Hi there everyone! I’m back from my 5-week road trip in the States with BTBF and trying to settle back into some sort of routine on the Isle of Man … after 24 years of living in the UK that’s no small task. It also happens to be TT week and they’re pulling all the stops out in celebration of it’s centenary year; so there’s plenty happening on the Island. It’s got to be 22 years since I was last here for TT … things have changed somewhat. I always loved the atmosphere and even back then it was great for Rock’n’Roll gigs … me and the Dansettes used to whip up a storm!
	This year there’s a 10,000 seater Big Top erected in Peel and a huge list of Famous Acts and Bands gracing us with their performing presence over the next 2 weeks. Last night was the first show and our very own Back Door Slam (much more of which later ) were the opening act for The Who! What a fabulous night it was.
“Our” boys were absolutely brilliant and got a very excited and appreciative response from the 6,500 strong audience … they were even asked to open for The Who again in Ireland at the end of June, which they (obviously) would have if they weren't already on their way to America for another tour … hurrah! So … there’s a great deal happening right now and my heads still swimming with all the sights and sounds we took in over the last five weeks. I thought I’d better write now in an attempt to outwit my appalling memory. Bob’s actually been away for 2 months, touring with Corinne (Bailey Rae) and her band who were supporting John Legend all over the States and I met up with him for their last 2 shows. Prior to that I spent 2 weeks in LA spending time with friends mostly and meeting up with Bill and Lois Straw of Blix Street Records, to talk through possibilities for our pop/soul project.

Bill 'Blix' Straw	Bob with Lois 'Blix' Gerard at the Bel Air Hotel

My trip over from the Island started on Friday 20th of April and turned into a bit of a marathon, taking 27hours from start to finish. Waking up to Californian sunshine and only being a stone’s throw away from the Pacific Ocean more than made up for it. I spent the first 4 days at a hotel in Santa Monica, allowing myself a bit of space to get over jet lag and quietly acclimatise – it worked: by the time I had to interact with real people, I was almost human!

I was staying on Broadway and Second Street, right round the corner from Third Street Prom … a lively avenue of funky shops and restaurants with an endless stream of colourful characters parading by; a great source of idle entertainment. I took myself off each morning for a fast walk/slow trot along the beach – my “get fit” regime still hanging in there – I may have successfully inured my ageing body into a healthy habit at last. Hurrah. Bill Straw picked me up on Monday morning and we drove off to meet potential producers and later on he took me to Northridge where friends of Bob and I, Nelly and Jeff Neben live with their 3 gorgeous kids: Jacob, Hannah and Danni. I spent the next five days in their delightful and exuberant company. Bill and Lois took me to dinner one night and when they dropped me back after, they came in to say good night to Jeff and Nelly … and stayed well over an hour! They took to each other quickly and easily; it was great to witness the beginning of a new friendship. Hurrah for friends liking one another.
	Funky Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica

On another night Nelly and I had a girlie evening and enjoyed ourselves immensely … eating fabulous Argentinean food and trawling the sultry streets of northern LA checking out various interesting neighbourhoods, finishing with hot peppermint tea and cookies at a roadside café strung with white fairy lights – not exactly rock’n’roll. I loved it all.

My second week, though equally enjoyable, was in complete contrast to the first. I stayed with my good friend Gary Stewart in his gorgeous Batchelor pad in Santa Monica, just round the corner from the world famous McCabe’s Guitar Shop.

The restaurant has been run and owned by the same people for over thirty years and is an amazing place; stuffed to the rafters with all sorts of “German” artefacts. The place is dimly lit by huge circular wrought iron chandeliers, which looked ready to pull the low ceiling down around us – they must have each weighed a ton. We were shown to a circular red leatherette covered booth, walking passed an enormous wooden banquet-style table complete with dummy sat at one end in full plated armour! Tres camp!

Our waitress for the evening was a tall, wide German momma (her phrase) with stereotypical plaited braids atop her broad unsmiling face, who was part and parcel of the establishment. After pouring glasses of iced water for each of us she showed us the menu – by that I mean: there was just one and she waved it in our general direction, saying that there were only 3 items available: Chicken Cordon Bleu, salmon (there was only one piece!) or German sausage. She promptly left us to our deliberations and came back 10 minutes later to take our order saying: “Tell momma vhat you vant”. It was all so deeply incongruous and alarming we couldn’t help but fall in love with her and the entire experience.

