This will be a very long and detailed report about my first tour with POWER QUEST, which was also my first trip to Europe. If you don't like reading long texts, I suggest you stop now. Otherwise, enjoy! 
My first experience playing in Europe was... well definitely an experience! Things are a lot different there than they are in the US. Some of them are much better...some of them are worse to the point that it pisses me off. This will be a full report to the fans and - as usual - I hope you get a laugh out of this!
I'd like to start off by saying that this was my favorite among all of the tours I've done in my career. I've always felt that me and the POWER QUEST guys would just "click" but I had no idea it would be like that! Me and Andrea became friends INSTANTLY and within hours I was saying stupid shit in Italian! Vaffancullo cazzo!
But first...
I had heard about how the UK immigration officers didn't really like Brazilians, and obviously before becoming a US resident I had to deal with THOSE guys too... so I figured I could handle it. I was wrong. They asked me all kinds of questions regarding the reason for my visit to the UK and THEN called Steve to confirm all of that, while keeping me on a couch with 2 guys from Pakistan! It took me about 45 minutes to be admitted in England. Great...
After I went through that, me and Steve had a beer at the airport and I started looking around. I got kinda surprised at the amount of middle easterns I saw there. I don't think I had ever seen a guy wearing a turbant outside of a Taxi up to that point.
Then I spent about 3 days at Steve's house in Southampton basically doing nothing. Steve is a very chill kinda guy, a lot different than myself in that aspect (and that aspect only, might I add!) so I was really looking forward to going out and meeting some new people.
After that, the other guys in the band and the crew arrived. Like I said previously, we all instantly clicked! We were a traveling party of 10 people consisting of 5 Brits, 1 German, 3 Italians and 1 Brazilian/American. That was really interesting to me, and I got amazed at how we well we got along.
The first show was in Birmingham. The venue was killer, the people working there were totally clueless. However, we had the almighty Paul (our stage manager) to solve all the problems, haha! The opening band had a beautiful singer, which also introduced me to how frustrating it can be to tour the UK as far as women goes haha (more about that in a second).
This wasn't the biggest turnout, in fact I think it was the smallest really, but it was a very good first taste of the UK audience. They are real hardcore fans, but not exactly the noisiest crowd (except between songs).
Next stop was Wakefield. Everybody was telling me about how this is a small town, so nobody was sure about how the turnout would be. Now, keep in mind I have no idea about what the UK is like and what's a small town or a big town...or what's north and what's south lol. When we got to the venue I was truly disappointed. I had never played at such a small stage in my professional career. I was honestly wondering whether we'd all fit! However, this was a huge surprise. It was the only sold out show on the tour (as far as I know) and people were going apeshit! The crowd was absolutely fantastic and not "british" at all. Girls? Well... let's not get into that!
Then we headed to London! I was excited to finally see the capital of the world. Yes, that's London, not New York. Except I didn't... we had about an hour to wander around before soundcheck and it was really frustrating. I saw some killer clothing stores in Camdem but I had no time to buy anything. I intend to be back there soon for some shopping!
The show? I'm still not sure what to think of it. There were so many issues but the crowd really seemed to dig it. I guess it was ok... I missed the first opening band, but the second one, "Neonfly" was really good and the guys are great! We became friends and they ended up opening our show in Manchester as well. Girls? Well...let's not get into that! (guess I said this before, huh?)
Next stop was St. Albans. I don't think there's anything really worth mentioning other than the crowd was ok, "Girls? Well let's not get into that!", and the opening band was really good! Their singer is also the guitarist in Prog Metal band Threshold. I can't remember their name, but they did a great job! One thing that really sucked is that Alessio and Andrea were starting to get sick and all of us worried. Andrea could obviously pull it off, but I wasn't sure about Alessio. He did it! And did a great job!
Colchester was next, and one of my favorite shows on the tour. The opening band was by far the best we had among the ones I saw. They're called TO-MERA and they're friends with Adrian Lambert (my bandmate in COLDERA and ex-bassist in DRAGONFORCE). All of the musicians are absolutely great and their singer is gorgeous! I had the pleasure of watching most of their set from our backstage room and was really impressed. When we came on the crowd was great, the sound was great, the stage was great and both Alessio and Andrea did a fantastic job despite still being sick. Girls? Well let's not get into that!
Next stop was Wales. We had to wake up at fucking 9:30 AM for the trip and I wasn't very happy with that. BUT, we had a big festival to play (HARD ROCK HELL) and I was gonna get to hang out with my former bandmate Mark Cross, who currently plays in FIREWIND and I hadn't seen in over a year, so I was excited about that. Plus, it was another country I hadn't seen before. We had 10 god damn interviews in a row and since Alessio and Andrea got really bad at that point, Steve, Francesco and me had to do all of them by ourselves.
