World Citizen Band - Ecuador, 2016


I got back yesterday night from what was probably one of the most fun tour I did. We were in Ecuador with the World Citizen Band for a series of concerts and 2 days of teaching at the Universidad De Las Americas.

I flew on Monday November 21st to Panama City, a two-hour layover to which we added 2 hours waiting on the plane because of bad weather. I landed in Quito at 1am and finally arrived at the hotel at 3am. 

Life on the road with a band can be difficult and tricky. You spend your time with the same people almost 24/7, wake up early, travel, play, go to the hotel late, repeat. Sometimes you travel in luxurious conditions, sometimes not. Touring with this band was so easy, everybody is professional and friendly. We enjoyed the great moments, met the challenging ones and accepted the sometimes not so luxurious conditions.

The first night we stayed at the Hilton, so we felt like successful musicians, went to the pool, the gym and the sauna. Here is the view from my room:


The following night we slept on a bus and drove 8 hours from Quito to Cuenca. We arrived at sunrise in a hostel that was nothing close to the Hilton...
Here are our faces after a night of trying to sleep during the bus ride:
 

In Cuenca we played at the Teatro Sucre and we flew back the next morning at 7am to Quito, then drove to Ibarra where we played at Cafe Arte. We drove the next day to Quito where we played at night to the Teatro Variedades. That was a really great night where the band played at its best. Here is a short clip:




Get the exclusive bonus track "Habanera" for free!

* indicates required

The following day, that's Saturday if you were wondering, we flew to Guayaquil to play at the Art Center. It was also Ramiro's birthday, the leader of the band, so we had a long night out.
Here is a shot from our hotel in Guayaquil where iguanas live freely:


On Sunday we flew back to Quito and took the day off to rest. On Monday we taught at UDLA and at night we were invited to join a colombian band at Cafe Democratico. On Tuesday we spent the day teaching at UDLA again:

Some of us flew back home that night, some of us the following day. It was a great tour and I want to congratulate Ramiro for organizing this and all the musicians of the band for playing to such a high level. I hope there will be more music to be made in the future with this band.

Until the next flight!

Ramiro Olaciregui: Guitar
Tomasz Dabrowski: Trumpet
Marcos Merina: Piano
Rodolfo Zuniga: Drums
Kenneth Dahl Knudsen: Bass

Thank you to Buffet Crampon for their support.
 
 

Leave a comment