TOUR DIARY


Wednesday May 29:
I'll begin this story on Wednesday morning, as that's when I arrived into the UK.
What a flight – 22 hours fly time and another 6 hours highly entertained in airport lounges.
The flight itself was fine, rather good really, but I always get a sense of “why me” when odd things happen. Do I attract weird people? Do I only get my fair share of loonies, or am I burdened with a higher percentage than the average Joe? What am I talking about? Just a lady that sat behind me.
At a time when all the lights are turned off – a gentle airline hint to shut the hell up and sleep – this woman decided that was a perfect time to sing at the top of her lungs. Great.
Following being told to shut up by everyone, she stats harassing all around her, accusing us of trying to upset her. She them steals my headrest cover and later stands up in the isle, starring at different people in turn. While starring at me I look at her and ask “Yes??” Just looking out the window is her reply.
Ok, except my seat doesn't have a window....

Enough of that. Manchester Airport is upon us and we all high tail it away from this nutter. A short trip through customs and Now & Then's Bruce Mee is there at the airport to meet me.
I've always known Bruce likes to drive with speed, but on seeing his new sports car in the carpark, I am a little apprehensive of getting in. haha, sorry Bruce…
Seriously though, a smooth and uneventful drive gets me safely to Mark Ashton's place where I get to meet his baby son Tommy for the first time.
Good practice for me in a few months time!

Mark, Bruce and I spend the next few hours chatting away and take in lunch at the hotel I just checked into, a short distance from Mark's place and downtown Wigan.
I'll spend a couple of days here before heading to Bradford!

Not much else to report from Day 1 – just more chatting, very laid back and time to get my head into UK time.
I also meet another friend of Now & Then's and scene participant Paul Jerome Smith.

Thursday May 30:
Things to do today! I got up when I woke up naturally, bugger the alarm – but as it is, it's only 8.30 am.
I get ready and take a short walk down to the close McDonalds. Don't normally eat the stuff, but bacon and egg McMuffin's and coke makes an ideal breakfast to fire me up for the day. Plus the place (surprisingly) has a pay phone in there, so I can call home and see how Cath is doing. (The hotel didn't have phones in the rooms – fairly common in the UK!)

After the call and breakfast it's off to the train station and off to Manchester for the day.
Always enjoy the train ride – don't have any down here – and I'm in the city before I know it.
First stop? Out come a few notes on some CD stores and I head in the (hopeful) direction of Vinyl Exchange. I spot a few other stores in the area, so they are also checked out.
To my big disappointment, Vinyl Exchange is totally lame. Nothing of any melodic inclination there at all.
Thankfully a store around the corner turned up a few more interesting items.
The most interesting – CD copies of Shy's Misspent Youth and Shooting Star's It's Not Over.
From there it's off to the main shopping street of the city and a visit to Mothercare (yep, we don't have those in Oz either and I was under strict instructions!!), HMV (best CD chain out there I think), plus Virgin and a few others for price comparisons.
No CDs bought here, but a few DVDs and a few magazines also.
Then it's lunch, a visit to the major WHSmith to stock up on magazines again and by this stage I am about done for cash.
A train back to Wigan seems the best idea, re-stock with cash and maybe take in Wigan's town centre.
All goes to plan apart from the bit when I step off the bus outside the hotel into the pissing rain. A quick dash is called for and I almost made it to the car park boundary before slipping ass over tit into the grassy mud. Must have given a few passing motorists something to laugh about, but it caused me no end of grief.
Ever tried to wash mud off clothes using a hotel bathroom? Haha
Oh well, after a quick wash/change I took in the town centre and stopped by a local supermarket to stock up on local chocolates and foot items to take home.
Wigan's a great little town, I enjoy hanging out there.

Dinner time sees me picked up by Mark and his lovely wife Sam. We all head over to some local pub together with Paul. There we are due to meet up with Phil and Sue Ashcroft and take in dinner, a few drinks and the local cover band. It was great to see Phil and Sue again and had a great night.

