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6am, left Chicago for Detroit. (You GOTTA appreciate that I was updating this diary at 2am last night!) Went right to WDET for the Martin Bandyke show - it's one of the very best in the country for touring musicians, and we all love visiting there, even if it means a 6am drive. Reason is just that Martin knows his stuff, lets you play your stuff, and the station is very together about getting it out onair beautifully. Detroit is always a good stop for me because I have good friends there. Mark, Lee, and Barry joined us at the radio station and stuck with the band for the whole day (Mark bringing his espresso machine to the club -- can't beat THAT!) (Mark and I have a longstanding theme about espresso makers - he got his on my recommendation (it's a Saeco) and I upgraded mine (one of mine) on his advice. Also, when they break down (yes, it happens) we call each other for advice - there was once a video made showing the breakdown of a coffee filter basket. Speaking of treats like coffee, back in Chicago someone kindly gave the band a whole carrot cake (made with the recipe from my bass book!) which was a treat in the van. Show in Detroit was actually in a suburb called Ferndale. I think the venue used to be a porn theater - though it's been... slightly.. refurbished. Dressing rooms were what you'd expect! But as on the first shows, a great audience and a great reception. We're now playing "Dance of Maya" - and early Mahavishn piece. My solo/with cd player went much better than in Chicago. (How could it go worse!) And the concert-goers are very kind and appreciative when we come out into the audience for an unplugged - very quiet - encore. After the show, my Detroit fans and the trio re-visited an old tradition: taste testing vodka in the hotel room! Back in the 80's, Mark and Lee would visit towns where Crimson played and we'd compare various special brands of vodka - quite a fun little party to have, usually accompanied by Barry's homemade Nori rolls. It had been a long day, but a little partying was accomplished in a surprisingly civilised way. Photos are scarce here because schedule's been so hectic I haven't had time to recharge the camera batteries. Will do tonite. 
Day 4 / April 14 / PittsburghNot too bad a drive, though we found there is no exit 6 off the route we were on in Pittsburgh - a lengthy U-turn in rush hour traffic reminded me of the Bruford Levin tour. Day 5 / April 15 / Baltimore O.k, the van drives are getting pretty long.Seems like they always last about an hour longer than we figured. Driving to Baltimore I've passed the thousand mile mark of the tour. (The others have gone 2500 miles, having driven from Salt Lake City to Chicago to start) Today we had to go right to the venue, being too late to stop at the hotel. The venue, Orion Studios, is a unique one: just a large studio, but they've set up a small stage, and loyal music enthusiasts in the area crowd into the room to get real close to the performers they like.It's a venue we all enjoy playing. 
What we do in the van.
Day 6 / April 16 / CharlotteLongest drive yet (435 miles)- weather grew warm as we went further south. The venue was a blues club called Double Door. Pretty funny having an acoustic guitar group in a blues bar. Getting the audience to quiet down was a little hard, especially for the unplugged encore. But the audience was a good one, and seemed to really appreciate that we'd come so far to play there. Day 7 / April 17 / Atlanta On the drive down to Atlanta we pulled off the road for some breakfast and I called my wife Andi, to chat. Knowing the area as she does, she said "I'll bet you're at a Waffle House. She was right. We got into town just in time for a radio appearance on WKLS. Then on to the hotel briefly, and the Variety Playhouse to set up. I found, just before the show, that I'll be playing the same venue with my own band, on June 6. Another excellent show - sadly the last one with Richard Leo Johnson opening for the CGT. I'll see him again in May, when he opens some shows for my tour. Day 8 / April 18 / off, travel Early appearance at the "Good Morning Atlanta" show for us. As the trio was carrying their guitars in, they ran into the famous announcer Ed McMahon, who asked them (jokingly, I think) if they were there to audition for Star Search! As we have done before on local tv stations, we played a short version of Waters of Eden, and packed up quickly to hit the road. It's a massive drive to Lawrence Kansas, and for the first time on the tour, I bailed out on the van and took a flight! Arrived at hotel in the evening, to find a package from my Crimson cohort Pat Mastelotto, with a new CD. Fantastic remixes of some live Crimson material. I haven't asked what's intended for this music, but I hope it gets out to the public. I'm writing this as I sit in the hotel, listening to recording of R. Fripp speaking with my bass and a drumbox beat behind him. For reading material, Pat included a pamphlet on the Fat Burning Bible Diet - How The Good Book can help you melt off 15 pounds in 30 days! Hmm.. Definitely more fun than driving in the van! For once, instead of overloading this web page, I'm going to continue it elsewhere, on CGT Tour, page 2. |
Day 1 April 11 / Milwaukee
The show was great - there was that unexpected element that's usually there in the first shows of a tour. You haven't really rehearsed enough to be sure what's coming. (There were plenty of errors made, at least from me, but no disasters, and the crowd was great.) The trio has added some new elements since I toured with them last Fall - a few solo segments (I did mine to a mix of one track from Waters of Eden) - a surprise encore - a stroll out into the audience to play a piece there (I've got an acoustic bass for that bit) and their usual excellent playing.
Backstage rehearsing - Paul using a magic marker as bottleneck.
In Pittsb. (Univ.) backstage, I tried to give the guys a lecture on guitar playing. Hideo and Paul seemed not to be concentrating.