Woolley Bridge, Anyone?

Hey Soul Mates,

here are some more "From L.A. With Love" exclusives. This first one, (me, seated on the pavement, Doug leaning on the Magic Peugeot) is from our first day in the UK. After flying for 14 hours then driving for nearly 2 hours, on the odd side of the road, my knee gave out. We arrived at our equipment pickup point and I sort of spilled out of the car.

Photo by Molly Gordon.

Our host booker Hayley and her family recommended that we drive from Sheffield through the peaks to take a very scenic route to Liverpool. No kidding. I don't think any of us had seen that much green before. At the bottom of the peaks was Glossop/Woolley Bridge. The Spring Tavern should definitely be on the official RHS fan tour of the UK.




After lunch, Bryan and I went to see the Woolley Bridge. That's me video taping Bry at the Equestrian Crossing. As we had no horses, we hoofed it on foot.




Preceding photos by Patty Tokahuta.

In current RHS news, we have just viewed our new music video. As mentioned here a few months ago, animator Andrew Ste. Marie began work on our latest in December. And I laugh out loud every time I watch it. Rush Hour Soul are a cartoon!!! You're going to love it. I won't give away the plot, but in it we perform Fall Out with a profound effect on world leaders! The video will debut in a few weeks, obviously once the track for Fall Out is finished. Thanks for the hard work, Drew!

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend all. And a big transatlantic shout out to the folks at IPO Liverpool this weekend. Wish we were there, but we'll be back soon.
Love, Power, Peace

From L.A. With Love: One Year On

Hey Soul Mates,

It was one whole year ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.

Last year on May 24, Rush Hour Soul departed from LAX to begin our tour of the UK. It was a journey none of us will forget. In fact, I had a long conversation with Doug about it last night. We miss simple things, like green hillsides, Twinings Everyday tea, Starmix. But most of all we miss our fans in Great Britain.

Our current work is going to help us return in style. The work continues on the recordings. Our co-producer Adam Marsland has been adding lots of tasteful keyboard parts and editing. As I've mentioned before, mixing begins in earnest in two weeks. Just in time to split the difference between Doug and Bryan's birthdays!

So to commemorate and to get everyone in the right frame of mind for our return in Autumn, here are some never before seen photos from our tour. "From L.A. With Love!" I will endeavor to post some everyday during the next two weeks. This is from our first night in the UK in beautiful downtown Sheffield. It was exciting. All of us beating back jetlag to play the D 'n R Live for an appreciative crowd in our debut. Unforgettable.

All photos by Patty Tokahuta.

Thanks to everyone who helped us on the tour. You know who you are. We will see you in a few months!

Have a great day, y'all.
Love, Power, Peace

Hello, Dali! (Now with 50% More Photos)

Hola, Soul Mates,

I'm feeling very jet lagged. Just got back from Espana. Catalunya and Andalucia to be more precise. I even learned Catalan (jo parlo catala, amics) and spoke it in broken fashion to amused natives. But wait, here's proof...

It's me at the Dali Teatro-Museu in Figueres on Salvador's birthday. The place is more funhouse than museum. This objet d'art was hidden in a stairwell. I call it "The Crowned Peacock Dreams of Genie."



Dali lived here. He's buried here. I'm being idiotic here. Genuflecting or posing? Felicitats, Salvador! It was his birthday and I was the only one celebrating. And yes, I did sing "Happy Birthday" to him.



Another installation that defies explanation. But it's got a real crocodile and a real light bulb and artificial limbs involved. What's not to like?



Seems like every town in Catalonia has some sort of memorial to John Lennon. This sign had fallen off (no, I did not keep it), so it made for a good prop. I'm not sure what the Lennon connection is... His second book was A Spaniard in the Works; he wrote Strawberry Fields Forever in Spain...



Here's the kid at the famous cafe, El 4 Gats in Barcelona. In Picasso's favorite seat. I made that part up. I will say that the folks at the Picasso museum are completely uptight. Not like the Dali staff who seem to encourage picture taking and merriment.



I also got to see the one of sport's greatest Ronaldhino score a goal in person at the FC Barcelona v. Betis draw a week ago. The match was equalised in the 89th minute. Very exciting, but not the result I was hoping for.

The food and people in Spain are awesome. Made a good friend, Don Alfonso Fenes, in Sevilla at Bar Campanario. His cook does a mean Patates Roquefort. And there is nothing like sangria at siesta on a Saharan afternoon, journaling and listening to the cathedral bells.



Watched the Sevilla futbol team make its triumphant parade into Plaza San Francisco after winning the UEFA cup final. That was mayhem and 50,000 Sevillistas fiesta-ing well past midnight.



It was nice taking some time away from Los Angeles with the better half. Hope you didn't miss me too much. I managed to NOT think about music the entire time. Wasn't until the flight home that I started mulling over things.

When I got back to the office our official invite for IPO LA had arrived. I'm pleased to announce that we've been given the plum spot of the festival. Saturday Aug. 4 at 9 pm at the Knitting Factory. Which means the show is for all ages. Mark your calendars.

We'll be going back to the studio for mixing in another week. More sleep! More sleep.
Love, Power, Peace