Friday May 31:
Friday morning. A pit stop at McDonald's, a call home and we are underway again.
Today's plan – pack my bags and get collected by Mark to go to the airport and collect Mario, Serafino and Lorenzo from Frontiers Records.
From there, the guys and I get mini-bussed to Bradford, while Mark returned to Wigan for more pre-Gods work. He and Bruce will come over to Bradford tomorrow.
So on the 1 hour trip to Bradford I just shoot the breeze with Mario and Serafino, see what is happening and what's coming up.
A few good things in the works it seems, but naturally I am forbidden to speak of them…haha…there's also a few things they wouldn't even tell me. Spoil sports.

We did discuss the Robert Fleischmann record, the new Unruly Child and Hardline. All three albums are just about in the can and will be out in the next few months. As will Jeff Scott Soto's long awaited new solo album.

Bradford is upon us. Must admit, it was my first visit to the city and it wasn't what I expected. A lot hillier than I thought. The hotel is great and within 15 minutes of checking in I am out in the road again, bound for the city centre. The rest of the guys are resting and I'll see them later.
In my several visits to the UK I have never timed it to be anywhere near summer and I have to say this weekend is the best weather I have ever witnessed in the UK.
Great day for a walk.
Again, I have a list of a few CD stores, plus I always enjoy a look around a new city.
Downtown Bradford however, is not a trip highlight :)
It's ok, but for a smaller city, I actually though Wigan had more within it's boundaries.
Bradford is just that little bit bigger and dirtier and to be honest, the shopping wasn't all that flash!
Still, it was good to see and it was on my way out of the city that I got the best surprise.
A great little Used CD store I had on my list was easy to find and thankfully it had a big metal section.
Out of their range I managed to pull a copy of Atlantic's Power – something I have never seen before on CD. Maybe I'll keep it, maybe I'll sell it. Not sure – I have heard it's worth a bit and I certainly haven't seen it before. Great album, but I do have another mouth to feed soon….priorities!
I also found a nice Jean Beauvoir compilation, putting together most tracks off his two solo CDs onto one disc. Also bought Kingdom Come's In Your Face and Johnny Van Zant's solo album Brickyard Road. Very cool…

Late afternoon is spent sipping drinks with Mario and Serafino and Frontiers Records LA rep Michael Robinson. A bit of a laugh really.
Escape Music's Khalil Turk arrives to steal Mario and Serafino away for a business meeting, leaving me and Mike to think dinner.
One of the things I found with Bradford – despite it's reputation as the curry capital – was the distinct lack of food outlets anywhere.
Still, a Mexican place was found close-ish to the hotel, so that was good enough for us. Bad move…haha…not the greatest place to eat and bloody expensive and all…
By the end of dinner I am thoroughly knackered so it's off to bed.
Michael takes off with the guys of Shotgun Symphony to take in 10CC at Pennington's. Free tickets were offered by the venue owner, but I'll pass :)

Saturday June 1:
Saturday AM – the band's are arriving and tonight's the pre-show party.
I organised with Mark to meet Bruce at the hotel first thing in the morning and welcome in the bands that arrive. Some are staying here – others at the other side of town.
Arriving with Bruce is Phil Ashcroft – who is always good to share a joke with. I fill him in on the evening before's dinner and he adds it to what he called “Andrew's UK Shit List” One big tick for that place…haha
The weather (already on the Shit List after Thursday's mud splash) is holding up – beautiful!
First to arrive is Eric Martin and band – Eric, wife Denise, Mark and Mark – all jetlagged after the flight and straight off to their rooms for a kip.
Bruce, Phil and I head off to lunch, as Harem Scarem have been delayed. Jeff Scott Soto and band, Honeymoon Suite and Hardline are on the other side of town.
Breakfast/lunch was good and the company excellent. As I said, these 2 are always good for a laugh.

