Impentris Record Release Concert – July 13th, 2012

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!! With the release of our debut album, “Approaching the Darkness”, we reclaimed our place in the San Diego Music Scene.  G.F.Y., Medius and ThEleventHour also appeared.  Here is a photo recap of the night at the Ramona Mainstage on July (Friday) 13th 2012.

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari.

When I was a child I never thought I’d grow up to be a time traveler. Being able to get into an air vessel and arrive in a different part of the world on a different day seemed impossible. Little did I know, I do it all the time now when crossing the international date line. I think when I landed in Dubai though, I must have landed in the distant future. The U.A.E. is the most space aged, futuristic place I have ever seen. The buildings, architecture, and man made islands were incredible. Everything looked straight out of a Star Wars movie.

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When we arrived to Dubai I was so jet lagged I could barely stand up in the customs line. They pulled me aside for what they called a random search. They went through all my bags and eventually found my medicine kit. The official called over his supervisor to interrogate me on how, why, and where I got the medicine. Why I had it and how I got it. All over a small bottle of Ibuprofen. I expressed that it was for minor headaches but they didn’t believe me. Then when they found the Sudafed severe cold and allergy antihistamines they just about threw me in a cell. I expressed it was simple over the counter medicine for mild symptoms. They eventually let me go when my boss came over to harass them on what they were doing and why they were holding me up. Thank goodness for him, because they let me go shortly after. I’m not sure if it was a random search, or if I just looked like a walking zombie after a 27-hour journey to get there.

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Our hotel was beautiful and had a very unique and different feel. Here’s a picture of the hotel the artist was staying at, taken just after the sun went down. The nightclub at the top reminded me of the starship enterpriselookout deck. It’s in the distance, behind the Porsche.

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There were so many amazing cars like this. I saw a brand new Bentley on my way from the airport. There were Ferraris, BMWs, and Lexuses all over the place. Lots of money everywhere. Some residences were more like a palace, with their own gates and guards. The journey to the venue was like Disney World, on the Autobahn, in the future. In this picture here, you can see where the freeway meets the desert, and where to get a Harley too, for when you’re not using the dirt bikes.

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During load-in there was a carpenter on the dock who was cutting metal pipes to size for the stage. He had no safety equipment on at all. As he was cutting into the metal, sparks were flying right into his face, and he had no safety protection of any kind. Occasionally he would look away but I couldn’t believe how confident he was to stare directly into the blade as the sparks and metal shards flew in every direction. I thought to myself, this guy is either brave or stupid, I’m leaning more towards stupid. He did a good job though. Here’s the stage just before the show, presented by Dudu Face.

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We had some time after finishing our load-in, so we headed over to the souk, just across the water. This market had a total Persian feel. It reminded me a lot of Disney’s Aladdin. All the dresses looked like something Jasmine would be wearing, and the buildings looked ideal for a quick getaway for an Aladdin style dine-and-ditch. I didn’t see any flying carpets, so instead I bought a mini hookah and a teapot that I rubbed a lot. No genie appeared, but I did get a blister. I walked around for hours, never really finding anything I liked. Got a few knickknacks and souvenirs though, and some cool pictures.

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I was able to barter with one guy, offering him only 20% of his offering price and he actually accepted. It’s not like that in a lot of places. In some countries you can bargain down to around half usually, in a market like this. This was definitely the lowest I’d ever negotiated anybody down though. The guy across the path wouldn’t bargain at all. I guess it depends on the person, the item, and the shop. And of course how much he likes the item and if he thinks he can sell it to someone else for more. Or maybe the guy just needed rent money, or a refill on his hookah.

The gig went smooth, even without the guitar tech, or any stagehands all day. Luckily there were 16 eager men after the show to load the gear though. Plus it only took about 30 minutes to tear down & 2 hours of waiting to get the gear into a truck, but it was a nice food break for all 17 of us. Later that night I was oil spotted for the first time, that’s when the only thing left from the ride is the oil on the pavement. Not because I was late, but because my supervisor was so tired and ready to go after a very long day. He actually left two of us behind, causing us loads of grief, and much wasted time to figure out a way to get back to the hotel, even though we were carrying our own luggage, the bosses wardrobe, and other staging equipment that night. What a drag, actually 3 drags, to get all the gear to the curb.  I’ll never forget that night, there are definitely pros and cons to every gig.

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Pictures of The Burj Khalifa skyscraper, a world-class destination and a magnificent centerpiece of Downtown Dubai. Dubai’s new urban masterpiece was featured in the recent release, Mission Impossible 3. At over 2,716.5 feet and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the record for the tallest building in the world, tallest free-standing structure in the world, highest number of stories in the world, highest occupied floor in the world, highest outdoor observation deck in the world, and tallest service elevator in the world.  The building was so tall I had a hard time getting it in one picture frame. We actually went inside and had drinks where we watched the largest fountain in the world and enjoyed the beautiful nightlife and weather. There were beautiful women in every direction, some of which I was informed were “working”. I must have missed that OSHA meeting that approved high heels and short skirts.

