GRAND RAPIDS, OMAHA AND MINNEAPOLIS...
Thanks for all the great shouts here, you brilliant to me bloggers. Please keep them coming, and if you haven't already, go and buy my cd, it's well worth it, and if you have got it already, please tell me what you think of it here. I know I've said this before, but I'm sure you understand.
Well, from Canada, I woke up in Grand Rapids, and a foot of snow, feeling a little better, I watched the Who show and was blown away by the amazing performance, truly breath taking. Then back to sleep on the bus, waking up in Omaha in Nebraska and a day off, I spent the whole day and night in my room, going out for a walk along the Missouri river, but it was really cold.
I felt massively emotion in my room, it was the day before my Rene's birthday, we spoke on the phone, but saying goodbye was breaking my heart, knowing that I was at the gig on her birthday and wouldn't be able to even talk to her, it was my worst day yet, but I managed to practice alot, which i'm not able to do on the bus at the moment because all the guy's are so busy working. We got to the gig the next day, although I didn't really sleep the previous night, and had a killer headache. Although I was given some great news, that there was a possibility that I could get a flight home just a couple of days early. This gave me strength, and I went out to watch the Who show. I could see that both Pete and Roger had got the dreaded flu, but battled on and performed a killer set, just watching the show tired me out completely, and I have the upmost respect for them, they are incredible, of course I new this before but I am just blown away every time.
Tonight, we are in Minneapolis, and have just returned from Rachel's Barnes & Noble gig, it was great to see Steve there, as well as bloggers, Brina and Elaine. Rachel performed brilliantly, the place was packed out, and Rachel and Pete signed cd's for loads of people. I'm in the bus feeling pretty tired, and want to be feeling my best for the gig tomorrow in Chicago. As for the songs I'm going to play, it's hard to please everybody, because I only have one guitar, and people are choosing songs in different tunings, so I may not please everybody, but am playing the songs I want to play, hope your all ok with that.
So, until tomorrow, hope everyone is good and well, hope to meet loads of you guy's at the gig, hope I play well, and please feel free to give me a shout (GMaS)...Still missing my darlin Rene as much as ever, but I'm going home really soon now, but I've had a great time here in the good old US of A, thanks people.
mikey
posted by musicmikey @ 3:20 am
51 Comments:
Me, first?
Wow, it's been a long time since this has happened.
As I said before, play whats in your heart. That is what matters. The audience can feel that.
It seemed that Plasticine was the favorite at Joe's. But, I loved MISERY. I loved em both. Maybe I am biased? But, that's what fans are...biased!!
I am sooooo thrilled for you to get to go home sooner than expected!
I just got home from a "ladies night out". And, well, I've been missed. But, I wanted to check in on my mail and the happenings in blogland!
Take care Mikey....good vibes for tomorrow!
I am going to buy some of your Invisible cds for my friend's college age kids...see where it goes from there!
All the best and good nightxo
Sue
Hi Mikey!
It was wonderful to spend good time talking with you at the Barnes and Noble gathering. I'll put the photo up at my blog tomorrow (too tired right now). The Who show was amazing. How can Roger even sing at all with bronchitis? Pete rose to the occasion and so did all of the band, and Roger too. I really have run out of words here.
I know you'll do brilliantly tomorrow in Chicago and then it's almost time to fly home. Travel safely and get some rest.
I'm really happy to have seen you.
Hugs,
Brina
Hi Mikey!
Yesterday during my lunch break I rested in my car and listened to your ep over and over.
I've been a bit down, but listening/singing to your cd really helped me feel better!
My fave is Misery, but I love the (quiet) riff in Invisible and you can feel your emotion in that one (well on all of them, but on that one I "get" your feeling - it's very subtle.
I think all the songs are gorgeous - you need a longer cd now!
I think I already told you what a bang up job Si did producing it (or did I tell him that? hmmm). I think Si is an awesome producer.
The arrangements are really lovely - but the production itself is perfect - not over the top and not too barebones either.
I likey. Still trying to figure out where he plays the sitar! Which song is it Mikey???
That's a very difficult instrument to play!
