This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
Who would have thought that in October 2016 I actually would visit and stay with Paulo Pereira a.k.a. DJ/producer A.Paul and his lovely wife Sandra a.k.a. the driving force behind Naked Lunch Records, in their house in Portugal? A house that officially belongs to, of all people, Cisco Ferreira a.k.a. DJ/producer The Advent. It's a small world.
I shook hands with Cisco once, less then a year a go at the Dockyard Warehouse Festival, where I interviewed Harvey MckKay, but I can’t imagine Cisco remembers me. Yet, there I was, sleeping in a house that actually belongs to him. And not only me. Every year I take a small trip of maximum five days with one of my sons. Last October it was my son Justin’s turn. Traditionally we pick a city in the proximity of a respected soccer club and their stadium. On our low budget planning was to stay with a friend in Reims, in the north of France, and drive to the stadium of Paris-St. Germain for one day. Until Sandra and Paulo invited us to come to Lisbon.
When I met Paulo and Sandra in June 2014 I only knew him as this renowned Portugese DJ and producer that went by the name A.Paul. When he told me his story, I was flabbergasted by the challenges life had presented to this talented man. You can real all about these in my interview with A.Paul. Or check out you A.Paul’s First Gig story, which was published in August 2015.
Paulo, Sandra and me appeared to have a click and I never expected the first time to meet again after the interview was to be in their home in Lisbon. Yet that’s what happened. And it was fantastic. Paulo took the stadium visit off my chest and went with my 15-year old to see the stadium of his least favorite Lisbon-club Benfica and even cooler, he took my son to a live match Sporting-Dortmund – coincidentally the German city where my oldest son (the same one as this year) and I went two years earlier.
Anyway, I cannot even begin to describe the hospitality, the sympathy, the talent (yes, we were in the holy grail) and the great music, the fabulous food and all that is positive that we experienced during our stay at the Naked Lunch Records headquarters. Paulo and Sandra stole our hearts and we hope it’s mutual.