Here’s a video of the fountain show that would play every 15 minutes or so. It was very much like the Bellagio’s fountain show in Vegas. As the world’s largest performing fountain, the Dubai Fountain in Downtown Dubai has attracted over 47 million visitors since its launch in May 2009. The music accompanying the spectacle changes with each performance, from classical to contemporary styles. Set on the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake, the fountain shoots water jets as high as 500 ft, & is 900 ft long. I did however change the music to one of my songs. It is the featured track for the Tricknology Video Series, written, performed, & engineered entirely by me.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE DUBAI FOUNTAIN

If any real city on our planet can claim an active stake in creating the urban landscape of the future, it’s probably Dubai. There’s artificial islands arranged in the shape of the world The new arch bridge is one mile long and 670 feet tall, with 12 lanes for traffic, it carries more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. The people were very nice, and the sites were out of this world. This would definitely be an amazing place to revisit, but next time I’ll leave the Advil Cold & Sinus at home.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Tokyo, Japan – Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Four days off in Tokyo, Japan. All for a short radio show of only about 5 songs. I can’t explain how fun it was to get paid to party four days in a row, in such an awesome city. We would nap after dinner and start the night at about midnight. Heading toward Roppongi, we would bar hop until the sun came up. Check out this sweet Chevy bicycle I found, even though there were no Chevy automobiles.

Amidst the epic partying, I had to make time at least one day, to wake up at a decent hour and head over to the ESP custom shop. This was the coolest factory I have ever been to, even cooler than the Smith & Wesson gun factory. The people at ESP were amazing, and totally treated me like a rock star.

Norikazu Ishii totally hooked me up and gave me the grand tour. He showed me the entire process of building custom guitars at the ESP factory, and let me noodle on the display floor for hours. Check out these guitars, how amazing. The detail is incredible, like nothing I had ever seen before, and of course every single one of them played perfectly, like a custom ESP should.

This bass however, didn’t play so perfect for me. I didn’t even know what to do with all those strings. An 8 stringed bass, geez! You’d need three arms to play this thing!

Here’s the main man who works on fully custom pieces with tools and parts galore to fabricate anything imaginable from scratch. This guy does it all depending on the custom order.

Here is the custom paint and artwork department. This guy is working on a flame piece.  You can also see the dragon picture in front of him for the other order he’s working on.

The painting booth, where they spray base coats and layers of custom work, like the flame detail seen before. The smell in here is exactly what you’d expect, I kind of had a buzz just walking thorough this room.

Here are the custom necks in progress for the through-bodies and bolt-ons, as well as all the tools and sanding blocks for these beautiful maple and ebony necks. You can see the beautiful pearloide inlays on some necks hanging in the back, and the piles of blank wood blocks waiting to be sculpted into the next most amazing guitar you’ve ever played. One of the coolest days in my career. I learned so much that day, met so many cool people, and played so many beautiful axes.

The whole day reminded me of the first custom guitar I ever built with my dad at age 14. It was a Washburn Randy Rhodes style Flying V, and it was extra large compared to a standard Jackson. My dad and I convinced his friend to sell us an old body and neck for $40 and then with parts my dad had laying around we threw the guitar together in about 2 weeks. The final stage in the design was a formica laminate on the face of the guitar. It looked like real marble rock, detailed & epic. It was amazingly beautiful but it sounded a bit like cardboard. One day I threw it down in disgust and anger while rehearsing for a recording session. Later that night, after a recording session for some of the guitar solos for the Approaching the Darkness album, the guitar was stolen in a matter of seconds out of the back of the truck. While parked at a convenience store I lost it, and it changed my life forever. On that day I learned two very valuable lessons.

I realized you can’t stop crime but you can definitely help prevent it. Crime is opportunity and motivation. Seeing as I cannot change the motivation for those I haven’t met, the best thing to do is decrease opportunities. This has repeatedly proven to help me in life, all around the world. Secondly, this was my first real experience with what some might call “karma”. On that day I really began to appreciate the things I did have and tried to focus my efforts more towards a positive energy to myself, to others, and to the universe. I found myself happier. I grew more appreciation for my life and life’s opportunities. I began recycling more to help the planet, and being more kind to others. I still never found an old lady to help across the street though, but I’m young.

This is another guitar I built a few years after my Rhodes V got stolen. This one took a lot more work. It was a small cube of mahogany that I cut in fours, book matched, planed, and then shaped. To get the body shape I just free handed a drawing on a large brown grocery bag, cut it out and then used it as a template against the wood, and the basis for my free hand sculpture. This guitar came out amazing. Notice the rounded curves on everything making it very easy to hold and handle. The sharp head stock also looks totally wicked. This guitar is the lightest guitar I have ever played because its all mahogany with a small neck and headstock. The strap buttons were placed perfectly and make it very ergonomic to play. Plus the sound of the mahogany body and the EMG custom pickup set (SA, SA, 60) I installed, make this guitar sound perfect for so many uses. I even custom wired this guitar with push-pull volume pots that function as kill switches for the single coil pick ups. Allowing me to have a totally unique variety of tones. Including all three pickups, the neck and bridge pickup only, plus all the usual 3-way and 5-way toggle switch settings.

