Berkeley, California 18 September, 2015
Yesterday was a day off in Santa Monica. I spent most of it in bed although my old friend Jim Silvers came over in the late afternoon. Jim was the very first guitar student I had when I moved to Los Angeles and he's also the first artist I ever produced a record on, two in fact. Both are still available having been reissued by Bear Family Records. It was great catching up and we ended up having a remarkable Cuban dinner at Versailles in Culver City, a fabulous restaurant. I was back at the hotel and in bed again before 8 o'clock. Whatever crud has got hold of me, it’s not fun and is in no hurry to let go. It’s settled in my chest which is good because that means it's on the way out. What’s really making things difficult is how washed out and tired I am.
I’ve been taking Lemsip several nights running and if you’ve ever tried to drink a Lemsip running you know how difficult that can be. I’m ready to offer up my assessment. Lemsip is a powdered potion that dissolves in boiling water and then drunk. The active ingredient is 1000 mgs. of Paracetamol (Yanks, think Tylenol) followed by a shit load of chemicals. There is no flavour in the natural world that tastes like Lemsip. I can best describe it as a hot, vulgar parody of lemonade that tastes like it’s been laced with iodine and riddled with aspartame the worst fake sweetener known to man. It leaves a foul taste in your mouth, feeling in your stomach and memory in your brain. It is like drinking hot chemical run off that has been made vaguely potable with imitation lemon flavouring and everything else. Now, here’s my theory on how Lemsip actually achieves it’s results, which it does. You drink a cup of it and go to bed. During the night your body goes into extreme overdrive to repair whatever it is that drove you to take a Lemsip in the first place…… just so it is not subjected to a second dose of it. My British wife howled with recognition when I told her our tour manager fished out a crumpled packet of Lemsip and told me to take it. Please don't think I'm ungrateful, Lemsip saved my ass after that show in Salt Lake and into the following days. You know? I'm just sayin......
It was an early afternoon flight to the Oakland airport with some delicious sushi for lunch. We arrived and drove to one of our favourite gigs, The Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Everybody involved with the Theatre is top drawer, friendly and helpful… the catering’s always good too.
Our friend and brilliant keyboard player John Barlow Jarvis and his girlfriend Linda were with us for dinner tonight at the venue. Glenn Worf and I did more recording sessions in Nashville with John than you could shake a stick at. A couple of years ago he made a change in his life, sold out of Nashville and relocated to Lake Tahoe where he and Linda seem happy as clams. If you’ve listened to a country record made in Nashville the last 25 years, there’s a good chance John is playing piano or organ on it. Great to see John again.
Nigel Hitchcock is back with us for the rest of the North American run. Great having him playing again with us.
It was a sold out 8,500+ show and you couldn’t ask for a better audience or setting. We had a ball playing and the crowd had a good time as well. At the end, even with the ear monitors securely in, the crowd was deafening. I could actually feel the air vibrating with the cheering. We love the Berkeley Greek.
A runner back to LA and we play LA tomorrow.
So long,
Richard