Just found out I have a ticket to the AFL Grand Final and that INXS are performing the opener - sweet! Who'd like a tweet during the match?

On another note I see from today tourists to the US have to pay a new $14 tax which is to pay for marketing the US as a tourist destination ... WTF?

Have a great time at Chickenfoot peeps!! Reports please.

Its our turn for a tour Joe!!

Sad to hear that about MP. I wouldn't call myself a huge DT fan, but I enjoy quite a bit of their stuff. Especially fond of LTE.. I suppose a person is bound to get burned out of about anything if you do it long enough without letting up.

Anyway- what are thoughts about Kenny Wayne Shepherd around here? I saw him on the last EH tour and really enjoyed his sound and style, but he was playing Hendrix material. I was thinking about pre-ordering his LIVE! In Chicago album, but wasn't sure what the general feeling about his original material was.

Change in plans on the Tahoe trip- Still leaving tomorrow, but only driving to Winnemucca, NV. That's exactly half way to Lake Tahoe from here, and I got a nice hotel room for $50. We were hoping to leave a little earlier and drive the whole trip in one day, but 5 hours will be plenty. Should arrive early afternoon on Friday..

I just finished reading the long (10-page) thread on Mike Portnoy's forum. To say I'm shocked is an understatement. A few things:

- I think MP will be back eventually.
- MP is free to do what he wants, but if he ends up joining Avenged Sevenfold full-time it's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
- In a weird way, I'm now REALLY looking forward to what Dream Theater's next album and tour will be like. MP is one of my favorite drummers, but in recent years I feel the band has become a bit predictable. So DT is losing a key member, but I think it'll really shake things up and allow the band to be truly progressive for the first time in a while.
- My first and last (for now) DT shows with MP were at the same venue in Concord, CA...8/11/02 and 6/20/10. The first song and the last song I heard were the same: Pull Me Under.
- Possible replacement drummers: Rod Morgenstein? Virgil Donati? Mike Mangini?

And on KWS, I'd start with his studio albums before you get into any live stuff. You'll be good with any of his first three albums. His second album, Trouble Is..., might be the best place to start (and it includes a Hendrix cover).

I think my favorite album is his debut, Ledbetter Heights. The production quality isn't as good, but I think the playing is more diverse...he stretches out beyond typical blues (Deja Voodoo, Aberdeen, and Riverside sound like songs from three completely different bands).

His third, Live On, includes covers of two of my favorite songs (Them Changes, by Buddy Miles and played by Hendrix, and Oh Well, the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac song)...but I don't think the album as a whole is as strong as either of the first two.

Avoid his fourth album (The Place You're In), at least in the beginning. It's more of a rock thing, and KWS sings most of the songs instead of Noah Hunt. The whole album has a different vibe.

Dear Joe, my name is Paolo Sburlati, I live in Italy.

My friend Mario Fasciano, drummer and composer in Napoli, is about to record another solo album and would like u to participate to it recordin on a couple tracks. One would b a Tarantella written by Italian historical composer Gioacchino Rossini in 1740 and arranged by Mario and one would b a kinda Tarantella written by Mario himself.

Many international artists will appear on his album as usual. In the past he recorded with Rick Wakeman, Ian Paice, Don Airey, Steve Morse, Rob Townsend, Steve Hackett and others. Check Mario's websites:

http://www.myspace.com/mariofasciano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsAqdgHtqoQ http://www.self.it/ita/details.php?nb=8021939306928

Would u b available to work with him and if yes how much would b ur request?

Thx for reading.

Later,

PAOLO SBURLATI

Hi satchland. Summer's end.

Hope all is ok. Me, after a broken finger in beginning of august (lumberjacking job), i do a shy coming back into small home studio.

Scorp'floyd

Reading the comments around the web, DT fans are going retarded on the whole MP issue. He's still a drummer, still gonna hear him play somewhere, and DT is gonna have to now deal with the decision THEY made. He just wanted a break, so why not take one? IMO, they fucked up hard, so now they'll get a new drummer and clog on. Mike will be free to do whatever his heart desires. I know for a fact that MP is one of the hardest working drummers out there. Like Joe, music just oozes from his soul. For people to say it's the worst day of their life and be angry at A7X...well that's just very scary, and I'm not even gonna say out loud what I'm hoping and praying NEVER happens again when a band splits. MP is totally gutted, and extremely sad about his decision, but it's his life and he has to do what he has to do. That silver lining is that we have 25 years worth of Dream Theater WITH MP to listen to whenever we want. The band isn't gone, they're just moving in a different direction.

Anyways, on to other things :-)

New Sully Erna solo cd coming out on Tuesday! WOOT!!!

New Joe in 4 weeks! The free download of Light Years Away is killer!

Let's bounce!!

Hope everyone has a blast with Chickenfoot!! Take plenty of pics and video please!! Make sure to get some T2J group shots too! We love all you crazies that drive umteen hours to get to a show. lol! Hope the crowd is good too!

And look how much fun this song is when you take out the ugly and put in the pretty! lmao! Hi 5 ally-wally!

Thx Mark.

zenfish cool keep me posted :)

Grampy - that's the very first thing I thought of when I read the news... of the very, very few people who could even attempt to play Chad's stuff Portnoy would be near the top of the short list. He loves playing "weird" (other peoples') stuff like that anyways, could be a perfect fit?

On a side note, I've never been able to enjoy DT, I've tried and tried and tried, I love all the members individually (except for that wanker singer) but the vocals just turn me completely off. Jebus knows I LOVE Petrucci's playing. I even saw them here live in the Summer opening for Maiden, it was great (except for that wanker of a singer).

Good luck to Portnoy... he is one helluva monster of a drummer!

smooches,
» Phył