A walk down to the other hotel, a bas back and Harem arrive within minutes. Nice to finally meet a bunch of guys I have previously only phoned and e-mailed.

The afternoon is spent drinking at the bar, hanging with the guys and Eric Martin and co and Harem also joining in. Shotgun Symphony guys are also doing their part to keep the barmaid busy.
Joining the party soon after is my long time e-mail buddies and site regulars Mats, Peter and Tom. The guys have flown in from Sweden, Switzerland and Chicago for the occasion. Bravo!
Great to meet them (I saw Peter at the 2000 Gods also) and great to share a drink.

The guys leave for dinner and the rest of the bar clears out in preparation for tonight's show.

My first introduction to Pennington's was walking into P2 for the Saturday night party. Huge, the small-ish room is packed to the hilt.
The next few hours are a blur as I meet a stack of site regulars – hi guys and gals!!
No great conversations as the place is loud as hell and it's hard to hear anything. Still, great to meet more faces. Thanks!
UK rockers Deadline put on a good show and quickly swap over to Shotgun Symphony, who play a tight 45 minute set to a wildly enthusiastic crowd.
It was nice to finally meet the guys of Pride tonight - news of their next album sounds great.

Outside Jeff Scott Soto and band – Howie, Gary and Alex turn up and clown about with whoever wants a photo or an autograph. It's cool to see the guys having so much fun and mingling and chatting freely.
The Honeymoon Suite guys are also cool enough to show up, but mostly keep to themselves.

I can't remember when, but at some stage not outrageously late I walk back to the hotel with Eric Martin and the guys (and gal). They, along with Gary Hughes and the Harem Scarem guys were taking in the music inside.
It's not over at the venue, but Sunday is a big day!

Sunday June 2:
What can I say here? Woke up, went straight to the venue and ended up going in a side entrance with Mark Ashton. It was interesting to watch everyone set up and see the venue take shape. The camera guys are all setting up and a sound check is underway.
Interestingly – the initial sound check is the only one of the day – dangerous way to live, but with everything set up perfectly, the theory is that it should stay that way!
Thankfully – it did.

The show stars late, but no one cares once the first note rings out.
The venue is truly impressive – multi levels, rising from front to back and a spacious dance floor. It fills up by mid afternoon!

I spend the day roaming. I saw the first 2 bands from front of house. I saw Honeymoon Suite from the front/side. I saw a few bands from the balcony and Ten from the back of house. The sound was even throughout and there really wasn't a bad “seat” in the house.
Like I have already said, it was a fantastic venue that really lifted the professionalism of the show.

I spent a bit of time backstage between sets also. Not a lot of gossip to report – sorry. A few off the record remarks, but generally nothing huge!
The bands mingled with each other as the day moved on.
Tony Martin was gone before you could blink – but he's already admitted to having a bad day.
After the Pulse set Richie and Vince were first to the bar – Richie ending up getting right off his nut…haha. Vince not far behind, but at least he didn't fall asleep at the bar back at the hotel and find himself being used as a pot plant... Honeymoon Suite didn't last long after the gig either. They were out of there pretty quickly, but to his credit, drummer Bret saw most of the other bands.
Ten and Hardline were the same. Turned up, had 1 beer afterwards and headed back to the hotel. Mind you, Gary was still at the hotel bar at 3am :)

The biggest party animals of the day were the guys from Eric Martin and Jeff Scotto Soto's bands. They all hung around, joked, drunk and enjoyed themselves all day.
Gary Schutt was having a fine time wandering around, Howie was hamming it up with anyone that would listen and Eric was having a serious chat with everyone.
Denise and Mark Holley did likewise, with Mark video recording most of the proceedings. In fact, I filmed the EMB set for his archives.
Eric and Denise were the last out after the show – kicked out with the rest of us at nearly 3am.