We were unlucky enough to be on stage at the same time as Black Label Society was playing the other stage, but we had a surprisingly good turnout. It was funny to see how many dudes dressed/looked like Zakk Wylde at that venue. Also, our good friend Dani from the band ALESTORM stuck around and got really drunk with us! Thanx for all the booze, mate! "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
Another day waking up early, another day of Bill Hudson not very happy! Southampton was next and that's Steve's hometown. Another "weird" venue (kinda like Wakefield) and another ridiculously good turnout. It's funny to think that the worst turnouts of my days in CELLADOR were in our hometown (Omaha, NE) and POWER QUEST gets such a good one at home. I guess it all comes with culture (or lack thereof).
Francesco was the one with the flu that night but he did such an amazing job. I really think he's one of the best drummers in the style currently.
Great show, great crowd, weird venue. Mission accomplished. Before the show, we decided to break shit at the backstage room and me and Andrea had a sword fight using two iron pipes we found there. Obviously that didn't end up well and I got a big cut in my hand. That was caught on video but Manuela (our tour manager) didn't save it! Damnit I wanted people to see it! "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
The last show was Manchester. Another day waking up early (this time at 7:30 AM I believe) and another day of me cranky.
The venue was killer, though. It had a stage in the center so the crowd could be all around us. This was by far the loudest crowd on the tour. Honestly, if I lived in Manchester I think I'd be hanging out at that venue a lot. It was a great end to a great tour. "Girls? Well... let's not get into that!".
The next day I left to Brazil, only to face some bullshit (again) at the airport in Spain, but ended up rewarded with a free upgrade to business class. It's funny how weird people can look at you when you're tattooed and long haired sitting at business class reading a Wine chart while you play video games with the other hand, haha! I don't think I can ever fly coach again after that!
So yeah... the UK is absolutely killer as far as food and friends goes. People are far more disciplined everywhere, which can be great (at a restaurant) or sucky (at a rock concert).
I'd like to point out that our crew was great and literally saved our ass. Our driver/merch guy Simon was a fucking warrior! I wonder when that guy slept! Every time I saw him he was either driving the bus or selling merch! I don't think I've ever seen the dude sleep, seriously! Our stage manager Paul did the entire fucking stage himself. That means he set everything up, did teching for every instrument and everything was always flawless! Manuela the tour manager was just a sweetheart! She'd make sure everything went smooth everyday and nobody fucked with us. Great job at that too!
And my bandmates... wow! I've never felt so welcome in a band as the new guy as I did this time. I really wish I lived closer to all of them so we could hang out more, but hey... hopefully we'll have more touring next year!
Overall, a great experience which I'll treasure forever!
ROCK ON!
Bill Hudson
P.S: I know, I know... you're wondering where are the girl stories. All I have to say is: "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
My first experience playing in Europe was... well definitely an experience! Things are a lot different there than they are in the US. Some of them are much better...some of them are worse to the point that it pisses me off. This will be a full report to the fans and - as usual - I hope you get a laugh out of this!
I'd like to start off by saying that this was my favorite among all of the tours I've done in my career. I've always felt that me and the POWER QUEST guys would just "click" but I had no idea it would be like that! Me and Andrea became friends INSTANTLY and within hours I was saying stupid shit in Italian! Vaffancullo cazzo!
But first...
I had heard about how the UK immigration officers didn't really like Brazilians, and obviously before becoming a US resident I had to deal with THOSE guys too... so I figured I could handle it. I was wrong. They asked me all kinds of questions regarding the reason for my visit to the UK and THEN called Steve to confirm all of that, while keeping me on a couch with 2 guys from Pakistan! It took me about 45 minutes to be admitted in England. Great...
After I went through that, me and Steve had a beer at the airport and I started looking around. I got kinda surprised at the amount of middle easterns I saw there. I don't think I had ever seen a guy wearing a turbant outside of a Taxi up to that point.
Then I spent about 3 days at Steve's house in Southampton basically doing nothing. Steve is a very chill kinda guy, a lot different than myself in that aspect (and that aspect only, might I add!) so I was really looking forward to going out and meeting some new people.
After that, the other guys in the band and the crew arrived. Like I said previously, we all instantly clicked! We were a traveling party of 10 people consisting of 5 Brits, 1 German, 3 Italians and 1 Brazilian/American. That was really interesting to me, and I got amazed at how we well we got along.
The first show was in Birmingham. The venue was killer, the people working there were totally clueless. However, we had the almighty Paul (our stage manager) to solve all the problems, haha! The opening band had a beautiful singer, which also introduced me to how frustrating it can be to tour the UK as far as women goes haha (more about that in a second).
This wasn't the biggest turnout, in fact I think it was the smallest really, but it was a very good first taste of the UK audience. They are real hardcore fans, but not exactly the noisiest crowd (except between songs).
Next stop was Wakefield. Everybody was telling me about how this is a small town, so nobody was sure about how the turnout would be. Now, keep in mind I have no idea about what the UK is like and what's a small town or a big town...or what's north and what's south lol. When we got to the venue I was truly disappointed. I had never played at such a small stage in my professional career. I was honestly wondering whether we'd all fit! However, this was a huge surprise. It was the only sold out show on the tour (as far as I know) and people were going apeshit! The crowd was absolutely fantastic and not "british" at all. Girls? Well... let's not get into that!
