DrumsOnTheWeb.com ... Artist Forum : Drummers Centerfold





New
DrumsOnTheWeb.com
Contests! ...

DrumsOnTheWeb.com - Your favorite music for drummers and percussionists!

Your chance to win FREE stuff!






Drummers Centerfold
Legend to Legend

Your favorite artists get the inside beat on some of their favorite artists!

... with Mike Botts
Fogelberg Tour 2003 - Epilogue

When I started this road journal, I had no idea how involved it would eventually become or how many lives would be touched and entertained by it. It was supposed to be just a few short installments but it slowly grew into a lengthy piece of personal literature that consumed many more hours than I had originally intended. It just seemed to grow exponentially -- the more I wrote the bigger it got. The installments increased in number and also in length as my memory banks began to empty on to the pages. Each time I started on a new chapter, more memories would come flooding into my mind and more paragraphs would be necessarily added to each successive installment.

As I began to write everything down I soon discovered that my mind had conveniently filtered out all but the best memories from the tour. These were the memories I would carry with me throughout my life. They were the memories that communicated the essence of that wonderful summer tour, the adventure of traveling across America on the land yacht, the camaraderie of the band and crew, the excitement of the performances and above all the music, the wonderful, wonderful music.

I'd forgotten about the hours of tedious boredom on those long bus rides and the endless packing and unpacking as we checked in to one hotel after another, going to bed after breakfast, eating breakfast for dinner and vice versa. I'd forgotten about the "lonely hours" when the concert's over and it's just you, alone in your hotel room with CNN, Letterman or Leno. And that awful backstage boredom after the sound check that was later interrupted by some brief moments of great excitement and sometimes-sheer panic on stage. All of it was just a necessary means to a beautiful end and I have to say it was all well worth it.

Would I do it again? You bet! In a New York minute! You know, in spite of all the uncertainties and difficulties of being a traveling musician, I wouldn't change a thing. I feel so fortunate to have had such a wonderful career in music and to do what I love more than anything else, play the drums. As far as I'm concerned it's always been a win, win situation for me. It's kind of like the old show biz saying; "Show business is a lot like sex, when it's good it's great and when it's bad... it's still pretty good!"

Last, I would like to thank all of you, the music fans, for your support and encouragement through the years. I've received so many kind and thoughtful E-mail messages from readers regarding the road journal and I'm sincerely glad that I was able to share a little bit of the behind the scenes stuff that happens on tour. I'd also like to thank all of you for the many times you had to brave bad weather and long drives, find a baby sitter, hassle for parking and wait in seemingly endless lines to see your favorite artists in concert. Without you, it would all collapse. So as long as you keep coming out to attend concerts, musical gypsies like us will probably continue to jump on the next available land yacht and perform wherever music fans will gather and listen.

Botts

www.mikebotts.com









Google