Well, it’s been a while. Some would say an era, others have probably not noticed, but it’s about time I wrote a report. Indeed I haven’t really noticed; time has a way of inexorably tick-tocking away when one is living ‘in the moment’ and usually out of a suitcase. I am writing this from the land of the rising sun, where this particular moment is more like the land of the falling rain – a wet afternoon in Tokyo.

We arrived yesterday from Nagoya, the second date of our far eastern tour. It was a good night and the crowd gave us a great welcome. IG was in fine banter, rambling on about defrosting an old girlfriend before going out with her, and various other gems. No one knows where he gets it all – it must be hell in there!

The ride on the bullet train was fast and comfortable. Our old friend Mr. Udo is the promoter and therefore Tack, his faithful sidekick, is looking after us, as he has done on numerous occasions before – great that some things change slowly.

Talking to some fans the other day, I am troubled that no one here seems to know anything about Snapshot. I am attempting to find out on which label it was released and what happened to it. If only life was just about making the music!

The North American leg was a blast. It was wonderful to connect with a good number of our friends and fans along the way, thank you all for your support. The idea of playing Machine Head in its entirety seems to have found favour and we had fun playing some of the older arrangements. I have to bow to Steve and Don, neither of whom was on the original recording, for entering into the proceedings with good grace and working hard to deliver some faithful musical details. The receptions we received, particularly in Los Angeles, Toronto and New York, were some of the best I can recall. The Bananas songs went down really well and it’s good to know that they stand next to the older material so well.

In San Francisco we had a real treat when Joe Satriani called me up and said he was coming to the gig that night. He and Steve tore the place apart. Buddy Bohn (also known as Moro), whom I haven’t seen in nearly 35 years, was also there. He was one of the first artists released on Purple Records way back then, and still plays beautiful acoustic music.

Our producer Michael Bradford graced our stage in Los Angeles and showed us all what a great performer he is. We have every intention of doing another album with him.

Greg Rzab, the bass player whom I met through the Gov’t Mule gigs, showed up Chicago with his Rickenbacker bass for me to try, my own one being desperately in need of a major overhaul. In the end I decided to stick with the Vigier but I appreciate the offer. He is currently helping to sort out my old Rick; it would be nice to use it again.

I cannot let this moment go past without acknowledging Moray McMillan, our sound engineer for the last 8 years or so. This was his last tour with us and, sad as it is to see him go, he goes with our gratitude for all the hard work and great sound he has given us. Good luck Moray.
With regard to Bass Player’s Question Time, I hang my head and apologize for the ridiculous backlog – I am gradually getting round to it but in my defense I have to say that my life has been anything but tranquil the last several months, I can’t explain more than that.

My cousin Clive Jones passed away a few weeks ago, my family and I are still reeling from that sad event. Now at least he is resting in peace. I was in England for his funeral twenty-four hours before leaving New York for Japan.

Life has to continue. For me, the tour goes on. I am anticipating the upcoming visit to China with some curiosity. I had intended to go there in 1976, when a planned trip with my friend Andy MacKay, Roxy Music’s sax player, had to be cancelled as my wife at the time was expecting our daughter, Gillian. He and his wife went there by themselves and the influence of that can be seen on the cover art of his subsequent album, “Resolving Contradictions” released in 1978. I remember him telling at the time that he had never experienced such honesty. Apparently, in their first hotel in Beijing (or Peking as it was then), his wife Jane had discarded a copy of Time Magazine that she’d read on the flight there and it caught up with them some weeks later in a city thousands of miles away; the cleaning staff thinking that it had been left behind accidentally. (Airline cleaning crews please note! Maybe I would have had my expensive cell phone back had it been lost in China and not New York.)

Anyway, duty calls and I must leave for the gig in Tokyo, starting at the insane hour of five in the afternoon. (For some reason people here have better things to do later on a Saturday night.)

My Vigier Excess guitar and SWR amplification continue to deliver the best sound I’ve ever had, thank you both.

I wish health and peace to everyone reading this and I hope I’ll be able to meet up with some of you on our trek around the world this year.

Good luck,

RG