The food was great as was the company of course and when it came time to pay the bill Gary left a very generous tip. Our delighted server came bouncing back to the table (I feared for the chandeliers all over again!) when she realised and clasped Gary to her ample bosom expressing her joy in no uncertain terms – planting several big kisses on his surprised forehead. A sight that will stay with me forever!

Gary had to fly out to the East coast mid week and left me in charge of Suzie – actually the other way round – and I enjoyed a couple of warm, sunny days on my own before flying off to New Orleans to meet Bob. We’d been apart 5 weeks at this point - the longest time since we met in 2000! We’d missed each other ridiculously at times and were both excited at being reunited! New Orleans was sultry, as you’d expect and as different to LA as chalk and cheese. I loved it. Bob’s beautiful bouncy self was a delight to behold once again and we walked all over the garden and French quarters in search of dinner while catching up on all we’d been doing the past five weeks. It was lovely. Hurrah. (pic right - BTBF and CC - 'Are we having fun yet?')
	We got a taxi out to Tippitina’s for 9pm where Corinne was due to play her own show with the band. I’d actually played the same venue 15 years ago and remembered it fondly. I also remembered the tiny audience – and I don’t mean Thumbelina or Tom Thumb! Corinne’s show was completely sold out weeks in advance and a huge queue snaked down the street waiting patiently to get in as we drove up. The whole show was videoed- ostensibly as archive footage for the venue but if you dig deep enough on youtube I bet you’ll find some of it! She and the band were awesome and the audience fantastic; they sang along with every song off the album word for word, phrase for phrase though she managed to shake them off a couple of times with some brilliant spontaneous vocal variations. 'Till it Happens to You' … one of my favourite songs … was simply amazing. Hurrah for talented people!
CBR at Tipitina's New Orleans

The other exciting thing about this night was that I got to travel to Memphis (our next port of call) on the tour bus with Bob and the technical crew. Now when I say tour bus I don’t mean a transit van. Oh no! They travel in style; leather interior, fridge, loo, 12 bunks, DVD, TV, blah blah blah – it was fabulous- not the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had but a great experience.

We woke up next to the Mississippi river, sun blazing high in the sky – more of this please. This is where we met up with Back Door Slam – also affectionately referred to as “our boys”. BDS consist of Davy Knowles, guitar and vocals (and some!), Adam Jones bass and Ross Doyle drums. I’ve mentioned them before on my diary page but for those who don’t know about them check out their fabulous website: www.backdoorslam.com. This would be the beginning of their first US tour and they were nervous but more than ready for the experience. It turned out that Memphis was ready too! They had four standing ovations during the set – now that’s what I call getting a good response. I was sooo proud.

'Our Boys' Ross, Davy and Adam (Back Door Slam) by the Mississippi

Bob and I picked up a hire car the next day and while Corinne and the band headed for home we headed back to New Orleans and another BDS gig, this time in the French Quarter. Though only a few people came to this show, the reaction was fantastic and more importantly the promoters were excited and want them back as soon as possible. Hurrah. The following morning I took Bob to the Café Du Monde for a “must have” New Orleans experience: a breakfast of French coffee and Beignets (fresh French square doughnuts!) – yum. Then back on the road towards Houston Texas where BDS were playing next day. On our way out of town we drove through some of the still devastated parts of the city – a sobering sight.

Enticed off the main highway for lunch, by a sign reading Cajun Village, we ended up at a very strange collection of rickety old buildings housing various arty shops and a down-home café where we sampled local Louisiana fare – gumbo and rice’n’beans- and where Bob found his next “big thing” ….

Cajun Village Food!		The French Quarter		Bob's concerned about his new artist's attitude

There was an arrow with “Alligator” in bold whitewash, which we tentatively followed and found ourselves facing a still but very much alive reptile! Oh and some lovely dragonflies...

