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5 day break in LA

Posted by Charlie in 1997 Elton John World Tour

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On the Thursday (30th), we all flew back to LA, via Minneapolis. I had a rented Volvo station wagon waiting for me on arrival. I need a large car to carry drums…

Instead of a weekend of rest and relaxation, I have chosen to do a gig with the FleshDevils – a long time project I’ve been working on.

The other two members of the band live in LA. (Dino on bass and vocals, and joJo on guitar).We recorded our debut album last year at Black Barn Studios, and the CD is soon to be released on our label: BRIDGE RECORDINGS.

So I have a rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, followed by another rehearsal and a showcase gig on Sunday.

I’m staying with Jim Wilson for the weekend. He has very kindly offered to put me up. So I drove to the place in “the Valley” he shares with Tuna. He lives just off Ventura Boulevard, in Sherman Oaks, in a quiet suburb. Jim runs a company called LA Piano Services, and tunes and repairs pianos for most of the top people in LA, and many of the top people in the World – including Elton, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Hornsby… the list is endless. We go way back.Thursday evening we had dinner at a really great restaurant on Ventura, called Cafe Bizou. The place is owned by a Frenchman, who is a friend of Jim’s, so despite being full to the brim, he managed to fit us in somehow! And it was certainly worth it. The food was exquisite, and the company great.

Friday morning.

I went for a bike ride with John Mahon, bright & early. He took me up into Topanga State Park. By 10am it was unbelievably hot! Luckily we took plenty of water and Gatorade, or we would have dehydrated. Good exercise, though. And a great view (through the smog!). I really miss biking when I’m on the road. If I could find a way to bring a bike with me, I would do it.

Saturday:

Fleshdevils rehearsals.

After breakfast with Jim (at a great place called Paty’s in the valley) I drove to pick up the kit at Center Staging, in Burbank. They store several kits for Premier, and supply them to endorsees when they need them. In fact I picked up the same kit I used for the Jay Leno show, which was, from memory, well maintained. Johnny Caswell, the proprietor, was there, and we chatted a bit before I loaded up. They had Michael Bolton in rehearsing, and his road crew were running around, setting stuff up. I know their drummer, Tommy “Mugs” Caine (he’s another Premier player), so I sent him my best wishes via the crew.

I found the rehearsal room… a tiny place not far from Center Staging. But it was clean, and air conditioned, which was great because the temperature was already climbing into the 90′s.Phew! I had just about set up the kit by the time Dino and Jo had arrived, which was perfect: I hate trying to sort out a kit from scratch with people breathing down my neck… it makes me really nervous.

This was the first time we’ve played together since the album in England (and that was only for a week!). There’s definitely a chemistry here. Within 30 minutes we were banging through the songs like we knew them for years!

And it’s been a while since Dino andJoJo played the tunes, too. I was walking on air by the end of the session! Adrenaline rush.

This was the best ‘shot in the arm’ – needed right now.

Sometimes, playing someone else’s songs all the time can get to a person: even songs like Elton’s!

After rehearsals, I returned to Jim’s place. He’s been working like a maniac, not only tuning pianos, but recording his own album, so he looked wasted. At 8, I met up with Dino and his wife and her father and brother at a restaurant on Beverly Boulevard, called Indochine.. Vietnamese cuisine: fabulous food! Dino’s wife, Liz had her birthday yesterday, so this was a kind of birthday “do”. As we left the restaurant, a Ferrari drove up, and Seal stepped out! He’s so tall! Must be 3 inches taller than me!

Sunday morning.

Jim took me for a walk up in the Hills. There’s a trail where people walk, run and ride (bikes). It’s a stiff climb, too: and today it was really hot. After a good heavy workout on the trail, he drove me to meet Ed Begley Jr. He’s been meaning to do this for a while. Ed is possibly the most environmentally conscious man I have ever met. He has banks of solar panels on his roof, drives an electric car (charged by solar energy), and recycles everything! His house is entirely disconnected from the grid, generating all the electricity he needs from the Sun, and storing it in a huge bank of batteries in the garage (for a rainy day, so to speak!). All this has cost him a lot of money, but he reckons he’s already close to recouping his intital outlay. Only the car (the GM electric car) is a “luxury” which would take years to recover. Ed was just on his way out, but took time to chat for a few minutes, and let me take a few photos. He has my utmost admiration. This is something I would like to do someday.

Humanity wastes so many of our resources.

After a leisurely brunch at Jim’s favourite breakfast place – Four and Twenty on Burbank – I started to prepare for this afternoon. I had started to develop a headache not long after the walk – possibly as a result of dehydration. So I had a nap before heading off. We’re due to set up at S.I.R. at 5pm. I found the place, and offloaded the kit just as JoJo arrived. Dino was already getting his bass rig in. This studio is considerably bigger than yesterday’s. If we’re going to play to 30 people it needs to be! Soundcheck took a while to settle in, but we were able to run most of the songs again… which was just as well… my brain was starting to forget what came where!! After recapping, we went to the store next door and bought some drinks and refreshments for our guests. I had a much needed sandwich. Madness… By 8.30pm we had a good 25 people in the rehearsal room, although Boro, the main reason for us DOING this showcase, had not arrived yet.. so we went ahead anyway, and played a storming set!

Everyone seemed to like it – Jim Wilson came along, as did Rick Grossman (from Easton, who make my sticks). I was ready to call it a day, when Boro arrived with a whole posse of people. So… we went back on again! This time round, Dino’s voice was a bit shot, and I was certainly the worse for wear.. But it was STILL good…

It’s great to play in a three piece! I can really express myself!

By the time I had packed up, said my goodbyes and driven back to Jim’s it was well after Midnight.

Monday:

Up early, pack, drive to Budget rentacar return, get a lift to the airport, and then it was time to get back on the road…