Sunday, March 29, 2015

Bonamassa Euro Tour Spring 2015



Hi good peoples,

I have been trying to get around to writing this blog for some time now....and dammit, that time has come!

We started our tour by doing a relaxing 5day cruise to Key West and Nassau, Bahamas. I have been very fortunate to play with some of my favorite guitarist in the world, and there was a BOATLOAD of them that I dig right on this boat! Kirk Fletcher, Josh Smith, Robben Ford and of course, Joe Bonamassa. It was fun to be able to stroll around and run into some of my other favorite musicians and friends, too. Travis Carlton, Brian Allen, Lemar Carter, Jimmy Cox and so many others were cruisin' along. The weather was not cooperating at all, but the folks didn't seem to mind. The music was smokin' and the atmosphere was quite festive. This was Joe's first cruise and it was such an overwhelming success that he is already booked for next year! If you are fans of GREAT blues/rock guitar, this is where you wanna be! Also lots of other types of music to be heard....but the gun slingers on board are what the people really come to see and hear.

After the cruise, we spent no time at all getting down to business. We headed straight for Germany where we spent the following two weeks. We performed in Munich, Bremerhaven, Oberhausen, Stuttgart, Nurnberg, Hannover and Hamburg. The shows were incredibly well received and rocking! Joe is really burning the stage up. He's singing his ass off and of course delivering the guitar playing that is his trademark. The band is really supportive and more than capable of laying down the grooves for Joe. The show has a lot of energy and the slower songs serve as great moments for the crowd to catch their breath, so to speak.

Following the two week run in Germany, we headed directly to Amsterdam for a week of shows at the beautiful Carre Theatre. This lovely theatre seats about 2000 people and every show was sold out. The city was as beautiful as I've ever seen it. We stayed at a wonderful, small hotel right along one of the canals. The week was full of great music, food and new and old friends. The horn section were asked to do a recording session on our day off. It was a really nice project we were referred on by Terry Wilson. The people involved were some of our good friends back home in LA, who Lee Thornberg and I know from working with Terry and his wife, the great soulful singer, Teresa James. After the session we were treated to dinner at a fabulous restaurant. The company, the food and the laughs...TONS of laughs were the highlight of my trip. Geertjan Hoek was an incredible host. We will hopefully be doing more work for this project as the year progresses.

For me, I could have finished the tour after Amsterdam and been completely fulfilled, but we had a week-long engagement in London at the beautiful Hammersmith Apollo Theatre! This remarkable venue had a facelift that restored it faithfully to it’s beauty of days long gone. Seating 3500+, the crowds were again served some fantastic shows in a great sounding theatre. Beth Hart, Bernie Marsden and Randy Bachman were guests who joined us onstage during the week. Joe continued to show what a remarkable talent he is, burning down the house every night!

The tour was a real treat to be a part of, the band is ripping and the music is great. I hope to see some of you when we roll into your town later this year!

ENJOY LIFE!!






























Friday, March 6, 2015

JB Tour 2015 update....

Hi groovy people,

All is going great out here on tour with Joe Bonamassa. We did a relaxing week out at sea on Joe's "Keepin' the Blues Alive at Sea" cruise.

It was great to see some good friends and meet lots of new friends as well. My good buddies from LA were on the cruise. Travis Carlton, Kirk Fletcher, Josh Smith and Lemar Carter were all playing together. Their's was one of my favorite shows. The best was a jam session we had in the big theatre with Joe and Simo as well joining in. I hope we all get to do it again next year!

Then it was off to Germany where we've been since. We've done shows in Munich, Bremerhaven, Dusseldorf, Oberhausen and last night a great show in Nurnburg. The crowds have been wonderful and REALLY love Joe. He has really built up a ravenous fan base who is very supportive of whatever he decides to present for them. He does a great job making every tour both different and stellar.

Our day usually consists of getting to the hotel late at night so we can sleep in if need be or grab breakfast. Then mid afternoon it's off to the venue for set up and soundcheck. There is catering at the venue for us which is really nice and usually GREAT with healthy food, cooked with love from Zoe and Jillian.

Afterwards we usually split up and have a few hours of time to kill. I have been pretty diligent about finding a quiet place to practice (sometimes not so quiet and I'm sure I wear out the nerves of some folks somewhere) I am really trying to keep to good habits on this tour, practicing, eating right and exercising. So far so good! I'm down about 20lbs since January!! Yay!

We have dinner starting at 5pm and the shows are ON TIME right at 8pm. Then right after the show, we either pack up and split to the next town or  head back to the hotel. Rinse and repeat. It's a well oiled machine with a great crew of nice people. I very happy to report there are no "people problems" or drama out here. It makes traveling and working so much nicer.

The buses are very comfortable and time for us to go over music ideas or just yuck it up for a few hours. Touring with veteran players with a sense of humor is one of my favorite things to do. It usually involves so much laughing that I forget that these are some incredible musicians! And any of you who know me well, know that I LOVE to laugh....A LOT!!! So I really treausure the guys and their sense of fun and humor.

The horn section is great to work with. Nick Lane and Lee Thornburg are a couple of guys who have done so much and done it all at such a high level that it's a joy and learning experience for me every night. Not to mention that they are both really great to hang with and we have many a laugh in the "Horny Toads" dressing room. We've discovered countless youtube "stars" like the Tourettes Karaoke Guy who keeps us laughing til our guts hurt. Lots of good times.
































So that's kind of a run through of our days out on the road. Here are some photos as well of some of the venues and things along the way. Gonna go out and see Nurnburg today and try to get some photos. I hope you are all well and most of all, HAPPY!