The Real Deal!		Ooo a real Cajun DragonFly!		New Orleans

The next few days were a Texan extravaganza as we drove from Houston to Austin and Dallas supporting “our boys” as they wowed everyone with their brand of Blues Rock (Bob’s invented a genre for them: Back to the future Blues!), their own songs going down just as well as well-known tracks – I’m a fan! As if you couldn’t tell …

On Saturday May 12 th Bob and I said goodbye to BDS and the crew (including our great friend Dave Armstrong at Running Media) and set off for an 8 day driving adventure making our way first to Amarillo – no one knew when we asked for directions, if sweet Marie was still there! Pic left: Back Door Slam play Dallas House of Blues Pic right: Go for it Davy!

The number of songs that come readily to mind when looking at a map of the States is ridiculous – and believe me we sang ‘em all! Bob was particularly impressed when we saw our first “Historic Route 66” sign … and in fact at every sign thereafter … and there were loads. He even downloaded the lyrics to the song to plot out our route towards LA where we would eventually end up on Monday May 21 st. We had four days at a natural hot spring spa in Ojo Caliente New Mexico arriving there on Monday 14 th after a night in Santa Fe – one of my favourite places.

A very camp St Francis outside Santa Fe Cathederal!		Rio Grande 2,800 feet below...		The road goes on and on

It’s a fantastic drive as the scenery gradually becomes more and more recognisable through countless Cowboy films. Bob was, in turns, Hop-along Cassidy, Kit Carson and Chief Sitting Bull as well as the Lone Ranger and Jim Bowie … not sure who I was, Hiawatha? Annie Oakley? Whoever the changing scenery invoked it all felt wonderful- do you think we had fun? You betcha! As well as enjoying the hot spring and sloshing ourselves in mud each day, we also drove out and explored the high desert countryside from Ojo (pronounced Oh-Ho) to Taos, crossing the impressive Gorge Bridge over the Rio Grande several times. We also drove through the Kit Carson National Forest one afternoon which reminded us very much of Scotland … there were still patches of snow on the ground in places and some breath taking views.

A Route 66 Sign - WOW!		Cowboy Country		Big strides in the snow - in shorts!

On the other side of the forest making our way back to Ojo Caliente, the scenery changed back into high desert with startling escarpments in bands of deep reds and yellows … beautiful. We stopped off at the Ghost Ranch where the great artist Georgia O’Keefe used to live – being there made me want to be an artist too – the landscape is so inspirational. Each day around 4 or 5 O’clock the sky bruised into a deep charcoal grey and rumbled with thunder and lightening – very dramatic and exciting – we loved it!

Our Adventure Vehicle		Ghost Ranch...

Eventually we had to move on but we’ll definitely be going back. We drove through New Mexico into Arizona, stopping one night near Monument valley and on towards the Grand Canyon. Neither of us had been here before and were simply amazed by the immensity of this staggering geological wonder. We both took many photos – look, see!

Grand Canyon		It's really big!!		It's still really big!!
Having fun! Guess where?? :0)			Thar be critters in them thar hills!
CC inside the Canyon watch tower   the painted walls of the Canyon watch tower

We stayed in Kingman Arizona that night … another tick on the Route 66 lyrics!

Bob had a yearning to see the Joshua Tree National park in California – another musical legendary place: U2/Gram Parsons - and our last stop before LA. For anyone who’s never been there or only seen pictures – as with the Grand Canyon – being in this astonishing landscape is a wholly different matter. For one thing the temperature outside our air-conditioned vehicle was a blistering 102 degrees! Walking around the weird and wonderful composite-granite boulders, which make up a large part of the landscape there, is like walking through some Alien world. Drop into that strangeness a myriad of crazy looking Joshua Trees and that world is even more strange. We’d love to go back on a moonlit night and add the stars to that amazing mix.

A Joshua Boulder - making a fist of it		Joshua Tree Bob!		Joshua Tree Me!
Bouldering Bob   Ahh look, a dear!

And so we approached LA; after our exciting road adventure it seemed almost tame in comparison – a different kind of wildness exists here of course – the urban undercurrent et al. We stayed in Santa Monica the first part of the week and moved up to West Hollywood when the band came into town – at the Hyatt on Sunset Strip no less … scene of many a Rock’n’Roll myth – allegedly!

Monument Valley en route to LA		The 'monuments' on display getting closer to LA...

