I have spent the last month with some very wonderful and talented people and I thought I’d share some fun memories or just some useful (or useless?) information that I jotted down here and there during our 3½ week tour of the United Kingdom. Of course, this is all done in fun… enjoy!

Name: Bjorn Samuelsson

Title: Trombonist

Nickname: Bjorn to be wild

Home: Gothenberg (Sweden)

Likes his Whopper: with no pickles, one tomato slice

Comment: Usually after a show, Bjorn can be found hanging out and dancing with girls at the local speak-easies. With a background in Jazz and being such a good dancer, there’s no wonder Bjorn is the most popular of the group.

Name: Stefan Persson

Title: Trumpeter (and is featured on “Alone again or”)

Nickname: David Spade

Home: Stockholm

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it

Comment: Stefan is the loving, practical joker, known to come to soundcheck with a shower cap on his face. An excellent musician, Stefan enjoys watching movies on the bus, as well as looking for a good club after the gig.

Name: Eric Holm

Title: Viola player

Nickname: Doogie Howser

Home: Stockholm

Likes his Whopper: with extra cheese and bacon

Comment: Not only is Eric an excellent Viola player and a catalyst for the incredibly rich sounds you here, he holds the distinction of being (Violinist) Caroline’s boyfriend. Never one to let a drink get in his way of a good time, I have witnessed Eric using parking meters as walking sticks in the wee hours after a gig on MORE than one occasion.

Name: Ketil Solberg

Title: First chair Violin

Nickname: Mr. Grumpy

Home: Malmo (Sweden)

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it.

Comment: Two things you need to know about Ketil; 1. he’s one of the best violinists you’ll ever hear ANYWHERE. 2. He’s always hungry. ALWAYS. No matter where we go, chances are Ketil will complain about it and then EAT it. Armed with a wonderful sense of humor, Ketil kept us in stitches with his constant complaints to management about wanting steaks. Next time you see Ketil, bring him 2 steaks. He’ll love you for it.

Name: Fredrik Oscarsson

Title: Trumpeter

Nickname: Oscar (also known as “Mr. Grumpy II”)

Home: Stockholm

Likes his Whopper: no cheese, please.

Comment: Oscar is the funniest guy of the whole ensemble. When things got boring, he’d lift us up with one of his jokes. The best part was, his jokes were so UNFUNNY, they actually were FUNNIER. You know what I mean? And I always enjoyed Oscar’s complaints of English food, which I practically INVENTED, yet Oscar made into an ART FORM. My favourite time was when he got so tired of MOTO sandwiches (sorry America, you have to experience the British motorways to truly appreciate MOTOs), he threatened to kill someone. Other than that, Oscar is a sweetheart and a DAMN good musician.

Name: Andreas Forsman

Title: Violinist

Nickname: A-Dog

Home: Stockholm

Likes his Whopper: with no onions

Comment: Andreas is one of my favourite musicians. He’s always happy and always good to hang out with at a bar after the show. He seems like he’s probably a good friend to have. His only draw back is that he’s late to EVERYTHING. Several girls confided in me that they think he’s really cute as well.

Name: Caroline Valdemarsson

Title: Violinist

Nickname: Dancing Queen

Home: Stockholm

Likes her Whopper: with everything on it

Comment: Caroline usually sits between Andreas (to her left) and Eric (to her right) onstage and has been known to hit Eric in the head with the bow a few times when he steps out of line. A very talented Violinist in her own right, Caroline treats LOVE fans not only to her wonderful string playing but also her warm smile.

Name: Anna Landberg

Title: Celloist

Nickname: Ms. Red Wine

Home: Stockholm

Likes her Whopper: with cheese

Comment: If I had a dime everytime I saw Anna at the hotel with a bottle of wine I’d be rich. Luckily, she’s always very generous with it! I remember in Birmingham the hotel bar had closed and Anna ran up to her room and produced a nice bottle of Merlot. I don’t think she has ever gone to bed early in her life, to be honest. Some of you may notice Anna and I making faces onstage during “You set the scene.” Well, it’s a little in joke, as we both play the same note and I am always teasing her to “turn up” right there. For the record, Ms. Landberg is engaged, ok?

Name: Ryan

Title: drummer with DRAW

Nickname: That drummer

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it

Home: Fife, Scotland

Comment: Ryan is a very intuitive drummer, even bringing exotic drums onstage to enhance the DRAW experience. Their band played every show with us on this tour and they are the best people to be around and Ryan is a big reason why.

Name: Brent

Title: Singer/Guitarist in DRAW

Nickname: The cute one

Home: Fife, Scotland

Likes his Whopper: everything on it

Comment: When DRAW performs, all eyes that aren’t on Rosanne are on Brent. Blessed with a beautiful voice and a great talent, Brent gives 100% every night. He also enjoys a good lager and doesn’t shy away from the shots. I introduced him to whole-bottle-of-hot-sauce-in-the-crisps-bag but I was the one who got sick. Go figure, huh?

Name: Dave

Title: DRAW lead guitarist

Nickname: The guy with the nice- ass Fender amplifier

Home: Fife, Scotland

Likes his Whopper: says he doesn’t eat them but when I pushed harder he admitted he liked extra cheese and bacon on his

Comment: Davey’s a great guitarist with a really good sound. His amp is amazing in that the knobs move all by themselves. That’s got “automation”, ok? He also plays Hamer guitars, which is what (Cheap Trick guitarist) Rick Neilson plays.

