Billy Morrison: March 2006 Archives

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March 31, 2006

HERE WE GO AGAIN.

Bless me, oh Bloggers, for I have sinned. It's been four days since my last confession .... I mean post. I wanted to do another V Blog, but first of all, things got pretty hectic all of a sudden (after about two months of not a lot going on) and secondly, I havent done much except emails, phone calls and meetings. Video of me discussing production plans with our tour manager on the phone is not exactly riveting!!! But I wanted to post again, and I figure that with the stuff coming up, there's going to be more than enough opportunity for some cool V-Blogging action. As you know, Camp Freddy are playing in New York, and we've now added an appearance in Vegas a few days before. Its just one song, and I have no details at all. But just the act of Freddy going to Vegas always elicits some choice moments. So what with the Vegas trip and the New York trip, we should be swimming in video pretty soon. For now, its a text blog - and todays pics are due to me trawling through old Camp Freddy folders. Check out the absolute DOPE pic at the top of Mr Steve Issacs (from The Panic Channel) and myself, taken by our manager, Brent Bolthouse.

Big up and massive respec' to Rik from Rated Art, and our very own Jay, who are helping build the new Forum for all the sites. Simply called THE COMMUNITY, it will be based over at the Circus Diablo site, but will be linked everywhere, and will have topics for both Circus Diablo chatter, and other stuff as well. All associated projects will be covered - other bands, previous bands, appearances - it should end up being a great place. And Rik and Jay are being superstars in the process - Jay will moderate the Forum, and Rik is doing all the complicated PHP stuff. Me? Well I just did the artwork, the design and came up with the topics. So really, I didn't do anything very much!!! I'll let you know when its all done and up and running - and I encourage you all to register. Dont just come on as a guest - its way better if you are part of the crew on a Forum.

Circus Diablo have a few things going on as well. Some meetings happening over the next few days - just discussing the game plan, and talking shop with a few people. And Billy and Ricky will be coming over to my studio to work on an alternate version of the song Loaded, that appears on the forthcoming album. The idea is to do an acoustic (ish) version of the song to put up on the MySpace profile. Just trying to give you guys something to fill the gap between now and the summer. No doubt we will also write a couple more tunes while Billy is here in LA - just cos its fun!! We are also doing a cover shoot and interview for a new magazine thats launching in June. More details when I have them.

So there's enough going on to keep me fairly busy right now - an all new CFR tomorrow with Dave and myself ..... and I hear that Gilby Clarke and Jason Newstead will be joining us. That should be a lot of fun. And don't forget the DJ gig down in Santa Monica next Thursday 6th April. Its launching Geoff Thomas's new line of custom jewelry - the same guy that made my solid gold earplugs. I'll be DJ'ing and if you wanna go, just RSVP to info@geoffthomasdesigns.com and tell them you are from this site. You'll be taken care of. Other than that, I have a performance of Hedwig to attend at the ubiquitous Roxy on Monday night, and a fashion show on Tuesday night. Oh yeah, and I am still tweaking all the sites. The tattoo page is coming along nicely - my plea for tatt pics yielded a good response, and the page is now starting to look cool. Please email me any more, with details of where you got them. I think the idea of a Community Tattoo Page is great, so dont be shy ..... SHOW US YER INK!!

Will - Heinz Beans can be found but at a premium. And I dont think they taste as good, cos they sit on the shelves here and no one buys them!!

Paul - I actually like to let the tattooist get on with it and do what he wants. Most of my sleeves and my back were pretty much ..."I dont care - just fill it all in!!" and the rest (like the core one) are just 'good ideas at the time'!! They'll all look the same in 20 years anyway - all blue, spread and saggy!!

Twisted Angel - I cannot WAIT to see The Hills Have Eyes! I love shit like that - but the wife is not so keen. So we do the thing where we both go to the movies together but see different films! I feel one of those trips coming on with that movie. And just hit the 'Email This Site' link and attach the tattoo pic to the email. Technology does the rest.

SonicGeisha - Just for you, a new pic!! And yes - I was peeing!!

