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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...