I'm writing from the rather unusually cold and 'not so sunny' Beverly Hills, CA, so my pool time has been cut to the bare minimum. As Katy will tell you, if it's a sunny day and I've gone 'awol' you will be sure to find me lounging by the pool trying extract as many rays from the azure skies as I possibly can. I just found out that it's extremely hot and sunny back in London today so I'm not a happy camper!
We played in Phoenix last night, and I must say, we were sorry to leave the city as we stepped aboard our aeroplane on route back to L.A. It was such a warm (and dare I say beautiful?) audience, they really do breed 'em well in Arizona! My one goof up of the evening was in "Girls on Film" - I started playing my Tim-bale solo at the end of the 1st Chorus instead of the 2nd...far too early! ...everyone in the band looked at me as though I had gone completely bonkers, even my flame haired drum tech 'Baron Beetmoll Troy' was doubled over in stitches at the side of the stage. By the way, we all think Beet looks as though he should be in an 80s metal band, like Iron Maiden, Saxon or Def Leppard, so I reckon that while we are playing on stage he is in fact rocking out to some Death Metal on a his walkman!
The tour is going so well, we seem to be in a great place, the band's tight, we are getting along like a house on fire and life feels pretty good, and of course, we recently heard the great news that super dj/producer Mark Ronson wants to be part of our tour plans and we are already working on a live collaboration slated for June in Paris - how cool is that?
Going back to the live show, I'm really enjoying the 'electro set' as it's a nice change to step from behind the kit and get closer to the audience. It also gives me a breather, playing behind a drum kit relentlessly for over 2 hours can be pretty draining, I sometimes compare it to going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson every night but I never get a chance to knock him out to finish the fight!
I also get to read the signs that people bring to the show, in fact I saw one the other night which seems to crop up on a fairly regular basis - "Roger , can I get my 2 hands on your stick?" - I can't imagine what she was thinking! I did try to give her my 'drum' stick at the end of the show, but one of the the security guys at the front of the stage jumped up, grabbed it and ran off with it, which was a bit of a bummer, I guess it's somewhere on ebay right now... actually it's amazing where my sticks end up ( and no I don't mean that!). I was having dinner with a group of friends recently in Washington, D.C and halfway through the meal a very sophisticated looking lady in her early 40's took a battered old drumstick from her designer handbag and asked me to sign it. It turns out that she had caught my stick at the D.C gig during the 83/84 world tour and has since kept it with her wherever she goes ...incredible but true!
Off to San Diego tomorrow then Vegas, I love playing at the Hard Rock, it's always a great place to connect with our 'hardcore' fans, so hopefully they will be 'hanging from the rafters.' Actually, talking of Vegas, please check out our opening band Your Vegas, they are such cool guys and deserve lots of support from you.
Before I close, special thanks to our lovely wardrobeman, Jeffrey, who turned my new jeans up while I was onstage last night..what a star!
Coming to your town soon...
Roger, Nick, Simon, John, Dom, Anna and Simon.W (Oh and Baron Beetmoll Troy) x