This guitar has a little tribute to the Flying V that was stolen. The back panel for the electronics cavity has the same marble formica finish as the Flying V. Check out the output jack placement, sort of a unique idea that worked out pretty well. It forces the cable to go through the strap, preventing any damage to the jack as well as not poking your leg while playing sitting down. You can also see in the last picture the push-pull pots and even the scalloped fretboard at the upper frets. I stole this idea from Yngwie Malmsteen. Its kind of cool but I only did it for a small section of the fretboard. It’s a lot harder than you might think to do a fretboard scalloping. Look how far the cut away is, it goes well beyond the fretboard. This allows super easy access, in conjunction with the scalloped frets, to shred in the upper register at ease.

Just before leaving ESP I stopped to shred for a bit on one axe that really caught my eye. A Randy Rhodes style V, custom 24 fret ebony wizard neck with a Floyd Rose bridge. This is the Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) custom model. This guitar played like butter, kinda oily and yellow. This picture of me was also used on the cover of the Miracosta College catalogue, published a few years ago. How funny and cool, that they used me as a symbol of success to attract new students. The irony was that there was a hole in my pants right in the crotch, that we had to Photoshop for the catalog cover picture. That actually showed a more true representation of the grueling road life, but we found it inappropriate for a college campus catalog. Even to this day when I go back to Miracosta, where I received 6 technical vocational degrees and certificates, people still recognize me from that picture. I guess I was one of the most aspiring students in the school, and it felt great to lead by example. Even with my holy pants.

Seeing as this was my first time having multiple days off in Tokyo, by the last day, I could barely find any food I could tolerate. Although there was some awesome sushi just down the street from where we stayed, there was also some horrible sushi. The markets were lined with fish heads and plastic food all through the window displays. I eventually caved in and went to McDonalds for something simple and familiar, little did I know that even their hamburgers had fish and wasabi in them. Pretty much everything on the menu had wasabi in it, but honey badger didn’t give a shit, he’s pretty badass. Got three breakfast sandwiches with only one napkin, slammed ‘em down, and went for one last journey.

This was a sight I saw as I came out of the subway after breakfast. Can you believe this is one road way intersection?! The cars came from about 6 directions and the people came from even more. It’s like the lights just went walk, and everybody did a square dance in whichever direction they chose, and then the cars had their turn. I guess it’s more effective and efficient for the people, but very few other cultures have that much patience. In NYC, they just pile drive right through the pedestrians, with very little regard.

The people of Japan were very respectful to their history and culture. Here is a beautiful temple I found at the top of a hill, near our hotel. Out of fear of being sliced & diced by a Samurai, I elected to not take pictures of any children. Although seeing the kids all dressed up for the special Holiday was amazing. All the three, five and seven year olds were all decked out as little Samurais & Geishas. That’s an awesome tradition; I would’ve loved to dress up like a ninja when I was that age. In fact, I just did it last Tuesday.

Growing up I spent a lot of time in Oregon with my father; I used to go up there for summer and winter while school was on break. One summer I decided to take courses at Oregon State University, even though I was only ten. The only University classes I’ve ever taken are drawing and origami. Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. “Ori” is the Japanese word for folding and “kami” is the Japanese word for paper. Origami began in China and spread to Japan during the sixth century. There was very little paper available so only the rich could afford to do paper folding. The Japanese found useful purposes for their origami, like gifts, decoration and food storage. For centuries the directions were taught to each generation and then handed down to the next. This form of art became part of the cultural heritage of the Japanese people. Check out this crane I did recently for fun, just to see if I still had the skills.  Got a little carried away though with the balloon, boat, and plane, it’s very therapeutic.

Japan is like nowhere else on earth, and if you can tolerate the food, it is an incredible experience. Even at 5’10”, which is considered the average height for an American male, I felt like a giant in Tokyo, towering over everyone in the streets. It seemed that myself and the other people in my group were the only non-Japanese people to be found in public. It made it very easy to find each other. Except there were often two of everyone, must have been the sake bombs.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Sydney, Australia – Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

The first sight I saw in the daytime in Sydney, a poor view of downtown from high up in the elevator window at the hotel. For some reason I expected it to look different, even though it was still amazing. We didn’t have much time in Sydney, so we immediately jumped in the van and headed to a $60 million mansion. This was easily the most epic home I’ve ever been in. As we pulled up I captured this picture of the bay, seen from his driveway. It’s a slightly better view than from the hotel.

