Each week, we’ll be posting a brand new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Regular guitarist is visually documenting folks, locations and occasions from his band’s 42-year run, with textual content by vocalist Jean Smith.
We wrote “Beppo’s Room” spontaneously whereas on tour in Germany, having secured a recording studio in Augsburg on a time off. Beppo was a younger man who lived throughout the corridor from our tour supervisor, Dirk, within the small city of Kaufbeuren, the place we ended up staying at each the beginning and end of our unbelievable excursions. On this specific tour, I used to be staying alone in Beppo’s giant condominium and Dave was over at Dirk’s. Beppo evidently went to his girlfriend’s place whereas we had been on the town. This was really a quite common strategy to be housed whereas on the highway.
The venue we performed at was downstairs and across the nook. I believe we went there each night time together with everybody else of their scene. I’m unsure why Beppo’s girlfriend made some extent of telling me that Dirk had paid Beppo for the room, however it felt like possibly she needed to burst some type of bubble surrounding our presence. It was the one factor she ever mentioned to me. I recall her leaning towards me to be heard over the music, to let me learn about this fee, which, I have to admit stunned me, as a result of issues weren’t often like that. I’m unsure what she thought I’d say, however I believe my response was akin to a shrug. Perhaps she assumed I’d assume one thing, however I don’t know what.
I doubt I discussed it to Dirk. Sometimes, venues put bands up in close by motels. Earlier than and after excursions, we had been counting on him to kind it out. If there have been instances when he wanted to pay for our lodging with civilians, that appears affordable. I can solely guess that the girlfriend didn’t need us to assume it had been a gesture of assist. Famous. There was such an unlimited community of assist that this occasion appeared considerably outstanding.
The track lyrics are about sitting on the ground of Beppo’s room matching colours with sounds, which isn’t one thing I’ve ever carried out, however maybe the idea offers a way of summary associations inside absurdly obscured circumstances.
“Beppo’s Room” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995) (obtain):
