September 2009 I’m getting towards the end of a Moody Blues tour now and I’m pleased to say it’s going well and we are all in good spirits. It’s been a long tour for us, (particularly so for Gordy and myself as ‘The War Of The Worlds’ tour immediately preceded this one), and the sheer relentlessness of touring is tough, but the audiences are absolutely great and the ‘new songs’ and set list are being very well received. It’s certainly a pleasure to sing these songs again. The interest in The Moody Blues, and all that we do, is still strong and that is something precious that must be respected by us. Maybe just playing live is the best way to deliver our best intentions. I do thank all of you who come to see us play. That couple of hours with my guitars, the songs and you is the highlight of every day. The War Of The Worlds ‘live’ goes from strength to strength and looks set to ‘run and run’. The sheer numbers that come to see the show are truly overwhelming, but I love singing Forever Autumn in that live, huge, spectacular original context and seeing the whole production go from load in, construction, to sound check, to performance then to load out is breathtaking. It was a great tour. I’m sure most of you know I don’t ‘twitter’ or blog, and the only way I express my feelings or thoughts in any official sense is right here on this website. I only mention it as sometimes people say “Oh I heard you said….” this or that, so please don’t be deceived. Something I wish I had said was a Keith Richards attributed reply to a question about the Stones ticket sales. “I don’t get paid for the two hours on stage – it’s the other twenty two I get paid for!” My 335 had to go to the guitar doc while I was on the WOTW tour as frighteningly, I dropped it during a sound check on the spring tour. The safety catch clip on the strap, that lots of players use for the very reason that the above just might happen, had turned itself to the open position, and as I leant forward to adjust my amp the guitar just hit the floor. That’s the trouble with simple gadgets like security clips – you get to trust them! After that, for the rest of the spring tour, the signal to the amps was intermittent sometimes. Anyway, after the visit to the guitar workshop I’m pleased to the say it came back just fine. The temperature on the outside gigs has been a big problem for the guitars on this summer’s tour. The curious thing is that the guitars go flat in the heat as the strings expand and relax, but the flutes go sharp. They do the opposite in the cold – guitars sharp, flutes flat. I’ve been playing my Sunburst 335 on this tour as it stands up to the different heat and humidity changes much better. One night, early on in the tour, the temperature on stage was measured at 107 degrees – and that was before the stage lights came on! But, it ended up being a really great night, even if we did lose a couple of pounds. I’ll write more after the tour, when I get a clearer perspective on all that we have been through this summer, but what a great touring year it’s been already. Lots of love, Justin