Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Otherworld. I am your host, Jack Wagner. In this episode, we have two shorter stories about being a touring musician and the horrors of the road, from attempted robberies to haunted houses and other uncomfortable places one has to crash while they're on tour. This first story comes from a guy named Colum. Interestingly enough, I met Colum while recording an episode of Otherworld.
He has been on the show before, very briefly. In fact, Now that I think about it, this might be one of the strangest ways that I've ever met a person. This was during the series of episodes titled Them. In that series, there was a very surreal moment where I suddenly needed somebody to translate Norwegian for me. I'm sure many of you remember this.
I sent out a bunch of very frantic messages to my friends, and very quickly, My friend Lily put me on a Zoom call with a couple people on the other side of the world who were willing to help me. And one of those people was Colm.
Chapter 2: What experiences do touring musicians face on the road?
I did not know him then. I have since met him in person and hung out several times. He is a really nice guy who thankfully did not judge me for the incredibly strange first impression I must have made on him. In fact, it turns out that Colm has had some strange experiences of his own. The one you're about to hear takes place while he's on tour in Barcelona with his friend Luisa.
I'll let them take it from here. This episode is called A Room on the Road, and you're listening to Otherworld. Hello? Is this Bobby? Yes, it is. At its core, the science, you can't argue with.
A story about all the science.
Up in the sky. It's almost frustrating that it's happening.
I'm going to die. His limbs were just like, wrong. Everybody moves back into the light, even if it takes them a minute.
My name is Colm. I grew up in Ireland. I'm Irish. I grew up in a little town called Macroom, kind of in the countryside outside of it. really interesting place to grow up. So much history and standing stones and ring forts. It's really steeped in so much history and there's like such a strong energy there and it was really nice growing up there.
I really loved it but you know growing up in a small town and being interested in music was quite difficult so as soon as I could I started playing guitar and you know looked at music as a way maybe to get out and you know travel. When I was 16, I started a band with my brother. And yeah, we got signed pretty early on when I was 16 years old by Morrissey, which was really cool.
Basically, his mother got a copy of our demo, like our first demo that we ever made. And Morrissey's mom loved, really loved our band. And I think he was at home in Manchester and his mom was playing this rough demo by this Irish band. And he just really liked it. And he faxed us and said, hey, I really like your music, and I'd love to put one of your songs on this compilation for NME magazine.
It's called Songs to Save Your Life. And it was wild. We were 16, 17 years old. And one of our songs was on this like compilation that Morrissey made. So then he signed us and we ended up releasing like a single on his label. And he took us on the road for a little while and we opened for him in Earl's Court in London on my 18th birthday, which was amazing.
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Chapter 3: What strange occurrences did Colm experience in Barcelona?
Her features are just so pronounced as well.
Okay, please. Yeah, I'll send you that.
And it was really funny as well. Like when they got sent the photograph, it kept deleting. Like it just kept not showing up or corrupting on my phone and on other phones. It's really, really unusual. But yeah, I still have it and I'll send it to you.
But so after that trip, I go back to Ireland and Chelsea emails me and she's like, look, I've got a record coming out and I'd love to do like a tour of Europe and I'd love you to join me and play guitar. You know, it'd be really small. Basically, Chelsea, me and our friend Louisa, who was sort of tour managing and driving and would jump in for some songs for backing vocals.
So it was just like really small. All we needed was a car and two guitars, basically. So they flew over to Ireland and we did two shows. And then we went to London. We did a really fun show there. And then we had two more shows in Paris and then a final show in Barcelona.
So, you know, it was, it was quite grueling, you know, really long distances and, you know, not a huge amount of planning behind it. It was just sort of go with the flow. But after Paris, we were there for like, we were in Paris for about four days and it was pretty exhausting. And we were staying with some friends and It was kind of weird, and I remember I was sleeping under a table.
It was not the most comfortable situation, but it was really fun. So then the next show was in Barcelona, and we had to drive straight, and it was like an 11-hour drive from Paris to Barcelona. But the good part of it was that we would finish the tour and we'd have two days off in Barcelona. And that was really exciting.
So Louisa went on Craigslist basically and found this really nice kind of 11th on the top floor of this residential building at a big balcony overlooking Barcelona. It looked really cool. So we're really excited to go there. So after the 11 hour drive, we arrive in Barcelona and we are like so tired and so exhausted and just so glad that this tour is almost over. Luisa drives us to the apartment.
We take out all of our luggage and then she goes to find parking and she drives like around the corner and a man on a motorcycle drives up next to her and like is like banging on her window and he's like, pull over, pull over, like very aggressively. Um, and she just got really freaked out and just sort of drove off.
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Chapter 4: How did Colm react to the mysterious old woman in the apartment?
And I was like, oh my God, no way. And so I said, I saw a man. She asked me to describe him, but I was like, I kind of want you to describe him. I don't want to give it away. I really want to make sure that I saw this. And she was like, when people see him, he is...
an older man he's wearing a three-piece suit that's kind of like dark gray or brown and he only visits i think she kind of said it in a cheeky way which i felt very nice but she was like he only visits um people he likes and he usually only visits women so i i was very excited about you know like i got chosen almost and she said his name was nico
And I guess other people have had experiences with this ghost. So I felt like it was such a cool kind of honor, but it was very psychedelic to have her tell me exactly what he looked like because it really did confirm for me what I saw, you know? I mean, living with this now, there has to be some humor around it.
I can accept that it happened, but I don't want it to become something where I know it's always going to continue or it has to mean something negative. I kind of am trying to... I find it... You know, I'm trying to make peace with it in a way where it's exciting.
I don't love it when I'm asleep or trying to sleep somewhere new because I do get the heart pounding and I can't really fall asleep because I'm just so afraid that something's going to happen to me. So I have to kind of kumbaya myself in those moments and do breathing exercises. But yeah. Now I just kind of, I just accept that it might happen to me and that I'll be okay no matter what.
And I am pretty picky choosy about if I am going to be in New Orleans where I'm going to stay.
I'm kind of tempted to try to reach out to that first hotel.
You should. I mean, there is stuff online that I did limited, like, is this place haunted? And I almost wanted to call myself before, but it's worth maybe calling the front desk and asking.
I mean, do you want to try calling them? I'll call them if not.
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