I will be SURE to buy some of your for friends. It may be too late for XMAS now...I am SO far behind on my shopping this year.
Just not feeling the spirit. (But I DO love buying/giving prezzies).
Well, have a great gig. Don't be too sad though- you're going home SOON!
I hope you DO get that early plane ride home Mikey!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Lots of love,
Sue the insomniac
xx
Hey Mikey!
It makes me sad when I hear that you are sooo sad!!! Hope that you are soon happy!
I'm a bit ill in the moment!
Have fun in the USA!
Love, Charly
Hi Mikey, won't be long now, home for the holidays, home to Rene. I'm sure your audience will understand song selections and logistics of on-stage tunings, this is why I write all my stuff in standard tunings. It was a blast meeting up with you in Los Angeles, we hope to visit the UK again, possibly next year. Take care of yourself, take Airborn if you are around sick people or traveling by plane, I swear by it, you can find it in any pharmacy. It basically keeps your immune system strong.
Hey Mikey,
I still need to get your cd, but I will see you tonight in Chicago! Can't wait to meet you and see you play again!
Ray
Hi Mikey!!!!
I am sooooooo excited about the show tonight! I am introducing ITA to my girlfriend tonight too. Martyr's is a favorite hang out of her's(Karen, everybody calls her Fish) Anyway, I am very sorry but we did not get M&G tix. My credit card is getting up there and it's just not a good idea for me to let that get out of control. Also, we charged the Grand Rapids tickets and hotel. I thought the GR show was great, Who------> shows are such a blast.
You are probably not planning to join the tour for the next leg UNLESS you find a way to have Rene with you. If there is another ITA show in Chicago, I'll miss seeing you play live. SO tonight will be so very special.
And PLAY whatever songs you want!!!!! I will clap and cheer! I take my role as audience very seriously!!! There would be no live music shows without the audience.
See you tonight!! I hope I can be in the front!!!
Cath
I hope you found Minneapolis to be quite nice and welcoming, and St. Paul as well.
How did you enjoy my best mates?
Britta Ruth and Amanda?
I'm glad they got to get a look backstage at least, next time when the number of people is straightned out I hope to meet you backstage sometime.
-Kendra S. (OXtheII)
I loved getting to meet you yesterday! I think you won my sister's heart forever by telling her the members of Def Leppard used the same touring bus you're using now.
I hope you blow them away at the gig tonight. Sending tons of positve vibes.
Oh yeah, I also let my sister listen to your EP and she thought it was really good. I'm going to have to order one for her now. :)
Hey Mikey,
Just wanted to thank you again for a incredible performance at Martyrs tonight! You sounded briliant also thanks for taking the time to chat and take a picture with me. Hope your travel home is safe and warm! Cheers
Hey Mikey!!
Well, only 1 more day and your back home. But these are the sacrifices of a road touring musician. Now, I think 2007 should be devoted to getting that career going and functioning to where you are making a full living out of it.
You can do it..
You have the technology
You have the talent
Go forward you young squire!
Elaine said...
I think you won my sister's heart forever by telling her the members of Def Leppard used the same touring bus you're using now.
haha, that's brilliant. def leppard was my first favorite band, and first concert. aw. :o)
so mikey, i'm betting your reunion with rene is going to be like a scene out of a movie. you know, you two running towards each other in slow motion, arms outstretched...
hope you had a great time while you were here in the states. have a safe trip home, and happy holidays to you and your fam. x
Hello Mikey! Its Amanda from the other night, the one in the red shirt and all that.
Friday night was the best night of my life, not just because of the Who, but because I got to meet you too! I hope your cough is getting better too!
Cheers!,
Amanda
Hi Mikey, I would like to hear your CD, so I will go and get it. let you know. Pretty soon you will be home and can wish Renee a happy birthday in person. I bet it will be great to b e home for the holidays. Enjoy the rest of your stay here, and travel home safe.
xx Grace
Mikey,
hope you got the earlier flight home! you rock! i hope you post some of your photos when you get a chance. happy holidays!
xxoo Laura in NY
Mikey
You played brilliantly at Martyr's. Hope your trip home went smoothly. We lucked out on our flight home - full plane but we managed to keep an extra seat in our row so we weren't too crowded. It was good talking to you again at Martyr's, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Cathy
Mikey,
Sully here...this is an amusing story. Read on:
Ambassadors to honor female WWII spy
By BEN NUCKOLS, AP
Sun Dec 10, 2:45 PM ET
BALTIMORE - In 1942, the Gestapo circulated posters offering a reward for the capture of "the woman with a limp. She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies and we must find and destroy her."
