Hey all, I'm getting ready to embark on the Mr. Big reunion tour; relearning songs, helping with artwork, merchandise, stage design, jumbo screens, travel, etc.  We start rehearsing later this month and I have to say I'm really excited to make music with these guys again.   The tour is 99% sold out with seats left at the Fukuoka and Yokohama shows.   Jun 05, 2009 Zepp Sapporo Jun 07, 2009 Zepp Sendai Jun 09, 2009 Kouseinenkin Hall Ishikawa Jun 10, 2009 Zepp Nagoya  Jun 12, 2009 Zepp Fukuoka Jun 15, 2009 Grand Cube Osaka  Jun 17, 2009 Hiroshima ALSOK Hall  Jun 18, 2009 Osaka Kouseinenkin Hall  Jun 20, 2009 Budokan Jun 21, 2009 Yokohama Arena, Yokohama Here's the title track video "Next time around" from our greatest hits album.  Those of you that have already seen the video, has it become apparent to you (as it was to me making it) that there was a genuine bond and brotherhood in that studio?  The majority of the old footage is from my archives (thanks for making me clean the shed Denise, I found the lost treasures of the Mr. Big past).   Click below to purchase the new Mr. Big Greatest Hits album (the deluxe edition has a DVD) -   I have to say I'm pretty happy to have two albums in the top 3 spots on the charts right now under my alter ego, Mr. Vocalist (aka The Balladeer) !!! This is a first!  Check out the Sony Japan/Eric Martin site here:  http://www.ericmartin.jp  I'll be playing my favorite annual Muir Beach BBQ with my old pal Andre Pessis and co. on May 24th (check the tour dates for more info).  This is a home grown rock and roll show that consists of family and friends onstage. My better half, Denise, will be kicking down the block rocking beats behind us.  To me it's a great hometown hang before going out on tour with Mr. Big.  This is the first Mother's Day I'll spend without my Mother (who passed away on January 20th).  I will always love her and am thankful for all the love and wisdom she's ever given me.  I used to call her from the road to tell her what I was up to and she always had encouraging words for me and could easily lift up when I was down.  She told me how proud she was that I followed my dreams and I continue that today with her spiritual support.  Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there. Stay gold, E ps - One last thing about the Mr. Big tour; this is not just a show and a t-shirt; we're in this for the long haul.

Hey everyone,
I'm writing you from a bullet train between Nagoya and Osaka Japan. I've been here for about 3 weeks now. I was here in early February with my Mr. Big brothers promoting our tour starting this June. I went home for 8 days, picked up my wife and kids and came back to Japan to begin promoting my latest solo album, Mr. Vocalist #2. I'm exhausted but lucky to call this work.

Since I've been here, I've done a million interviews, TV shows, radio spots, photo shoots, rehearsals and shows! I had a CD release/DVD filming show on 3/4 and it was fantastic. The band here in Japan was spot on. They are all Sony's top session players and played on both of my latest releases. I had a very special guest star, Ayaka Lida, sing "I believe" with me. She is a very young, talented, famous J-Pop singer in Japan and since she covered "To be with you" I thought I would cover her song "I believe!" We did a duet of the song and the crowd was very surprised. She's so full of soul and I can't wait to sing with her again. It was great to see my sons raising the roof in the balcony; well one of them (Dylan), Jake fell asleep after the first song. What am I a lullaby singer now?! After the show, Sony exec's came backstage to raise a toast to my album entering the charts at #1, just above U2 and Coldplay. I looked like a deer in the headlights I was so shocked. I knew it was a good record but thought people would have to hear it before deciding that. Never in my life did I expect it to debut at #1. Thank you Japan! I hope you all enjoy this album as much as I did making it. 

So I'm here for another few days, home long enough to make "Dad's night" at my kids school and then off to LA to do some Mr. Big business. On that note, the hype here is amazing. Fans, press, etc can't wait for this tour (either can I). I love making records, promoting them, etc. but there's nothing like sharing the stage with talent like Pat, Billy and Paul and making live music. Our tour is selling out fast. Budokan sold out in minutes and another show was added the next day at the Yokohama Arena. If you plan on going, I believe this is one of the only shows with tickets left.. 

