I was wrapping up at work one Friday afternoon and got a call from my boss. “Hey, we have an issue with some test pressings for an upcoming Chili Peppers release, and I might have to send you to Germany to take care of it. Can you do it?” he said. “Uh, yeah, yeah, I can do it. When is this supposed to happen?” I asked. “Monday,” he replied. I flew out on a red-eye Monday night to Hamburg, Germany and arrived Tuesday morning at around 10:00 a.m. I rented a car and had to drive about two hours east to a town called Röbel-Müritz, which I was told was a town that Germans go to for vacation to get away from tourists. The pressing plant contacted me shortly after I arrived and arranged a ride to the plant at 2:30 p.m., giving me just enough time to shower and eat a little something for lunch. When I arrived at the plant, they put me in this little room to listen to the newest test pressings, taking QC notes from me on little pieces of paper as I completed each side. I returned to the pressing plant the next day for a full tour of the facility before driving down to Berlin to find Frank-Zappa-Straße and have some dinner. I drove back to Hamburg Thursday morning and was back in Los Angeles that day. It was quite the whirlwind trip. This is also when I learned that low level speeding tickets in Germany only cost about $15 apiece.
Song: “Breaking The Girl”
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Songwriter(s): Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith
Album(s): Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Release Year(s): 1991
Song: “One Token Over The Line”
Artist: Brewer & Shipley
Songwriter(s): Michael Brewer, Tom Shipley
Album(s): Tarkio Road
Release Year(s): 1970
I Wish You Would Hear Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jFrq03xPtVVOexYHZF1OW?si=bc9df95d2d854d