Have a great time, hopefully with some WA music providing some of the backdrop to your entertainment. It’s been a great year – they’ve all been great – all 39 of ‘em, in one way or another. There were lots of road dates and good times aplenty. Muddy Manninen hit 50 and got married. Wishbone introduced visual elements to its stage show spending more funds on production and then the world went into recession. I got a nasty bout of food poisoning and the next day we produced the Argus Then Again Live CD for XM Satellite Radio. Gas prices came down?&^%
There was a band helicopter trip, along with Dr. John and Diane, to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, for a champagne lunch!
There was AshCon in Chesterfield UK with folks coming from far and wide and a great sun soaked AshFest in Florida (where Joe Crabtree and Atsuko were seen swinging on the trapeze in the circus school). We had a fan wedding there – Dane and Ginger.
The strange thing is that our date sheet for 2009 looks fuller than ever. Someone said to me that people turn to entertainment in hard times. It could be true. I’m looking forward to some more creativity in June of the upcoming year. It looks like we’ll be filming and writing in France. There are also a couple of live projects in the work and of course, we have the 40th Anniversary Ash Bash at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on May 16th.
There WILL be a USA tour next year but we’ll probably wait until late summer. There are also rumours of another AshFest – Vegas looks like being the location of choice. Of course we’ll have the customary two tours of the UK, one in the Spring and one in the Autumn, including some more dates featuring the Hamsters. Unfortunately, we lost out on 11 planned shows at this time, due to some confusion and venue conflicts in the marketplace, but we are working hard to put this right and to seek other opportunities.
I’m hoping we’ll be able to take in some festivals as usual in the summer and even get into the studio to lay down some new tracks. Are you still with me?
Hey, I could go on but I need a break too. The band, our crew, our agents, record labels, Guy, Leon and Dr. John and I send our very best wishes to you all and your families and our sincere thanks for all your support through the year.
Seasons Greetings and Have a Good One!
~ A.P. and Wishbone Ash.
P.S. Get well soon Nick! Keep spirits up!
