I'm A Bootleg

Hey Soul Mates,
you can now purchase a "bootleg" of my performance of Curtis Mayfield's Pusher Man with Adam Marsland's Chaos Band. It's part of a bootleg of the entire show, entitled "Tribute to 70's Soul." I've heard the recorded version and it's lots of fun. A very faithful, but exuberant performance of the hit from Superfly. Interested parties should visit the AMCB link above.

It's a Friday night in North Hollywood. What to do? What to do? Looks like a visit to Amoeba. That's always good for an hour or so.

Tomorrow, Bryan and I are going to work on some new songs and fine tune the set for Wednesday. We've got a slamming show ready for you. After conversing with a few people, we need to remind some of you to reset your junk mail filters to accept our Evites. We want you to know when we are playing, we love our audience. Plus we have two UK polls on this one and the responses so far have been good.

3121 where the party be. A special congrats to Prince on his first #1 studio album in over 20 years. Hard to believe all those great records (including Parade, possibly the greatest album ever and Sign 'O' The Times, the greatest double album ever) he made after Around The World In A Day, never hit #1 on the Billboard album chart. Only Batman, which was a soundtrack and hardly on par with his real LP work, topped it. Well done, Prince.

Love, Power, Peace

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

Hey Soul Mates,
nothing will give you a 2 a.m. giggle-fit faster than reading severely negative hotel reviews. I must say that Trip Advisor has shaped our reservations for our voyage to the UK. The member comments are pure gold. I nearly cried reading about "mould 1/2 an inch thick" in a shower, "alarming eggy" smells emanating from a dining room and a general "sour and smokey" odour about. Phew. Turn me loose. Needless to say, we are going strickly modern.

We'll of course report back on our accommodation, but I must give a disclaimer that the views expressed on Trip Advisor are not mine, nor do they reflect my opinion of any establishment or its service. But I'm still in hysterics. It's hard to type. When people say youth hostels or the Y are better than a given hotel, that's funny. Or when a review entry is entitled "Never Again." LMAO!!! How about a room with a view of "a very attractive nitrogen tank?" Dizzamn!!

I am thrilled that we are beginning "From LA with Love" in Sheffield, home of Mr. Martin Fry and ABC. Human League, Joe Cocker and Pulp are from there, too. Plus, we've managed to book rooms a block away from D 'n' R where we are playing. In Liverpool, we'll be staying on the dock a few kilometres from Mathew Street and the Cavern. Which reminds me: what the heck is a kilometre? Special thanks to Hayley of Seaweed Biscuit for having the imagination to book us. Frankly, all the bookers we have dealt with have at least been pleasant, if not ready to have us rock the hizzy.

We didn't venture out in the rain to see Locksley last night. I trust they had a good set. After spending much of the day standing in rain, driving around Hollywood in it just loses its charm. Great episode of Lost tonight. Dang, Locke nearly lost his lower half... and the writers still haven't explained why he started the show in a wheelchair. Maybe during sweeps?!

Gotta keep busy, tho'. We're halfway done with hotel bookings. Our advert for the IPO program is done. Kind of clever, if I do say so myself. Bryan and I have started working up some new material. Dunno if you'll hear any of it before we get back. In case I forgot to mention it, Doug smashed and broke a finger last week, so send him some "Get Well Soon" thoughts. And yes, he practiced with a digit in a splint!

Oof. I just reread one of the hotel reviews and I'm back to laughing out loud. It helps to have the Kinks playing in the background, but even they can't drown out the laughter. I hope everyone finds some comedy during the day.
Love, Power, Peace

Leaving On A Jet Plane... In A Little While

Hey Soul Mates,
we are all stoked. We've made our flight resv's for the UK. It's a first international flight for both Doug & Bryan. Me, you know I loves the traveling and collecting those frequent flier miles. This will make my sixth trip to England. And it never ceases to amaze me. It will be Spring time. Maybe we'll get in a one-day cricket test or a little footie. Any suggestions on which side to support? I know Doug wants to see Wimbledon's Centre Court. Bry wants to see Stonehenge, but I think it has more to do with Spinal Tap than anything else.

This weekend we had two really productive rehearsals. Mainly worked on vocal parts for two hours on Saturday. Yesterday, we did a full electric practice. The run through Fall Out that we did was heavy (as they used to say). Dead heavy on the funk. We plan to record a version of Fall Out for our re-issue of the EP for the UK. On the way home, Doug and I were listening to Cameo and Parliament, singing along. Shake your pants.

Tomorrow night, we are going down to the Key Club to see Locksley from NYC. They are going to be bill mates of ours for our first UK show in Sheffield, May 26.

Back to business.
Love, Power, Peace