PAUL GILBERT GIG

Got to the Astoria at 4pm, funny enough two of the guys next to me were two that were next to me last time! I was 5th in line! The doors opened at 7 and there I was at the front again, stood talking to a couple of the VIPers...boo hoo...only 6 allowed and they got o jam with him and everything...but anyway the support act was very brave, just a guy and his acoustic guitar...his legs were shaking big time...but he was pretty good.

I thought was going to be disappointed without Mikey playing bass...but craig Martini was brilliant..soooo animated...he had the whole band rocking, he was duelling with Pauls guitar and he was like something from busted the way hewas jumping about...he was great.

The great think is that this time it was a variety of stuff from lots of albums...Jeff Bowders (I cant believe he mailed me!) did an amazing drum solo on Jackhammer, Emi did quite a few solos too, she is amazing and of course Paul was just soooo relaxed, I mean they have been gigging 6 months solid, so he was improving all over the place...and of course because of Jimi's drummer dying he did a tribute..."Red House" of course...but he played with his teeth for ages!....Oh it was fantastic best gig ever been too!

anyway after the gig I was milling and this roadie grabs my hand with both of his and presses a pic that Paul had been playing with into my hands, then when I am upstairs getting a t-shirt, the girl in the booth says "Oh we saw you really rocking out and singing all the words at the front"...and she reaches down under the counter and gives me a pick as well.

So then I decided to wait out the back....there were quite a few at first but it took an hour for them all to come out, it was quite amazing to see how the roadies got everything into the back of a pretty small van...anyway the fans dwindled to about 8 in the end, including an american guy who used to have lessons with Paul just after the Mr Big stage. Craig Martini came out first and signed my "Yellow Matter Custard" cover, then Jeff so I asked him why he had worn the hard hats at joes concert, he said they just found them laying around so he thought he would wear them, so I said, "but why the different colours, blue then yellow then white"...."how did you kow that?" he said surprised, "well coz I was following the tour" I said "WOW!" he said, but he had his hands full so he said he would be right back...but when he emerged from the van there were quite a few people inbetween us, coz where they came out was a general exit too, so lots of drunks kept piing up the stairs, then spent 5 minutes getting the head round why were waiting out the back, anyway he pointed at me and smiled and then went round the other side of the van, round the other people and gave me a big hug and a kiss and signed for me...including the 2+2=4. The of course Paul....I asked him if he got my bag of individually twisted goodies..."oh yeah I got that at Cardiff" he said, then I told him about changing my name...he wowed and signed for me...oh wait...before I saw Paul...his tour manager, lee, the guy on the left of this picture

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2731366110084221824KGoUoD

he gave me a rolled up piece of paper and said "you were really rocking out at the front I think you deserve this...get Paul to sign it!"

Anyway....I didn't look at it coz this other fan was hassling me to see Paul coz his pen had gone dry, as he had stood there with the lid off for the whole hour and he wanted to borrow mine...so after I had talked to Paul the guy came up to me again and said "did you see what it was?" so I unfurled it....it was Pauls dressing room sign!....I gave lee a big hug...but I didn't have the cheek to ask Paul for another signature...may take it next time.

Next day was a wandering round london day....but with three embarrassments!

1. At the hotel, I decide I want a hot croissant, so put it in the toaster thing...but it gets stuck, coz at the front it looked big enough but if you bent down to look, after an inch it was half the width...so as I am getting it out the chef comes out and tells me they dont fit...yeah i know...give it to me and I will warm it for you...

he goes into the kitchen...then all this smoke starts pouring out of the toaster...and everyone in the eating area is staring at me....he comes back out...smoke still billowing..."Er...I think I broke it" i said hastily retreating to my seat with 50 eyes glaring into the back of me.

2. Half of the underground is closed for engineering work,....so the reamining tube trains are packed...I squeeze on one...but my backpack doesn't make it...so I am stuck with me in and my bag out, so this guy is trying to force the doors...they did open fortunately!

3. In a very very busy camden market...suddenly this girl is shouting and waving at me..."are these your jeans"...my back pack had come undone and my clothes strewn about the place...could have been worse she could have been shouting "are these your knickers!"

sigh...oh well...tis life...tis funny!

I just came across this in our local newspaper.

Man caught with penis in pasta jar

19/11/2008 A MAN caught near Nobbys Beach with his penis in a pasta sauce jar led police on a 20 kmh car chase, Newcastle Local Court heard yesterday.

Police drew their weapons when they suspected Keith Roy Weatherley, 46, was armed.

Instead, they found him partially clothed with his genitals in a jar, a police statement said.

Weatherley, of Promontory Way, North Arm Cove, attracted attention parked in a no-stopping zone before noon on October 26.

Police believed Weatherley was doing something with his hands in his lap and thought that he might have a weapon.

Weatherley saw the police and drove away, despite them flashing their lights.

The chase lasted five to 10 minutes, with a top speed of just 20 kmh, before Weatherley was stopped at Centenary Drive, Newcastle. He refused to leave the car.

Four officers used batons and capsicum spray to remove him.

They found a 750-millilitre jar around his penis and noted that Weatherley attempted to continue "pleasuring himself in between bouts of wrestling".

A search of his car uncovered pornography, a home-made sex aid, women's stockings and a Jack Russell terrier.

Weatherley pleaded guilty to offensive behaviour, resisting police and disobeying a police direction.

