New York - MSG - more images
June 27, 2003 05:55 AM
Home is supposed to be a sanctuary - safe from the madness. But we're really just safe. It's a madhouse... only people aren't mad. I realize that this is way after the fact and people are getting on with their lives...as they should. Anyway, here are more images from New York.
If either of these two love birds can properly identify themselves
and prove they are the ones in this photo, we'll send them matching,
signed T-shirts. I imagine our inventory is safe. NY is a big place.
...was waiting for the convergence of 2 NW identities....
Glad they were duck taped down...with all those stadium dust devils.
The girls used to haul this stuff off stage, but the CP guys said, "no...
we've got to do something about this..." so from that point, only dorky
guys with video cameras were roaming around on stage acting like they
were helping; all to get "the shot" and bring it to you.
A exploitive essay on the essence of rockstarness; if you can't read it...that's good.
the ALMIGHTY ROCK STAR...Jon. (you have to know him...
he's the antithesis to the notion)
After the Teen Vogue shoot - which I purposely am dodging....(dang, there
are some cool shots) we took cabs to "the garden" as New Yorkers call it...
and walked across the street to get in - where Kevin already had the
band's gear yanked out of cases...
We love their little sister. She thrives in the visual world...creating images
with phrases (all day long)...she lives in photoshop and will one day rule
the web. Creatively, she's scary. Ocasionally, she contributes lyrical
fragments to eisley's music. Like...she named the song, "Sun Feet" and a
few phrases to a new song. People always ask about the other siblings.
Inclusive in these blatherings are answers to questions that I would want
to know if I were a normal, curious person. It's not like anyone is more
important that another. There are no special people. Or...we're all special,
all important. That's an underlying theme in all of this.
This is New York's famous "umbrella girl". She comes out when it rains
just to be photographed.
Like...is there really a lot of space in NY? Please. Don't ever use this space.
Emerging from the tunnel...and squinting, we saw this view of the city;
"Where are we and how can we get cleaned up?", we said. After boring for
18 solid minutes to create the tunnel...Weston had a 1/2 inch layer of
black soot on him..and the girls looked like Mary Poppins in that dance
scene on the roof. Everyday's a holiday with eisley. (oh brother...)
See? There really weren't many people there. But with the lights out, it
sounded like a really good response for the band. Whoever you are out
there...really....thanks for being enthusiastic. (even if you were faking it
because you knew they "weren't from around these parts")
...it was a real grainy photo, so I spruced it up with some tunnel.
Can't remember the name of that cool little town...we stopped at...
but this restaurant was classic, "art deco meets kitch meets Elvis".
I have video of every little artifact...but, alas...no time.
It's not really a total eclipse is it? I lied. But if I'd waited a second more,
you know we'd have had a full scale "humo-eclipto-phenomenon". Wait
a minute...I have video. There's got to be more proof.
Where's the rest of 'em? These just got clipped a week ago when I
was searching for those Teen People pics. I have tons of this crap.
What do I use? What am I doing? Should I get a real job? I will find
the rest of them and post them first.
I have to go back through my tapes. But I feel like I'm losing the ship.
We've been back home for too long now. The trip is fading....must move
on. Do I continue documenting shows? What about local shows? Where is
this going? Where's Toronto? Forget Niagra.
They're sonot glam. No. I'm serious. Looking glam because you
fix up nice for a photo doesn't mean you've got a glammy inside. That's
an important thing to understand about life. Beauty is deceptive. All
glamoids are not decepticons...though it's hard for even me not to believe
that with all my heart. [size=7I'm just like you...I know you know...[
size]
Kevin slamming wires and pedals and stuff in our neato, custom work case.
Where is this? We weren't always around big buildings. Oh, and on Sat.
after the show, we were turned lose in NYC; that was a bizzare' adventure
all in itself. I think the place is cool...but how do you people survive? How
do you stay friendly? How do you keep from wanting to scream...and find
a big green chunk of grass? Central Park? We never saw it. But we've seen
the movies... and based on the movies, if you go there, you get mugged.
Is that true? We never got mugged, but my motherinlaw was
propositioned, and we got separated in Times Square on Sat. night...and
way worse, Sherri and Christie were abandoned on our first subway trip.
