Well, rehearsals are going super swell. It’s really a lot of fun playing the Beatles and I know, as Arthur was a Beatles fan, that he’d love to sing one of these tunes. For anyone who thinks they know what Arthur was or wasn’t capable of, need only talk to people who saw the Love and Zombies show in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall ( Sept. 2005 ) where he played a Zombies tune with just him and Guitar, to not only the crowd’s surprise but to Colin and Rod’s surprise (not to mention the band!)

Sometimes we’d be on tour and we’d always have a few guitars on the bus and I’d wind up playing a Dylan song from Blonde on Blonde and Arthur new that album well, as well as Johnny Echols. So, singing and playing classic covers is a breather for a band and also helps them reconnect in ways that go beyond words. So, i’m taking it all in and enjoying myself. Also find myself and blending the Beatles’ sound (not just George but I play a combo of George, Paul and John’s licks, as all 3 play Guitar on Sgt. Pepper. Paul does the Guitar solo on “Good Morning”) and also putting myself in there. It’s a balance of reverence and updating. There’s a zillion guys/gals that can play Beatles stuff lick for lick, sound for sound. I can, but I don’t. I’ve never been one of those guys.

So the Beatles are going steady as she goes. On the TV lately Hannah and me have been watching ROCK OF LOVE. Bret Michaels is classic the way he’s working his way round the not-so-bright- rocker gals. Good on him. It would be really tough to talk Hannah into that. Also found out Flavor Flav is getting a FLAVOR OF LOVE season 3, which has everyone we know completely excited. Oh, nearly forgot, Hollyoaks has been coming on BBCA but we are about a year behind The Brits. Right now, the teacher who got preggers by the nasty, lying school bloke has just been sentenced to Prison. But Hannah, on her trip home last week, tells me the teacher was murdered in prison! But I don’t want to know anymore. Also WAY into Footballer’s Wives, esp. that one Latin player who keeps crying out for his mommy and wants to be sent to his room. And what’s up with his Nan, Joan Collins, damn near getting her 80-year old babylons out for the lads? Good thing F.W. comes on cable, as the F-Bombs are too much for family oriented American Terrestial television viewing.

Mike Randle