Well, that was a busy couple of months.
Huge thanks to everyone who came to my April & May shows in the UK and USA. I don’t know about you but I think it all went pretty well.
I know that prior to these recent tours taking place we did some quite inelegant pleading with you to make every effort to attend one of these shows and indeed we suggested that you ‘bring a friend’ to the gig as our finances are such, particularly vis a vis touring in America, that without a good turnout we simply can’t make touring pay. Well I was humbled by the way you responded. Just for an instance, you gave us the biggest New York show we’ve had for some time and that was just one example of the lovely way you all responded to our begging. Thank you so much.
The British shows were an opportunity to revisit some of the old songs, lean heavily upon the piano and resist the temptation to play all the loud rock n roll tunes. It was also a chance to visit some of the more overlooked music towns and cities of the British Isles and finally get to play a proper gig in Liverpool, after an absence of so many years that it was starting to look like a vendetta. The visit to Liverpool also included a tour of the Anfield trophy room; thanks to Stephen Done for organising that treat.
I’ve been touring in America for quite a few years now, but this most recent trip reminded me that I am still only scratching the surface. How could I have left it this long before eating my first Philly Cheese-steak (from Pat’s in Philadelphia) and also experiencing the astonishingly friendly and awesome music ecosystem that is Nashville?
This year was also the first time I’ve toured the States with another musician; Joey Love expertly showcasing his rhythm method on what might be the world’s smallest playable drum kit and also providing fine company on our journey from New York to Dallas.
Along the way we met up with some very dear old friends, in particular David Wallace and Emily Grove who got up and played some guitar with us in New York and Asbury Park respectively and we were shown immense hospitality from all of our new friends in Nashville, from Yvonne in New Jersey, from Tara & Tyler in Oklahoma and as ever, from David and Coty in Dallas.