Behind the house, six floors down at water level, is the marina and his private dock. I found a few moments to sit out and enjoy being so close to the water. Even the sky looked like never before. It was amazing that the weather was so similar to San Diego. I realized it is almost exactly as far from the equator, but on the other side of the poles. The sky and clouds looked so different to what you would see above America though. Europe also showcases amazingly beautiful skies that are far different than the Americas, somehow captured in many paintings from European artists, but this was certainly a unique sky as well.

Here is the private dock from his poolside view, overlooking the downtown area of Sydney. The Sydney Opera House can be seen just to the left of the arc on the bridge, in the center of the picture. This gig was for a charity event put on for the most successful realtors in Sydney, and the event was incredible. What was most amazing to me, was the six floors of the mansion, which could be reached by elevator. Each floor was an inspiring private residence, each uniquely themed. The floor designated for our group had its own gym, multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, and some of the most impressive sculptures and pieces of artwork I’ve ever seen. What I found especially cool was the “backstage” of the house, where the eight live-in workers had their personal residences, offices, security booths, storage areas, the kitchen, and so much more.

Even though we were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, I took the liberty of taking a picture of this couple chilling out in the backyard out by the marina. This metal work captures the beautiful, modern style that matched the inside of the house as well.

Here’s a picture of where the small event was held in his personal concert venue. There was an awesome sound system built right into the ceiling above the stage proscenium. It sounded great for the audience in the back of the room, but whoever designed the system didn’t realize that speakers vibrate when they run at high decibels. It made the whole lighting system rattle to an unacceptable noise level. Kinda like if you tried to measure the 0-60 mph acceleration of a grocery shopping cart. Center stage, it felt like an aircraft was about to land in this small hangar. Even with the technical oversights, this room was incredible. To the left was a full bar, behind the stage was his and her bathrooms that would make the Ritz Carlton look like a highway rest stop, and my favorite, the many incredible metal sculptures of various musicians all around the room.

I really wanted to go surfing while I was in Australia, but I never found the time. We were too far from any good waves on the days I was actually free. At one of our duller moments we actually tried to test the theory that water flows down a drain the opposite direction. We soon realized with the invention of most flushing systems, the water just does what the jets make it do. You have to actually use a body of water at rest, to see this experiment work correctly, and it was not nearly as exciting as we thought it might be. I did however learn that an Australian kiss is very similar to a French kiss, except one goes down under.

Even though we traveled Australia for about 10 days, I only took my camera out in Sydney, which is rare for me. We hit a lot of the big cities; Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne as well. Somebody mentioned the main city planner & architect for a lot of Australia’s bigger cities spent much of his time studying San Diego and Los Angeles, and modeled these cities after Southern California. I could totally  see the resemblance after growing up in Southern California my whole life. The weather was almost identical too, much like the coastal desert regions of so-cal.

I had an awesome Australian experience, even without kangaroos or koalas. Even though I always wanted to go to Australia and surf, I just couldn’t find the time. Nonetheless, Australia was amazing and I would love to go back again. The stereotypes about males being rude and females that love Americans, didn’t exactly prove to be true. There were a few rude waiters along the way, but generally they were all great people. I found it fascinating that the history of Australia was that of English criminals taken to the island rather than putting them through the prison system. Either way they sure know how to live off the land and manage all those crocodiles. Plus, have you seen Rugby, Ouch!

When I got home from that trip I went straight to the beach at home in Oceanside to catch some waves. Here’s a picture of one of my favorite surf spots, south of the pier. I’ve seen six-foot sharks caught off the pier here, and a jellyfish at a beach close by stung me.

That’s still like the kiddie pool compared to the great down under. I hope next time I get the full Crocodile Dundee experience, away from the major cities where I can catch some wild life and experience one of the largest uninhabited territories on the planet. I’m just a little worried about the deadly spiders, snakes, lizards, and kangaroos that can shoot a rifle in the dark.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light… But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

Amsterdam for the first time, an amazing experience. Right off the bus, I dropped my bags and went straight to the days adventure. Behind me is the Van Gogh museum, which was amazing. There were tons of exhibits on naval ship design and warfare, tons of awesome paintings, sculptures, and so much more. Of course, that was after having some “coffee” at the café. Surprisingly, it tasted nothing like American coffee.

After the museum I wondered around the area a little more, and found this chessboard. It seemed a little small to me, but they carried on anyway. These guys took too long to play though and it got boring fast. You can see the snow in the background, yet everyone’s still riding around on bicycles. It was great to be in the land of healthy, environmentally friendly people, but you gotta watch out, cause they will run you over in the blink of an eye with those basketed death cruisers. The trains are even more surprising, so you gotta move swiftly.

Here’s a view of the famous canals in Holland, right outside the gig in Amsterdam, which was actually a church. Even though it was freezing, it was such a beautiful day. The trees looked so naked, but that kinda comes with the territory. The canals of Amsterdam have been part of the city’s landscape since the early 14th century, but most of the canals were built during the 17th century, Amsterdam’s golden age. 90 islands and 1,280 bridges, all within the city limits. During winters when it’s cold enough, Amsterdam’s canals become all-natural ice-skating venues. That would be awesome to ice skate all over town.

