After every show now the band has started going out to the front and signing autographs because we want our fans to know how much we appreciate them. Some people have just heard about us. Some have been there from the beginning and have come to many shows. We know who you are and seeing you out there is like seeing old friends again.

All our shows have been memorable so far  - here are some highlights:

 Barcelona -The beautiful Palau de la Musica forever in our hearts

Madrid -The kids dancing with Kevin and the band

Paris – The sold out show at the beautiful historic La Cigale

Den Atelier in Luxembourg   -The great crowd and the wonderful food

Gothenburg – Warm Hearts – Cold nights – largest snowflakes ever seen

Helsinki – playing in the Ice Hall  - Everybody wore coats and warmed

                  up with beer and drinks – ready to party

Wetten Das – wild with Kiss and Pet Shop Boys and a taste of craziness.

Randers Denmark – The very first show on this tour that sold out.

                                -two weeks after tickets went on sale – Thanks! 

Juchen – We loved Red Hot last time but the 2500 people crammed into the           

                Polodrom tent was like coming back home again

Leipzig – Gewandhaus – the beautiful concert hall with three tiers of

                balconies. We still remember fans dancing “way up there” 

Cologne – Ewerk in the old power house - great club- loud band-

                 minds blown by the incredible cathedral

Halle  - Gerry Weber Event center – in the middle of nowhere but out of

             nowhere – a filled up hall with lots of old and new fans

Lutz Charity Event  - a stage in the most unlikely place – best tequila so far

                                on the tour ( Don’t tell anyone but we like to have a toast  

                                 before each show)

We are very excited to announce the release of our second album Turn It On. Right now the album is available across Europe as we tour this spring. You can purchase it online at Amazon (UK, France, & Germany) and on European iTunes stores with a bonus track. Look for it in Poland 3/15 and the UK in 3/29. If you are an American fan and can't wait for the US release, you can purchase an import copy through the US Amazon store. Also listen for the single “Let Me Be The One”. It is being picked up by radio in many countries. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting us and making this a great tour!

TV total is the German late-night television comedy talk show that has run since March 8, 1999, on ProSieben and is currently aired at around 23:15 from Monday to Thursday.

Created, produced, and hosted by Stefan Raab, TV total focuses in particular on the funniest moments from other shows on German television; it also features Raab in his outside reports, and interviewing national and international celebrity guests. His shows are chiefly in German but he also speaks English when interviewing his English-speaking guests, who have included the bands Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Coldplay, Metallica, and Manowar, martial-arts star Jackie Chan, rappers 50 Cent, Eminem, D12, Mark Wahlberg, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Paris Hilton, and Kylie Minogue. The show has its own band, the Heavytones, and most of the guest musicians and comedians regularly perform live on stage.

Since February 2001, the show has also featured Elton as Raab's intern and sidekick.

Check it Out

One of the best things about this band is that it is a family.  Our crew is the BEST!  These guys are not only the tops on the fields but they are great men and cool cats. 

DEVIN KELLEY is our Production manager – he takes care of all the preproduction making sure the venue where we play has all the things we need – the right stage, the right equipment, enough help, the right food and a million other things. He also handles our stage monitors during the show. His job never ends. He started working two months before this tour and he has to be on all the time. He never sleeps – well almost never.

CASEY CARRIER - our Front of House sound guy - we met Casey when he was working for Smokey Robinson.  Casey still works for Smokey but he finds the time somehow to travel with us. We first heard Casey’s sound work when we went to a Smokey show and were blown away by his work – after all, if you work with Smokey, you have to be good.. Casey loves dogs and he loves his wife, and an occasional cigar and fine wine. He has a bleached out stripe through his black hair. We think he loves us too. We have to be nice to him or he might turn our sound off.

PETE GRYMES is our lighting director. He lives in Phoenix where Devin lives. If you’ve ever seen one of our shows you know what a great lighting guy Pete is.  He can work with a huge lighting set up or a small club rig and make us look good. And for some of us well – it’s pretty hard to make us look good. Pete’s got a lot of moves to make on every song – lighting is intense. You can see him at the back of the hall.  He’s the madman with the wild smile on his face.

