Had a nice meal this morning. I guess we all sort of woke up early due to jet lag. everyone is very ‘up’ for the shows, especially since we’ll actually be doing some stuff we never could do before, stuff like Revelations! Johnny has been teaching us the song and I think he’s waited 35 years to actually be able to step out and just play, all B.S. aside. I think people really need to see the shows. there are going to be some great surprises and guest artists jamming with us, one of which happened to be on the plane ride over with us ( hint: he has produced albums by Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann, Fionna Apple AND done some of the coolest Movie soundtracks you ever heard…)…so he’s gonna pop down from some famous London recording studio and play some tunes at some point, which should be great cause this guy’s a heck of a guitarist. and with JOhnny and me onstage it’ll be something to remember!

JOhnny and Rusty did A HECK OF A JOB covering the vocals and such in SF ( in defense of the posts that thought those shows were good, some REALLY STRONG pot drifted trough the sir for the entire show and im sure more than a few people had contact hights! ) and you know, geez, nobody likes being embarrassed like that so we did the best we could and the SF people are so damn cool and forgiving. But you know, i saw the letter the Cafe Du Nord wrote our agent about the show. none too pretty. everyone has worked so hard to bring this music to life again and it’s a let down to see it go tits up night after night. but that’s whats been happening. Its no secret. ive not written about it. but i promise you this, the 11 UK shows on this trip are gonna be the most awesome fun anybody’s done in a long while. Musicians are gonna play like its the last day on the planet and we are gonne bring back some of that respect we’ve lost the last 2 years with subpar shows and clowning around. its time you got your money’s worth again. you earned it, you deserve it. heck, we are only here because of you. and we appreciate that whole heartingly.

Many people have told me they have wanted Johnny Echols autograph but may not have gotten it on the last tour because of logistics. After each show, the band will be out by the merch. table to say hello and thank you and sign whatever you need signing. And if there’s a pub nearby, shoot, we may even have a pint or two. we hope to pull out some real gems that we neve get to, especially Que Vida and Message to Pretty and Revelations…too many others to mention. This trip out, we’ve been left in a position ( not our choice, mind you ) to save the music and legacy with every drop of soul and talent we have.I am overjoyed that JOhnny Echols came out of retirement to be apart of this all and his Gethsemne project man, i think next time round we may be doing cuts from that! and that said, lets hope and pray that our friends whom we care about are safe from harm and stay that way and anyone struggling with problems are given the strength to solve them. Hope to see everyone there! let’s make it a good one…

all the best,

Mike Randle