Several fans have asked me about Mr. Big coming to their city. Yes we are trying to visit as many cities as we can. There are several offers on the table and at this point it's just a matter of scheduling since we all have solo projects we've been working hard on and we do not want to just drop them. It's important for us to maintain a bit of both. Please keep checking my "tour dates" section to see what's been added. I'll try to keep everyone in the loop as well. 

For now, here are my tour dates. I'm doing some solo shows in the US and the Japan dates are all with Mr. Big. Check out the Muir Beach BBQ on 5/24. This is the event that I do every year with my best friends and songwriting partner, Andre Pessis. We raise money for the Muir Beach Fire Department. It's a fun gig of our favorite covers. My wife Denise is going to play drums with us this year so that will add to the good times. Mark Holley and I will join forces to do the Marinwood Music in the Park on 7/24 and back to Philly for the always fun Township Park event. Hope to see you at one of these shows. 


May 24 
Muir Beach BBQ Muir Beach, California

Jun 5 
Zepp Sapporo Sapporo

Jun 7 
Zepp Sendai Sendai

Jun 9 
Kouseinenkin Hall Ishikawa North Sendai

Jun 10 
Zepp Nagoya Nagoya

Jun 12 
Zepp Hukuoka Hukuoka

Jun 15 
Grand Cube Osaka Osaka

Jun 17 
Hiroshima ALSOK Hall Hiroshima

Jun 18 
Osaka Kouseinenkin Hall Osaka

Jun 20 
Budokan- SOLD OUT Tokyo

Jun 21 
Yokohama Arena Yokohama

Jul 24
Marinwood in the park music series San Rafael, California

Aug 2 
Township Park King of Prussia

~E~

Holy Mothers of invention… what a long ass flight. Man it was Oakland to LA. With a 3-hour layover then 10 hours to Lima Peru and 5 to Buenos Aires. I was spent when Martin & Charlie picked me up from the airport. Hell I have done these long flights before but I think my backside is still sore from Europe (Yeah so is my pride but that’s another long story). Anyway the cool thing (literally) was the weather, it was ice cold. I love it; it’s better than the heat baby. Trust me it can get hot as a pistol down here in the summer. Oh yeah by the way, it’s winter here. So I get to the beautiful hotel in downtown Buenos Aires at around 9 in the morning. I’m right smack dab in the middle of everything from the Casa Rosada (you know what I’m talking about? Yeah that balcony….“Don’t Cry for me Argentina” …Now do you get it?), the European influenced buildings on Diagonal Norte Street, The Cabildo (the Government house used in colonial times), The Obelisk (the main icon of the Capitol city, it’s looks like the Washington monument back in the USA) and tons of other great architecture. Well I crash out at about 11:00 am and wake up the next day at the same exact time…spooky huh? So here I am with 6 hours to kill before heading off to practice with my old amigos “The Road Vultures. So I press…yeah you heard me…lol. I start pressing those wrinkled ass black shirts of mine that have been bouncing around my suitcase for a few days. I watch a movie (the classic shoot ‘em up love story “True Romance”…. Whew, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette have got some pretty hot chemistry daddy-O ). Hours go by fast and the next thing I know I’m rockin’ out with the boys in the band. They sound amazing. They have got ten times better and I liked the way they sounded before but it means a lot to me that they stepped up and raised the bar in their own musicianship. They must have taken voice lessons because they’ve got those humble pie harmonies down now. To make the night even better Adrian Barilari the great Argentinean rock vocalist from the Heavy Metal band Rata Blanca stopped by to sing a few songs with me. That man has got a lot of soulful singing power. I love his attitude as well, a totally laid back and confident guy. I’m sorry for running those songs over and over again Adrian! But man we sing great together. Back at the hotel now, I can’t sleep. I guess I had too much sleep from when I got here. Oh well I talked to Denise and the boys on the web cam. They look and sound great. Dylan is getting ready for the Marinwood park gig on June 27th. Yeah he’s practicing on his ukulele (he thinks it’s a guitar custom built for him). He runs upstairs and get’s it every time I pick up my guitar to write something or strum out an idea. He always wants to jam, oh man I have created a rock star. Now Jacob… he’s turned into a stop and smell the roses type of character. He’s a total independent. He’s slightly passive and shy but then out of nowhere he’s got this comedic side that will have you belly laughing. The kid has definitely got some talent. Did I mention that they are only three and a half years old? They pick things up from what we say and use our words against us all the time. Like the other day I put Dylan on a time out for pushing his brother and he said to me ”let’s not get a head of ourselves Ok Daddy?”, after I said what the…. He says ”Daddy are we going to have a problem here." 3 frickin’ years old can you believe that???? Who’s running this asylum anyway? Well I’m starting to fade kids. I had better get some rest for another day of rehearsal. Friday is the first gig and I’m looking forward to it in a big way. It’s wonderful to be back here in Argentina. ~E~ Ps. I’ll write soon

