June 23rd, 2009 / 8 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello all!
I wrote this from the Vancouver International Airport with a view of the mountains in front of me, and a supremely important package by my side…
Today is the first day of almost three weeks off while the tour is on hiatus and the band hits some major festivals in Europe. This means my crew pass and 2-way radio are unclipped from my belt-band, and that I’ll be carrying car keys in the place of a hotel key-card in no time. I wish I could say the same for those weary crewmates who do sound or instruments, merchandising or security, for the fellas. I honestly thought that 23 shows into the summer tour I’d be exhausted and ready to go home. Although I have begun noticing the dark and puffy circles around my eyes in recent photos, I think my new touring wings have a long ways until they’re worn to a frazzle.
That’s not to say that I don’t miss my peeps. In the six weeks that I’ve been out, I’ve missed the birth of my second niece, and the 6th birthday of my nephew. I celebrated my 26th at a venue in Calgary, and wished my dad a happy Father’s Day from a venue in Vancouver. The youngest of the Yassines graduated from high school at some point while the ‘Viva’ crew was in the Mid-West. Emails and text messages have had to suffice- some postcards too. So you see folks, the coolness of touring has its trade-offs, eh (That “eh” was for you, Canada)? In the age of email, however, postcard recipients can send a response:
We rolled into Vancouver a few days ago and moved out of Bus 5. It was bittersweet, I admit. Big thanks to our driver John “the rock god” for getting us where we need to go safely.
I can’t count the number of times Switzer, Steph, Piers, Carlos and I were all crammed near the passenger seat in front of the bus to chat with him, and when we weren’t up there how many times we overheard John singing along to AC/DC or something comparable.
Rolling into Vancouver for two back-to-back sold out shows with the knowledge that Oxfam’s total number of new supporters had already reached 98,660 felt as though I was entering the city bearing something of utmost importance. This meant that Vancouver would probably be the city to help the Oxfam reach the 100 thousand point. What better way than to leave this leg of the tour knowing we had already reached a major milestone? And Vancouver’s teams did not disappoint! By the end of night one, we’d reached 100,039 actions taken with Oxfam a pledge for Health and Education For All in England, a call to Make Trade Fair in Australia, a petition to Stop Harming and Start Helping in the USA, and so on. 100 thousand voices- enough to fill an arena- against hunger, poverty, and injustice. By the end of night two, 101,669!
One year, two Oxfam “roadies,” half a dozen or so Oxfams, 123 shows, thousands of volunteers, millions of fans. I know I’ve said in the past that the goal is not about the numbers, but those figures are impressive eh?
(Oxfam roadies Pete and Soha)
By the way, some cool news is coming. Stay tuned…
xoxo from home,
s
Posted in: General
June 19th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by soha.yassine
Check out this awesome picture montage from my pal Logan from the Hershey show.
If you are so fortunate as to live in the Hershey/Philly area and want to get involved with Oxfam and these lovely people,
check out the Philadelphia Oxfam Action Corps .
Just in from a 14 hour bus ride to Vancouver,
s
Ps. The Oxfam Action Corps are in 13 cities across the US. Check out www.oxfamamerica.org/actioncorps to learn how you can get involved in your community!
Posted in: General
June 19th, 2009 / 6 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hi world!
When I received the tour travel itinerary early in May, I became aware of the fact that I’d be with the tour in Calgary on June 17th, which happens to be the day that I’d be turning what I call “the adult side of 25.”
I’m sooooo not the person to broadcast my birthday, especially not to an entire blog readership! How many of you do you think are out there? Sometimes I feel like it could be 5 people, other days it feels like it could be 5 million people… who knows? The point is that I’m resisting the impulse to delete this entire entry and ignore the fact that yesterday was my birthday for the sake of honesty.