I remember growing up, I would visit friends in Michigan where we would skate on the lakes during winter. You could go for miles, with epic scenery on every side. I also found myself playing hockey regularly right behind the house. It was great training for the college experience I expected to receive. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I ended up not taking my college scholarship to play hockey. Instead, I put all my efforts into my music career, and left the life of an athlete to the side. I often wonder what it would’ve been like if I had pursued my talents in hockey. They said I could have been the next Gretzky, but I didn’t want to get hurt and risk my dreams in music. So, I opted for some genuine schoolen and got really intelligenter at music stuff, to prepare for the reel world.

Here I am, about 15 feet in the air, looking down from the preachers post. The red eyes in the photo make me look a little demonic. How ironic to be at church with such evil eyes, I blame the coffee.

Here’s what happens when rock concerts take place in a church. The red lights and the white beams just looked so awesome and evil, I couldn’t resist the picture from the guitar tech land on stage right. This was a great show and a very unique venue, one I will never forget. The partying after was amazing too. We couldn’t help but hit the red light district after seeing so many other red lights in the church, it just seemed so enticing and appropriate.

As we wondered through the shopping district of women, I truly realized the difference in culture between America and Europe. That night, the women, and even some men, were just completely on display like a piece of fish, waiting to become sashimi. After seeing the transvestites and other scarier things that were barely human, we scuttled off to a few more bars to laugh about the beautiful and horrific sights in the infamous Red Light District. According to Sting, Roxanne didn’t have to turn on the red light. That seems like a great marketing strategy to me too, since all the other girls had red lights. Maybe blue or purple would look good, plus how creative and expressive.

I found this awesome painting in a sex museum, isn’t it bitchin! In 2001 prostitution became legal in Netherlands, the country widely known for its laid back attitude towards recreational drugs and sex for sale. State officials thought it was better to legalize marijuana & prostitution, and allow it to legally contribute taxes. Still waiting for that in the U.S., my guess is that would totally fix the deficit in no time.

I love Netherlands.  There is such a great vibe there.  They are amazingly nice people, and very intelligent. Another famous area in Netherlands I love visiting is The Hague, or Den Haag. When you pronounce the name of this city, you hold the last G for about 3 seconds.  Try it, Den Haahhgggggggg. This is the city of the annual North Sea Jazz Festival.

I really like the ship logo next to North Sea Jazz. It’s a trumpet with Viking sails. I remember asking one of the stagehands back stage, “why are all the women so beautiful here”. He replied, “You think the Vikings brought back any ugly women?!” Plus, I imagine riding bicycles everywhere doesn’t hurt their figures either.

Here you can see the busy streets of Den-haug with its many shops and lively culture. Notice the orange flags everywhere. It was summertime during the world cup held in South Africa in 2010, so the whole town was showing their spirit for their football team. Don’t dare call it soccer over there though. You’re bound to get either an earful of words, or an eyeful of fist.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME PERUSING THE STREETS OF DENHAUG

You can see a bit more festivities at the end of the shopping strip by the church where music lovers were packing the streets to catch the ska band on stage. As this video reaches the end you can see the beach in the distance. When I reached the sand I saw the familiar sight, as I realized, I’ve totally been there before.

Here’s a view of the beach, this time it wasn’t as windy, it was a much nicer day. Last time however, it was crazy windy, people were crashing kites left and right. At one point I saw somebody’s hat blowing down the beach. Check out the building at the end of the pier, it looks so futuristic and it was awesome to inspect all the architecture when we walked to the end of the pier.

As we headed back to the hotel for the next day’s journey, I realized if I was gonna ever move to Europe, this was one of my top choices. I’ve had some wild nights in Amsterdam and Den Haag! And I’ve had some scary experiences worth only doing once.  I must say, If you ever find time, you should visit. Just stay away from the donkey, dart, or banana shows.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands – Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

People are always asking me what is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, and I always have such a hard time deciding. I often end up saying home, San Diego. Which of course translated means a whale’s vagina, not to be confused with a dork, which is a whale’s penis. That’s what I thought until I came here, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Check out this astonishing view of the beach, from my hotel room balcony.

We arrived at night and couldn’t see the surroundings until sunrise. I knew it would be amazing from the leaflets at the airport, but I had no idea it would be so breathtaking. I could barely sleep and eventually woke up even though the sun wasn’t out, just to get ready for a swim at the beach as soon as the sun rose. The warm water was great, but it was a bit rocky. Here’s the beach just after my swim, and another awesome view from my hotel room.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME AFTER A SWIM IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA

After heading back to my room for a shower, I found these kitty cats. For some reason this resort had dozens of mildly domesticated felines living there on the grounds. The hotel was feeding them and there were cat toys all around. Stray dogs are totally common around the world, but it was nice to see such an abundance of pussies, cats gutter-brain!

