying with our gear safe and sound. We are greeted by a lovely driver who brings us to our hotel.
Trying to switch to Shanghai time (12 hours ahead), we go for a walk a I spot a puppy decked out head to toe in Adidas. Track suit - check. Sneakers - check. So it turns out Shanghai dog owners are as crazy as New York dog owners.