i just got thru the 112 e-mails that barry forwarded, (im in Zurich, show tonight) mostly really nice comments on the shows, thanx as usual… so the various salient points: istanbul; after a lot of discussion among band and crew everyone figured it was best to leave it alone for now so no go, i was touched by various peoples concern about our going (Defi, i do read the stuff thanx for the caution)…related, we were glad to have missed the bush debacle in London… perusing of the sleazy brit press gave us daily updates on bullet proof limosines, how much the citizens of the US and UK were paying for this nonsense etc etc… how much coverage did the London protests get in the US?, i’d bet only a fraction of what wound up in the european media the record; when we initially got the deal going with Sony, there was no indication of the large amount of seasonal releases that they have now dumped on the market including ol’ wacko’s greatest hits as well as springsteens etc etc… i suspect that “the curse” is, will be somewhat overcome by all of this but it remains to be seen… on a related note, the record industry; one of the great ironies for us and an excellent example of how “the curse” plays out is that our current success is coinciding with the end of the recording biz as we know it… im pretty sure that recording as we now know it is going to undergo a tremendous change over the next 5-10 years, the whole thing is right now in upheaval, the company people are all looking for a direction as sales go thru the floor… if as soon as one copy of a recording is released everyone in the world has access to it then the nature of the whole beast is in need of adjustment, money and sales is just a small part of the issue, certainly punishing people for downloading and spending huge amounts of time and energy creating un-copyable recordings is the negative and useless side of the thing… what i see coming is a return to spontaneity, live forms, more improvisation, jazz… away from the ridgidity of top ten, lists, programming etc etc and towards a more organic approach… hopefully the internet will continue to be something for uniting people and ideas and will grope its way out of the primitive state that its now in (i’ll try and write more about this in the future, the discussion of the record biz is on going something we all are always dealing with) the tour, shows etc; we of course will be doing shows in the US after the new year, apparently the “Curse Of Blondie” will be released by Sanctuary records in the US in about March of ’04, its pretty fucking crazy that it’s taken so long but thats whats going on… the shows in europe have been great, variations for us, some have higher energy feel better than others etc but all in all i think the band and DH keep improving sometimes i surprise myself with what i’m playing… the fans and crowds are their usual great selves and also as usual im sorry we cant sign all the autographs, take pics with everyone who wants one etc lastly Jimmy D; is gonna have to make his own statements but suffice it to say that he had a lot to deal with and wasn’t able to do the shows i think that’s it for the basic questions… last night we were able to visit Giger at his studio/home here in Zurich… i havent been there for maybe 20 years, i think DH was there more recently… it was a very uplifting experience for your humble narrator… spending a lot of time in the gruesome straight world of western civilization makes a visit into the dimension of art and mysticism all the more valuable… Gigers realm is very timeless, ancient and spinning into the cyber-bio future of humanity… (i’m regularly angered when i remember that Giger is not represented in new yorks Modern Museum, Whitney etc but at the same time if that puts Blondie, who still isnt in the ‘hall of fame’ and who’s gotten very little recognition in the world of awards and junk in a similar place with H.R.G. then i’m also fine with that) Barbara and Akira went home to the US… Akira sat in on a couple of tv interviews, the first one (for VH1 i think) she got impatient and left (was removed) but in the second for the BBC she was very cool and put up with the whole thing occasionally squeeking at the camera and generally being rock and roll…she seemed to enjoy being out and by the end was considered a real ‘road dog’ right now i’m in Debbies room cause she has a high speed hook up, im trying to get her to say something… ok she says that “you shouldn’t spend money buying (her) presents” but rather “give it to charity or gamble”, since “both things are a chance anyway”… thats it, i’ll try and actually get her to write something in the near future… wait this just in: she gives me a “poem about the front row” “YOU’RE IN MY FIELD OF VISION YOU’RE STANDING RIGHT UP FRONT THE FIRST ROW YOUR DECISION THE CRUSH IS WHAT YOU GOT” i think that covers it for now, thanx, much love chris