For me this blog is about Oxfam’s work on the Coldplay tour, and about the awesome volunteers that I get to meet who exhibit incredible commitment to “thinking globally and acting locally.” But its also a view of the Viva tour through the lens of a California girl who spent a substantive amount of time in college studying Buddhism and took a chance and moved to Boston to work for Oxfam. Perhaps my sudden emphasis in honesty in blog writing comes from judgement impaired by a late night of cake eating, dancing in the rain to Joss Stone’s cover of “Fell in Love With a Boy,” and skateboarding through an arena full of paper butterflies on Switzer’s board.
(Switzer shows off the Oxfam sticker his board)
Regardless, I wanted to share with you all how amazing it is to think back on where I was on my 25th birthday, and to think that a year ago I had not the slightest indication that I’d be celebrating my next one on tour for my dream organization, with my favorite band.
Yesterday was cool for so many reasons. Team Calgary set the goal of having each member get 70 concert goers to take action with Oxfam-they ended up getting about 85 per person! When all was said and done after the show, team leaders Lara and Reny and I sat around talking about how the best volunteers are those who are most motivated, and the most motivated volunteers are those who truley believe they are making an impact. How does an organizer communicate their impact to volunteers was the question….They also told me that the Edminton team was sure to wow me; I don’t doubt that!
I was also able to assert my title as “proper roadie” as Howling Bells’ “stage right guitar technician.” Basically this means that they let me hand Brenden his “cherry” bass in exchange for “vanilla” during the show. Mundane, yes, but the 13-year-old within who dreamed of being a rock star was ecstatic. After my two swap-outs had been completed, Juanita wished me a happy birthday from the stage and dedicated the song Treasure Hunt to me. Its an beautiful song with the lyrics: “I am the watchtower/ I am the light that emanates/ I am the key that fits/ I am the world that radiates.”
(Mark, the Bells’ instrument technician with the set list with my cues to swap guitars. You can’t see, but it says “Soha’s Happy Birthday set list.”)
Marta was the really the force behind the amazing birthday. I had quietly informed her it was on Wednesday and told her that I wouldn’t be telling anyone else. She told everyone it was my birthday, hence the on-stage b-day wish from Howling Bells, the hugs and warm wishes from crew mates all day, and my very festive bunk.
She was responsible for the coolest momento a person could have from a tour (cooler than the one I got in New Orleans that I’ll tell you about some other time)- a birthday card signed by the entire crew, and a few of my buddies from Howling Bells and Snow Patrol.
Once the show was over, cake eating, rain dancing, and arena skateboarding ensued.
(Before)
(Piers and cake)
(After)
Much love to my girl Marty who started off just a fun person to hang out with, and evolved into a dear friend and confidant. And to Matt the video guy as well for a gift from him and Marta that ensures I retrieve new music ethically and for being an all around cool “bloke.”
Not a bad way to turn 26. Where will I be next year?
xoxo from Edmonton,
s
ps. here’s something from my girl Z. classic…
Posted in: General
June 16th, 2009 / 7 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello world! I’m writing this as I look over the view in my room of a very quaint Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
We crossed the border into Canada on a 16-hour bus ride a few days ago after a string of amazing shows in San Antonio, Des Moines, and Omaha. The ride was the much-needed opportunity for my bus-mates and I to lounge in our pajamas all day and watch television. It also marked the end of the first leg of the US portion of the tour. I bet you’re wondering how Oxfam America did in terms of sign-ups…
Well, I work very hard to resist the impulse to follow our sign-up numbers because they are never a measure of success for me. Team sizes, weather, and venue type/capacity almost always factor into the total number of sign-ups. Also, the goal of Oxfam’s being on tour with Coldplay is to use the access to millions of people all over the world that the tour provides us in order to have conversations with people about how they can fight poverty at the local, national, and global level. Each sign-up represents more than just a name on a sheet, it represents a dialogue about change, and that’s what matters most to me. But, if you must know…
Buffalo- 970
Detroit- 618
Cincinnati- 518
Indianapolis- 1299, thereby snatching the record-holding title from Team West Palm Beach!