Just before leaving for work, I ran over to the restaurant to capture a photo of the sunrise on the other side of the cove, where you could actually see the sun. Another breathtaking site. It looks like the best spot on the island to catch some surf too, never ending lefts and rights.

Even though there were major power problems on stage before the band arrived, we managed to fix all the electrical issues, set up the backline, and still had time to run down to the beach nearby to take more pictures. I ended up collecting handfuls of seashells, and sat here for about a half-hour enjoying the amazing colors in the water and the white sandy beaches, while watching the pelicans dive into the bay after fish.

(Ryan Huddleston Guitar Solo Live! Francisco Tarrega – Lagrima)

Here’s two of my favorite shots of the numerous critters I captured with my camera during sound check. It was a rare day that I wasn’t glued to the gear and computers. As the band rehearsed, I just wondered all over the venue, constantly chasing chasms of creepy crawly creatures.

After sound check, I hurried down to the same nearby beach to capture the sunset at the very last moment, with its amazing colors in the sky. Words cannot express the beauty, but these pictures come pretty close.

The humidity didn’t really hit me until around show time. As it got darker on that side of the island, the wetness became unbearable. Then when all the lights went to full capacity for the show, the bugs decided to join us.

This totally reminded me of when I was doing tech rehearsals and preproduction with Kelly Clarkson in Florida, which is not too far from St. Thomas. One night there were so many bugs onstage, and she caught the biggest one in the sky, right in her mouth. She totally flipped out and after spitting it out, she ended the rehearsal on the spot. Which was great, cause it was a long tech day and we all wanted to be at the hotel anyway. That was so comedic to see her dancing around with a giant bug in her mouth. We pretty much all experienced the same thing, but she definitely got it the worst. Here’s a picture of me back in those days on the breakout tour in 2006. This was me next to Cory Churko’s rig. He is one of the most amazingly talented musicians I’ve ever met or worked with, and possibly the nicest human on earth. I really miss working with him because he was so cool and inspiring. Just maybe I’ll see and work with him again next time Shania Twain goes back on the road. My fingers are crossed. Cory also had one of the coolest rigs I’ve ever had my hands on. You can see the violin and numerous guitars, that all fed through wirelessly into the Line-6 preamp, that had MIDI control coming from Pro Tools. The audio ran through Pro Tools, as well as his live, real time effects. His keyboard, percussion, and vocal mics all ran through the mic preamp, and then into Pro Tools, to be treated before summing and splitting to monitors and front of house. The Orange amplifier sounded awesome with the Gibson crushing through it. This was possibly the most integrated MIDI and audio setup I’ve ever seen. It was a great experience to help design, build, program, and operate.

Lucky for us the bugs in St. Thomas preferred lights over mouths, and I made it through the show with no dessert. It was a mad dash to get out of the venue and catch the wild safari jeep ride back to the hotel. I felt like Indiana Jones as we raced up the mountain in the open roofed ride, along the Cliffside, and wrong side of the road. All because the goats were too scared to walk the outside lane.

Ending a very long day in St. Thomas wrecked from the excursion, I went straight to sleep in my shoes. Some of the others however, decided to have a few drinks, even though we were only given about three hours to rest before we had to leave for the airport. Upon departing, some of the people in the entourage were literally falling asleep on the ground, on their suitcases, in the vehicles, in the lobby of the resort, at the airport terminal, and even at the restaurant where we had breakfast sandwiches. The good news is they told me no one even noticed the egg and cheese stuck to my face after my nap.

As we were leaving a huge hype went down because a playboy playmate was on the same flight as us. So we all had to go get a good look at that of course. She was stunning, even with those pesky clothes on. The flight out would have been amazing, if I wasn’t so tired. Almost everybody lost something or forgot something on that trip; cell phones, iPods, chargers, water treatment kits, bathing suits, and more.

Sometimes I forget how amazing my job is and the fact that I get paid to travel to places like this, all in the name of great music. There was so much natural beauty all around. I took like 800 pictures that day, of everything I could find, even the birds and bees. I had lots of extra time, cause I think I worked faster than ever before in my life. It was an amazing day, and I look forward to going back to the Virgin Islands someday soon.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Athens, Greece – The foundation for Western Culture. “When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

We left mid day on foot and headed up the hill towards the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. This was the first good view we had of the historic site, on the treacherous cliffs in the distance. You can see here where many of the homes and shops might have been hundreds of years ago. This was the Roman Capital, and an important cultural stewing pot. As usual you can see all of the construction work around the distant buildings. It’s my understanding that this saves them on taxes, I assume this is why it seems like every historic site around the world is always undergoing some sort of renovation.

