ON THE ROAD :cyclown circus!

auth th fora exume tous cyclown circus! mia omada apo mousikous kai street performers pou taksideuoun apo xwra se xwra(43 mexri stigmhs) xrhsimopoiwntas ws monadiko metaforiko meso ta podhlata tous, ta opoia exoun to diplasio upsos malista apta paradosiaka.etsi sthnoun show me mousikh kai juggling sto dromo opou kai an pane.prin kamposo kairo eixan erthei sthn ellada kai eixe guristei gia partu tous malista mia tainia mikrou mhkous pou kategrafe th diamonh kai th drash tous edw. prin apo merikes meres pou milhsa mazi tous vriskontan sthn kwnstantinoupolh, ara katholou apithano to na mas episkeftoun ksana lian sudomws.na dume ti mas eipane!!!...


m.please introduce yourselves with a few words.who are cyclown circus, where are they from, what do they do and whats your aim?

c.The Cyclown Circus are a loose association of people, who ostensibly travel by bike accross continents, performing music and circus in the streets and villages and cities they pass. They are from many countries, though predominantly from north america and europe. The aim was always different for each member, though they shared a love of travel, bicycles, and performing. Some people were very interested in cycling against oil wars, others were more interested in cycling as a unique way to see the world. I think we all viewed performing as not only a means to support our travels, but also as a way to meet people and share something of ourselves with them. Especially where language was not an effective means of communication, entertaining certainly was!


m.how long ago and under what cicumstances(why) did you decide to start this thing?


c.The Circus started 10 years or so ago in the US. Some friends there had been in a project called 'the end of the world circus' which traveled by bus, actually many buses, from coast to coast for a few years. By the end of it, some people felt too much of their time was taken up repairing the buses, and all of their money went to gasoline (often leaving nothing for food). The solution? Leave the automobile behind! On a bike your only fuel is the food you eat and anyone can learn to repair the simple mechanics of a bicycle. This freed up our time, our money, allowing us to travel as a smaller group, allowing us to perform on the street instead of booking giant warehouse spaces. it was much nicer!


m.how many countries have you been to and which do you consider as the most interesting?tell us something crazy or realy weird youve experience throughout your trips?


c.I suppose we've been to 40 countries, all in all. It also depends what you consider a country? Are militarized seperatist regions like Abkhasia countries?


m.how did it come that you blend music with juggling and create a wider show?


c.Actually, we started out juggling and over the years have become more interrested in music! If you saw us perform now, odds are there would be only one or two circus acts, whereas a few years ago it would be a full hour of performing! It's mostly about who's part of the group. When people are with us who love to juggle and perform, thats what we do.


m.do you always travel by bike? and why dont you ride normal bikes instead of those skyscrapers?


c.Well, everyone wants to know that! We always travel WITH bike! When we started in europe, the first few years we were almost always riding the bikes. This is because europe is fairly lax with its visa regulations and we rarely worried about deportation or fines if we were to leave the country. Also europe is quite traveler friendly, so many squats and social centers!
When we left europe for turkey and asia, distances between cities became greater, the visa situation became more difficult. We started to take trains, or, for the first time in turkey we hitch hiked (tall bikes and everything!) to the border before our visa ran out! Also we had to cross russia by train due to the difficulties in obtaining a year long visa necessary to cross by bike.
On the other hand, we often biked through difficult mountainous areas, like greece, croatia, and yunan china, where the himilayas begin. Mountains are often the most beautiful places to cycle.
We ride the tall bikes for a number of reasons. The most important one is probably because they are funny and attract a lot of attention! Its much easier to gather a crowd for a street show with those bicycles, and quite easy to start a conversation with anyone you meed on the road. We also use the bikes in the show, as a frame for tight-rope walking, for instance! They're also quite easy to load with baggage, rather like a special kind of cargo bike.

m.which are the difficulties youre facing having a lifestyle like this, and would you ever consider leaving this behind to go on 9 to 5 jobs in a city?


c.Well, the difficulty was of course the weather and rain, but especially the 'what the fuck am i doing with my life" question that so many people had while pushing a 60 kilo bike up a mountain. Some of us have ended up with 'normal' jobs, like teaching, or repairing bikes. Some of us are now just sitting in cities like new orleans or san francisco or berlin, still performing and playing music and just occasionally venturing out on the bicycles!


m.how come youve changed so many members(myspace page says 150:P) but still have a solid sound and maintain a specific character?


c.Actually, our sound and character does change depending who joins. But, its more like it grows, and it grows in a certain direction. Its more like people assimilate to the group. of course!


8.how do you see the whole economic crisis-weregonnadie thing?


It depends a lot where in the world you are. I'm sure in greece it seems quite difficult, and in london too everyone was freaking out. But in Laos or Indonesia, i doubt anyone thinks much about it, and in China things might be going just according to plan! I think its more of a european/american western crisis, if you can imagine all the problems and upheavals that some other regions of the world have gone through!


9.do you want to say anything to greek people?
ti kanis malakas!

We'll be back soon to eat lots of baklava and souvlaki, just don't sell your islands to germany!

to myspace tous.