It's a long story...another day.
My hand holding wires...after setting the video camera down on stage to
grab wires...to strike the stage.
There the guitars go...everything leaving MSG stage....for good?
These images were taken in the cab...on the way to that after tour party.
That's as close as we came to sight-seeing. And this was the second
time the band has been to NY. (showcasing back early this year...or was
it December? BTW - for newbies: those labels were: Island Def Jam,
Columbia, Epic. (who all wanted 'em) Remember, this is a forum...a
community. It's a little more personal. I can say what evern I want...
because....as I've said many times on this forum, and many of you
already know...I'm only going to say it one more time:
"THIS......is my Xanga!..." (with the accent from the guy who played Khan in "The Wrath of Khan" on some Star Trek movie; he also did Volare' commercials and starred in "Fantacy Island")
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Niagra. Just a few shots...these are from Sherri's library. Chris took the
group shot.
Official Coldplay Tour. Toronto, Canada. 6.11.03 PICS!
June 18, 2003 07:21 AM
Shrieks and bellowing moans of apologies for making the Toronto-ians
wait for the completion of this post. I have pics now...below. (way below)
Thanks and please have Eisley back unless you think my images are
lame or you feel there's just no way to forgive me at this point.
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Some time within a few days after the tour, I started this drivel:
This post has to be slammed down. I am super pressed for time. The
tyranny of being back at "eisley central".....(home), complete with stacked
up email, bills, communications from everyone under the sun, upcoming
shows, the need to research the technologies involved in making our "in
ear" monitor/rack system hook up at a small venue, dirty clothes and lots
of needs...(breath) is taking it's toll on my time. I will complete this job. I
will stay at my post - no matter the cost. (well...or I'll come back to my
post)
The Trip.
The big hairy deal was, we got to go see Niagra Falls, or....the USA Falls as
they're trying to reposition it as. What's wrong with Niagra? That's in the
USA. "It's awl gud"...as they say. Holy smokes....that place is perdy cule.
I have images if I can dredge them up from the clattery, plastic sea of
tapes layered in my Walmart video-camera bag. So, yes. Amazing. simply
amazing...freaking amazing...
The Venue.
Yes. Vaidee Naieece. Fancy. Bay frontage....at least I think; water canals
swimming in and around the venue with duckies that we got to feed and
one ate Weston's fingers. Our dressing room overlooked a waterway.
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my wonderful wife wants to spend time with me. she's first. more later.
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It was one of those really large outdoor, amphitheaters; after loading in
and scoping out the dressing rooms, we went on our adventure...which
usually means a trip to the top of the hill. Why? I don't know....because it's
there. Later, we saw Chris on the top of the hill...perhaps a moment of
reflection... but he got busted by one of those security guys. I saw him
trying to explain himself; funny. We were laughing. Chris Martin isn't
allowed on the grass at the venue?
The Show:
Sorta lame. The band was tired...I think it was reflected during their set.
The crowd seemed as enthusiastic as the band... There were some little
mistakes. The band was sorta down. The only redeeming thing about a
sucky show is...it made them want to redeem themselves on the next
show....which was Madison Square Garden.
Still, the Canadians seemed to enjoy Eisley. If the band had been more
enthusiastic, they'd have followed.... like in Edmonton, Calgary and
Vancouver. We were all tired from the days drive; Crossing the border
earlier that day was a big, hairy pain in the dualies. Those guys just like to
be mean. It's their job. "Sign up here if you want to push people around be
mean to them." If I had one of those jobs, I'd be nice...even if I was
looking for Ben Ladin or Sadaam or Jack Ruby or Charles Manson; I
wouldn't let them know I was suspicious. Anyway...one of the younger
guys was cool and was actually going to the show that night.
When we were coming back into the US from Vancouver, we pulled into a
whateveryoucall em' booth...customs or whatever....to a black guy from
Louisiana. OH MY GOSH....he was awesome. Where'r ya'll from? Opening
the van door....seeing this pile of squirming cuties...."Lookie here, sugar...
ok. where'r you from....yeah, ok..is he yer daddy? yeah...great...ok...,
NEXT...; you say you're from where? Louisiana!? Man, I'm from
Thibideaux, sha! You guys are good....come on through....!!"