Nashville- 845
New Orleans- 415
San Antonio- 741
Des Moines- 853
Omaha- 710
14,637 total for Oxfam America! Nothing makes me happier than when I walk into Coldplay’s production office to mail a box of 4, 5, or 6 thousand sign-ups to our Oxfam America’s data entry firm. Its like walking in with a trophy that is the fruit of months of planning and the labor of hundreds of volunteers. Our goal is to get 30,000 people to take action with us during both of the United States legs of this summer’s Viva La Vida Tour. If you’d like to be part of the 30,000 strong voices against hunger, poverty, and social injustice, simply text VIVA to 30644.
Since we’re on the topic of sign-ups, you may be pleased to know that Team Winnipeg blew my mind yesterday with the most sign-ups that I’ve ever seen at a single concert in my many months of concert outreach.
Team Winnipeg was built by Megan, a recent high school graduate from Vincent Masey Collegiate, who got involved Oxfam because she likes its broad approach and sustainable development model.
(Center: Megan with Shanleigh, Alexia, Angela, and myself.)
She started an Oxfam club at University of Manitoba, Winnipeg because she’ll be attending college there in the fall in the new human rights and global studies department. And she was an amazing leader, emphasizing that every conversation in one step closer to ending poverty! She set a very ambitious goal for the team of 1,300 new Canadians to call on their leaders to consider how climate change and the global financial crisis disproportionately affect women.
As the evening wrapped up, we began counting the action cards volunteers had brought back.
When all was said and done, we had covered the surface of the table with bundles of 50 action cards totaling 1,398! That’s 1,398 conversations right there…
Much thanks to Megan and Team Winnipeg for showing me that a little ambition goes a long way!
Inspired anew from Calgary,
s
p.s. Here’s a pic of yesterday’s Mexican cell phone wave; it was a-maz-ing! Usually Chris repeats it 3 times with the audience, but after asking the audience to do it once, it just kept circling around the arena through the entire song. I was sitting by Marta at her camera and we’d enthusiastically nodded at each other every time the wave repeated.
Posted in: General
June 14th, 2009 / No Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello all! Here’s one from yesterday that I had to abandon mid-way after opting to pass out in my bunk…
I’m sitting in the our crew room writing to you all as my roadie pals bask in the glorie of the Pens’ winning the Stanley Cup; remember when we were in Pittsburgh and the audience chanted, “Go Pens!” until Chris had to stop and ask what they were saying?
Tonight, like most nights in arenas, the crew room where we check our email and such is a locker room with drapes covering the perimeter of the walls. Matt the video guy and the man behind the “magic balls” has spent a significant amount of time explaining what the English refer to as a “geezer.” I’m settled on “the English equivalent of dude,” but he’s proceeded to explain the meaning of geezer is “the type of bloke to say ’sorted me ol mucker’ to someone.” No comment…
This week started with two days off in New Orleans. It was a much-needed chance to unwind after 3 straight shows. Being a fan of casual biking, I decided I would rent a bike and use it as my mode of transportation for the New Orleans sight-seeing.
A couple of my bus-mates, Marta and Piers, were excited by the idea and joined along and we had a lovely day of riding along the Mississippi, through the French Quarter, and, well, on Bourbon Street as well. Nothing made me happier than to hand the valet at our fancy hotel the key to my bike lock and say, “Take care of her for me.”
Besides being able to reconnect with the city I fell in love with on a trip with my girl Z, it was a chance to visit the Oxfam New Orleans Regional Office. There I met Field Representative, Ilana Scherl, who talked to me about the human face of climate-related disasters in the Gulf Coast. She told me about how disasters like Hurricane Katrina exacerbate pre-existing conditions of poverty and how they are increasing in severity and frequency due to climate change.
She explained how disasters- from evacuations, to the property loss and excruciating process of reoccupying evacuated areas- are harder for the poor communities than any other.
When I toured the 9th Ward, the poorest area of New Orleans, I saw evidence of reoccupied homes as well as homes in various stages of reconstruction, often with FEMA trailers parked right along side them.
