Well, that’s a bit grandiose isn’t it? Everybody is a lot of people and I hardly think they’ll be wanting to visit my web site, at least not all at the same time.
Anyway, Wwwelcome to my web site, whose look will change soon. Andreas Thul is the engine behind it, Tim Weeks is doing the design, and I will be supplying the fuel that, with luck, will keep it running.
It is August and my wife Les and I are enjoying being home again, for a short while. The US Tour was arduous (not that I can complain too much, that would be churlish) but very satisfying in a number of ways, not the least of which was the backstage atmosphere between the bands.
A week or so into the tour, in Atlanta, Ronnie Dio looked around one night and noticed the ubiquitous crew Ouniform¹ of black T-shirts set off by black jeans, and decided that some colour was needed.
It’s over. The year that is. A passing. A bygone. let bygones be bygones, as Eddie Izzard said. He also asked what IS a bygone? I don’t know but here comes another one, except it hasn’t gone yet.
Before it becomes a bygone though, it is worth remembering that twelve months ago we were all perched on a similar diving platform above the murky deep end wondering what was in store.
First of all thank you for all your birthday greetings in November. I couldn’t reply individually but I had a lovely time, thank you. This has been a tumultuous year on many fronts, backs and sides – but here we are, the survivors, like pawns dangling at the end of it with no choice but to get dragged inexorably towards the festivities, and on with mathematical certainty, and probably a hangover, to the new year, fighting and clawing all the way trying to grab a little piece of the old one before it forever and incontrovertibly becomes history – fodder for future TV documentaries, to be analyzed, dissected, and mythologized.
It was only a few weeks ago that Leon and I had a few drinks in the bar of some hotel or other. It was the first time we had talked properly since the opening night of the tour when all of Lynyrd Skynyrd stood outside our dressing room door and shook our hands as we arrived – a genuine, warm welcome.