WHERE THEY WENT
Rocking in Europe

By Diane Daniel, Globe Staff, 2/9/2003

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They're not all men and they weren't invited to tea by the queen, but members of the band All the Queen's Men did have a brilliant two weeks in London and Switzerland in late November, sightseeing and scoping out clubs for their first European tour next month. They also played a couple shows and were interviewed by British and Swiss newspapers and radio stations.

The group, which labels its music ''rocktronic,'' a blend of rock and electronica, is made up of Brighton residents Christine Zufferey on vocals, samples, and keyboards; Catherine Capozzi on guitars; and Joe Kowalski playing the right-string bass. Tamora Gooding, who lives in the Fenway, plays drums and does drum programming percussion. Along with visiting potential venues, band members also met DJs who had collaborated on the remix portion of their second and latest CD, ''Curvy Baby.''

For Zufferey, this was a family reunion as well. She is from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, though she also speaks German. She has two brothers, a sister, parents, and a grandmother there.

''When we got off the plane in London, we hit the ground running,'' Capozzi said. A music journalist friend of Capozzi's took them out at night to clubs such as the Barfly Club at the Monarch in Camden and the multilevel Garage, in Highbury Corner, which Capozzi compared to the Middle East in Cambridge, only bigger.

Daytime was spent riding the Tube and visiting the London Eye, a Dali exhibit, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. They also made a pilgrimage to Abbey Road Studios, at 3 Abbey Road.

Their first overseas show was in Switzerland, where they played in the historic Chossi Theater in the small town of Lichtensteig, where Zufferey's grandmother lives. Their stay included at least one night in Geneva, Zurich, and Luzern, with each of Zufferey's siblings. Home base was at her childhood home in Sierre.

One day they visited the Matterhorn, which they took a steep train ride to reach. ''It was rainy and gray, and there were hardly any tourists,'' Zufferey said. ''They were still preparing the slopes to ski, so we could walk down them.''

With Zufferey's father, they went for a wine-tasting at her uncle's private cellar.

In the historic walled city of Gruyeres they visited the Museum HR Giger (www.hrgigermuseum.com), the permanent home to the surrealist's artwork, furniture, and film designs (''Alien'' among them).

From Sierre they drove to the thermal baths of Lavey-les-Bains, (www.lavey-les-bains.ch) five times in one week. ''It was like heaven,'' Capozzi said.

Zufferey's father had arranged a gig in the Alpine village of Volleges. But first would be lunch in the Aosta region of Italy. ''It was a typical regional meal, and the chef decided on the menu,'' Zufferey said. The five-course meal included salami, prosciutto, hazelnut pate, polenta, escargot, manicotti, ravioli, and thick spaghetti. And, of course, wine. ''This is for like, four hours, and then the chef asks, `Do you want meat?''' Capozzi said. Being full and ''half-drunk,'' they declined.

By evening, they had bounced back. ''The town was having an awards ceremony and we were playing after. A lot of village kids had just turned 18 and they were being inducted into the community to vote,'' Capozzi said. ''When we started to play, they started to get up. At first I thought they were getting up to leave. But then they started dancing in front of us.''

The day before they flew home, Zufferey's family gathered for Raclette, ''a big wheel of cheese like a large, thicker pizza, cooked outside on a fire. You scrape warm cheese off.'' It's eaten layered with potatoes and pickled onions.

The band has travel photos posted on its Web site, www.

atqm.com, and will be playing Tuesdays in February at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge.

Send suggestions to ddaniel@globe.com.