But mostly, I saw empty lot after empty lot. I learned then that only 15% of people evacuated from the 9th Ward have been able to return, and that 1000 of the 1836 deaths in New Orleans occurred in the 9th Ward. The most moving thing I saw were the homes with holes in their roofs. They were punched out by people escaping the rising water in their attics.
When I toured the area surrounding the Louisiana Super Dome with Nancy, the Administrative Assistant at Oxfam’s local office, I couldn’t help but think about the choice between community and chaos the people of New Orleans had. I was moved by the stories of people who went from home to home on row boats during the floods to help remove people from their roofs. These were people who chose to come together as a community rather than succumb to crisis and chaos- much of which was happening at places like the Super Dome.
As a global village, we are faced with the same choice with regards to climate change. We could come together as a global community and address the urgent problems at hand, or succumb to crisis and chaos. We can all do our parts; Oxfam works with community partners at the local level, governments adopt national plans that address climate change issues in their nations, the UN has funding mechanisms for those programs, and people like the Oxfam volunteers at the past 19 Coldplay shows since the beginning of the summer are doing their part.
To learn more about how you can do your part, check out www.oxfamamerica.org/climate.
xoxo from Bus 5 en route to Winnipeg, Canada,
s
Posted in: General
June 11th, 2009 / 2 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Dear Lovers and Friends,
My glasses have been found! Last night, my already tired eyes struggled to articulate the flood of thoughts, reflections, and realizations about my trip in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) without my glasses to no avail.
Thankfully, they’ve been found and my eyes have become of use once again! Stay tuned for my post about NOLA as I work through my draft of it.
In other news, I recently moved out of Bus 2 to make room for new lampies (lighting technicians) and I’m proud to say that I’ve been designated Bus Mom of Bus 5 today! This means that I’m in charge of managing our grocery list and making sure it lands in the hands of the powers that be. Today I was pleased to find that Jim got his Frosted Mini Wheats and that Switzer got his Doritos. I anticipate fulfilling this obligation with exceptional success…
xoxo from Bus 5 (en route to Des Moines),
s
p.s.how cool is this pic I took earlier tonight?
Posted in: General
June 8th, 2009 / 4 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello all!
Today is the last of two days off in New Orleans. I’ve been here before, but this city and its people never cease to amaze me with their vibrance. Check out the picture below; it is part of a tape graffiti mural just outside the famous French Quarter.
Saturday night’s show in the Sommet Center in Nashville was a bit of a shift for the tour as it was the start of the arena portion of this leg. I love arenas because their enclosed nature causes the audience’s cheers to reverberate and capture the amazing energy of Coldplay fans that much more. I told my pal, Glenn, from Howling Bells that they sounded exceptionally good and he laughed and shared that he thought they sounded awful given they didn’t have a sound check. The trade off to the energy of arena shows is that the crew has to wake up in what feels like the belly of a concrete beast and spend the day working in a dark arena without seeing the light of day. Thanks to my pals and Oxfam volunteers Hannah, Jessie, Jonathan, and Nate for taking me out after the show so I could get some fresh air and experience Nashville. And Nashville is a great city indeed- still quite sad that I didn’t buy those pink cowboy boots though…
In fact, meet Hannah. She’s a returning Coldplay volunteer and a great example of the cool people I get to spend my evenings with. Sorry in advance for the bad lighting!
Anyone wondering what’s with the umbrella?
From New Orleans,
s
Posted in: America, General
June 6th, 2009 / 10 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello Lovers and Friends,
Sorry I haven’t written in a few days, as I’ve been busy with plenty of official Oxfam America business.
You know, world, when I’m done writing a new entry, I click on the little square to the left of the text that says “publish” and I wonder to myself, “Self, do you think anyone is actually reading this?” However, today I was pleased to find evidence that people are actually reading and liking these entries in the form of a concert goer today. She was waiting for doors to open to the show and as I walked by the gates she said “Are you Soha? I read your blog!” Wow. Thank you everyone! Thanks especially to my peeps at Coldplaying.com for linking Oxfam’s entries and always being all around awesome to us. Please do comment so I don’t always feel like I’m talking to myself.