BUSTER “MATT” ALLEN  - our Jack of all trades, our Mr. fixit, our Red Ninja don’t fuck with him guy - is the red head you might see catching one of Teddy’s guitars flying through the air from the stage during our shows. Teddy and Buster like to throw guitars around when Teddy needs a new one on stage. They are getting really good at it and seem to enjoy their new sport.  We don’t get a lot of exercise so……   Buster can repair anything mechanical or electronic. He’s strong but light on his feet. He can take a punch and a joke. He’s a fine guitar player and the ladies seem to like him – why that is, we haven’t been able to figure out yet but that’s beside the point. He’s not married so it’s ok. Buster also works with Garth Brooks  and might be seen wandering around Tulsa, Oklahoma or Nashville, Tennessee when he’s not re mixing Garth’s music or traveling with us.

Thank you guys

We had to take some gear with us to Helsinki because from there we fly to  Erfurt Germany to do the Wetten Das TV show.  When we checked into the airport in Gothenburg we were overweight by 230 Kilos which means paying an additional $2,300.00 Euro for excess baggage. But we were flying on Finnair and they told us they would cover the cost since we were playing in Finland.  Thanks from all the band. When we arrived in Helsinki, the band went to the hotel to get some rest but the crew had to go right to The Hesinki Ice Hall and start setting up.  They didn’t get to the hotel until after the show. Usually the Ice Hall is a hockey arena but tonight the ice was covered.  It was surprisingly warm there. The bar was full of fans until close to the time we went on so everyone in the crowd was ready to rock.  Thanks Helsinki for a great night. We want to come back – next time maybe in the summer?

On To Gothenburg

Another 16 hour bus ride – this time up through Germany - across the Baltic sea by ferry - then over one of the longest bridges in the world – a 10 mile bridge into Sweden. Bobby, John, Blair and Devin were up early as usual watching more of the “Sons”. Snow was everywhere. Crows were lining the roadside and in the white fields. When we drove across Canada in the middle of the winter last year the only animal we saw in the early dawn was a single crow on the wire glistening in the frozen sun.  I guess crows are the universal bird.  We have them in Tucson and we’ve seen them in Equador and Romania and Greece. They are tough and smart too.

It was dark when we arrived in Gothenburg so we all straggled into the hotel set up our overnight homes and found something to eat. Some of us went out for a walk into this beautoiful city. We listened to some chamber music in an old church and dodged the buses and the trams on the snowy streets.

The Lisebergshallen, where we played in Gothenburg, is in one of the best amusement parks in Europe.  Unfortunately it was shut down so we provided the amusement and the music. We had a great time there – some great food – met some wonderful people and flew out to Helsinki early the next day after about 5 hours sleep.  The bus dove on to Denmark where we will meet up again after our brief trip to Germany.

It was still raining when we got into the club around noon but waiting for us was a large tureen of potato soup – some of the best potato soup we have ever had. That set the mood of the day.

It was still raining when people began to line up for the show around 5.

By the time our show started it was still raining but inside was a warm and enthusiastic crowd who embraced the music and wouldn’t let us leave the stage. At the end Kevin stood alone toasting the club and the fans with champagne while Bruce Cockburn’s “The Last Night Of The World” played in the background.

For those of you traveling to Luxembourg, there is an outstanding restaurant - the BELLA NAPOLI - You absolutely have to go. Before the show, we were taken there for an evening meal and we were all in heaven for an hour. We have been treated to some very good restaurants while on the road.  This one was so wonderful that we had to ask the chef to come out so we could stand and applaud.

Thank you Bella Napoli for warming our hearts and our stomachs.

FYI  “atelier” comes from the French word “astelier” which was a carpenter’s shop.  The meaning has evolved into “an artist’s workshop”.

Great Place.

When we told people back in the states that we are going to Luxembourg they say, “Where is that? Is it a country or a city?”

Luxembourg – for those of you like those of us who don’t really know much about it – is a Grand Duchy – much like Monaco which is a principality.  Luxembourg has a Grand Duke who is sort of a figurehead much like the Queen of England.  It also has a Prime Minister who runs the show. They might have an army but probably not. We don’t really care all that much about the politics but since we’re on the road in these interesting places we thought you might like to know – if you don’t.