OK - the last disc of Season 4 (of 24) has arrived, the curry is on its way up, and I am done. Have a fabulous weekend, thank you all for being a part, and I will answer any questions you like in the next blog. So bring it on.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 06:55 PM | Comments (13)

March 27, 2006

V FOR VALIUM

I think I had too many expectations. If I had taken a valium or two before entering the movie theatre, I believe I would have been more on the right wavelength. Its not that V For Vendetta is a bad movie. Its just not fantastic. And these days, we expect SO much from our movies - with things like King Kong and X-Men that just blow our minds from start to finish, a movie such as V doesn't quite reach the mark. A lot of thoughtful dialogue, a cool vision of the future, and of course .... always nice to see the Houses Of Parliament blown to shit! Some people might love it - me, I was kinda let down. (Kate - maybe the IMAX experience tipped it over the edge for you. I shoulda gone up there.) Natalie Portman dressed up as an Austrian looking schoolgirl, however, is one of the highlights of the film!!

I have been tweaking away on a few of the sites. Added MikeC's tattoo to the Tattoo's page - would be nice to get a few more up there. I KNOW that you guys have ink ..... share it with us! Put a few more photos up on the MySpace Circus Diablo thing. And I am working on having a COMMUNITY - a Forum that all the sites share. Somewhere you can become a member, and chat away to your hearts content about anything. We'll have various topics on both Circus Diablo and anything else thats relevant. Other bands, equipment, live shows .... should be cool. And I have started working on an acoustic version of one of the songs that will be on our album. Ricky and Billy will be joining in at the end of the week - we want to give you guys another track from Circus Diablo that will only be available on the MySpace Profile. I'll let you know when we finish it.

Jay asked yet another thoughtful and insightful question. You, Sir, are the Einstein of Rock And Roll Weblogs!!! He asks about touring and the costs, especially for a homegrown band like Circus Diablo. The answer is that it is a problem. But there are ways to work it out. 3 month treks across America are out. Its just not possible - busses, crew, hotels - its a LOT of money. But if you do 10 shows in one area, in one bus, and have a good agent that can get you a decent fee, then its possible to hit a few major cities. You can also include some higher paying shows, such as Casino's and corporate parties, to offset the losses incurred on the smaller shows. Our UK plans for the end of the year are based on getting some decent offers in already, and if we watch how we do it (Lear Jets and Five Star Hotels are out!!), we should be able to pull it off!! What I do know is that the average music fan has no idea just how much it costs, even at a small level, to play outside your area. Ask any of the thousands of bands trekking across America in a Chevy van, washing every four days in one room in a motel for $50, and eating Rice-A-Roni three times a day ...... and STILL losing money!!

And finally - Simon - Believe me, Dave and I are DYING to get Kiefer on our show!!

Nothing else for you today. Its the start of a new week, and we'll see what I get up to as it progresses. I know that next week, I am in Vegas for the Maxim party, and then off to New York with Camp Freddy. I know that I am in the studio this week, working on both the acoustic CD song, and a song with Jed in the Sunset Marquis. I know that I have a few meetings this week. And I know that I will be finished playing catch up with 24!!! Yep - thats right, I will finish Season 4 finally, which means that I will be suffering a huge withdrawl ..... if I'm grouchy, sweating and shaking, and crying for no reason, you'll know why!! Have a great week. I'll do a V-Blog if I go anywhere interesting.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:40 AM | Comments (16)

March 24, 2006

FRIDAY MORNING.

So first of all, due to the power of the world wide web, (and that fact that you lot are VERY helpful!!) the two acoustic tracks (click free, I might add!!) from the Camp Freddy Radio show with Billy Duffy are now available. Paul very kindly threw them up on YouSendIt.com and the links are in his post from yesterday. And thanks to Dave, I have now downloaded them and put them up on the Media page of the Circus Diablo site. CLICK HERE TO GO TO CIRCUS DIABLO MEDIA. I am sure that they will also end up in the MySpace player for a little while. I have to say that its tough to sing such an amazing song like Rain, that is so synonymous with the distinctive voice of Mr Ian Astbury, but I gave it a shot!! And ACDC isnt the easiest thing to do acoustically either!! But Duffy and I were having a blast that night, so it is what it is. Enjoy.

