One summer in Ghent the daily meal was fries and beer.
We had brought a tent and we slept on campsites or we slept on sidewalks.
We had only brought a few cans of tuna and a ball. The supplies ran out on Sunday, the first day at a campsite near the Watersportbaan. At lunch we opened the three cans of tuna we had brought with us.
All shops were closed but a bakery. We bought a loaf of bread, it was the size of the steering wheel of a truck, we stuffed it with our only provisions.
Two mouths to feed but we were three that holiday. Ciccio, Gigi and I.
“Did you really bring tuna with you?” said Ciccio and I replied: “Yes sure. Just in case”.
“I don’t like tuna” said Ciccio.
The bread was tasty, the smell of tuna bode well. We began to bite into our half-wheels of bread.
“Can I have some?” asked Ciccio.
Gigi replied: “No, you said that you don’t like tuna.”
And we continued to eat, finishing even the last bite.
Some would call this struggle for survival, others a douche move.
Ciccio did not fast that evening, he was saved by a frituur shop that was open and served some legendary fries that we still venerate today.
That night I suddenly thought about something that my Belgian friend Wio had told me years before: “Belgian fries cause French are fake”.
That sentence had never left my mind, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard the same mantra repeated in a song by de portables.
“Ceci n’est pas une frite.” is a tribute to the de portables who celebrate 25 years of career this year.
“Ceci n’est pas une frite.” is a corelease between Almost Halloween Time Records and Gazer Tapes.
The list of bands that pay homage to de portables is impressive, the songs chosen are a journey into the universe of the Belgian group.
The Brahamas is Bram from the band Poppel.
The Debts is Dane from Wray, CO. He lives in a ghost motel.
Fake Onions is in fact Fake Indians.
Jeff Fuccillo plays in Hockenheit, Wham-O and runs Union Pole.
Little Whirls is Alexis, Ole, Rasmus and Ulf from Hamburg.
Mus is Mike from Bruges.
Peter Jefferies and Victoria Singh sent their song from New Zealand.
Ramon Speed is George from Milwaukee, WI.
Stoop Kid is Jens Rubens from Diest. He also plays in Ero Guro and many other bands.
Teambuilding is Bert Vliegen, from Teen Creeps, Sophia and Whispering Sons.
The World Of Dust is Stefan from the Netherlands.
Wovoka Jr. is Mike, he lives in a place full of trees, somewhere in the United States.
“Ceci n’est pas une frite.” was mastered by Stefan Breuer.
Please visit de portables’ bandcamp for further info.
Enjoy your frites here
