My first memories of Denis Palatin come from a review I did of Ana Popovic at Cafe Hahn in Koblenz some years ago. I remember he was at the bar with Ana’s then bassist Fabrice Ach after doing the early evening soundcheck and it struck me that he was still tapping his fingers on the bar counter in between sips of coffee. Even taking a break he seemed in search of rhythm it seemed. I’d jokingly asked if his neighbor’s were relieved whenever he went off on Tour – living next-door to a drummer must be Hell I suggested, unless you’re deaf, and even then it must be unpleasant when the plaster jumps from the ceiling. Maybe, I pondered,it was one of those neighbors who in a search for peace and quiet gave Thomas Ruf a call and suggested Denis would make an excellent Road drummer for RUF’s Touring Show the Blues Caravan? Or quite possibly Mr Ruf saw Palatin, with his congenial temperament and adaptable drum technique, as the perfect man for the job. After asking my first question in 2006 it seemed time for another, and following the Show at Bonn Harmonie I asked it, and another…