Stockholm, Sweden

The next place to conquer on the tour would be Stockholm, Sweden. We flew to Stockholm even though our poor bus drivers had to drive the rigs for 40 hours to catch up with us two days later. We had some time off to explore the area. It had some cool shopping and Viking history. Our friend from Universal Records and a great drummer who worked with me and Billy in L.A. some, Brady Blade, took us around the town. Brady is from Shreveport living in Stockholm. He led me to some cool vintage guitar shops, although I came up empty.

The venue in Stockholm had some great history. It was a cool old theatre, with plush walls and balconies and such. It reminded us of a place in Houston we used to play during the Tres Hombres days called Rockefellers. The show went great, although the stage was a bit small. We were amazed at how well the Swedish people understood and spoke English. A few days earlier, they informed us Bob Dylan had been here. The audience was somewhat subdued. Later upon asking, we were informed that it was customary for the Swedish people not to be as rowdy as we had encountered at other stops on the tour. Brady told me it was the first time he had seen an act get the people standing on their seats and singing along the way we had done. I thought this was awesome, since we were concerned that perhaps we had not excited them enough. As we got to the bus, our opinions changed; I signed autographs with Billy again this night, and met some great people backstage and at the bus.

Copenhagen Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark was the next stop on the tour. We arrived at the hotel around 8am after an all night ride. We got a little rest, in some tiny little rooms. It was a very nice hotel, but by far the smallest rooms on the tour. Luckily, we were not going to be in our rooms that long. Otherwise, the 6'4'' Big Daddy would have been considerably shorter in a day or two.

Billy did interviews all day. I went wandering around the town. The venue that night was a pretty cool place. The stage was compact but one of those "intimate settings" you hear artist speak of so often. We had a great show that night, and the band sort of clowned around a bit more than usual, just having some fun. After the show, I did some interviews with Billy and the press. They asked about us growing up in Arkansas. Arkansas must really seem like a strange place to all of them; actually, America seems so strange to them, yet they all long to be there. There seemed to be several musicians in the audience as I found myself talking more guitar tech shop than most places. We left the following morning for Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Holland

Next stop...Amsterdam, Holland. Different...you bet. Canals ran through this city like streets. I wandered around the town a bit during the afternoon. After scoring LWK a bear at the Hard Rock, I decided to find an internet café before heading back to the hotel to ready myself for sound check time. I sat down at the computer terminal issued to me to start catching up on my emails. To my right was a chick smoking hashish, very popular in this town, and to my left was a chick just toking a plain old joint. I failed to realize the potent impact of second hand smoke or toke this would give a wimp like me. After my hour at the computer inhaling the cybers, I paid my tab and walked out into the fresh air. It was here that I realized I was stoned on my ass and didn't know which way the hotel was. Although I was a bit late for the sound check, I managed to pull it all together for the show, and we had an awesome time. Billy had a little problem with a heckler this night, but, once the smoke cleared from the slammed microphone stand, and some stuff flying around the stage, the crowd booed the rude heckler completely out of the venue. We thought this was cool and it allowed us to carry on.

As with every other night, Billy introduced me to the people as his friend of 27 years, and that we had written If You Had A Soul together about people we thought didn't have a soul. This particular night, it seemed it meant a little more to us. The heckler interfered in a very somber story Billy was telling about Jimmy before we rallied through Island Avenue, and then on into If You Had A Soul. Since Billy and I are both pretty sensitive types, we sort of made sure that we were taking care of each other. Things could have gotten more out of hand here, but I think this night, everyone respected the friendship, the music, and the southern pride we always seem to reflect a little bit more. By the time we paid homage to our hero Johnny Cash with my arrangement of I Still Miss Someone, the crowd was ours, and we left them all singing along Hang on Sloopy to themselves as we left the stage. A party atmosphere and a great show, but I am sorry the drunken guy had to miss it.

Hamburg, Germany

A night off in Hamburg, Germany, I never really thought about that. Perhaps it was in our heads that the scenery around here still looked rather like a Cold War or something. Remembering the suffering and WW II pain was all around, including the huge bomb shelter, cold concrete buildings that still looked like left over war barracks. I am sure the people in Germany are over this, but for the first time visitor like us, it brought the same kind of American pride as visiting Pearl Harbor did to me.

Sort of bored, Billy and I actually took a cab ride to this place that was like an old amusement park. It was similar to the old Liberty Land in Memphis we had seen as kids. We walked around and people watched as we observed some Hamburg traditions. By this time on the tour, it was apparent that without our lovely wives, BBT and I would prefer to just stay on the stage. Days off were actually not as fun as show days.

