Barcelona has so far proven to be the hardest ground to survive on for our three remaining hip-hop travellers, Max, Hanno and Jamie: their unwilling stay here has cost them altogether 1700 Euros, due to the car being towed, no income and an act of vandalism.
Barcelona: most people love it. Antoni Gaudi buildings are everywhere, and then there's the ocean, beaches, palm trees, nice people and tapas! Well, our boys aren’t too impressed! They are not exactly having a great time in Barcelona. Pickpockets prowl: a “been there, done that” kind of thing for Jamie (see diary 12).
The second incident occurs only a day later: the car gets towed and Sophie, Max’s girlfriend who came to visit him for just two days, has to pay 200 Euros to get the car out of the pound. Which basically leaves the boys with no money to speak of.
In order to make some, the trio hike up to Parc Güell to give a free rap show and to sell tons of CDs and t-shirts. Hmm, it does not work out too well, they make a bit – but not enough to last them through the upcoming trip to Madrid.
Therefore the decision is made to hit the Ramblas. Tourist spot number 1 in Barcelona, a sure bet so to speak. Hmmm, no. Packing up in Parc Güell, finding a tow-away-free parking spot for the Defender and grabbing a bite to eat takes them quite a while, so it’s already past midnight when they finally arrive at the usually busy street. Which at this time of day is not so busy anymore. Some people are still there, mind you, and as soon as Jamie and Hanno sing the first note, a crowd gathers around them. A crowd of two policemen… the Sacre Coeur scene finds its Spanish equivalent.
Next day: the first really positive thing during the last two days – a friend of theirs is in Barcelona as well. He has a video camera and offers to shoot a little music video for their soon-to-be-number-1 hit “Chapter of Summer”. Obviously Barcelona in August is the perfect scenery for a summer song and Jamie and Hanno sit on top of the car, on the comfy couch and perform the happy-go-lucky tune while Philipp collects feel good pictures.
That night, they want to try the Ramblas again. Same procedure though. Policemen chase them away and unfortunately this is not the last encounter with them for the night. In the Gracia district, the Kreuzberg of Barcelona, the boys decide to pitch up their set once more and try to make a little money. Money that will enable them to finally leave the town of bad luck. Baaad idea. Some idiots don’t like what they are hearing and quickly put an end to the music by throwing a brick stone out of the window and onto Max’s laptop. And that’s that.
In total the stay in Barcelona costs them around 1700 Euros.
© even.tv
© even.tv
The night drive from Barcelona to Madrid was short, and above all it was the worst night they had had so far. Hanno, Jamie and Max are down in the dumps and are hoping for better times in Madrid – de Madrid al Cielo!
And getting there means driving through the most beautiful scenery the route has to offer so far. Red rocks and mountains, green patches of trees and meadows, the occasional Osborne bull and a huge windmill farm; it all has a feel of lunar landscape to it and after the shock last night, the boys have some time to digest this incident.
They already talked a lot about how it might get more difficult to sell English hip hop the further south they go and admittedly it didn’t go that well in Barcelona. The only audience they sold CDs to were the tourists.
Hitting the streets in Madrid they realise that the premonitions will most probably come true. Around midday they made some 20 Euros. Selling CDs here is way more difficult than it was in Berlin, Amsterdam or Paris and with all that has happened, the boys are having a few cash flow problems.
The buffer they had built up in Northern Europe has slowly evaporated, they’d been a bit too generous, sending David off to Lausanne was expensive and the couch on top of the car doesn’t exactly help to keep the fuel costs down...
In Madrid they begin to feel what life can have in store for them concerning the money-making issue and the pressure is rising. In approximately 10 days they have to be in Morocco, alternatives to selling CDs have not been considered yet, but, with what they have now, they’ll barely make it to Portugal. The finale of their endeavour seems to be further away than ever.
During siesta time they discuss their strategy and come to the conclusion that they have to try the touristy areas again, after a session walking from bar to bar didn’t really work out. But money is not all that this journey is about, most importantly it’s about music.
An old friend of Max lives in Madrid and runs a recording studio and, of course, a jam session together with an old friend and different sound gadgets is more tempting than performing on the street and still not earning any money. The boys take some time off from the unsettling days in Barcelona and spend the evening in Chris’ studio, playing with the equipment, and recording a few bits and pieces.
The pressure will come tomorrow...
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