Jezzi - The LOST/Jack Bauer pic had me cracking up! The whole site is genius. I have to admit that I am very close to being done with all the previous seasons now, and like a true addict, I am already suffering withdrawl just from the knowledge that the drugs will run out soon!! Its not even finished yet and I am freaking out!! I'll have to get a new fix - I am considering MI5 (from the UK) and The Shield. And Cori - West Wing? Not sure but I'll give it a go.

Sue - Sweet girl!! Our crew are overworked, underpaid, and kept in cages in between shows, fed on raw cabbage and prune juice, and punished regularly for no reason. You really dont want to be a part of that, do you??!! In all seriousness, its a sweet offer, but all is being taken care of - thank you! Come to the outside performance and find me. We'll see what we can do.

Mary - Does having a ghost play piano on a track answer your question?! Back when I was playing guitar in IN2A CIRCLE, we used brand new tape, in a studio that didnt have (and had never had before) a piano in it, and yet when we were mixing, we could hear a strange noise in the song. When we went through the tracks, we discovered a weird, complex (classical piece) far away piano, being played while Bee (the singer) had been recording his vocals. The day he recorded, there were only three people in the studio, none of which could play piano. Strange!

Alec - Leather pants .... start talking to your bank manager!! I have a few pairs. The ones I wear onstage were custom made-to-measure by LA designer Jenni Kayne. They are a 'one of a kind' pair, made out of reindeer skin because it is thin, stretchy leather for stage. (And by the way - dont bother with the hippy hate mail .... I've heard it all before!). The other pairs (both leather and suede) are made by Henry Dwarte and he has a store on Sunset Plaza, right near the ubiquitous Tower Records.

I think V For Vendetta is on the menu for this weekend. Haven't been to the movies in a while (thanks to Netflix - by the way Lord Of War, with Nic Cage .... I liked it, unlike the rest of the country!!) so it'll be popcorn and hot dogs for me on Sunday! Getting together soon with Duffy and Ricky to write a couple more tunes for Circus Diablo, just because its fun, and because we would like to get a track up on the site ahead of the album. Glad the weekend is here again. Another CFR on Saturday with myself and Mr N. Next week seems like a busy one, with some writing, some recording, some meetings, and more of the New York preparations. Nice - just how I like it. So see you lot soon. Have a great day.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:58 AM | Comments (24)

March 22, 2006

MIDWEEK POST

Hi everybody. Checking in midweek and all seems to be running fairly smoothly in MorrisonWorld. First of all, the event in Santa Monica - (you know, the one where you come and watch me pretending to be a DJ while I run an I-Pod on Shuffle Mode!) - is an RSVP event. What you need to do is email an RSVP to the following email address: info@geoffthomasdesigns.com. When you do this, tell them your name, if you will have a plus one, and mention that you are from the BillyMorrison.Com website. Your name will be put on the list, and thats it. Great art, great jewelry, rockin tunes ..... and free booze by the looks of it. Recipe for disaster!!!

Next thing is a request. Evan hit me with an email, asking if I had MP3's of the two acoustic songs that I did on CFR with Billy Duffy - Hells Bells and Rain. I dont have these songs, and I would like them as well. So if anyone has the two tracks as MP3's (I think they were from one of last years shows on Camp Freddy Radio, hit me up with an email, and maybe you would send them to me. That way, I would forward them on to Evan and anyone else that wants them. Actually, thinking about it - I would probably make them available on the Circus Diablo website. It is me and Duffy after all. And THAT starts me thinking - we have a few weeks coming up with Duffy off the road and back in LA. Maybe we should get back in the studio, do another track, maybe an acoustic version of one of the songs as well, and put up some more stuff on the MySpace profile to get you more music until the record gets released. Oh God - here I go again .... leave it with me.

Thats all I have for today - I am nearly up to date with the whole 24 thing - Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are down, and I am halfway through Season 4 (as well as staying up to date with the current Season 5) and it has to be the best television ever made. "DAMMIT - I UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT THIS IS FOR YOU" ..... What I do once I have seen it all, I have no idea. And an all new Lost and Invasion tonight. TV Junkie. How sad!!! So I am gonna get moving and start work on the New York show. All questions welcome for a Weekend Q+A blog. I'll make it a V-Blog again. Until then, have a great day folks.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 06:58 AM | Comments (24)

March 20, 2006

I AM A DJ, I AM WHAT I PLAY.