Name: Rosanne

Title: Bassist

Nickname: The cute chick on the bass

Home: Fife, Scotland

Likes her Whopper: with no cheese

Comment: Rosanne is a very good musician who seldom makes a mistake onstage. Not only that but she’s a very kind and sweet person who even was nice enough to treat the LOVE SINGER to burgers in Cambridge. So many fans have lined up on her side of the stage that venues have nearly tilted over due to the imbalance. And I can personally attest to the fact that she can drink beer and whiskey with the best of them.

Name: Nickolas

Title: DRAW manager

Nickname: that cool bloke

Home: Fife, Scotland

Likes his Whopper: doesn’t eat Whoppers. Doesn’t NEED to.

Comment: Nickolas is a great guy to hang with, a guy who not only explained to me the differences in several types of single malt scotch whiskey’s but personally GUIDED me through them. He has vision, smarts and is dedicated to making DRAW a household name so I wouldn’t bet against this man if I were you.

Name: Glenn Max

Title: Promoter of R.F.H. and Q.E.H.

Nickname: Lemmy in a suit

Home: New York City & London

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it

Comment: Glenn Max is one of the most respected and successful promoters in England. He’s got his finger on the pulse of what’s going on and throws one hell of a party. Not too often you find down to earth people like him in a business like this. AND he’s American!

Name: Glenn Povey

Title: Main UK/ European LOVE promoter with (Second Wave Promotions)

Nickname: Povey don’t play that

Home: London

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it

Comment: Glenn is grace under pressure. It’s always nice to know, as a musician, I don’t have to worry about things and just play the music. Glenn is also known for eating our dressing room food while we’re onstage but we feel it’s a small concession for all the good he does. He also introduced me to the British phrase,”Blimey!”

Name: Kose’ Sorensen

Title: Sound Guy

Nickname: Yatzi!

Home: Copenhagen, Denmark

Likes his Whopper: with bacon and cheese

Comment: Kose had the incredibly rough task of mixing a rock band with a string and horn ensemble but somehow he did a good job night after night. Kose is very profession and serious during soundchecks and shows but as soon as we get back to the hotel, it’s “Yatzi” time or else we’d play craps with dice. Either way, you got to love it when a Danish guy says things like,” I have given them all these informations” or “Later, we make a party on the hotel.” An avid gambler, Kose supplemented his road income quite nicely betting on Premier League games on day offs.

Name: David Robertson

Title: Guitar technician/Crew

Nickname: Davie on the spot (also referred to as, “DUDE”, by the Singer)

Home: Glasgow, Scotland

Likes his Whopper: with no pickles

Comment: Davie was truly the unsung hero of this touring, making sure that almost nothing technically went wrong with our drums, guitars and amps. He also help things move along smoother onstage by being 100% prepared for “surprises” and set list changes and whatnot. Also, made sure the Singer’s guitar was almost always in tune, which

Name: Goff Lillywhite

Title: Merchandiser

Nickname: Madchester Goff

Home: Manchester, England

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it

Comment: Goff was always smart enough to buy booze way in advance so usually I was bumming beers of him when those puritan, British, 11pm drinking curfews kicked in.

Name: Gene Kraut

Title: Talent Manager (Gene Kraut Management)

Nickname: The Tingler

Home: Long Island, New York & Stockholm

Likes his Whopper: with extra Mayo, no cheese

Comment: Gene does one heck of a job keeping the machine running and trying to make everyone happy (which is impossible) but also, when the day is done, he’s just a regular guy and likes to kick back with a brandy sniffer. Rusty nicknamed him “Tingler” because of a movie he keeps bugging us to watch on the bus now for 7 months. We still haven’t watched it.

Name: Mike Randle

Title: Lead Guitarist, Diarist

Nickname: Randle (Gene calls me that)

Home: Santa Monica & West Hollywood

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it, incl. cheese.

Comment: Obsessed with the popular British soap opera, EAST ENDERS, I have been known to “break down” in tears after heavy episodes and have tried in vain to get “Kat” down to one of the LOVE shows (however, members of “Coronation Street” have been spotted at shows, mind you). I enjoy a good, embodied lager as well as a nice curry now and again. I also enjoy sleeping till noon, never touch sweets and try to do as little as humanly possible, especially on day offs.

Name: David Green

Title: Amazing Drummer

Nickname: Daddy-o

Home: Los Angeles

Likes his Whopper: with no cheese but with extra ketchup

Comment: Daddy-o is the glue that keeps the whole sound together but also, after a show, he likes to unwind with a tall ice-cold one. He loves touring and, no matter where we are, gets up early and goes on morning jogs, sometimes with Gene.

Name: David Chapple

Title: Bassist

Nickname: Chappie

Home: Los Angeles

Likes his Whopper: with everything on it but NO ONIONS, please.

Comment: As you may know, Chappie is the low-end sound of the group with the “boom-boom” of the bass to go with his cute stage swagger. He can play the hell out of a guitar as well as bass and has his own studio back in L.A. The sex symbol of the group, he enjoys photographing various road sites and was the designer of the brilliant Forever Changes tour program

Name: Rusty Squeezebox

Title: Rhythm Guitarist/ backing vocalist

Nickname: Obi-Won

Home: Santa Monica

Likes his Whopper: with no cheese

Comment: When he’s not onstage playing and singing his ass off, Rusty can be found somewhere watching Lord Of the Rings. The adventure type, Rusty has been known to travel on his days off to look at historical sites, along with Daddy-o and Chapple. Factoid: Rusty knows every single line in Star Wars by heart.

Mike Randle