So as I dive in with stories from the UK trip, today I'd like to discuss my favorite "musician" experience. Now, granted, the whole trip was musical in nature, but some of the memories are more about the audiences, crowd responses, equipment issues, adventures with the guys off stage, tea and biscuts, etc. Today is about the sheer "cool musician vibe" experience. We did a show in a Nothern town called Bolton. We played it last trip as well. This time we played at a place called The Gypsy's Tent. A local soul group, Checkmate, played the bill too. Great guys, cool band. At the end of our set, I invited them up for a big jam. We covered The Stones "Sympathy For The Devil". The coolest part was that we had a trumpet player throughout. Cole is a very nice guy and a hell of a musician. Great soul singer too. Anyway, the solo sounded like John Mellencamp's "Love and Happiness". It was bad (that's bad meaning good not bad meaning bad, brother). It was just such a cool vibe. It's those moments when I'm really glad I'm not just a singer but that I play an instrument. That give and take among the musicians just winging it is awsome. You're just playing off each other, hangin' on for dear life. Yeah, it was cool. The trumpet really makes it stand out in my mind. When you're in a rock and roll band, you don't taste too much trumpet. I love playing Paul Shafer during those big jams, calling out to whoever is going to step out next. It's very "musician", very basic to what I've been doing since I was 15, sitting there at the foot of my bed learning chords. With all the planes and photos and this and that and an interview here and there, it's good to come back home sometimes. Take care. Later, Butch