Just wanted to put this up here. Not really sure how it works, or if anyone can go (I really should find this shit out, right?!!) but I will be DJ'ing at a cool party in a couple of weeks. The guy who designed and made the ridiculously heavy, solid gold earplugs that are in my ears, Mr Geoff Thomas, is launching a spectacularly cool new line of rings and pendants. And as usually happens here in Hollywood, he is having a little soiree to celebrate. Hence the reason I will be attending, and attempting my best DJ AM impersonation ... NOT!! Anyone expecting to see me scratching records with my elbows and breakdancing on my head at the same time need not bother to come. I'll be playing some cool rock and roll, hanging out, and trying not to break the expensive DJ equipment that they will rent for me. In fact, I'll probably be too busy trying to figure out how it works!! Never done this shit before! .... "hey, can someone show me where the ON button is on this thing?"..... Whatever, Geoff designs some amazing pieces, and also will have a bunch of his artwork on display. The man is multi-talented.
So if you are around on the night, drop by and tell em I sent you.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 09:34 AM | Comments (12)

March 18, 2006

SATURDAY SHENANNIGANS

Another weekend, another CFR. This time, its back to Mr Navarro and myself, with (potentially) Inger Lorre from The Nymphs, popping in for a guest host spot. And talking of Dave and me - all the emails about TPC and Circus Diablo playing together ..... well, I have to admit that I, for one, would love to make that happen. I have no idea what Dave would think about that, but I do know that due to the touring commitments that The Cult have right now, its not looking like Circus Diablo will get on the road until much later in the year. Maybe we can figure out something then. But I know that we are currently trying to route a UK visit for November, with some US dates after that. So we shall see what happens. Maybe the two bands can do some shows as a Happy 2007 tour? God, it seems so far away, but I know this year will fly by ....

So I can tell you that Camp Freddy will be playing a show in New York on April 11th. We are unable to give you any details - it is a private event - BUT, there is a possibility that anyone in the NYC area that wants to see Camp Freddy might wanna be in Times Square on that evening. Its not 100% yet, but I'll let you know if that 'extra' plan comes off. Either way, we will be East Coast bound in a few weeks, and I know we are all looking forward to doing our first official CF show of the year.

Dave C asks how much time I spend doing the V-Blogs. And the answer is that it varies. Getting the footage takes no time at all. I take a camera with me, and when I have a few minutes, I just turn it on myself and start waffling on!! The editing takes a little more time. I usually spend about two hours in the morning logging and capturing the footage, playing about with the FX and then exporting it to a Quicktime movie and uploading it onto the server. Video's like the Breathe and Drive Me home movies that I've done in the past take weeks. The V-Blogs are rough - but when you are editing to a track, and there are hundreds of edits .... THAT shit takes time.

Lisa asks if I will be appearing on Rock Star Season 2. ....er..... probably not!!!!

Jay - Brilliant question about where the line is drawn regarding Celebrity. You know, it is a vague line, and it moves about, depending on who or what you are talking about. To me, I think you have to realize that Television is becoming the record company. The marketing and placement from being on TV is second to none. And as the labels continue to suffer from lower record sales, they become keener to line their artists up with television stuff. Some artists (like Tommy Lee) have developed a niche in television for themselves that runs hand in hand with making music. And I think that those artists are the winners. I have heard the new Panic Channel stuff, and anyone who says that Dave's creativity has suffered from his (relatively) new found television celebrity is just tripping! The TPC stuff sounds fucking amazing, and Dave's celebrity has NOTHING to do with the music he makes. So I think that Celebrity overtaking Art doesn't apply. There are, however, some great examples of where the Art doesnt exist at all!! I think we can all think of those. Just remember that Tommy doing Season 2 Rock Star does not make him any less of a great musician .... it just gives him a bigger platform on which to be that great musician. Thats my two cents.

Bonita - The core tattoo thing is really just a thing that Dave and I did. Although everyone else is welcome to join in if they like. I think Matt and Dono will probably do it eventually. Scott and Chris? Who knows - up to them.