Anyway, that was a good experience. I'm rambling. I said I don't have
time for this.
Dave Holmes flew in for the Canada show....that was nice. Checkin' up on
his bands. All good.
The band got to play this really rad car video game....the kind you sit in
and you feel the steering wheel shake when you bank a corner. That was
fun. The food was good also...the coffee was great....and, the ice cream
with chocolate sauce was almost as good as Kim's. I said ALMOST....but,
not....in case Kim reads this. Not even close.
Stay tuned for pics...or if you're bored with this forum and tour junk by
now, it's ok to leave us. We're not the center of the universe. In fact, in the
grand scheme of things, I'd say this is not important at all...and I'm the
least important part of this; It's just that the band doesn't have time to do
this stuff. Someone has to.
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I'm not stalling...or stalin. I had to craft the eblast that goes out tomorrow
(to only the people who type their email in on the front page of eisley.com)
And tomorrow there's an interview and photoshoot from the Austin
newspaper; They meet us at 11:00am, so I'm going to have more delays.
I'M SORRY. I'm all set up with the video camera, ready to push play and
start sucking the video in. bd
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It's June 28th. 4:15am. I just want you to know that I'm really working
hard on getting Toronto up. Been looking at video all afternoon....even in
the car on the way to Kris (moderator for this forum) and JJ's wedding
(McKinney, Tx). Congratulations guys! All the drive back home, I talked on
phone and ignored my amazing wife, Kim who was driving. That was bad
and she wasn't happy with me. I mean...it's hard to drive for that long
without anyone to talk to. Our friend Owen need to talk....but, I should
have been more sensitive to her, right? Then, when we got home, I acted
all defensive. Since I was troubled about it all, i stayed up way too late
working on this...
Anyway, I'll just post one (1) image out of many, many I've been
preparing. More tomorrow if I have time. Eisley headline's Tree's tomorrow
after an in-store show at Tower Records late afternoon, but we have to
leave at noon. yikes. better get some sleep.
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Excuses, excuses...that's all I ever deliver on. I haven't been able to get
back to the Toronto images because 2 (TWO) different sets of friends had
moving crisis' the past few days...so...we got back from Tree's, got no
sleep on sunday and dashed out move piano's and furniture till late Sunday
night. Then, yesterday after a short band meeting to decide if we should do
a local show here in Tyler, we got another call from someone else
and....off we went until like 6:00pm last night. (Eisley moving service.)
Have van, have warm bodies, have to help friends...but, it's really a good
thing; if the band bombs, we can use our van and trailer and start a
moving business so we don't have to live under a bridge. bd
Is anybody reading this? Canadians? why am I here? if anyone is listening,
I was thinking about continuing to post images and journal shows...yes.
Even back here at home. Like, the Tree's show...but, I don't know if there's
any interest. It's a lot of work. I wouldn't want to commit to such an insane
endeavor just so that boyd could see pictures of his kids on the world wide
web. no. I'll just look at them in 3d; 2 d takes too long.
But, if I do such a thing....where should I post such shows? Eisley blog?
How about "Eisley Visage - Indie shows/Club Tours
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This is how the venue is layed out. I wanted to start out by showing you
the venue complete with a schematic so it would be "very" clear how this
was all going to work. Anyway, my brother is an engineer, so I guess I
inherited some of my talent from Wade. (one of eisley's favorite
uncles who plays makes shrapnel out of guitar novices)
What does she do back there for days on end? It always seemed like I
never saw them... and after a days drive, we'd get out and hug and say,
"hi! how are you?" That's not very rock and roll.
It looks like Jon has been taking his head pills again. Rehab hasn't helped.
It's like some anchient, Roman "Triumphant Entry" or...like a kind of
Canadian Parthenon...
"And here's a beautiful Canadian mosque? NO...it's a government building,
silly. Amazing architechture here in Toronto.
That is a real sign. For real. no joke. i ain't lyin'.
Sherri is beautifying herself as the "ugs" unload the van. Can you
blame her?
There go the "ugs"....but wait, they're loading back out! This is out of order
SIR! This is totally OUT OF ORDER!!!