Yesterday’s show day in Cincinnati was another one of those days where rain loomed and I had to be ready to pack up in an instant. Lest another Hershey, PA fiasco be repeated where all of Oxfam’s gear was soaked in rain!
Fortunately we were spared from rain. It was a great evening nonetheless with a group of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. Oxfam’s work ended with a beautiful sunset to usher in the evening.
It was also Pete Yorn’s last show with us. He is such a down to earth guy. Being surrounded by nice people makes all the difference when being so far from home.
Tonight’s team felt like a team of super heros. The record for getting the most people to take action with Oxfam held by a single team member was not only broken, it was decimated. It held steady at 150 people for a long time but was shattered by Phil, who got an amazing 190 people to urge President Obama to call for a fair Climate Change Treaty during the COP15 Conference!
Big shout out to Jill from Team Indianapolis; she’s a Jersey girl whose father moved the family to Indianapolis because he’s a mega Colts fan. She’s been instrumental in the Fair Trade movement on her campus and was an amazing asset to the team. Click here to learn more about Oxfam America\’s Trade campaigns. This is not to speak lightly of the rest of the team. I told everyone that they were so amazing that if they were a date, I would definitely call them the next day for a second one. Everyone did so great with their sign ups, coming back to the table with 70, 90, 120 names of people who have taken action.
Tomorrow we’re in Nashville and then we’ll have 2 days off in New Orleans. I can sit and gush about my love for NoLa for a very long time, but I’ll leave that for next time.
From Bus 2,
s
p.s. Here’s the pic I told you about a while ago about the time I fell in the road case. I’m not proud of this one folks.
Posted in: America, General
June 3rd, 2009 / 7 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello all!
Just checking in from Cinncinati, Ohio. Today has been quite the eventful day despite my thinking that a day off in Cinncinati was going to be one of those marathon-movie-watching-in-bed days that are often accompanied by massive amounts of hotel room coffee and some form of chinese take out.
We awoke around 11:30 in the morning by the declaration that we’d arrived to our hotel and that we had to wake up and get off the bus so that it could be parked off-site. Often times on days off, we get to wake up at our own leisure and check in our hotels when we’re ready to; but today our buses were too big to park in front of the hotel so we had to be rushed off upon arrival. So I climbed out of my bunk in the most undignified of manners and got my bags in order. Our bunks are three high and three deep in the center of the bus. They are sandwiched in a corridor between front and back “lounges.” I use the term “lounge” lightly here because there isn’t much lounging happening on a bus of 12 people. Anyway, my bunk is on the very top, so one could imagine how difficult it is to climb down half asleep….
I got off the bus with my buddy and bus-mate, Marta, just as we were being told (after exerting the energy to climb out of the bunk, put on shoes, and take our bags out of the hold) that our rooms aren’t ready and we needed to wait on the bus. Marta had declared that she’d rather walk around the city in pajamas then wait on the bus. So I washed the eyeliner from last night that had worked its way all around my face and headed out with her. We started the day with coffee and ice cream under a sun umbrella shielding us from the sudden rain (I told you that it’s this crew that brings rain everywhere we go!), walked around the gorgeous downtown Cincinnati, and ended with lunch. We ran into another bus-mate in the hotel after checking in (finally!) who told us about the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center a few blocks away and Marta and I agreed that we’d get out of our pjs and head over there in an hour. I’m writing this in a mad rush because I only have about 15 minutes before I have to meet her in the lobby.
Speaking of pjs, there was an email waiting for me from our lovely production team about being invited to the PJ Harvey concert later on tonight. What a day indeed!
Now about all this rain, last night was show 10 of this leg and the 5th show that saw rain! Despite all the rain, however, the amazing Oxfam volunteers have managed to motivate 7,649 new people to take action with Oxfam America! Oxfam America’s goal for the US portions of the Viva La Vida tour this summer is 30,000 new people taking action with Oxfam, and we are well on our way to exceeding that goal!