Terri - Not really sure what you mean. My VR album went straight into I-Tunes as MP3's and blasts away quite happily on my I-Pod. All albums can be turned into MP3's - at least, I havent yet come across one that wont work. Try it again - maybe its 'User Error'?

OK - Time to get moving. I have a shipment of UK Benson And Hedges to pick up today (dont start smoking kids, you'll end up shipping your favorite brand half way around the world!!) and I'll be down at Indie later on for the show. Oh, and a big Happy Birthday to Mr Jerry Cantrell. Its his party tonight, so it'll be a late one for me and the wife. By the way - thanks for the well wishes for Jen. Her lip is healing nicely. I am outta here - have a great weekend.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 09:09 AM | Comments (9)

March 15, 2006

THE NEW YORK V-BLOG

Welcome to an all new V-Blog – this time cobbled together from the streets of New York. Large file size, High Speed Connection preferred, blah blah blah!! I think I do this stuff more for the fun in shooting and editing footage, than for what I actually say on them! I totally get into editing the footage, and start to see shots, framing, segments etc when I am out with a camera …. Film excites me and I would love to get more into it at some point. The actual content of the blogs ….well, its usually just me waffling on about some shit or other!! The fun for me is learning Final Cut, playing about with effects and transitions, and making small movies. Maybe I should cut a Circus Diablo video together. What do you think?

So ….. What an honor it was to attend the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction banquet on Monday night. And what an amazing experience to see the ultimate heavy rock band accept their well overdue induction … Ladies and Gentlemen …… BLACK SABBATH!! It was obvious that the band were genuinely touched by Lars and James’ (Metallica) emotional speeches, and still looked like the Rock Gods that they are, when they went up on stage to accept the very cool looking statues that are the Induction Awards. We went to New York to support our friend Ozzy and cheer Sabbath on, and the whole trip was a lot of fun. Dave had traveled in from Atlantic City, so it was great to meet up with him and do a couple of nice meals and hang out. The actual ceremony was interesting, to say the least. As we all know, the Sex Pistols were inducted as well, and true to form, declined to actually attend the ceremony. Instead, they ran a montage of film clips (which for me, as always, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck) and then read aloud the letter that the Pistols faxed to the Hall Of Fame committee … I believe I was the only one in the room who stood up and cheered after they finished reading it!!!

My wife Jennifer had a rather bizarre incident in the bathroom. She was standing in line, holding a programme of the event, when she felt some movement around her ankle. She thought it was the hem of her dress, so she just flicks her ankle and thinks nothing of it. Suddenly, she looks down and a huge cockroach is tearing up her dress and making for her chest!! She panics, (and I’m sure the roach realizes this, and makes a bee line for her tits!) and Jen starts swatting the roach with the programme. And she nails herself right in the lip. I mean a proper, ‘my husband beats me when he comes in’ fat lip!! Jen comes out of the bathroom spitting blood, and with a lip that would give Angelina Jolie a run for her money!! Poor girl. The roach was last seen heading off into the night, muttering something about how hard it is these days to cop a feel from the chicks.

Other Inductees included Lynryd Skynryd (who performed Sweet Home Alabama with Kid Rock, and Freebird), Blondie (see below), Miles Davis, and A+M records partners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Now then – lets examine the Blondie drama. The Original line up were inducted, but Debbie Harry chose to perform a couple of Blondie songs with her current band. Naturally, the OG members were a little ….. put out ….and voiced their feelings and opinions. A little awkward, but understandable. As Dave has already posted, Debbie Harry’s performance was fantastic, but it was a little marred by the knowledge that the original guys were standing watching her perform their songs after just being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!!

Metallica played a Black Sabbath tribute, which blew the roof off the usually uptight Waldorf Astoria Hotel (home of the Waldorf Salad, no less!!) and people were not really sure what to make of the sudden rise in volume, the strobe lights, and the immense power of a band like Metallica, playing huge Black Sabbath riffs. Our table were all on their feet, but most of the room looked a little nonplussed. Love it!!

Julia – The piercing thing was just one of those ‘current affairs’ type shows. And they wanted to highlight the trend back then. I have never thought too long or hard about stuff like that, so when they asked me to do it, I figured … “why not”. And I too was a little pissed off with the caption under me on the VH-1 thing. They told me it would say Camp Freddy. Whatever.

