On the next day it seems like all the guys went out Christmas shopping. Joe went to the Diesel store in the Beverly Center looking for clothes for his sons. Steven was out and about in Beverly Hills. After a day of shopping Joe went out to dinner with Ross at a sushi restaurant near our hotel. Looks like Ross has something planned next week for Joe with one of his buddies. I will keep you posted on that.
Thursday the guys blew the roof off of the old Forum. The band has played here many times. A lot of guys from other bands were in attendance such as Billy Duffy from the Cult, Bruce Kulick from KISS, some Skid Row guys and up and coming rocker John Mayer. Joe again joined KISS for "Strutter." It's scary because he looked way to comfortable in those 7 Inch leather heels.
After the show Steven, Tom and Joey headed over to Russ Irwin's house in the hills for an after show bash. Tommy Thayer from KISS was there along with Paul McCartney side man Brian Ray and jewelry designer Loree Rodkin .
After a well deserved day off on Friday the guys put a fork in the tour of the Summer/Fall. I remember someone telling me last April that the word on the street was that these two mega bands with mega egos won't make it past 3 shows before sparks would fly and we ain't talking pyro here. Well, 60 some odd shows later and it looked like they could go on for 60 more.
After the Fresno show both bands jumped on their jets and headed home. KISS with Russ Irwin along for the ride took the 45 minute flight back to Los Angeles while the rest of us flew 5 hours back east to cooler climates.
After Christmas some of the guys took a little time off. Steven and family went to the Bahamas while Tom and Joey will head to Florida. Joe spent a very cold windy afternoon rooting the New England Patriots on in their last regular season home game against The Buffalo Bills on Dec. 27th. Joe hung out in the Parking lot with all 4 of his sons and BBQ'd every kind of meat you could think of before the game. Who said these guys were vegetarians?
Hopefully the Patriots will still be playing when the guys head off to Houston later this month.
It looks like the band will take another week off and then put all their energy into making 2004 a year you won't forget. Look for an appearance at The 2004 Super Bowl, a brand new record, a tour that will take them all across the US/Canada and Japan and that's just the start.
See you all soon!
John B.
Photos 1 & 2 by John Bionelli
Photo 3 by Garrett Schaefer
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