Station House Benefit Show
I know I have been a silent partner with you boys and girls for a long time. I apologize for the disappearing act. I hope I didn’t lose any friends/fans over my absence. I read all your emails and I just want to tell you that I’m here and doing grand and hope that you are too. I guess I just let the infamous “You Tube” speak for me (Every picture tells a story kind of dealio).
2007 proved to be a very good year for me as a world traveler, well 2008 is shaping up to be quite an adventure as well. Before I get started with my blogging I just want to thank Troy Luccketta for inviting me to participate in the Station Club Fire benefit in Rhode Island. I have been haunted by this thing for many years now and I have always wanted to lend a hand to help these families and survivors of this American tragedy. All my peers and rock heroes came out in support for these folks. Dee Snider is a real champion in my book. After I sang “To be with You” accompanied by 6 talented guys; Marc Bonilla (guitar/voc), Ed Roth (keys), Travis Davis (bass/voc), Troy Luccketta (drums) Gary Hoey (lead guitar) and the golden voice of Wes Quave I headed up the stairs of the venue to hang out with the brothers and sisters of Providence and all points in between. The first person I ran into was this lovely and energetic girl named Tammy Belanger who I talked with for a while. We talked about Mr. Big and that little song of mine and even sang a verse and chorus together; later I came to find out that her cousin Dina Ann DeMaio died in the fire. She wasn’t supposed to work (cocktail waitress) that night. Tammy kept telling me when she watched the blaze on TV it didn’t register to her because she knew that Dina wasn’t there. After numerous unanswered phone calls to her cell phone Tammy and her family went to every hospital in the area, the Word came down later that her cousin had perished in the fire. Dina’s little boy Justin was too young to know what was happening, the next day he wanted to know where his mommy was so that he could give her the pajama’s he got for her for her birthday. To watch and listen to this story told by this young brave woman was incredibly moving, I was trying to be strong at the time but I wasn’t when I said my goodbyes or right this minute. To the survivors and families; I hope and pray that we put a smile on your face and hopefully some cash in your pocket. I know the pain will never go away but maybe with a little help from your new music friends you can take care of yourselves and all the children affected by this nightmare.
The show was fantastic! Carmine Appice and Slam beat the hell out the drums and trash cans, Winger was rockin’ heavier than I have ever heard, John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and the Muzik Mafia played all the country hits, Whiskey Falls are my new favorite band (Damon Johnson rules). Move over Jon Mellencamp- folk rocker Brandon Reid is coming on strong. Aaron Lewis the heavy metal crooner (I’ll probably get lambasted for saying that but I thought he was really good), the awesome combo special of Stryper and Boston, Indie energy by Facing Forward, the emotional voice of Kevin Max from dc talk, Tesla who has consistently shined through their whole career were full of raw energy as usual (thanks Frank & Robbie for your help) and a band that I swear kicks out the jams better than anybody, “Twisted Sister.” The show ended with all the groups and survivors singing on the 80’s anthem “Were not going to take it.” The crowd loved it and I heard we raised over $200,000 dollars. Count me in for the next one Troy.