The dangerous woman was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore native working in France for British intelligence, and the limp was the result of an artificial leg. Her left leg had been amputated below the knee about a decade earlier after she stumbled and blasted her foot with a shotgun while hunting in Turkey.
The injury derailed Hall's dream of becoming a Foreign Service officer because the State Department wouldn't hire amputees, but it didn't prevent her from becoming one of the most celebrated spies of World War II.
On Tuesday, the French and British ambassadors plan to honor Hall, who died in 1982 at age 78, at a ceremony at the home of French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte in Washington.
British Ambassador Sir David Manning plans to present a certificate signed by King George VI to Hall's niece, Lorna Catling. Hall should have received the document in 1943, when she was made a member of the Order of the British Empire.
"I think it was ironic that the State Department turned her down because she was an amputee, and here she went on and did all this other stuff," said Catling, who lives in Baltimore. Catling said she didn't learn many of the details of her aunt's espionage career until after her death.
Hall, who was fluent in French, was living in Paris when the Nazis invaded in 1940, and she decamped for London, where she was recruited by the secret British paramilitary service, the Special Operations Executive, becoming its first female field operative.
Hall was sent to Lyon, becoming "the heartbeat" of the local French Resistance, said Judith L. Pearson, whose biography of Hall, "Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's First Female Spy," was published last year.
"Any agent from London came through her flat. She coordinated them with Resistance members," Pearson said. "Most agents only stayed about three months in the field. She stayed 15 months."
After the Gestapo wanted posters made her situation untenable, she fled through the Pyrenees mountains into Spain. During the journey, she sent a radio message to London, reporting that "Cuthbert" — her nickname for her prosthetic leg — was giving her trouble.
Her commanders didn't understand the reference, and their reply suggested the gravity of Hall's circumstances and her value to the Allied cause: "If Cuthbert troublesome eliminate him."
Back in London, she joined the American Office of Strategic Services — the precursor to the CIA — and returned to France in 1944, disguised as an elderly peasant. She located parachute drop zones where money and weapons could be passed to Resistance fighters and later coordinated guerrilla warfare. Her teams destroyed bridges, derailed freight trains and killed scores of German soldiers.
"I would certainly put her name in the pantheon of people who distinguished themselves in intelligence," said Peter Earnest, executive director of the International Spy Museum in Washington, which has an exhibit devoted to Hall.
Hall maintained her cloak of secrecy after the war. The certificate that went with her British OBE medal sat in a vault for more than 50 years because the British government was unable to track her down.
In the meantime, OSS chief William Donovan had presented Hall with a Distinguished Service Medal in September 1945 during a private ceremony in his office that was witnessed only by Hall's mother. She was the only civilian woman to win the medal for service in World War II.
In 1950 she married French-born OSS agent Paul Goillot. She took a job with the CIA in 1951 and retired in 1966, living out her days with her husband on a farm in Barnesville.
"She would talk about books and she was very into animals and things like that. But work, no. There was a big wall about anything like that," Catling said. "She always seemed kind of glamorous and mysterious."
On the rare occasions that Hall told war stories, they weren't particularly harrowing.
"One time she said she and Paul found a deserted chateau, and they discovered a whole wine cellar," Catling said. "They had a wonderful evening enjoying that."
##
Hi Mikey,
Glad to see you are having fun on your tour. Bet it will great to be home for a bit. Hope to catch one or more of your shows. Been really busy myself and haven't had much time to blog.
Peace, love and light to you and yours,
Kid ric
Hi Mikey,
think the time is comming and you are back in England to see your Rene and your familie and friends.
Wish you a safe flight.
Take care.
Best wishes from me to you.
Love and peace
Stefan
Hi Mikey!
