The Wishing Well Band

Meeting The Wishing Well in Vienna

At The Tunnel Vienna

I heard about the Larkans in Australia from my Dad and had seen a couple of Errol’s comments on Facebook. Dad had briefly told me about your family – and how your one son is Herrin and my name is Kerrin. (I am still rather confused about how we are related but think it is nice to have made contact again.)

My Dad told me that your son, Jai, is a musician and my brother, Ryan, had bought the CD (I like my brothers taste in music so I was curious about the band.)

I was immediately hooked on the lyrics of ‘Life on the Border’. I am not really one to ponder too much on what the artist is writing about but this time I did – as it put into words how I feel about leaving South Africa, life in Austria and life in general for me. I was really pleased to see they would be in Vienna while on their European tour.

However it is not just the words of that one song that appealed to me, it is also the music of The Wishing Well – a mix of really great sounds – each of which is very much linked to the people who play them – as I came to find out when I met the band themselves.

My husband, Chris, my friend, Dale, and I were not sure what to expect at the Vienna Tunnel. We phoned the day before to reserve seats but were told that it was not necessary. Being summer it would not be full – I am glad we arrived early to have dinner – as it did fill up. I introduced myself to Rivkah and explained that I was related to Jai and would like to meet him! When he arrived with the rest of the band he was quite amazed to meet me – he probably thought these Larkans turn up in the most unexpected places. (He is expecting to meet Ryan in London at the end of the tour.)

Everyone introduced themselves and the band told us that they had been busking on the Mariahilfe Strasse in Vienna and had been told by the police to move on as they had no permit (alles verboten in Austria) so they had spent the day sightseeing.

Jai Larkan, Kerrin (Larkan) Ehrlich, Chris Ehrlich

It was now time to start with the music. Before each song Jai explained what it was about or the inspiration behind it. My friend, Dale, kept commenting on how the music was just great! After the concert we all went to the restaurant and had a good chat, really met the band, and spoke about – where are you from, the tour so far and then I asked the question, what was their goal – Rivkah answered straight away with – I think we would like to be as successful as Freddie Mercury! Good goal!! My husband, Chris, liked that as he is a huge fan of Queen – follow that dream. Jai would like to travel Europe once a year now that they have tried it out.

Before we knew it, it was 2 in the morning and as The Wishing Well were traveling off to Italy that afternoon, we said our good-byes and went our separate ways – “for a short moment family living on two sides of the world, who once had the same borders, met in that space between”. Although I could think of a multitude of English and German words to sum up our meeting I think the best in both languages is – COOL ! If Jai ever needs any info for his next trip to Austria I will be more than happy to help.

Love
Kerrin Anne Ehrlich (born Larkan)
The Larkan connection in Austria (There are no Kangaroos in Austria)

Photos and Impressions by Kerrin Ehrlich

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