During the first part of the week, through some quirk of fate, Bob had been invited to a private screening of an up an coming movie (how Hollywood!!)) and I was able to go too, along with our wonderful friend John Pleeter… it was all very exciting and we loved the film but if I tell you what it’s called … I’ll have to kill you! Doh! On another night while still in Santa Monica, Bill and Lois took us to the Bel Air Hotel for a fabulous meal. It’s a particularly classy place complete with a swan lake and lush tropical gardens – tres nice. We were having a very pleasant time when I inadvertently knocked my glass of water (full!) and in the process broke a wine glass (empty … phew!) … My mum was right – you can’t take me anywhere! Apart from that small incident, it was a delightful evening. On the way back to the hotel Bob decided to drive the full length of Sunset Boulevard right down to the Ocean – lovely.

Once we were ensconced at the Hyatt, the pace of life sped back up in keeping with the boy’s Rock’n’Roll schedule. Their first gig was at the Hotel Café only a mile or so from where we were all staying. It was mostly an invited audience of press and influential bods. The band played brilliantly and won the normally hard-to-please LA crowd over easily. Hurrah.

'Our Boys' outside Viper Room just before their gig		Having dinner with the Slam
While they were packing away their gear I had chance to talk to a few of the excited punters. It turned out that half a dozen of them, all cartoon animators, had worked on a special project on the Isle of Man for a year - and been to see BDS play often! They couldn’t believe it when they saw their gig advertised in LA! True life is stranger than fiction. And so to our final night and Back Door Slam’s last gig on their first US tour. They played the Viper rooms on Sunset Strip … a mere walk away from the hotel …
				Davy - future legend! (pic L.Cohen)

Bob and I strolled over to meet friends at the Rainbow Diner – another infamous Rock’n”Roll establishment. We got to the gig while the previous band were still playing … this was a mistake! The noise level – and I mean noise – was passed deafening! My entire body revolted, I could only stand 2 seconds before running back outside in fear my molecules would leave me in a puddle on the floor… please say it’s not my age! BDS made a fantastic sound – loud but not molecularly challenging – and once again won the young and basically “cool” crowd over, leaving them wanting more. Hurrah. They are poised for world domination! Back-to–the-future-Blues is where it’s at. Do go and check their web site out: www.backdoorslam.com. Thanks!

We’re all now safely back on the Isle of Man and slowly getting back to normal – whatever that is. The boys did a charity gig here on Saturday night at the wonderful Gaiety Theatre in Douglas. I was invited to sing with them – ah. We did “Guilty”, “Love me Like a Man” and “ Bring it on Home” a song Davy really wanted to have a go at so I obliged! It was great fun playing to a packed house full of friends, family and fans.

Tom Norrell of Blix Street records came over for the event and spent the next day with the Running Media team i.e.: Bob, Dave Armstrong and Christy DeHaven – and me! It was one of those perfect days on the Island … clear blue skies, warm gentle breezes and oodles of sunshine. We ended up eventually driving around the whole Island, stopping off at Smeal beach on the northwest coast for a delicious picnic lunch. It was like being in a Famous Five adventure!

Peel harbour		Cool shades boys!		Rock scrambling at The Sound
Running Media talent scouting party!		Rock scrambling in Peel		Looking for skimmers at Smeal
Its a long way down!		Scary chasms		I'm a seagull, says Bob!

After Smeal we dropped in to say hi to my mum and dad in Kirk Michael and then onto Peel for an ice cream and a walk around the castle – scrambling across the rocks. From there we made our way down to the Sound at the very south tip of the Island for more rock scrambling and our final stop was at Spanish Head and the very scary Chasms – a place I’d never been before! It was a perfect day and a brilliant reminder of just how beautiful my Homeland is … it really is great to be back.

It’ll be September before I do another diary but as promised at the beginning of the year, there’ll be a new live video up on site every 6 weeks or so … so please keep checking in. Thanks again for stopping by I really appreciate it.

Byeeee for now and … I hope to see you out there … soon!

Much love

Christine xx

PS: This picture (below) was taken from the hill above Cregneash Village and shows Bradda Head in Port Erin. My sister, Diane told me an extraordinary thing about this scene. Can you see the head of a sleeping Giant resting on the water? When you do it’s quite startling! Hurrah. XX

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