There you have it...a Canadian duckie.
And he's actually close (genetically) to the horse, as you can see.
Dressing room shrug.
As always, I don't need to explain this one.
I went to lay down because I was beat. They said, "DAD...go to sleep!! You
need to SLEEP!!" So I tried, but was quickly awoken by what sounded like
screaming babies. It freaked me out; I stood up in fear. It was Canadian
duckies. So I just blew it off.
M-Audio makes these killer mics - "Groove Tube". We used them during on
the tour and Coldplay's crew was impressed. "They're better than some of
ours", they said. Said that, they did.
This is a smelly, stinky, bad bit of photoshop work...many of these are.
I blow through these so fast. And this one is cheezy...but, there is the
lovely Chauntelle warming up.
Taken from down in the pit...empty as a jayhawk...
yeah, well....it was empty.
How did we end up with so many photos of Matt??
She bares no resemblance to Avril. I promise. Not even close.
Sherri glance...
Sherri weirder glance...
Stacy line-checking Rhodes.
Striking a chord and a stance...
Chris took a thoughtful stroll by himself up on the lawn. It appeared that
the nice yard nazi wouldn't let him walk around. It looked like Chris was
telling the lawn nazi who he was...and the guy didn't care. So Chris is just
being nice and saying "that's ok, you're just doing your job..."or whatever.
How do I know? But that's what is sure looked like to Sherri and I.
Video games...yes. A race car one.
I've told him and told him not to use his "x-tron magna rays".
He's out of control.
Bunchers of Sherri-shots.
That's all I think I should load into this email. Everyone hates me already
for hogging the
(omg, I don't know what that was...I was just typing and, BAM...I was out;
it's almost 4:00am and...I was like dreaming or something. My eyes were
closed and i woke up and looked down to see myself typing..OH MY
GOSH..what was I typing? I think I just "sleep typed". For real....because
what did that mean? Everyone hates me already for hogging the.... the
WHAT? what was I hogging? dang. I'll never know now...
I have another batch and will load it in the chamber tomorrow. goodnight.
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The Coldplay guys have to get their stuff off the bus. They'll be flying back
to the UK soon. Lucky us....we don't have to get our stuff out of the bus.
We have a van and can drive all the way from NY to Tyler by ourselves.
These look like regular, nice birds...but don't be fooled. They're about to
murder the first fish their beady little bird eyes spot... Fish are people too.
Coldplay's new star had been added...I guess just a few days before or
something because many of the old ones were all corroded. Eisley kept
searching and searching and searching for their star; but we never found
it. I guess they don't put those up until you actually have fans. In Toronto,
I don't think they had one (1).
A few minutes before showtime for Eisley.
Can you find yourself?
Seriously. I figured that since it took me so long to post Toronto, I should
honor you guys by showing more of your mugs. i love you toronto!! wooo! wooo!!! hi mom!
It made me hungry. That's why I'm still mad at these girls.
Ok...we're moving into the few pics I have of the show. Can't tell if this one
is sound check or live. zzhh-glick! (sound of old slide projector advancing)
One of the best bass melody writers this side of the Canadian border.
Is this the same shot I started out with? well, it's a good one.
it's really hard to get good shots of this guy. He's lurchy, he's always hidden
in back of the ole kit and....he makes funny faces like all drummers while
playing. My goal on the next tour - if there is one - is to shoot those guy's
mugs more often. Just so people can see how gooney they are. Dallas knows.
Tyler knows.
Multi-colored Stacy...
See the time of the day? Time to drive for hours and hours.
But we're always happy after shows for some reason.
Ben is just fun to shoot. His happy mug just photographs well.
That was not a political statement...so it can't be correct or incorrect.
Jon perched atop the flag pole impediment.
That was the venue.
We're driving away... the end.
In close, wanted to say thanks to Toronto for being patient. If I had to
much fun with the images...blame it on my lack of sleep. You guys were
great. Hope to come back some day and see more of the city....home of
Ron Sexsmith. cheers.
Official Coldplay Tour.Cleveland, Ohio. 6.10.03 Tower City
June 17, 2003 07:08 PM
monologue: Hey everyone. Great to get caught up on this silly, obsessive, psuedo-virtual tour/journal. Apologies to all you Cleveland music lovers who I've neglected for all this time...(along with every other city not yet posted...and those who were delayed).
