Oct 1, 2007

Hello from the Genesis North American tour!

We rehearsed our arena show at the Air Canada Center in Toronto for 4 days prior to our first stadium show at Toronto's BMO field. I love Toronto! After that we went on to playing mostly arenas in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Boston, Montreal (stadium), Ottawa, Hartford, New York (MSG), East Rutherford (Giants Stadium) and Cleveland. The difference in playing an arena or stadium is that after playing so many open-air stadiums in Europe, it makes an arena seem somewhat intimate. It's like playing a well attended huge nightclub. I have to say that I do prefer the arena shows for that reason. The audience is much closer so you can see them better and interact with them a little easier. One other positive thing about playing an arena is that bad weather and starting the show in the light isn't a factor. A lot of shows in Europe started around 8:00pm and it didn't get dark until 9:00pm. So some of the early effects on the screens were not as effective.

With about 2 weeks left on the tour, the time seems to have gone by very quickly. I guess time does fly when you're having fun. The band is sounding better than ever and we are having the time of our life. I hope everyone reading this has had or will have a chance to see the show. It's the best show I've ever been part of.

Best Regards,

Daryl Stuermer

P.S. We've just started a page on myspace.com.

May 29, 2007

Hello Everybody,

It seems like I finally have a chance to write. We've been in production rehearsals for over a week. I've been asked if I would show some photos from rehearsals on my website. The management is discouraging putting photos on our websites before we start touring as not to reveal the new stage production yet. I will try to get a few candid photos behind the scenes and under the stage during this rehearsal period. I will say that it is the biggest stage production Genesis has ever had. It's quite overwhelming! Our actual playing area is the smallest we've ever had, and we all like it better this way. We are all quite close up there. Makes it easier to communicate musically and verbally. Feels like your in a band rather than a big Las Vegas show. It's going to be great!

We are rehearsing in Brussels. The Belgian hostess of the hotel told me that the Rolling Stones are in this hotel as well. Haven't seen them yet. (Maybe I should look up in the coconut trees for Keith?) She said that it's exciting to have so many bands here at the same time. Then she said also another popular band from the US are here and they are called Steve Mattoos. And I thought that doesn't sound familiar. Then I thought a moment..........maybe she means Matthews. Then I said, "do you mean Dave Matthews"? She said,  "oh yes, it is Dave Mattoos"!

This morning I went down to breakfast in the hotel. I ended up sitting next to Billy Corgan (singer/Smashing Pumpkins) and his manager. Seems like a nice guy! I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. Mostly business talk. But I heard them mention the name Aronoff. Kenny Aronoff is a great drummer that I know personally. He plays with everyone and has played with them before. Assuming he is here in the hotel, I'll have to give him a call while I'm here.

Chester then came down and sat at my table. Another guy across the room recognized Chester because they had played together years ago in Virginia. He came over and talked with us. He's Butch Taylor of the Dave Matthews band. Since 1998 keyboardist Butch Taylor who, while not officially named a member of the band, is a fixture on stage. Chester and I relate to that position well! Their tour manager Bill Greer got tickets for us for Dave Matthews. Bill was head of security for the Phil Collins tour in 1997 and has been with Dave Matthews for 3 years. The concert was really good! Great vibe and lot's of energy. His voice reminds of Peter Gabriel a little bit. It was a sold out show of around 7,000 - 8,000 people. The band got a very positive response from the Brussels audience and the 90 minutes I heard, I liked very much.
That's it for now! I hope to see you all out there in the audience!

Best Regards,

Daryl