Cleveland!

(view gallery)

The last few days have been a blur - and very cold, as you can see by this picture of Joe outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which we visited, curtesy of Scott Pickard, our friend and sometime merchandiser. Some of you will have now heard the story of how Wishbone Ash has actually been enshrined unofficially, in the Hall of Fame for all time. Scott, in his capacity as a welder, was working on the original structure back in the day and welded our band name into one of the key structural girders holding the building up. So when Armagedon finally comes and the building crumbles to the ground leaving a skeleton of iron work, some new civilisation will discover the only lasting remnant of our popular culture, engraved in the superstructure of this monstrous edifice to 'youth' music...and .. they will wonder at the words Wishbone Ash...what do they mean? Where did they come from?

Some great gigs, though. This trip has really solidified the band in more ways than one. For me it's great to be back in New England. There's something about the topography and the character of the people that feels like home. We met old friends at Shirley, Mass. The venue there is an old inn from the 1700's and has been in the family for years. There is even a carved tree trunk on the lower level, which came from the village green and has all kinds of grafitti carved into it, including a mention of the Boston Tea Party incident. Thanks to all the folks who have helped us out along the way, Milt, Gary, Fred, Mary, Steve, Dennis et al. If I seemed a little distracted on the show, I was trying out our new in - ear monitor system. Thumbs up - hearing the vocals clearly has never been easier.

Today we head to trendy Northampton, Mass. We'll be playing the Iron Horse. I'm hoping to see some posters of ours there which are on the wall, next to those of my son Aynsley's band Tiger City. They played the venue last week but are now in L.A. starting the West Coast leg of their national tour. I also got to visit with my youngest son, Lawrence, in nearby Cambridge. At the moment he is managing the Boston Sports Club gym there. We ate vegan style and hung out for a coupla hours. It was great.


Later ~ A.P.