day one…

Awake after not enough sleep at 8. I meet Paul (Garisto – drums with Furs back in the 80s) at the hotel breakfast. He’s freaking a little over being back in. I’m just freaking a little about being in. I’ll miss seeing Frank this tour but he’s a cool guy and is more original lineup… This is going to be interesting. This morn i’m a bit aimless; seem to be constantly looking for things, checking where things are, changing clothes, fiddling with guitars, shuffling notes, going to the lobby for toothpaste. California and my life seem very far away. I put on the green converse and head to the lobby. Turns out Richard is arriving earlier than anyone thought so the band has no time to settle in let alone play anything before he joins us. It doesn’t really matter to me – what, i’m going to play So Run Down without the vocals? So finally after all this preparation in my house, I’m in the van with Mars, Amanda, Paul and Bob Dallas. It feel like a band. I feel like the kid. I feel like a kid in a band. They tease me about the flight missing incident but its gentle and for every dig they have ten stories about their wild days – some not so long ago. Mars should write a book.

The day is long. The studio is a nice size and the owner Dave is a sweet guy who won some shredder award in SF a few years back. He has a Michael Schenker-signed white Flying V from some time when they played together.

The deep-end factor of today is brutal. I get tired thinking about it. There’s so much to deal with in terms of mind-bending factors. Pedals, arrangements, the manager Rob D lounging on the couch staring, Richard sitting there singing, the
“what are you playing there?” moments on ‘I wanna sleep with you” etc… not to mention a bunch of songs being added “Goodbye, Shadow, Believe, My Time” that none of us had any idea about. Somehow the email went awry. Not to worry – we got through it somehow and i like all those songs.

We have chips and salsa in the weird town of Brewster and Mars, Amanda and I discuss things – seems we’re doing ok. Wish we had more time but so does everyone. Mars gets more hilarious. California is a problem.

Amanda, Mars and I stay on to mess with pedals and settings. Back at hotel by 10. Knackered. Tonight i will sleep.