2 up in Norway, 1 in Finland

I thought London was expensive-- I obviously hadn't been to Norway before. My god! $14 beers and $100 dinners for 1! For some regular shit! But enough about that... Norway was perhaps one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Click the pics for the bigger versions- So nice!

From when we landed in Haugesund (sp?) to when we played in Skanovik (at the local yearly blues festival), the landscape and fjords and such were breathtaking. Got a few pics. Although there were people puking on the street in Cardiff, Wales, Norway takes the cake so far for the most drunks per capita. And many rude ones too. They did however love the band and filled the tent when we arrived. Apparantly, they love blues and not rock, with Whitesnake being their 1 exception. I do think we could've played jazz flute on stage and they wouldn't have known the difference though. I however wish I had taped the show, as I played my butt off! It was my best show playing-wise- going out on limbs and landing everything I intended to do. I love that and strive to make it so each time I play. Anyways, we did what we call a runner (again) where we run straight off stage to the vehicle- usually to beat festival traffic and get to a long drive ahead. I fucked around and was late to the van. Tommy tore my head off. I shouldn't have been late, but it was really 30 seconds. I'm just not that stressed on time like everyone- never have been. Everyone will survive! But out of respect for others I'm sure I can tighten it up a bit. I'm way more on my game than last tour, for sure! On a side note- I haven't laughed so hard in as long as I can remember.... Afrter going out for a few drinks, our driver, Solvi, piloted a bicycle we found that had flat tires, head first into an indoor pool at 3:30 am. Priceless! He's an Icelandic wonder. We also played in Oslo before flying to...

Helsinki, Finland... 3 days there. It turns out that my bassist friend I met at the Germany festival (Lauri Porra, from Stratavarious) lives a few blocks from our hotel and was in town for a day. We checked out his new apartment and played some bass ideas together. We're way similar in many aspects of our playing and careers. (check out his profile at http://www.myspace.com/lauriporra). We're both young bass whores with a main gig in older established bands. He gave me a lot of music, so I returned the favor with a dvd chock full of MY influences. The funk and rnb goodness, with some of my own stuff in there as well. One CD he gave me was Whitesnake Live: The Early Years. I had never heard the original "Here I Go Again" or "Fool For Your Lovin" before. Amazing playing! Melodic bass and Allman Bros. style guitars. "Like a Hobo" cracked me up! Thanks for the schoolin'!



We had dinner with his girlfriend- I had the RIBS- which were actually quite respectable (I got high standards comin' from the Baaaaay Errrrrria, CA) The show was huge- over 6,000 people, and it was our own show- not a festival. The opening band had 3 accordions and played old metal tunes. I love accordions, and am planning on getting one this year when I get home. One of our fans, Anya who had been emailing me for a while made the trip from Russia with two friends to see the show- what a great hang! They brought us as a gift, some fine Russian Vodka- I can't wait to crack it open! I'm waiting in an Airport right now, so maybe now's the time, no? Thanks Anya, Anastasia and my new St. Petersburg Tour Guide! And thanks to all the beautiful Finnish people who were so kind and welcoming.

Off to Czeck Rep.- Not Prague, but Brno.

Currently listening to: Joe Pass: Virtuoso