Hey Bogie!

Hey Rhonda and everyone,
Thanks and it's great to be back home. I'll bring out a few copies of the MPD cd for you. It's pretty far from what Joe does but it is still really good. It's more of a hard rock kind of thing. Nice photo by the way, I'm glad someone got a shot of the Gong, what a beaut! The tour was great, lots of great fans and shows. We went to a few places I had never been before. Norway was breathtakingly beautiful. Italy was a amazing. I went swimming in the Mediterranean with Rick and Aaron. It was absolutely beautiful. Gina came over for 6 days, her first time to Italy and being part Italian it was really special for her. We ate the best food, played in the coolest places and met some wonderful people. My thanks to Joe for having me along on this grand ride of his. He's the best to work with. We really have a great group of guys out there. The band is by far the best I've been in, playing with Joe, Rick, and Senior Rojas is the kind of gig most people aspire to and I feel very fortunate to be in my position every night. Dave, Aaron and Jay, who is new and you will meet soon, are really great as well. Dave takes care of Joe, Carmine, and Rick and doesn't miss a thing, he's a true pro and I'm glad to call him my friend. Aaron takes care of me as well as all the merchandise(a beast of a job when a new cd is coming out) and I have never had an issue with my gear and as a result I get to play with the peace of mind that let's me really focus on the music. His sense of humor is also great and we keep each other laughing a lot. Jay is our new tour manager and front of house engineer and is phenomenal at both his jobs. The sound is great and we have gotten many compliments on it after the shows in Europe. He is basically in charge of ALL things logistical and the details. He does a great job and I look forward to getting to know him better on the coming tour. Above all else, the guys are great people, not just true professionals, but quality human beings and that cannot be overlooked. Again I look forward to seeing all of you in the fall and hope you are all doing well.

Bogie

bogie , we met at b.b. kings we talked about a tattoo you wanted to get and you told me about a dead show you went to with your brother in greenboro i was gonna make you a copy of the show and bring it to one of the shows i will be at it october but i forgot the year you said was it 1989 or 1990 . or was it a different year . let me know and i will hook you up with the show . thanks for the great shows and thanks for being a cool guy . if you want when you get out to long island i have my tattoo guy do a cool spiderman on you and it will be for free i will take care of the cost my payback to you for all the great music .joe

Welcome back Bogie to N.C. and glad the European tour went well.  Thanks for the update on the crew, the ones behind the scenes are a very important part of the band to make sure everything goes like it should.  My first Dead concert was in 1973 in Atlanta, it was something special to attend.   Look forward to seeing you guys soon, for sure in Raleigh and Richmond.

Deezer! You going to the show in Tulsa? We all gotta get together before the show and hang out! lol

~Rhonda

Hi Bogie,
Once a Dead Head always a Dead Head... I got turned onto the Dead at 17, around junior/ senior year in high school, in the summer when I met a long haired blonde/blue eyed Dead Head hippie-type, that was a cross between Leon Russell and Gregg Allman...He ONLY listened to the Dead and sometimes the Allman Brothers.  The dedicated Dead Heads are a culture all to themselves...If you never moved into Garcia's solo stuff, check out "Garcia", the first song is When The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game. My new minivan came with a Sirius satellite promo. Even though there is a jam station that plays alot of Dead, the Greatful Dead will soon have their own station. 

Enjoy your down time and see you guys in October!  It would be surreal to see a Bonamassa and band performance in Italy someday.  I yearn to go back there and check out more of the country.  I'm glad it was a positive experience for you & Gina.