Special mention must go to Bob “The Barman” Catley. He was as usual, off his tits backstage and had a laugh with anyone who stopped to say hello. Not sure how much he remembers.

Back at the hotel at 3 am it was decided that a few of us would stay up through the night, as the guys had a 7am flight and it was pointless doing to bed.
So most of Shotgun Symphony, Mark and Mark from EMB, Vince and Richie from Pulse and a few others sat and talked the morning hours away.

6am saw the boys on the bus and me enjoying a few moments of peace.
I took in some breakfast, with Mario quickly downing a coffee before joining the bus to the airport with Serafino, Lorenzo the rest of the guys.
Me, I was off to bed for a few hours. After a call home I did just that – woken at 10 by Mark Ashton with orders to clear out – it was time to head back to Wigan.
Oh, it's Monday BTW!

Monday June 3:
So we are back in Wigan. It's midday/early afternoon by the time we get back and the plan is to crash at Mark's place, as I have a flight at 9am the next morning.
In the evening Mark, Sam (and Tommy) and I are joined by Phil and Sue again.
Time for some take out curry (no tick needed there – great stuff) and a playback of the VHS tapes from last night's Gods.
Yes, mark had tapes already.
On the night, a director was there creating a live mix of camera angles “on the fly”, mixing the 5 camera's live. Mark gets a box of tapes at the end of the night and is told to watch them all…haha…half his luck.
Tape 1 is the mix, tape 2 the guitarist, tape 3 the vocalist and tape 4 the roaming camera.
If any footage of the mix looks a little out of place or simply a non-active shot, the guys can edit in a better view from the other tapes.
We ended up watching all of the Harem Scarem set and the Honeymoon Suite set.
Bugger me if these aren't going to be shit hot DVDs!! They can't come out quick enough, believe me!

Tuesday June 4:
Bed, up, off to the airport. A farewell to Mark (thanks for the lift and sorry for the early rise). The rest of the day – flying….sleeping :)

Wednesday June 5:
No mad women on the flight – awesome. Got a bit of sleep – a few hours.
It's now Wednesday am and I am in Singapore. Couldn't stand the thought of another flight straight up, so I spent the day in Singapore - opting for a night-time connection into Australia.
Singapore was awesome – been there once before, but had more time this time. Took in a couple of IT malls and every CD store in town. Bought bugger all really, as there wasn't much I needed and what I did they didn't have. Was going to buy a stack of DVDs, but on realising that they were ALL altered by the Government to be PG rated or less, I deemed it useless!!
Black Hawk Down as a PG movie? I think not…

Anyway, lots of fun and bought a few non-musical related items and some pressies for back home. 33C temperatures and blazing sun was also nice, as I was heading back to winter in Tassie.
Back to the airport, onto the flight and off to sleep.
Several hours later I was back in Melbourne and then to Hobart and back with my girl (awwww…..!)

It was now Thursday morning and I figured since Saturday I had had 15 hours sleep. I was back on the site next morning, but I only felt normal about a week later…haha

I hope you have enjoyed this year's Gods Tour Diary.
Feedback welcomed, as long as it's positive…haha
It was a great pleasure to be in the UK for all of 6 days, and well worth the travel time to get there.
Thanks again to: Mark Ashton and his wife Sam, Bruce Mee, Phil “Shit List” Ashcroft and his wife Sue and also to Mario, Lorenzo, Serafino and Michael of Frontiers.
Thanks also to Mats, Peter and Tom.
One last thanks to all the guys in the band's that were super cool. A couple didn't have much to say - butmost were awesome and I thank them for that. Especially thanks to the guys of Eric Martin Band, Jeff Scott Soto and band and Shotgun Symphony.
I also met a bunch of fellow journo's over the weekend. A few I have met before - but another few for the first time. G'Day folks...best to you all!
Special thanks to every single site regular I met over the course of the days and nights.
It was all a bit of a blur looking back, but what a weekend!!
Can't wait till next time!