Please do forgive me addressing to you guys directly in this impersonal way but I don't want to miss taking the opportunity to direct a few open words to you all:
I'd like to thank you guys for having me on tour this past week.Due to the kindness of you all (band,crew and especially Uli) it again was an outstanding experience, much like it was in 1999 on the Metalhead tour.
Thank you Biff for granting me this huge privilege and for having such a cool attitude towards my little "hobby", I won't let you down here and will fulfill my part of our deal within the next few days.I already contacted Vince much like we agreed on in Stuttgart.
It is about 20 years now since I first recorded a few songs off the TV from an appearance you had here on german television.I recorded it on an old mono recorder which had a b/w TV included.I listened to that tape probably a thousand times back then.This is when I got affected and the next thing I remember is buying a red "Carrere" cassette "Best of Saxon" while being on shopping tour with my parents (hey,I was 12 or 13 then, at that age I still HAD TO JOIN them..
one saturday in Stuttgart although my parents tried everything they could to talk me out of buying this.But it was on sale (6.95 german marks) and since I paid for it with my pocket money, they finally gave in.Now, some two decades later, I'm still a fan much like I was in the days of "Strong arm of the law" and Denim and leather".
Many of your songs still have a great impact on me and get me going much like they did when I first heard them.I was struck every night this past week when I heard some of my favourite songs to date like "747", "Dogs of war", "and the bands played on", "Heavy metal thunder" or "Solid ball of rock" and felt how they still kick this 32 year old body of mine.
Getting to know you a bit personally over they years rounded off the picture I have from the band Saxon.You're some unspoiled folks, one of the very few without any airs and graces and arrogance towards us fans.There's so many things I like about you guys and that make me travel again and again,year after year whenever you come around:
You never followed any trends over the years and kept doing your thing even when many jerks declared metal dead.You remained "predictable" in the most positive way, wrote and produced some of the best metal songs to date which even after 20 years touch this old rockers heart of mine every time I hear you playing the first few chords to any of them.
You do extensive touring almost every year, playing even in small clubs and often play several shows within one or two hundred kilometers.You often play 6-8 shows in a row without a single day-off, driving hundreds of kilometers all through the night to get from one venue to the next. You put on a great show every night, no matter how tired, exhausted and ill everyone of you certainly feel at some point during those months and months on the road.Never cancel a show or cut one short for any reason (and I still have Biffs sick and raw voice in my ear from the Munich show wednesday).What other band plays up to 2 1/2 hours every night (the shows in Stuttgart and Nürnberg even went a few minutes beyond that 150minutes) and what other band still has a reasonable pricing for the door (around 40 marks) and tour shirts (30 marks)? In my humble opinion you put out some of your strongest material in the past few years, more than two decades after you debuted and you don't rest on one's laurels from the 80s.We fans highly appreciate this!!!
I've seen four shows this time (Stuttgart, Würzburg,Nürnberg and Munich..couldn't make it to Lichtenfels because my girlfriends father got married that day and I had the flu for three days, leaving me unable to come to Pratteln and Vienna)around and I can only but thank the band,the crew and Uli for making it again a very special experience, much like it was two years ago.It was worth every penny I had to spend on fuel,food,hotels,tickets,etc.and probably the best possible way to kill those few remaining 2001 holidays .Be assured that I'll be around whenever you come to southern Germany again!!
Thank you Biff (you lost quite some weight during these past weeks, you surely need a pair of braces anytime soon for your leather pants or need to see some tailor before scandinavia....and one more thing:Not everyone with a BMW Z3 is a "rich man" ), thank you Fritz (who on earth sold you those short leggings..If Biff really goes to see a tailor, please join him..
, thank you Doug (you must have bought the entire t shirt stock of the "Harley Davidson" shop in Würzburg, am I right??), thank you Nibbs (I wonder how on earth you still have working brain cells in your head..the way you headbang you MUST be the only person on earth where they grow again!), thank you Paul (I wonder why you always have problems with your equipment in Nurnberg...at least you were kind enough and let your amps live this time (unlike in 1999 at the Nurnberg Forum) and , last but not least, thank you Uli (I hope you enjoy that "Barolo" on one of the days-off or in Hamburg after the "Docks" show...looking forward to seeing you again when Molly Hatchet comes to Munich next month). Have a safe trip to all the remaining shows on this tour and to the eastern european shows in february/march 2002 and the US festivals in the summer.We'll meet again anytime soon (don't take this as a threat!
.Your fan
Karsten
