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April 12th 2004
Today we begin the first part of the 2004 adventures.
We are off to Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia and I approach
it with an unusual mix of emotions. We were originally scheduled
to start in February but, for purely economical reasons we had to
push it all back so I ended up with time I wasn't expecting!
I was sad to lose John Smithson on bass as a result of conflicting
commitments but Pepe Bornay has stepped in and so, once again, I
have a new band! I have also added Igor Fraga Angoita on guitar,
keys and vocals so we'll be a five-piece this time and that has
given us some added flexibility which I think is great
we'll
see what you think!
The show will be the usual mix of old, recent and new songs with
one BIG surprise that I obviously can't mention. Of course it won't
be a surprise after the first show but at least I can enjoy the
secret until then!!
So Monica and I drove to Madrid (actually Manolo drove us) where
I had an interview with a major newspaper from Bergen at the hotel.
It was the best interview I have done in a long time and I have
to say that Universal is doing a great job with promotion for both
the CD and the tour.
Life in Madrid seems to be relatively normal. It is tempting to
talk to people about March 11th to try and get a real sense of what
it was like as opposed to the usual blood-soaked garbage that the
news media reports but it's probably best to reflect quietly and
respect the fact that people here are probably still trying to come
to terms with it. Come to terms with what? That mindless idiots,
brainwashed by fanatics using some warped sense of "religion"
as a motivation/excuse, would murder and slaughter innocent men,
women and children going about their normal lives? How does any
normal person rationalise that? Before we can apply rational thinking
we need a base to work from and in this case we don't have one.
No-one has been able to explain why these things are done and I
doubt that the fanatics can either! I've read the Koran and it certainly
doesn't condone this kind of activity so we can rule out the "war
on Islam" excuse! As far as I can tell they do it because they
can and because the western media's disgusting lust for blood guarantees
them the global exposure that satisfies their warped egos.
I will do my best to be a voice for change. My "platform"
may be smaller but fame and fortune are no longer my goals so I'll
do what I can to make the most of each and every opportunity to
encourage people not give up and to let their voices be heard. Isn't
that a major part of the basis of democracy?
Next day...
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