We now have a 5 day break in the tour schedule, and I decided to join the rest of the band back in LA for the days off.This has mainly come about because Guy Babylon’s wife, Cathy gave birth to a son a week ago, and Guy needs the time to be with them.

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… Read the rest of this entry »

Phil took us all on the bus to the airport…. and THIS time, we didn’t call him to come back and fetch us.The flight to LA is from Minneapolis, so we had to fly there first. I had a 1st class upgrade which Carolyn had given to me last night, so I was able to make the journey in relative comfort. At LA airport, Budget had a Volvo station wagon for me. I’ve rented this because I need a lot of space to carry drums around. Read the rest of this entry »

I managed to sleep for a bout 2 hours, before I finally came to my senses. We left for the gig at about 5pm. I was shattered. Elton was there not long after us. He’s in good shape, despite a slight cold. The gig was tremendous – once again the audience were wonderful. I had my good friends, Steve and Carolyn Buchanan drive over from Detroit to see the show, which was nice.We met up briefly before the concert, and then after the show, we all got together in the hotel bar (they’re staying here too). I was not there Read the rest of this entry »

I’m still very tired after the trip from Fargo. After breakfast, I went down and did 30 lengths of the pool, and a few weights, and instantly felt better. We checked out of the hotel, and took the bus to the gig… about 20 minutes away. Another fabulous audience. Elton has a bit of a cold, but it didn’t stop him giving it everything he had. Mind you, his voice was a bit rough by the end. In fact he apologised to the audience at the end. I don’t know why. He still managed to sound great. Read the rest of this entry »

I did very little today. In fact I slept until 1pm, got up, had a swim and a workout, to loosen up, and then I went back and lay down to have a read, but found myself dozing off again. We’re in the same hotel as the crew, so in the evening, a whole bunch of us went out to a local steak restaurant: Elliott’s. Davey, John (Mahon), Billy and I took out Pete Mills, Rick Salazar, Sue (Hodge, our wardrobe girl), DC (accountant), Tony Smith (keyboard tech). It was actually pretty amazing! We all had a great time, and Read the rest of this entry »

Well, we’re flying to Evansville… as it’s a 1,000 mile drive. So Phil, the driver, took us to the airport and then started on his lonely journey! Fargo airport is small… REALLY small. There are 4 gates. And they only open the security screening area when a flight is due to board! But that’s OK, because the plane is really small, too. We barely got on board! Just as we were getting settled in our minute seats, and listening to the pilot’s brief synopsis of the bad weather ahead, when the baggage handler came on board and Read the rest of this entry »

My God it’s cold here. The warmest it got today was -3 degrees Centigrade (that’s 26 Fahrenheit), and when we checked in to the hotel at 6.30, after the bus ride, it was more like -10 (15 Fahrenheit?)… Bit of a shock, considering we were in the 80′s about 12 days ago… and it keeps trying to snow.

Today has been something of a revelation.. Fargo is possibly the most “out of the way” place I’ve visited in the USA. For a “major town” in a US state, it is Read the rest of this entry »

Still raining…In fact it hasn’t stopped since 4pm yesterday. I woke up at about 8.30, and John Mahon and I wandered down for breakfast at around 9.30, to be told that breakfast FINISHED at 9!!!!! Have you ever heard anything like it? I’ve never come across a hotel that didn’t serve breakfast until at least 10!This place is pathetic. The only redeeming feature was that we were once again able to enlist the services of the shuttle bus, and the guy dropped us downtown at a 50′s style diner (Stella’s Star Diner, in an office Read the rest of this entry »