It feels so good to be touring again and rockin’ out with old and new friends. I have played with some phenomenal musicians over the past year or so and I would like to thank each and every one of them…………and a way we go-
-South America and India-
Christian Vidal - Thank you for being there for me, you are a guitar player extraordinaire my friend. I am blown away by your talent and your ability to play different styles of music. The South American tours were killer but hanging out in the beautiful Ri Kynjai Resort after the big concert in Shiilong India and listening to you play your song “ Santiago’s coming” just took my breath away. I turned my face away because I didn’t want you, Charlie and Pablo to see my tears… I’m a sucker for tango ballads. Also when we were on the Airplane coming from to Chile to Buenos Aires and those musicians busted out there acoustic guitars and you and Richie joined along in that traditional Brazilian music jam…whew… it was unbelievable. It’s awesome to see the boys look up to you as well, it’s like you’re their hero…that’s got to be a good feeling.
Charlie “The Latin Lover” Giardina - Thank you brother for laying it down on the bass and vocals. From the first tour to the second I watched you and your evolution as a rock star. Your presence on stage is exceptional…I know I’m throwing out all these 10 dollar words but dude you kicked major ass for me on tour and not only are you one of the nicest guys around but you make us all laugh with those impressions. I even liked when you did me…Am I that crazy? You’re a good friend Charlie and I can’t wait to rock with you in the upcoming tour of South America.
Pablo Garrocho – You’ve definitely got the drum chops young blood!! Thank you for breaking a snare or two with those hard hits, you make this band sound big. I was watching some video on us (The Road Vultures) from Sao Paulo and you’re slammin’ those drums, wood splinters are flying all over the stage. I hail you brother, and thanks again for not throwing your drum sticks at my head on some gigs…I can be a bit pushy with drummers…ask Denise Martin and Pat Torpey. He’s a looker girls of the world so you’ve got to treat this kid like you would a movie star. I can see him right now pointing his finger in a circular motion towards me and saying “No, No, No you no comprende my friend”…lol. Give your son “Santiago” a kiss on the cheek for me will you. See you soon PG.
Martin Perticone- to my South American Promoter/arranger/vocalist and liaison to the Road Vultures; you, kind sir, are a wonderful person. How do you fit rock and roll touring into the mix and run a huge hotel franchise as well. I’m indebted to you for keeping my dream alive.
-Australia-
John McNamara – Cheers to my new best friend on the planet. Thank you so much for bringing me to Australia as a promoter and playing guitar and singing for me. I love your style brother; I don’t mean the way you dress even though you make the rest of us look like bargain basement mannequins but it’s your aggressive swagger, clever riffing and black & blues tone that slays me. This whole touring thing was your brain child with having great musicians in different countries back me up. Denise and I helped make your plan work and it has been very successful. Thank you and your wife (Hot!!…sorry Johnny) Sheila for getting this snow ball rolling. Your Father and Mother have got to be the most down to earth people that I have ever met; I love ‘em (you too Keith). I really had the most wonderful time in OZ; we had a lot of laughs and rocked hard. It doesn’t get any better than this folks.
Keith McNamara – Holy stage presence bat dog!!! Keif me old china, you can sing, dance (Don’t dance with me….(inside joke)), rap to the audience, converse with the club owners, flirt with the girls, drink with the men, bring the house down with a scream and party like its 1999….uhm 2008. Hey look I know I can sing but if I had your presence I would be packin’ them in at the shows. Break a leg with the musical theatre and thanks for singing the harmonies with me on my tour down under.
Dean Gaudoin – when you hear the words “It’s a bird or a plane and faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound” you think of the comic book figure known as Superman. Well for all of us mere mortals out here in the jungle…one man stands alone. It’s the bass wielding, black clad avenger known throughout Europe, Asia and parts of Melbourne as “Gaudoin” (French accent applied). You’re one hell of a bass player Mr. Suave, cool, schooled, calm and collected. I know that you’re going to be embarrassed but it’s a plain fact…Chicks dig you! All Danny and I could do is smirk…how the hell do you do it kid. You’re Gaudoin for god sake; you’re in a whole different league than the rest of us wallflowers. Well it was my pleasure to grace the stage with you and your magical powers your hipness.