Right now we're traveling from Tennessee to Texas; as most of you know, 80% of thiswork is done from the passenger seat of our GMC extended van. I have a powerful power-converter plugged into a cigarette lighter (socket) giving juice to a multi-plug which is giving juice to my Apple, any of 3 fire wire drives, a digital video camera and a phone charger. Wires are all over the place....tapes are all over the dash....it's a mess; but it works.
Today, we're traveling through Arkansas - notorious for having the worst roads in the country, so I'm being bobbled and tossed and can hardly see the screen much less the images I'm trying to tweak. There IS, however, a great deal of road construction to slow us down quite often so perhaps the problem is being addressed. However, we dealt with the same road construction last July on our way to Cornerstone Fest, and nothing seems improved.
We stopped and ate in Hope, Arkansas - home of Bill Clinton. Since I saw a photo-shrine of him, I asked the gas station guy if Bill actually ever hangs out in Hope; he said, "yup....he was supposed-duh be here this weekend...cuz Monica, his girlfriend showed up thinkin' he 'uz gonna be here...but he never showed...." I said, "you're joking, right?" He just looked up at me like I was asking a stupid question. "nope...she was here alright..." So, there you have it. I uncovered National calibur scoop. (inquirer, that is)
Let's get back to the tour no longer in progress! Here we are in Cleveland. I don't think there's a place like Cleveland anywhere else on the planet. What amazing imagery... physical structures...bridges, multi-skeletal frameworks of wrought-iron towering over waterways...erected into the sky for reasons I don't understand... factories and machines and metal-oids....everything looks very old, raw, of the elements but formed for a culture I am unfamiliar with; it's a very mechanical world...an exhibit baring a historical record of man's apparent venture into harnessing the power of machines...a canvas of iron, metal, steel, rust, brick, paint, waterways, salt, rust, bolts, beams...it's very cool. (you can tell by the crappy images that I was taken in).
The Venue:
I like the utility of this amphitheatre - which, in this case, is really just an elevated word for a stage, a slab of concrete and a tent o're head; and it's all cached in this concrete chasm of bridges, freeways, factories...did I say bridges? yes...with exposed, rusty rebarb showing because the concrete is falling out in chunks underneath; old buildings with old beautiful old advertising graphics peeling off the walls everywhere you looki; and there are salt water rivers, freighters... boats, docks, etc....an amazing visual of multiforms - both man made and natural... eye candy carnage.
The Show:
People started lining up by the 1000's to get in. You'd think this culture might only embrace bands like Metallica and....uhh, how about King's X; but apparently they're in touch with their soft rock, sensitive side.
Sidenote: My good friend David DePaul, who I haven't seen or talked to in 20 years came to the show, said he recently saw The Foo-Fighters at the same venue. (that's very cool, he's still into music at 42; but who couldn't love those Foo guys. Their newest record is amazing.) btw...we had a heart-warming reunion...and he loved Eisley. How time flies.
Eisley's show was very cool. The mix wasn't so great, but the enthusiasm from the Cleveloidians proved it didn't matter. 30 minute show, 30 minute signing and we were 2 states away within 30 minutes after we grabbed gas station food. I'm making this up.
Well, I'm running out of time for words. We're almost home. Here are some screen shots from the experience. Thanks. Boyd
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I am working on the code to post all Cleveland pics. It's 2:06am and we're home. I have to fall asleep in my chair here before I can get back up and finish. I'm dizzy and incoherant.
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I described the venue accurately in the journal. But, what's cool is:
look how people filled up the tent. And this is for Eisley's show...
(they wanna get their early for their favorite band - CP)
We're driving around looking for the venue....and we see these
amazing old buildings and structures...
Amazingly, business owners in the 1930's already were big fans.
Bridges, bridges, everywhere...
One of several identities for the venue and surrounding campus.
This is a shot of our robotic, metal arm located on the side of the
van - preparing to bore through earch and rock - so we can get
to the venue on time.
Looking out the window and videotaping what we see is part of the tour.
At the absolute guarantee of sounding cliche', "it's the journey, not the
destination."
