The Thunderbolt’s London Road Trip

LONDON, 10/6/2010
We hit the lovely Cumberland Hotel on Marble Arch and waited for our rooms, which could be expected since we got there at 10:00 AM. Got in just after noon and slept the rest of the afternoon, at which point my rhythm section partner (bassist Danny Tamberelli) and I were pointed to our “local” THE THREE TUNS. Wonderful pub; great drink and grub. At this point I will give a shout out to our hosts Josh and H., as well as all the gals of “The Tuns.”
Danny has a friend living in South London, so we jumped on the tube and pub crawled between the bridges Tower and London, and made it back on the tube in time to get back to the hotel.

CUMBERLAND HOTEL LONDON, 10/7/2010
No rain, no fog, just sunshine and warmth…time to do some sightseeing with my young ward, Daniel. Walked up Hyde Park and over to Buckingham Palace, then on to Big Ben/Parliament/Westminster Abbey…then a pint. Continued walking to Piccadilly Circus and then a stop at The Three Tuns on the way back to the Cumberland…which is a fantastic hotel, right next to the Marble Arch. Ice Cube would say “it was a good day”…I would too.

BORDERLINE CLUB, LONDON, 10/8/2010
Gig day. Got a call at 9:50 AM from my boss (the legendary Richard Lloyd) that we had to go to the venue at 10:00 AM to check the gear and sound check. Who soundchecks at 10 AM, and why did I not have this information yesterday?

ANYWAY… good gear and fine check. A quick run back to the hotel and off to Richard’s “Hendrix in London” panel talk, moderated by Charles Shaar Murray.
At this point we’ll speak about why I was in London to play drums with Richard Lloyd for this particular event…
The Handel House is a museum that celebrates the great composer in the very building where he lived and worked for the last 37 years of his life. He wrote all of his great works there. In the sixties the building was flats for rent. After crashing with Chas Chandler and then in Ringo’s place, Jimi Hendrix moved into the top flat at the Handel house. This is where the rock stars of London came to pay homage to A GUY WITH NO RECORD DEAL (yet)…and they all came. Our hostess Sara took us up to Jimi’s bedroom, which is not open to the public, and gave us excellent background. Very cool. Chris Wood of Traffic fell down the stairs leaving the loo and went right through a plate glass window at the bottom…and was unhurt.
Back to the panel talk, which was well attended and entertaining as hell. Richard Lloyd’s contributions were hilarious, and I got to hang with Charles Shaar Murray over a pint, after; I used to read the guy as a kid.
Off to the venue, which was perfect for us and VERY friendly. No support act, and that made the drummer giddy; all set up and ready to go. Thanks to Mark for making sure we had the proper gear, and even though I launched a cymbal and the bass drum beater ball, I was happy. Excellent show, well attended and everyone seemed happy…including Anita Pallenberg, who was there! Wow.
Toweling off after the show backstage, my friend Tommy (drummer, Swedish garage band “Stupidity”) walks in, and he’s playing across the street! In an hour! At a club 300 YEARS OLD! Danny and I are all over that, and we had a lovely time; 30 beers, good people (the whole audience from our gig were there), and I sat in with my friends on tambourine, which I didn’t break this time. Lots of fun; thanks to Tommy and Stupidity.
Danny and I managed to beat last call back at the hotel bar and played a round of “spot the prostitute.”

SIDEWALK OUTSIDE CUMBERLAND HOTEL, 10/9/2010
Again, gorgeous weather for our stroll to the Handel House for the earlier mentioned private tour. The exhibit (on the floor below Jimi’s actual flat) was fascinating; the f*cking guy played 12 gigs in 2 weeks within days of putting together The Experience! HUGE thanks to the Handel House Museum for taking care of us and Mark Holden for everything.
Nice stroll, and back to THE THREE TUNS for pints and fish and chips! Yummy all around. Stopped at a place called The City of Quebec on the way back to the hotel; NOT the place for me and Danny. Made last call at the Cumberland again, in time for several rounds of both beer and “spot the prostitute.”

TUBE TO HEATHROW, 10/10/2010
Oh, well, time to go home. The trip to the airport went smooth; the tube works well. Sloooow pass through security. Packed flight, but not uncomfortable. Customs a breeze. Airtrain to NJ transit to Penn Station fast and easy. NYC. Blimey.

CHELSEA, NEW YORK CITY, 10/11/2010
Back to the grindstone.

— J.P. “Thunderbolt” Patterson, NYC, 10/19/2010