Exclusive | Voodoo Circle ‘Hail To The King’ – German tour 2024

by Dutch bassist Alex Jansen

This time I am not writing out of a plane. I am writing out of a van. The trip started Monday with me being picked up by Markus (Kullmann). We loaded the gear and took the 2 hour drive to France to get some more gear and then of to Saarbrücken to a rehearsal space. We caught up with Alex Beyrodt, Alessandro del Vecchio. Set up the gear and tried out some of the tunes to see if the volume was ok for the room. An hour later David Readman arrived. The official start of the new Voodoo Circle was there.

We went over most of the songs and there were some bumps in the road. The band hadn’t played for a long time and I am the new guy of course. After a nice run through we felt it was starting to glue. We are very thankful we could use the rehearsal room from Outcast Rock and More. Dear friends and a great room. 

After the rehearsal we had a great diner and went to the hotel for a good night sleep. The next morning we had breakfast all together and we went to the rehearsal space again. We started to play the new songs first and after some tuning we think we managed to catch the spirit of the songs. This went on the whole day. In the end we played the whole set and then it was time to pack up all the stuff and load the van. 

BENSHEIM HERE WE COME

So here we are, it is Wednesday and we are on the road to Bensheim to play our first show. We arrived on time and build the stage. We don’t have a crew this time so we do it all ourselves. It’s all good although I miss my Cedric who is currently in South America working with U.D.O. 

The support acts get in and we introduce each other and then it is already time for soundcheck. We change some stuff to make it all a little less loud on stage. Then there is dinner. 

The two support acts play great shows and they are all nice guys which makes everything easier. 

Then it is time for us to take the stage and well what can I say. I think we did a great job. The place was nicely filled for a Wednesday evening and we could see the people really enjoyed the songs we did and the musical parts we constructed in the jams we make. After the show we went to the merchandise where Natalie is doing her job. I think she did great as we almost sold out the CDs we had with us. A great bunch of shirts sold and a lot of great people and some small chats. There were some friends out of Spain and some from parts far away in Germany.

SHOW 2 : GÖTTINGEN

Now we are on our way to the next city Göttingen. Where we will play the second show. The tour we do is a small run of 5 shows so time will go fast.

We arrived in Göttingen perfectly for get in. We had a coffee and unloaded the gear. Set up was quick. Then the waiting game begun. Some things don’t change. It might be the only thing I dislike about playing gigs. The sitting around and waiting. Even though we have Netflix and other stuff to be entertained. The waiting is still such a drag. Sound check went fast.

Then it is show time and I can tell you it was very hot on stage. The stage wasn’t that big, but enough space to have a great time. We had an enthusiastic audience and we had some nice jam parts besides the songs we play. In the blink of an eye it was over. Short ride to the hotel and short sleep. Today we have a 6 hour ride to Regensburg. Looking forward to the couch in the dressing room there so I can have a short nap maybe before dinner.

SHOW 3: REGENSBURG

It was a long drive but it all went very easy. We arrived in Regensburg and after a coffee we loaded out. Set up the gear and then we went to the hotel to relax a little. We arrived just before the show and although the turn up could have been better the audience was great. People sang along and enjoyed the jams. We never know where the jams will go because we don’t rehearse that. It is just watching and listening to what other people do, adapt, join and continue.

We had some nice chats after the show, some pics, some signings and then it was time to get to the hotel. David showed me a song from the Netherlands (in Dutch) and we managed to sing that song in the van on our way to the hotel. I am not gonna tell you what song but we broke down laughing.

SHOW 4: WALDBRONN

Today we drive to Waldbronn, which is close to where I live. So tonight after the show me and Alessandro will drive to my place and drive to Dortmund tomorrow for the last show of this run.

Soundcheck one in Waldbronn is close to my place, close to the place where Markus lives and David has lived most of the time in this area, Alex played this place already 6 times. No surprise the club is sold out and it was a crazy night. We had great friends and family visiting and the evening went by in a minute. I took Alessandro to my place and we slept there. The next morning we went to Dortmund for the last show of this run. Time flies right as I said already many times before.

SHOW 5: DORTMUND

We drove 3 hours to get to Dortmund and then it was the usual, setting up stage and soundcheck. Dinner and after the two bands played their sets, Grey Attack and  Moonday6. Both great bands and very nice people. We had a great time doing this run with them. So guys if you read this , thank you! We started our show and the place was nicely filled. It was a Sunday but the atmosphere was like a Friday night. 

After the show we went to the merch, did signings and pics, we talked with people and then it was time to say our goodbyes. First we loaded the van and my car. Did some hugs and off we were to Cologne airport to drop off Alessandro. We got there at 1 am and I continued my road home. I got there at 4 am and I was dead tired but satisfied after another successful tour. 

2025 WILL BE GREAT

Let’s see what is up for 2025… it will be a great year I can already say that. We have some great stuff for Voodoo Circle, Rock Meets Classic in April and some more surprises later in the year. Currently we (the three ex-members of Primal Fear) and I are working on an album so we will have some more news about that in 2025 too.

TIL then … have a great time

All photos provided by Alex Jansen