Jon, shown here, is always very patient. If we're lost....we're just lost.
Bridge foundation. Metal legs and concrete shoes laced on with bolts.
Another identity. This nice graphic seems upscale. Do you think the other
one fits better?
[img]hhttp://www.eisley.com/laughingcity/images/coldplaytour/cleveland /ohioworker.jpg[/img]
A truck drove by right after we found the venue. I thought this guy
was ok.
Something old, something new.
Someone needs to believe in the cause. Cars are suffering and
eroding away, even dying... The people have spoken.
What? Is it a lumber mill?
Yes. A closer look brings forth evidence that the "wood age" did exist
in Cleveland; perhaps at the turn of the century. (1700 - 1800 when
North American Woodsman dominated the continent)
A difficult tunnel to hack out of earth, rock, iron ore and...well, frankly...
the earth's core. Lucky for us, the venue was on the other side...just as
we suspected.
That's the band but it looks fake. Like British pop art... They're too big.
Someone is messing with our minds. oh....probably done with a computer.
This is what we saw from the bridge. See the venue?
Metal and people living under the same tent... and they love each other.
That's an Oh-Hi-OH-ian boat floating on that river that was polluted in the
70's, but is now clean. Ben from Make Trade Fair told me it's a pivotal part
of enviro-political history. Things changed after this. Now the spotted owls
can fluff their wings in safety...and rock bands can warm the city with 1000's of decibals on weeknights without a single complaint. Only the metal
bridges sound their silent, barbaric yaups....for they will one day topple.
This one might survive for a while longer.
That's inside the ampitheatre looking back toward Cleveland... I'm serious;
millions of decibals were being pushed into the city...subtones, white noise,
Eisley's sound check. (they played Sun Feet as a warm up. I was at the
end of the long line nearly a 300 yards back)
"well....here we are!"
Chauntelle always seems to go to the back as if she's gonna unload...like
in the old days, when all the girls had to unload the gear along with the
manly men. Those old days were great....just 4 weeks ago.
See....I videotape Weston. He's just more stealth....always hiding behind
cymbals and gear...or sleeping in the van...he's not a splashy person. He's
a funny person. Attempts will be made to document his whereabouts and
sightings. sorry. Glad Juan from the UK won the contest. Now we have to
ship one T-shirt across the ocean.
He reminds me of the hippie that use to run New Earth Concerts back in
the 70's in Houston. I'm just glad these guys are still around, doing
promotion and making a difference. Wait, is that Guy on the left? I thought
it was some buff, Italian dude.
zzzzzzzzz......zzzzzzzz........
There are too many of these shots, I know.
That's Dave...a sound/crew guy who was super nice. He and Miller
and John and others were so helpful and funny.
That's what it looks like up close in case you've seen it from
Isle 102, seat 206 at some show. I guess he used a white marker or something.
more sound check/warm up.
It's what you do...over and over again.
Here's my long, lost friend. He's had some bumps like everyone else in
life...but is still alive; it was NO time had lapsed. We just picked back up
like it was 1980. He writes songs with his 20 year old son and the play in
bars in Garrard (sp?) where Phil Keaggy is from. It was weird...like a time
machine. We were in bands together at ages 20; here we were watching
my kids doing the same. It does my head. It did our heads.
Jon coming out of the dressing room.
I like the last line of this one.
We went on a long walk...for miles and miles... to find the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame. Here they are leaving.
More. Here they are out of chronology - entering.
We're tired, but they're trying to figure out the statue, the history...and
apparently interact with it.
Closer... I just like this pose and expression.
Finally, we're on to the show...honestly, there aren't many great shots.
The lights just didn't allow for good stills. Plus, me and David are pretty
far back...it was packed all the way to the back. I was near front of house,
which is about half way. More later if I can dig them up.
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too tired. must sleep now. will add captions and find shots of actual show in the morning. I'm going to sleep in my own bed. My own wife is asleep in there now. That's nice. bd
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On to the next one....on, on... on to the next post. but I must say, i'm getting sucked into the madness of the upcoming shows here in Texas, dealing with a flurry of emails from management, label, TM, WB publicists, Record Collection and dirty clothes. Please be patient. bd