Hola kids,

Wow, we have been a bit busy lately and it is just the beginning. I will start with the Blue Grass Festival in Telluride Colorado. One of the very cool parts of this job is doing gigs in great places where it is half work, half vacation. We had decided to re-work some of the songs and learn a few new ones for this gig while at the same time getting a head start on the AAA Ballpark tour, so we went up there for a whole week of rehearsals before the show. Telluride, simply put, is one of the most beautiful places on earth! Imagine a quaint little town in a valley surrounded by the most magnificent mountains, cliffs and trees. There are several villages near Telluride and we stayed in one of them. The best way to get around is not by driving but by taking the Gondola. So each day this is how I went to work, enjoying the peace and quiet and of course, the stunning views. On days off we hiked, biked, swam and shopped.

As for the show, I think all of us were anticipating it and even, dare I say, a little nervous because of all the new and barely rehearsed songs we threw into the set. I was also playing a few songs on an acoustic kit with an old school upright bass drum that I hit with a mallet. It is always good to put yourself and the band on the edge a bit. A lot of good things can happen and it definitely gets the blood flowing. I felt we really rose to the occasion and everybody was playing their asses off at the show. People seemed to appreciate the different spin on the songs and the hippie contingent went wild during Friend of the Devil. The show was topped off by the beautiful and talented Emmylou Harris who sat in with us, which reminded me of my old Sheryl days when she would show up frequently.

Coming home to play the Home Run Derby for the All Star game was actually pretty exciting. It was way more of a big deal than I had anticipated and playing in your home town always ups the ante. While doing the run through in rehearsal, they let off a few explosions behind us, ho-hum... no big deal. When we actually did the performance (as you might have seen) they where going off left and right. Bing, Bang, Bow!! explosions all around me and yes, those giant fire flames are indeed hot!! Beavis and Butt-head have now taken over the controls. Millard and I can barely play because we are looking at each other and laughing so hard (before the smoke engulfed us of course).
This is what playing in Kiss must be like.... pretty cool....yeah.

I now have a whopping three days off before we head out on this tour. No complaints though, I am really happy to be working and this is an exciting time for the band.

Cheers, Jim