Remember when I talked about leaving the bricks and carrying the balloons? Well, today I’m carrying 7,649 balloons; I’m so inspired by all the love we’ve been getting by Coldplay fans.
Here’s how the number break-down looks:
West Palm Beach 5/15/09: 1,100 (I told you they’d set the bar!)
Atlanta 5/17: 600
Birmingham 5/18: 617
Virginia Beach 5/20: 1045
Washington, DC 5/21: 881
Hartford 5/23: 917
Hershey 5/24: 765
Philadelphia 5/26: 1000
Pittsburgh 5/30: 724 (adjusted from 838 due to a tired Oxfam roadie clerical error)
Just from the Viva La Vida tour alone last year, Oxfam was able to get 80,000 new people to take action with us from all over the world! 20 people here, and 60 people there add up to a strong force. We all count. If you haven’t signed up with Oxfam yet, make yourself count and join us by checking out Oxfamamerica.org/concerts.
Peace from Cincinnati,
s
Posted in: General
May 31st, 2009 / 6 Comments » / by soha.yassine
Hello all!
Tonight we’re leaving what has begun to feel like a home away from home, Pittsburgh, after three days off and a phenomenal show. I really enjoyed our time off here visiting the Andy Warhol Museum, shopping on Carson Street, and attending a Pirates game. Rolling into the venue at the early hour of 7:30am this morning I had a good feeling about the show. I knew the crowd would be a good one and that the Oxfam team would do well. Pittsburgh did not disappoint; it was an awesome audience with amazing energy filling the amphitheatre with the resounding shouts of “Go Pens!” Chris Martin even responded at one point when Coldplay was performing on the lawn with “What the hell are you guys talking about?” Needless to say I’ll miss Pittsburgh. This academic-turned Oxfam intern-turned roadie ought to learn not to get too comfortable in one place…
Anyone that has ever canvassed at a concert would tell you how difficult it could be to cope with and shake off rejection. As you know, at every Coldplay show since the dawn of man practically, Oxfam assembles teams of 20 people to canvass audiences to talk to fans about Oxfam, the work we do, and how they can get involved. Often times, volunteers interpret a concertgoer’s not wanting to engage in conversation with them as a form of personal rejection. For them and for other canvassers like 15-year-old Stevey from Team Pittsburgh tonight, veteran canvassers have coined a phrase that goes something like, “Drop the bricks and carry the balloons.” It was my boss and mentor, Brian, that first shared that phrase with me. The phrase is meant to encourage canvassers to resist the inclination to focus on negative encounters that serve like bricks to weigh one down, and focus on the positive ones that serve like balloons and boost one’s morale. It is only natural that not all concertgoers would be interested in talking with Oxfam volunteers, but instead of focus on that, I told Stevey, focus on the number of people who did talk to her. In fact, at that point Stevey had already achieved a significant number of petition sign-ups: 65! That’s 65 conversations about poverty, and 65 responses to a call to action- 65 balloons!
After the show tonight, I was sharing with Brian the sleep deprivation, crazy allergies, and homesickness I have tackled with since hitting the road. He responded very seriously, “Wow, this tour has been a real test of your endurance” and I told him, that I’m “dropping the bricks, and carrying the balloons.”
And oh are there balloons! 838 new members of Oxfam America recruited tonight, 75 of them alone ended up being the result of Stevey’s effort!
We’re off to Buffallo, NY for another day off tomorrow. I think Niagra Falls is a short drive away; any other suggestions for how to spend my day off tomorrow?
From Bus 2,
s
Posted in: General
Coldplay has invited Oxfam on their mammoth Viva La Vida World Tour. Throughout 2008 the band played huge shows across 3 continents and 18 countries. Oxfam volunteers were there every step of the way, talking to 100,000s of people about how they can take action to overcome poverty. Now in 2010, Coldplay continue this tour with shows across in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Oxfam groups around the world will again join the tour, blogging as they go.