The venue in Hamburg on this night was an old converted slaughter house. This is an eerie term in Germany for us Americans; however, this was a slaughter house as in a Rocky movie, or just an end of the road stop for a lot of cattle. I am not sure when it was converted, but the concrete walls, the grooved concrete floors (better run-off) were still obvious. The stage was small but cool, and the lighting was very apropos.

Concerned about the language barrier, we were a little hesitant. As usual though, we hit the stage running. Expecting a down audience, we were surprised at the total rocking atmosphere. We rocked through a great show. We returned for a hot little encore set and the Hamburg audience totally got us. They were still rocking when we left the stage.

It was rainy outside. The thought of the long bus ride to Milan was setting in. As we left for the rather long journey to where the bus was parked, we were surprised by a flock of fans and aggressive paparazzi I had not encountered before. Man, we were surrounded by security, and Billy, me, and the tour manager were escorted to the bus. Cameras flashing, questions being asked, not only to BBT, but me as well. Moments like these are when we know we made a statement on stage. BBT is used to the standard movie questions, but when they come after the show in this manner, while a bit scary, it does make you proud. Once we got on the bus, the dedicated fans were obliged with autographs until the last person left. We were worn out, time to unwind and take a trip to Italy.

Milan, Italy

We arrived in Milan late Sunday, with some time to go check out some of the scenery. Billy, me and BBT's security man, Mickey, certainly looked like tourists as we tried to hang out in the crowded food courts and shopping areas. As for Mickey, he became a very good friend to me on this tour. An official Brit, Mickey is a trip all on his own. However, his ability and knowledge of people is invaluable. He is the best at what he does I have ever seen. Some security personnel operate like bouncers in red-neck bars, actually starting more fights or problems than preventing them. Mickey operates more like a CIA agent, and you don't know he's there unless needed. Then its like unleashing a "British Bulldog".

On with the show. The little cozy theatre in Milan was one of the coolest venues on the tour. Again, concerned with the language barrier, we were not sure how it would be. The show was sold out well in advance and therefore we knew we would rock the house. We were informed before the show that an airline employee strike would prevent us from flying home from Milan, therefore, we would take an extra 18 hour bus ride to London after the show. Before this show, me, Mica, my fantastic guitar tech, Micro, and our lighting director Dirty Don, slipped across to a little Italian bar across the street. Yo-Big Daddy probably drank one too many of the Beer of the day.

Hitting the stage with a little buzz is not my norm, but it was a cool little afternoon in Milan. It was great to relax, laugh and cut up a little. Billy was attending to some Hollywood business back at the hotel. He arrived for a late sound check. The thing I remember about the show was the fact that the audience was very loud, but extremely nice. The stage had steps that lead down to the front row. The packed house, complete with balcony and all, was hot and sweaty with a roadhouse flare. You could certainly feel some Godfather type vibes, I am not sure if the vibes were from The Godfather, or The Godfather Part 2, but they were not from the Part 3 version.

This venue definitely would have had its share of opera presentations, and I think I might have seen a couple of "phantoms" floating across the ceiling as we performed. The crowd was thrilled when Billy went down on the steps during our encore and asked the first rows to come and sit with him. As I laid down the chops of our tribute to Johnny Cash on my version of I Still Miss Someone the lights were low, the encore was on course for a great finale. You could tell they dug the music, and not many of these folks had ever gotten an invitation to sit along side an Oscar winner while he sang a tune to them. After the show, I joined Billy in the interview area, and on to the autograph signing where a couple hundred folks were hanging around. It was in Milan that I think I was asked for the most photos and autographs. I stayed and chatted with people until time to leave for London. Everyone was left happy in Milan, and they got a great show. As for me, I was quite impressed with how nice the folks were and very pleased that they were probably the best audience on the tour. What a way to wrap up our little Euro-jam party.

I hope this personal journal of the journey has been somewhat enjoyable to you. This first class tour was something Billy and I had always wanted to do. We enjoyed every audience and every minute. Granted, some of the press as usual were a little obnoxious with some predictable tabloidal questions for Billy, we still had a major blast. As always, there were some personal moments, some great memories, and new friendships formed. Overall, it was just a rocking good time. We left it in the Red Zone and saturated every stage with some of that fine Southern tradition, loud and clear, and I think they knew the music was a serious thing with us. Goldie and me left for home the next day out of London. Time to check in on LWK and break before the U.S. dates. See you on the tour......stay tuned!

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