This is one of the first structures we saw as we approached the path up the hill, this building was definitely in the best shape, compared to the surrounding areas. Even the green grass was different than the other areas. At closer inspection you could see bullet holes, spear holes, and other signs of warfare all around the buildings and surrounding gardens. It reminded me of  the structure in Nashville, which was built in 1897.

As we moved towards the museum I found a few pieces that were particularly intriguing. Especially this headless woman with her clothes falling off her missing hands, posed as she fetches water. I Imagine this statue was damaged during a time of war, yet her large bosom remains. As do many Greek statues of naked bodies, encapsulating a timeless pastime of nude human adoration.

This museums coin collection is what sparked my extensive coin collection. I’ve always collected currencies throughout the world on my travels across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North & South America. But on that day for some reason, I decided to buy handfuls of ancient Greek coins, and other countries too unknowingly. To this day I have an entire book of coins and paper currency. It’s not much, but it’s cool to look at. I eventually started collecting real gold coins, it’s my version of diversification. However, I think  stockpiles of food, bullets and alcohol will hold real value much longer than a few coins. Shoot, with all those gold coins I could go get at least two or three six-packs…

Here is the outdoor shed where concerts take place, on the backside of the hill. You can still see the orchestra pit, with its fresh scattering of chairs and speakers on display. If you look closely, you can even see all the hidden lighting fixtures in the crevices of the ancient remains. How cool would it be to have a performance on that stage? About as cool as Yanni!

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME AT THE ACROPOLIS VISTAS

Here I am at the Acropolis Vistas, the view from here was incredible. The Parthenon is the remains of a temple to the Greek goddess Athena, The Goddess of Wisdom. The Parthenon is the temple located on the Acropolis, a hill overlooking the city of Athens, Greece. Built in 438 BC, the Acropolis translated means “high city”. Here’s a view of what the city used to look like before years of ruin.

Before the sunset we found ourselves perusing through the shopping district at the bottom of the hill. We went to the legendary shop of Stavros Melissinos. People have been seeking this place out since the Beatles made his high quality ancient leather sandals famous. After an interesting leather experience, I met a guy on the street and bought handfuls of expired currency. Then we found some amazing food at a small restaurant. Of course I had the Gyro, but it didn’t taste at all like a referential stabilizing navigation device, it was more like lamb.

We eventually headed back to the hotel when it got dark, and pushed our way through the drug dealers, clowns and prostitutes again, just to get back into the hotel. It was much easier this time, when we didn’t have to carry twenty road cases from the airport van.

This was a classic European hotel, with tiny elevators that could barely hold two people, or even one person with two bags. Maybe one of the smallest and slowest elevators I’ve ever seen. Nothing like you’d see in America, with a twenty-person capacity. It felt so rickety and dangerous, but it was much better than carrying my bags up the long, spiral staircase.

Like many other cities in Europe, Athens had an unusual amount of stray dogs. These two dogs were just roaming around the parks, wondering aimlessly. At first you really want to pet these dogs when you see ‘em, but when you examine how filthy they are it’s a quick reminder to keep a safe distance. It’s kind of amazing, they have no one to care for them, and they just find food as they go. What a life!!

This arena took a while to walk to, but we could see it from the Parthenon earlier in the day. When we eventually got over here I captured this picture of the Olympian, about to throw a disc. The arena in the distance was used for the Olympics in the summer of 2004. 10,625 athletes from 201 countries competed in 28 different sports. It was always a dream of mine to compete in the Olympics. What an honor. I wanted to try out, but the coach at the YMCA said “I wasn’t special”, can you believe it? He really crushed that dream for me.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME OVERLOOKING THE CITY OF ATHENS

Check out this video overlooking the city of Athens with the gig in the side of a mountain. It was really windy, but what a beautiful view, except for the clouds of smog that is. You can hear on my radio the hilarious conversation between the stage manager and the promoter about whether or not the gaff tape would damage their staging equipment. Of course it definitely would damage the old sailboat of a stage, but we couldn’t tell them that.

The gig turned out great too, there was a hilarious moment when the support act used part of the staging that she was specifically told not to, so she got to finish her set with all the lights turned off. A great way to finish a day in the 110 degree sun. At one point, all the roadies, a bunch of old men mostly, were lubing each other up with sun tan lotion, but I think it’s better that you don’t see that picture…

All in all, Athens was an incredible experience but I don’t know if I need to go back. I pretty much did everything that I ever wanted to do there, and it only took 1 day. This was an amazing day off, about as good as it gets. I must have walked at least 10 miles and seen some of the most beautifully historic sites on the globe.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!

Stonehenge, England – “I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.” I guess it’s good Nigel wasn’t there to confuse the Ancient Druids.

Even though we were out late last night having birthday drinks with some friends in London, and were exhausted beyond belief, we got up early in the morning to catch the train to Stonehenge.  Even I had to find coffee to start that day.  Luckily there was an amazing French café across the street from our hotel near Hyde park.