Tausha here, I just wanted to say that it was so lovely to meet you in Chicago!!! You were very cool, even in the brief time I got to chat with you:) I hope to see everyone again soon, would love to catch up a bit more. I felt right at home when visiting in the room, and I thank all of you for that:) The only problem was I didn't want to leave, I wanted to chat forever!!
Take care & Have a safe trip home:)
Regards,
Tausha
Hi Mikey,
Hope the Chicago gig was enjoyable for you. I'm glad to hear you might be heading home early ... perhaps you are on your way? (It's Monday already).
Safe travels and a happy reunion with Rene! And all the best for a wonderful Christmas. You deserve it after your long, amazing journey!
- Chris Capp
Hi Mikey!
Have some lovely pics of you, and the ones with you and Karel turned out the best. Just leave me a note on where to email them to for you. Will post the one of Karel tomorrow on my blog.
Hope you are overcoming your jet lag! Happy Holidays!
xx-Molly
Hi Mikey!
Are you still on your honeymoon?
:)
jk!
hope you and rene are well and happy!
bye!
Love,
Sue
psst...suesjoy...i think there is "do not distrub sign" somewhere around here....
Hi Mikey & Rene...have a lovely holiday time...I'll be back to wish you a Merry!
xo
Sue
Mikey
Check out the picture on my blog of us. It's great!
Merry Christmas.
dAve
all good things to both of you, mikey & rene – i wish you both happiness and success in 2007.
paul.
Mikey & Rene,
Happy Xmas
Merry Next Year
the CD rocks!
keep pluggin!
AE.
Hi Mikey,,
I wish you and your familiy
a Merry and Peaceful Christmas
and a wonderful New Year.
All the best
Love and peace
Stefan
PS. I hope you feel good back in old England
Hi Mikey,
Hope you and Rene have a Happy Holidays and a Rockin' New Year!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Christmas Mikey!!!
SteveH
Hi Mikey and Rene,
Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of happy New Years.
Peace, love and light,
Ric
Merry Christmas, Mikey!
From all of us here, at Allen's Garage, and both of homes & families in Southern California.
--Dan L.
Merry Happy Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to both Mikey and your Rene down in Southend Essex.
From Melissa,Gary,Kayleigh and Joshua Hurley from Loughton Essex.
Merry Christmas Mikey!
Holaaaaa,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Mikey!!!!!!!!!! Have a great time!!
Love,
Elena
XXXXXX
Hi Mikey!
Just wanted to stop by and wish you well during the holidays. I hope 2007 brings you everything you dream of. I will be there to cheer you on, as we all will!
Much Love,
-Natalie
Dear Mikey
The skiing/snowboarding has been outstanding so far this year and the season has only just begun!!
My hopes are that you and Rene have a most happy and contented 2007!
Love
Dale
Best wishes for a happy new year to you both Mikey and Rene.
happy next year mikey!
elroy
Hey Mikey!
First: Happy New Year!!!
Why do you don't write at your blog??? I miss you in blogland!!!
Love, Charly
Happy New Year!!!
Hope it's your best one yet!!
Cath:-)
Hi Mickey,
A HAPPY NEW YEAR to you.
I hope you feel good.
Were are you??????????????????????
Are you comming back??????????????
Take care.
Love and peace
Stefan
Hi Mikey:
I sure hope that you and Rene are enjoying your break and time together... I am hopeful that I will see you again on the '07 leg of the tour, I am sure you will be performing so I can't wait for an ITA gig, better get to see Simon this time in NY as well!!!
Here's to a huge success in '07 and many more beautiful songs that come from the 'burning in yer belly!' All my best wishes to the two of you...
-Lin B.
Happy New Year Mikey!
Hi Mikey,
Happy 2007! Hope you had a happy holiday reunion with your honey -- absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all!
When you have a second, I'm sure many of us would love to hear an update on what you've been up to.
Meanwhile, all the best for a great new year!
Cheers,
Chris Capp
i miss mikey!
Sorry about the snow in GR! And, well, you're home...where your heart is.
Was just checking in. Saw nothing here and figure that's the best sign. No news is good news.
I feel like I should whisper.
whispering,
-ginab
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