QUICK STAYS….

Hey Good People!!

Up, up in the air again – Flight from Boston to Minneapolis – 5/1/2013

I’m once again in the air – now 6000 feet above sea level heading from Boston to Minneapolis for a one-off promo gig. In fact, what was supposed to be twenty days home for a little R&R between legs of the tour has turned into a string of promo gigs, and a quick stay (about 4 days) of rest and relaxation at home (I’ll say thanks for that!)…

Tomorrow night in Minneapolis we are doing a “Before We Begin” (BWB) style show for a private charity event. So what is a BWB, you may ask? The BWB shows were conceived in the early part of 2011, as we were putting together the “Straight To You” world tour in support of Josh’s “Illuminations” record. The idea was to do a string of intimate shows in selected small theaters around the world – there were 11 shows in total – that would create a special night for super fans, where they could literally call the set list, ask questions to Josh, and even come up on stage to sing with Josh or just hang out in a living room set that we had on stage. The band was broken down to two members along with Josh (guitar and keyboards), and it turned out to be everything we thought it would be, and then more – the shows were fantastic. Since that time, we have done a few performances in this format, and I always look forward to them, mainly because when you strip away all of the bells and whistles of the full touring group (which is in itself an awesome presentation), you are required to pull from a different set of skills to make it just as big. The result to me is a core unit that is more focussed, and understanding of itself. It’s usually the case that after these types of gigs, we go back into the full band experience a few levels stronger than before, just because of the muscle needed to make it “work” in the limited format…

It’ll be a quick stay in Minneapolis, and then we’re off to Mannheim Germany for another quick stay – we’re doing a song Saturday night at a heavyweight championship boxing match. I’m looking forward to this event, as I love the sport of boxing. My dad turned me on to it at a very young age. Of course, I am not even sure if I’ll get to see any of the action, but I’m sure the atmosphere will satiate my sensibilities. We head back home Sunday, and I do believe I’ll be home in time to have dinner with my family. Then after a couple of days home, it’ll be off to the big apple – New York City – for two TV appearances and then a private celebration of a recently deceased producer’s life.

It might seem like a crazy couple of weeks ahead, but when you think of it, touring is all about quick stays. It is less often that we are in one place for more than a day or two. The longer stays usually occur during promo runs, where you stop in a city for a few days to do a string of interviews and TV appearances, and then off to another city for the same thing. We also might have an extended stay in a city where we are in rehearsals for a tour or other performance, or a couple of nights at the same venue, but otherwise, it’ll be a quick stay. You end up learning to adapt to this over time – whether it be finding a way to take in a place that you have never seen before in a limited window of time, or finding a way to connect with family or friends during your travels – you make it work, and I must say, for the guys and gals who have been doing this for 10, 20, 30 40 years, I have to hand it to them – they really do have a unique ability to balance their existence in this lifestyle. There is really a heavy story there…

As for me, along with my engineering call, I’ll be wearing the Production Manager hat in the next couple of weeks as well, and as I have mentioned, I really like changing gears like that. It keeps me on my toes, and at the same time strengthens my knowledge of the moving pieces that go into this machine. Management is vital to any organization, and I must say that beyond being selected to provide my musical abilities, it is somewhat of an honor to have been handed some of the reigns – to in part manage the affairs of this organization. Of course, I take the challenge wholeheartedly and dive in…

For the events in these two weeks, I have advanced all of the gear needed, forwarded our audio requirements, provided details of the stage setup (in a stage plot), and have requested hospitality needs for our dressing rooms. I’ll also be the logistical contact on the ground to make sure all that is required for us to put on the performance is in fact in place. We have a short crew on this one – our monitor engineer, our front of house engineer, our guitar tech, and me. We shall do it…

From there, we’re off to Europe for seven weeks to show the good people of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, England, Scotland, and Ireland what we’re made of. And they had better look out!

Talk soon,

– R

Goodbye Boston, hello Minneapolis – flight from and to… – 5/1/2013