As I stood there in front of the French café with my blazing hot cappuccino, I recalled the last time I stayed at this same hotel. It was for the Live8 concert in July 2005, when I was working with Joss Stone. An estimated 3 billion people came together in the fight against extreme poverty. I recalled returning to this hotel on one of the best days in my life, after seeing Madonna, Paul McCartney, The Who, The Killers, Pink Floyd (my favorite of the day), Coldplay, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Sting, U2, Velvet Revolver (my second favorite of the day)  and so many more.  Aside from the most amazing music event I have ever witnessed, the energy of the whole day was unforgettably special.  With the likes of movie stars, kings & queens, and the 250,000 music lovers, there was such an aroma of peace, love, and happiness.

We eventually walked to the tube station as the rest of the group arrived. It was about a two-hour train ride, with 3 trains, each way. But we slept through most of it anyway.  Upon arriving to the train stop in Salisbury, we found a cab, cut a deal, and went straight to Stonehenge.  The area really reminded me of Oregon, very green and wet.  The whole drive there was like a rollercoaster, up & down the winding hills, as the cabby raced us down the two-lane road through the trees.

We arrived just as the sun was beginning to peer through the clouds. It was an amazing site to watch. We walked a large circle path around the site, as we listened to the fascinatingly irrelevant info on the headsets.  After about five minutes I ditched the audio and just made up my own story.  I got some great pics and memories, as we circled the stones, watching the sun hit it at different angles, capturing the true essence of its beauty. It was definitely cool to watch but not exactly what I was expecting. I almost expected it to be more of a supernatural, out of this world experience. Unfortunately, I just didn’t feel anything extraordinary, no phenomenal energies or anything. We stayed about an hour, before the cold finally had my fingers, toes, and face frozen numb.  We actually hung in the gift shop for a while, trying to warm up and eventually headed back towards the train station.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME AT STONEHENGE

Apparently, Stonehenge was built between 3100 – 1100 BCE. The circle was aligned with the midsummer sunrise, the midwinter sunset, and the most southerly rising and northerly setting of the moon. The stones used in its construction were brought from 240 miles away, averaging eighteen feet in height and twenty-five tons in weight. More than nine hundred stone rings exist in the British Isles. Of these, Stonehenge is the most well known. The druids are known to conduct their ritual activities mostly in sacred forest groves. Stonehenge was simultaneously used for both astronomical observation and ritual function. By gathering data regarding the movement of celestial bodies, the Stonehenge observations were used to indicate appropriate periods in the annual ritual cycle. During those periods, among them being the solstices, equinoxes and different lunar days, festivals and ceremonies were held. Wow… that’s a pretty awesome calendar, but not as cool as mine.

(Ryan Huddleston Guitar Solo Live! Dionisio Aguado – Study in Amin)

As we headed back to the train station, we saw this Cathedral not too far off in the distance. We had the cab driver take us straight there. We were sort of in a hurry to get back to London, because the Thanksgiving dinner with the whole band and crew was in only a few hours.  From afar the Cathedral looked really cool and not too crowded, so we figured we could get in and look around with enough time to still catch our train.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF ME AT THIS CATHEDRAL

This cathedral is recognized for having the oldest copy of the Magna Carta. As I scantly searched my brain, I asked the lady to remind me why the Magna Carta was significant.  She said, “You should know why it’s important, it’s a huge factor in American history still to this day.” I defensively told her, “uh, I’m Canadian. So can you just tell me?”  She skeptically reminded me that “it was the first document forced onto an English King, whereby proclaiming American liberties, eventually leading to the Constitution.”

One thing I really love about Europe is the rich culture and its elaborate, detailed history, far different from the young United States. The Huddleston family has been traced back over 1,000 years to many parts of England. English people often ask me where I’m from, confused by my American accent. Huddleston broken apart is “huddle” and “stone”. To huddle is to gather something into a circular form, such as stones. Which was commonly done by Druids, and similar historic English tribes. I found it ironic that I realized all this while at Stonehenge.

It was a cool little detour, and totally worth it. Thankfully we got in and out in enough time, and made it back for the delicious Thanksgiving dinner, which seemed ironic because they don’t really celebrate it in England.  It would have been nice to stay in Salisbury longer though, I was in such a hurry, just running through the whole day taking pictures. I never even turned my camera off or put it away all day.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Where outer space meets the Middle East, a whole new world on a magic carpet ride, or in a Ferrari. 

Tokyo, Japan

Domo Origami Mr. Rubato.

Sydney, Australia

Let’s put another Barbie on the shrimp, she’s delicious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…” But it really highlights your features, and green kinda makes you look like a pregnant alien.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Welcome to paradise, playmates, and stubborn goats that won’t share the road.

Athens, Greece

“When in Rome…” Destroy all the sculptural remains of the past…But leave the bosom please.

Stonehenge, England

“I said eighteen feet, not eighteen inches.”

Impentris Record Release Concert

Impentris was live in concert, it was an awesome show!!!