That drinking feeling, by Otto Rot

I was so excited to come to Scotland for the first time because it is the home of Franz Ferdinand and Belle and Sebastian, two of my favourite bands in the world. I imagined Edinburgh to be all indie-cool and arty. The perfect place for my sister Astrid and I to play super concerts.

We got to our hotel near the Royal Mile very late on a Saturday night and there were three women laughing at their friend vomiting on the sidewalk. It made me a bit scared for Astrid. She has just come out of drug and alcohol rehabilitation and is starting a new life.

It was only a few months ago that I was waiting backstage to play a concert in Montreal. There were just five minutes before the start and this bad smell walks in the door with Astrid. She looked very dizzy. We were about to play one of the most important gigs of our life and she was drunk with sick all over the front of her dress. She said it was just some garlic mayonnaise from a Doner Kebab - but I didn’t believe her.

Things now are great - she has been through rehab so she can sing better, she stands up straight for longer and she hits the drum kit nearly every time. Touring in a rock ‘n’ roll band with your sister is not easy. Astrid makes me wash her hair, polish her boots and get food from the Baked Potato store. Also, every afternoon there is a man playing the bagpipes near her bedroom window. She makes me give him £50 to go to another spot down the street so that she can sleep.

So far Edinburgh has been great to us. The concerts are electric, everyone is friendly, and I’m meeting lots of people from Facebook. Astrid can get very cranky but at least she is healthy.

People of Edinburgh, I want to ask you a favour as a friend. If you see my sister Astrid hanging out in the Pleasance Courtyard or walking along Nicholson St please DO NOT offer her a drink. In fact please don’t even say the word “vodka” in front of her. She will go crazy in the gutter instead of on stage at our Robot / Lion Tour

Die Roten Punkte - Robot Lion Tour is at the Pleasance Courtyard, 11:11pm, until 31 August.