Magistrate Elaine Truscott asked Weatherley, who represented himself, why he behaved the way he did.

He said he resisted police because he was trying to make himself "decent".

slanshroom....The satch pedal for me is perfect for blues/rock. With the gain set a little over half way, I still get plenty of distortion. And the "more" switch acts like a second distortion channel for leads. Otherwise, with the gain set all the way to 10 the more switch is very subtle, almost un-noticable to me. But that may be because my hearing 'aint what it used to be after years of amplifier abuse.

It's COLD HERE!!!

So Joe (or a roadie) sets up his pedalboard before the show does he ever need to change the settings? and how does he do it? and also which pedal effects did he use to make surfing with the alien (2007CD)? I can never get that sound. >.<

Hows it going peeps..

Hi Michelle, Tracie, Cappy, mikesb, maritime, Igneousiceman, Slanshroom, Guitar77897, McKenna, SuperDave,..........If I left anyone out, please forgive me.

I AM STILL UNWELL!! My ears, nose, throat and sinuses feel like they are under attack by the meanest, nastiest bacteria on the planet!! Thank God, my supervisor at the library emphathized with me and said please come back when you are all better, rest up, and don't think about anything except getting well. But then she is the nicest, most thoughtful supervisor I have ever had. I'm hoping the antibiotics kick this nasty bug out of my system soon.

The United States of America is the wrong place to be chronically ill. Private insurance companies insist on charging more and more to patients who are already cash strapped. Patients are responsible for rising premiums, deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs. Employers are providing less medical and dental insurance benefits to their employees. Need I say more. This isn't just my experience with my Steve and me. Some of this info comes from the New York Times. As I quote from an editorial, "By contract, Dutch patients reported far more favorable experiences with their health care system, largely because the Netherlands provides universal coverage (through individual mandates and private health insurance), a strong primary care system and widespread use of electronic medical records. It should be possible to achieve the same level of performance here."

This is a source of great sadness to me.....as my Steve and I sink ever closer to bankruptcy!!

No wonder I was awake 4 times last night and coughing terribly! I am living with my back against a wall and I'm fighting demons of disease, suffering and trying to make a living at a library where people love and respect me for who I am. I greet a husband after work who may be as knackered as I am. Is this life sustainable? God help me.....God help us all.

Tracie, I want to rejoice with you and your Chris and McKenna. Please accept my weary good wishes at this time. In a few days, I hope I can express my good feelings to ya better.

Gotta go rest peeps....... I am sooo knackered!!

GG2 you left out DoTheStu and Blue-Moon HOW COULD YOU FORGET THOSE TWO!?!?!?!

Guitarman77897--My apologies for making a "old" person's mistake! DoTheStu--This board wouldn't be the same without you! How could I forget--sick old woman that I am! I didn't forget Blue_Moon whom I called by his last name--McKenna!

I'd like to get some rest now........later peeps.

slansh: superdave is right on with his description of the satchurator. blues it up very good and makes it just short of that super metal sound that annoys most humans.

Okay Super Dave, you WIN, lol!!! It's much colder where u are...here it keeps changing from about 37 to 43...psychotic weather!! But I'm cold anyway....I'd rather not have it plummet to -1 degree though, thank you VERY MUCH!

One of our days in San Fran, I think it was Sunday...it was like 80 degrees out and clear enough to see the bay from our hotel window. San Fran is a very fun town, lots to see and do, but I do so hate driving there, although Joe said a person gets used to it....I wonder how many years I'd hafta be there before tranquilizers wouldn't be necessary to drive down the street, lol!!

They were starting to put up Christmas decos on the store fronts too, very pretty. I bet it gets even better before it's all over.

Millie, thanks....I know I must have more to reply to but am still in my "am I really home, is it really over" mode....back at work and that SUX!!! lol.....I miss running around the streets of San Fran with my buds, even though by the end of the trip about the only thing Mckenna could say anymore is "I'm sick of the abyoose" and "Yer all CRAZY" (insert Irish accent here). I tot I was doing a fine impression of an Irish person but for some reason, he just kept shaking his head at me, lol!! And my son kept laughing every time he even looked at Mc....he's a funny guy without even trying!! I do hope he's willing to share his mug shot with everyone though, it's priceless.

So many things happened this trip, big and small and all precious, it's hard to even know where to start. Maybe I'll post a more coherant 'diary' later...but I guess the main thing is, we all survived, we had a kick-ass great time, almost no one got arrested, and we're all safe and sound....fer now.

I have definite thoughts about the ChickenPA tour though and plenty of time to make evil plans, LOL!!! Don't be skerred Joe....it's many months away yet :D

Yesterday my husband and I saw the CEO for General Motors on tv begging for MORE money to bail out the auto indusrty. Seems they didn't get enough with the initial 700 BILLION. They asked this dude if he was willing to take a pay cut to help out the industry. He says "I'm fine where I'm at" or something along those lines, and didn't even blink. GM and the American auto industry are saying they're going under, and it will be thousands of ppl out of jobs. Wanna know why? Cause asshole CEO's like this scab are making 9.5 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR and refuse to take a pay cut. I say fire the whole feckin' lot of those greedy bastards, and start fresh with new salary caps and new rules, and only hire people who are willing to do what's best for the companies, NOT what's best for themselves. It's time for the greed in corporate America to be put to an end.