Dan “Danny” Luttick – “Double trouble” and I don’t just mean his amazing double bass kicking ability, nope I’m talking about an incredible hard rock drummer with a strong willed bad ass personality. You mess with this youngster and you get the horns or a fistful of dynamite. When that jerk-off through a pint of ice cream at you from his 20th floor penthouse apartment in the Gold Coast (sorry for laughing) and it landed at your feet…man I thought you were going to get all nuclear on his ass. Danny boy you’re a superb drummer and I hail you for being no nonsense kind of blokey. You are truly one of the great ones, Virgil Donati would be proud of one of his best pupils. I recommend this cobber to the highest bidder.
-Norway-
Terje Kjørlaug – Thank you my brother for being a great band leader and putting Hayseed on hold to tour with the old rock star. You are a soulful guitar player along the lines of Hendrix, Paige and Clapton, I totally love the way you made those old Mr. Big songs come to life again with your blues rock twist. After two small tours with you I think I finally get your dry sense of humor as well…lol. Thanks to your girl Crystal for bringing us together and turning me on to the beautiful Reindeer in Oslo…hmmmm good…lol. You’re a great music writer T-man…Make me famous.
Morten Fredheim -I loved singing with you my friend, you have so much compassion in your voice and you are truly a star. If you ever want to do a new righteous brothers duo call me, we would slay ‘em in Vegas. Also many thanks for giving me a lesson in politics 101. With that green army stage shirt and the mouthful of political rhetoric; you’re like a cross between Che Guevara and Bo! Hey I would follow you anywhere el presidente. All kidding aside you’re a rock & soulful singer and good man.
PS. Kids you’ve got to hear this dude sing a song from Hayseed song called “Wings” (it is emotion in motion).
Remi Fagereng - I could do without the tobacco chew but I can’t get around it from the way you play the drums man. You have the kind of confidence on stage that I admire; you’re “in the pocket” as they say. Thanks for giving it your all and backing me up with your block rockin’ beats.
Endre Hareide- Cheers to a sweet kid and a fantastic bass player. I really hit it off with you junior; you have a great outlook on life and a wisdom way beyond your years. You are definitely living in the now and when and if “it” comes you’re not stressing about it. These are the good times in our lives thanks for showing me that Endre.
-Europe-
Fabio Cerrone- This dude is a brilliant guitarist; I have been blessed with the great ones and I lucked out with this guy. Right in the beginning of the last tour his wife was about to have a baby but Fabio took planes, trains and automobiles back and forth from Rome to wherever the hell we were on the road. He was definitely tired and burnt but he played with full force every night. He has his own instrumental Jazz rock trio called “Virtual Dream” they are unfreakin’ believable, check out his MySpace and listen to “New Dance” and “33.” He also plays with the hard rock & blues outfit “Twin Dragons.” I’ll be touring with them in April as a special guest. I’m looking forward to travelling in that beat up tour van again for 9 hours a day talking about life and laughing up a storm with my pal Fab.
Don Roxx- When I first laid eyes on this leather clad biker I thought he was the bands tour bus driver. Later I learn he owns one of the clubs that were playing at and much later I learn he’s the bass player of my new band. In the back of my head I’m thinking “Did somebody lose a bet here?” Anyway after one hell of a club tour of the back alleys of Italy I learn that this gentle giant (Ok…he’s not really a giant…more like a nice pit-bull) is a deep pocket hard driving groovin’ bass player with a sarcastic sense of humor. Oh yeah… we definitely hit it off!!
Salverio Federici- This youngster turned out to be a killer drummer with hands like hammers. “Bam-bam,” as I like to refer to him played solid and loud just like I like it. He’s a great kid too; a little serious from time to time but he’s got a good heart. It was kind of funny to watch him call his girlfriend every hour of the day, I think the rest of us were a little jealous..lol!!
Manuel Gatta- This awesome singer sounds exactly like somebody I know…uhm me, literally note for note with every gravely nuance, inflection and scream. It’s kind of scary. He’s the lead singer of a Mr. Big tribute band called “Raw like Sushi.” I was very fortunate to have Manuel sing backups with me in Italy. Cheers to a true gentleman from Folgia.
Scrap Metal- Mark Slaughter, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, Kelly Keagy, Joel Hoekstra, Christian Cullen and Paul Taylor: Pinch me am I dreaming? No baggage, no strings attached, no band meetings, just go out on the stage and do what you do and the prerequisite is to have fun? Whew…the ultimate dream gig.
Special thanks to all the people who put in countless hours of promotion and hard work into this thing I do and making it a big success in my eyes: Maharaja Kirit Pradyot Manikya Deb Burman (thanks again for bringing me to India), Jan Eric Salvensen, John and Sheila McNamara, Stefano Luciano, Zeke Clark, Andrew McNiece, Martin Perticone, and to my manager/babies mama, Denise Martin for dealing with the 2000 pound gorilla in the room.
Thanks to my other brothers and sisters- Matt, Monroe, Tal, Uriah, Allyson, Amber and April for being there for me in the USA.