We were an hour outside of Luxembourg around 7AM. It was raining and Bobby, Blair, Devin and John were into the FX series “The Sons Of Anarchy” – all 2 years of weekly episodes are on the bus hard drive. We had been watching it for several hours and Opie’s wife had just been killed by mistake when she traded cars with Opie.  She and Opie had left the gang’s party – a party for Jackson’s little baby who had just come back from the hospital - and Opie was going to take the kids home. Carl, the head of the Sons, thought that Opie had ratted on the Sons and secretly set up the deal to kill Opie.  He really liked Opie but that was too much.  We could see one of the church towers above Luxembourg in the distance so we turned the TV off and watched the rain for a while. Our eyes were hurting anyway. When we get back into it we’ll keep you posted on the “Sons” if you want us to………….

We all knew that Paris was a big challenge for him because it is in Paris where probably the most discerning and critical audiences are - but also the most appreciative and responsive to what an “artist” presents - if that artist reaches deep into their hearts. La Cigale was sold out last night when we walked on stage. Most people there didn’t have any idea how good the band is – how good Kevin can be. They came to see us just out of curiosity………

We were in the bus all day flying up 10 along the eastern side of France headed for Paris through the beautiful Bordeaux countryside talking about fine wines and watching a DVD of “Jackass”. Sara is with us on this trip. She’s opening the shows, and also singing a couple songs with us in our set.  She woke up, came into the front and took one look at the movie turned around went back to bed. We all felt bad but continued to watch the rest of the film.

We had departed from Madrid at midnight -drove over the Pyrenees in the early morning - ears popping in our sleep. At 7 AM it was still dark with a little pinkness showing in the east under the clouds through the mountains. Michael and Norman were taking turns driving – every 4 ½ hours the bus drivers have to take a 45 minute break. That slows us down a bit but we figured that we could make it in 17 hours.   In the USA  they drive for 20 hours straight sometimes. They’re not supposed to.  We were happy that we weren’t driving through Russia into Belarus. One of our drivers was there a few years ago driving a rock band around the country and was escorted by the police and the government – and- he had a guy seated next to him holding an AK 47. This guy was there in case there was trouble which the government or the police couldn’t handle. He was from the mafia.

We wanted to get to Paris early enough to see a little of it. Some of us have never been there. Some already have Paris in their hearts.  It only takes one visit.

at the turn of the century during the great architectural renaissance in Spain, it has become the soul of a great city. Everyone knows about the great Spanish architect

Gaudi but here in this wonderful concert hall is the artistic expression of the Catalan working class movement started in the 19^th century by the missionary Clave who saved and collected folk songs – the universal expression of the working class - in danger of falling into oblivion.

Even though this fantastic concert hall, with its three high balconies and tapestry seats, usually hears acoustic and classical music, it seemed to relish our blue collar rock. Even the angels with their harps and flutes who lined the walls behind the stage, seemed to smile on us while we were playing. The crowd enjoyed us too. By the end of the night they were on their feet dancing in the aisles. We feel honored to have played there.

We left late last night by bus to travel to Madrid. Tonight we play and then leave for Paris – a 17 hour bus trip.

Thank you Barcelona for a wonderful beginning.  We hope to come back again soon to your beautiful City.

The Modern Westerners

Madrid

It’s not very often  that we end a show with children on stage but that’s what happened

In Madrid on Saturday night.  Usually if there’s anyone on stage besides the band it’s a fan who managed to leap on before security pulls her off.  This time however we were playing “Hey Man” – our last song – and Teddy is finishing his solo on his knees with a young girl dancing next to him and watching his hands slash around the guitar. Kevin is at the microphone singing and holding another girl’s hand while the crowd pressed around the stage. It was another memorable moment for the band and it was fitting that it happened in Madrid.

It was here many years ago that Kevin decided he wanted to start playing music live again. He was opening a movie and wishing he was doing more than just shaking people’s hands and talking about movies…………… He's back.