John Forté Russian Tour Diary: Week Two

One week into the "From Russia With Love" tour, John and the crew get familiar with the locals.

Ian McAlpin

John Forté, Fugees-affiliate turned guitar-playing activist, is currently touring Russia with his band, performing, recording, and collaborating with Russian musicians, and filming a documentary. The tour will conclude with a performance on Easter Sunday, April 24. During the tour, John will be checking in periodically with Complex to offer his thoughts and images.

“This picture is taken with Malaev Aron the owner of Chayhona Sem Sorok. The group and I were taken to his restaurant a couple of nights after we arrived. The food was incredible (from what I remember). There were about 15 of us sitting around a massive table, taking turns talking about our hopes for the trip ahead. The atmosphere was celebratory and familial. So celebratory, in fact, that the drinks flowed...in abundance!

"I will be very interested to see how much of this night makes it into the film. At one point, we actually 'passed the mic' around and each person had to sing something acapella. My memory fades ever so slightly after that. The next morning as people reminisced about the night before, there was some talk of a fight breaking out! Our group was in a private room in the rear of the restaurant. Apparently, two customers in the front of the restaurant got into a heated, bloody (perhaps drunken) fistfight. The fight in question was seen by everyone in my party except for me... selective vision? Perhaps."

RELATED: John's Tour Diary: Week One

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