E
Ps. If I forgot anybody you can scold the living shitake mushroom out of me and I’ll fix it quicker than you can say “Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit!”




Check this extra stuff that I’ve been doing:
v American Idol Encore – I sang “Sister Christian” and “I don’t wanna miss a thang” (I tried to do my old friends proud) for the newest video game.

v Singstar – choreography for the cover and video shoot. That’s my mic pose people!

v Station house benefit show - Video Here it was an amazing event for such a great cause. Airs on VH1 Easter Sunday.

v Fillmore – Sold Out – Thanks to everyone who helped sell out the Fillmore. Mark Slaughter and I are ready to rock…well with our acoustics!


v I was asked to pick my 5 favorite albums - Guitarhoo


v A little chat about Rock with these funny dudes- Red & Jerry’s rockin metal revival – hour 3

v Interview- Blast Magazine

v Also, very important, Denise is doing a marathon for Breast Cancer and needs your support to reach her team goal. This cause is near and dear to our hearts since both of our Mothers are survivors. Click here to help!

Pss. I had my first major geek moment last month when I met and performed with my Idol Paul Rogers in Arizona. I was asked to be a part of the Gridiron Greats charity benefit along with Joe Nichols, Nils Lofgren (Bruce Springsteen), Cowboy Troy (Big & Rich), the Jonny Gunn Band and Sir Paul Rogers. What an amazing experience, I got sing “All right now” with the great one. I brought my brother Dan; we both were completely blown out by the talent that night. 1 week later Steve Vai and I (We talked about that one big thing we had in common) presented an award at the Pollstar awards in Los Angeles and Paul was there presenting as well. You should have seen me, hell my wife saw me, she said she had never seen me geek out on anyone before in her life. Believe it or not I think I said “I love you man” to him, Whoa…. I think I talked his ear off all night long. When I came out of my hypnotic trance I thought I heard Paul’s wife Cynthia saying to Denise “He always gets that crazy reaction from singers”. Well I’m here to tell you; I have been to the mountains of India, pet Kangaroos in Australia, Explored the coliseum and the ancient ruins of Rome, braved the heat of South America and withstood the icy cold of Norway but I will never ever forget the wisdom and handshake or wash the hand that had to be pried out of Paul Rogers hand again.

What’s up gang,
So I finished the Australian tour on a screaming high note; A hot & sweaty, “Alive and Kickin” show in Sydney. Thanks to my new best friends all over OZ; you boys and girls know how to show this Californian a good time. So after that wild adventure and another 19 hour airplane flight, I went home to the Bay Area for 3 days to kiss the wife and kids. Now I’m in Argentina opening for my old compadre, Richie Kotzen. I just finished my set, I thought the boys (The Road Vultures; Christian, Charlie and Pablo) and I did a damn good job tonight…(hell the audience in Mar del Plata loved it so we must have rocked da house)!
RK and his band (Johnny Griparic (Bass) and Dan Potruch (Drums)) killed tonight. Man I forgot how great that kid is! This tour is going to be cool.
All right Gang it took about 5 hours to drive here on a tour bus (that were sharing with 15 other people…the opening act “Madison” , a couple crew dudes, promoters and what looks like a booster club..Lol) and we’ve got a 5 hour trek back to Buenos Aires. It’s about 2:30 in the morning and I figure we get back at….shit I don’t want to think about it.
(Meanwhile 6 F-ing hours later)
Ugh…..what a trip. That was a bus ride from hell….more like the Antarctica. That broke down, stripped gear smelling, Ice box of a bus barely made it back to the hotel. In a few hours RK and I have an in-store to attend and than it’s off to the next show. We are filming live tonight for a DVD so you kids better be on your best behavior…or not.
E
PS. I’ll get back to everyone soon.