Then we headed to London! I was excited to finally see the capital of the world. Yes, that's London, not New York. Except I didn't... we had about an hour to wander around before soundcheck and it was really frustrating. I saw some killer clothing stores in Camdem but I had no time to buy anything. I intend to be back there soon for some shopping!
The show? I'm still not sure what to think of it. There were so many issues but the crowd really seemed to dig it. I guess it was ok... I missed the first opening band, but the second one, "Neonfly" was really good and the guys are great! We became friends and they ended up opening our show in Manchester as well. Girls? Well...let's not get into that! (guess I said this before, huh?)
Next stop was St. Albans. I don't think there's anything really worth mentioning other than the crowd was ok, "Girls? Well let's not get into that!", and the opening band was really good! Their singer is also the guitarist in Prog Metal band Threshold. I can't remember their name, but they did a great job! One thing that really sucked is that Alessio and Andrea were starting to get sick and all of us worried. Andrea could obviously pull it off, but I wasn't sure about Alessio. He did it! And did a great job!
Colchester was next, and one of my favorite shows on the tour. The opening band was by far the best we had among the ones I saw. They're called TO-MERA and they're friends with Adrian Lambert (my bandmate in COLDERA and ex-bassist in DRAGONFORCE). All of the musicians are absolutely great and their singer is gorgeous! I had the pleasure of watching most of their set from our backstage room and was really impressed. When we came on the crowd was great, the sound was great, the stage was great and both Alessio and Andrea did a fantastic job despite still being sick. Girls? Well let's not get into that!
Next stop was Wales. We had to wake up at fucking 9:30 AM for the trip and I wasn't very happy with that. BUT, we had a big festival to play (HARD ROCK HELL) and I was gonna get to hang out with my former bandmate Mark Cross, who currently plays in FIREWIND and I hadn't seen in over a year, so I was excited about that. Plus, it was another country I hadn't seen before. We had 10 god damn interviews in a row and since Alessio and Andrea got really bad at that point, Steve, Francesco and me had to do all of them by ourselves.
We were unlucky enough to be on stage at the same time as Black Label Society was playing the other stage, but we had a surprisingly good turnout. It was funny to see how many dudes dressed/looked like Zakk Wylde at that venue. Also, our good friend Dani from the band ALESTORM stuck around and got really drunk with us! Thanx for all the booze, mate! "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
Another day waking up early, another day of Bill Hudson not very happy! Southampton was next and that's Steve's hometown. Another "weird" venue (kinda like Wakefield) and another ridiculously good turnout. It's funny to think that the worst turnouts of my days in CELLADOR were in our hometown (Omaha, NE) and POWER QUEST gets such a good one at home. I guess it all comes with culture (or lack thereof).
Francesco was the one with the flu that night but he did such an amazing job. I really think he's one of the best drummers in the style currently.
Great show, great crowd, weird venue. Mission accomplished. Before the show, we decided to break shit at the backstage room and me and Andrea had a sword fight using two iron pipes we found there. Obviously that didn't end up well and I got a big cut in my hand. That was caught on video but Manuela (our tour manager) didn't save it! Damnit I wanted people to see it! "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
The last show was Manchester. Another day waking up early (this time at 7:30 AM I believe) and another day of me cranky.
The venue was killer, though. It had a stage in the center so the crowd could be all around us. This was by far the loudest crowd on the tour. Honestly, if I lived in Manchester I think I'd be hanging out at that venue a lot. It was a great end to a great tour. "Girls? Well... let's not get into that!".
The next day I left to Brazil, only to face some bullshit (again) at the airport in Spain, but ended up rewarded with a free upgrade to business class. It's funny how weird people can look at you when you're tattooed and long haired sitting at business class reading a Wine chart while you play video games with the other hand, haha! I don't think I can ever fly coach again after that!
So yeah... the UK is absolutely killer as far as food and friends goes. People are far more disciplined everywhere, which can be great (at a restaurant) or sucky (at a rock concert).
I'd like to point out that our crew was great and literally saved our ass. Our driver/merch guy Simon was a fucking warrior! I wonder when that guy slept! Every time I saw him he was either driving the bus or selling merch! I don't think I've ever seen the dude sleep, seriously! Our stage manager Paul did the entire fucking stage himself. That means he set everything up, did teching for every instrument and everything was always flawless! Manuela the tour manager was just a sweetheart! She'd make sure everything went smooth everyday and nobody fucked with us. Great job at that too!
And my bandmates... wow! I've never felt so welcome in a band as the new guy as I did this time. I really wish I lived closer to all of them so we could hang out more, but hey... hopefully we'll have more touring next year!
Overall, a great experience which I'll treasure forever!
ROCK ON!
Bill Hudson
P.S: I know, I know... you're wondering where are the girl stories. All I have to say is: "Girls? Well...let's not get into that!"
I can't help but feel you don't approve of UK females!