G’ day gang,
I'm here in the land down under having a wonderful time rocking out for the great Aussie fans. I have had a few mishaps along the way (you know me boys and girls? I'm cursed). The airline lost my luggage (I eventually got it back), my in-ear monitors blew up before the show due to the Australian high voltage power (I've been pretty scratchy for a day or two), custom agent harassed me (they had me sing “To be with you” and we were all as one after that) and a dingo ate me baby….no….just kidding. After my first show in Adelaide, which was a hell of a lot of fun…(thanks to the fans for a goodtime), I stayed at the home of my promoter, John McNamara. I’m here to tell you it was unreal. John and his beautiful wife Sheila live way out in the country, about 3 hours from Melbourne, in a town called Clunes. It’s a ranch style house in the big sky country baby! You've got your sheep, hawks, kangaroos, koalas and no human around for miles. His Mum and Dad live about 10 or 15 minutes away on a bigger sky country ranch; an easy 15 acres that’s for sure. When you pull up to the gates and down this long driveway you see Kevin and Bonnie McNamara’s Dynasty/ Dallas looking mansion. They both train greyhound dogs for racing. They have this full size race track on the grounds it’s truly an awesome sight to see. This lovely hard working man has been doing this gig for 35 years and treats all the dogs like if they were his own. Their fed better than me at home….lol. Well after a few days of interviews, radio performances and kicking back in the country my new mates and I are off to Melbourne for another new adventure. I'm going to stop now because I'm typing in the car. I'll write more later.
~E~

Hello gang,

Remember me? Yup, it’s your friendly neighborhood rock and soul servant, daddy day care minion, lazy ass blogster and man about town (or should I say world traveler?). Yeah, yeah, yeah I know it’s been a long time.
I’ve been keeping a close eye on the web page and I’m sorry I’ve been incognito. No excuse…. uhm except it takes me all day and all night to type…I suck at it. I have been doing a lot of projects over the last year; benefits around the country, writing the never ending solo album ( I’ve always needed a good kick in the ass to get going), Scrap Metal gigs, Singing BG’s on a new Ted Nugent record (Amazing huh? Thanks Jack), singing on a new karaoke game, a handful of shows around the globe and learning to tango…nah just kidding. My big focus right now is my upcoming tour in Australia, South America, Europe, India and a more shows in North America. I’m calling the tour “Live down under, up and over, around the horn and back in the USA.” If all goes according to plan I’m going to have a goodtime and hopefully so will you. I do hear some talk about going back throughout Europe in December. Bring it on baby.

I had this Idea a few years ago on how to tour overseas and keep it cost effective and keep the music fresh. My manager (My baby’s mama Denise Martin) would call promoters all around the world and book shows 5 months in advance, find the best rock musicians or the most popular bands in the big cities and have them learn 18 to 20 of my tunes, send mp3’s back and forth and pray for the best. So far so great!! “The Road Vultures,” my Argentinean rock band, kick out the jams (I’m taking these boys to India). “Hayseed,” from Norway, play my set bluesy, ballsy and soulful. I‘m looking forward to working with my friend John McNamara and his outfit down in Australia (virgin territory for me). I have been working with some new musicians at home as well; some of you have met them already at my last couple shows. I would love to hear what you think of these guys and girls? You heard me…girls. Yeah I missed the soul singing so bad that I had to incorporate it back into my show. Cheers to Allyson, Amber and April for their angelic soul belting.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t love what I do and I couldn’t do it without you folks out there. I’ll miss all my fan/friends back home but I have been looking forward to this trip for years. I’ve been a weekend warrior for too long.

After Australia I’ll be traveling to South America to share the spotlight with my old MR. BIG band mate, Richie Kotzen. I haven’t seen the kid since 2002 but I have been following his career since the bands demise. Maybe after his bands set we can dust the cobwebs off of some of those old tunes we use to play together and give the fans more bang for their buck.

I just found out that a good friend and road crew member of my old band 415/ EMB has passed away.
Johnny Howard was our champion. He loved us so much and the feeling was mutual, we took that kid under our wings and made him an honorary member of the group. Johnny and his family lived right across the street from us in Novato, California and took care of the band. His father Paul is one of my oldest friends. It’s incredibly sad when a father has to bury his own son…my heart is heavy and I hurt deeply, my condolences to Kelly, and the family and friends of this young man with a heart of gold.

Before I say so long I want to thank my manager for all the hard work she did to make this tour happen. There are a lot of details that go into planning things like this, and it aint easy. I used to take it for granted when the big agencies would handle the tours back in the day; I didn’t know that there was a lot that goes into it. I thought you blew in a phone call, we show up and play the gig. I’m such an idiot sometimes. Denise took charge of everything at the home front with some great help of all of the promoters.

I love you babe, I won’t let you down.

~E~