Hankwood – Freebird was great. I have seen them play a few times, and they always play that song (well, they kinda have to, right?) and the version they did in New York was, as always, fantastic. A classic Southern Rock anthem. With tons of guitars!

And now I am back in LA, catching up, making some plans, and getting on with it. We have decided that in a few weeks we’ll put a Circus Diablo track up on the MySpace profile – probably the cover of Ants Invasion that we did (check out the first few bars in todays video). So hit the site (www.myspace.com/circusdiablo), check out the profile, become a friend, and be a part of that community over there. And we are also trying to see if we can throw a show together in Los Angeles in June. No details at all right now, but it seems that we might have a window in the schedules, so it only seems right to get out there and have a good night. You’ll read the details here first. Have a great day, enjoy the V-Blog, and I’ll see you soon. And by the way ….. I know its not a statue of Roger Moore! Just being sarcastic. Its really a statue of Dudley Moore.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 04:07 PM | Comments (21)

March 12, 2006

NEW YORK CITY/SCOTT WEILAND

There must be a thousand songs that have been written about New York. And every time I come here, not only do I understand why, but I also feel like making it 1001. The place has a unique energy and vibe, and right now, I am staring out of the 20th floor window of the hotel watching the rain hit the sidewalks far below. You see .... its already starting to sound like a song!! I gotta get out there and walk around in the rain later. Yesterdays post was interesting. Of course I get haters writing stuff sometimes (I don't do too badly actually) and I just felt like making that particular post easy to see - easy to get a feel for how much negative energy is out there. I make no bones about who I am, what I have done (and what I have NOT done), what I would like to do, and the fact that I love music and entertainment. So its only right that occasionally, the ones who think I am a fraud, or a poseur, get to be heard. Otherwise, its always an "I Love Billy" blog. Thanks for the comments people.

Those of you who listened to Camp Freddy Radio yesterday will have heard Matt Sorum and Scott Weiland doing an amazing job. And you heard right - Mr Scott Weiland has joined Camp Freddy as a core member. The band operates with a huge rotating guest line up, but we have always had a core group of five people - the current incarnation being Myself, Donovan, Dave, Matt, and Chris. And now Scott has joined that team - he will be at all the shows possible, and is part of our decision making process, sharing his ideas with us, and ours with him. Scott completely understands the fun, no stress angle of our shows, the possibilities that are out there for Camp Freddy, and is a welcome addition to the Freddy family. As with all of us, it does NOT mean anything for Velvet Revolver. We all carry on with our day jobs outside of Freddy. All it means is that when Camp Freddy do anything, Scott will now be involved if his schedule permits.

Dave joined us at the hotel last night for a late dinner. Great to see him. He had a cool report of the AIC reunion that he saw while he was in Atlantic City for the Heart VH-1 concert. By all accounts, Alice In Chains will be back with a vengeance in 2006. I for one will be front and center when they hit Los Angeles. Today Jen and I will wander the rainy streets soaking up the vibe (and the water, no doubt) in search of the Pret A Manger pastries and coffee (a throwback to London for me) and we'll meet up with everyone later for a big lunch. I'm sure Dave will appear later in the day so who knows what tonight will hold for us. Maybe a 24 watching marathon in our hotel suite? You KNOW I brought the DVD's with me!!!

Right. I am gonna get on with the day. Thanks again for all your posts yesterday - I really didn't feel anything too much when I read Mr Slappers post, but I thought it would be interesting to let you lot know the other side - the side that anyone who attempts to be a part of the Entertainment Industry will experience at some point - the negative vibe. C'est La Vie (dont EVEN bother correcting me if I'm wrong ..... I failed French!!!!) Till tomorrow.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:59 AM | Comments (14)

March 10, 2006

THIS MUST BE SAID.

I felt that since I have this blog, and that the idea is that people can post whatever they want, that the following (abridged version) comment needed to be on the main page, and not on the comments page. It was a long comment, so I took the stuff out about "not knowing Mark Mahoney from Marky Mark" and all the nastiness about The Cult and just put the main points that Mr Slapper makes up here in plain view. I love that people take time out of their day to do this. And I also love that Mr Slapper is literate, articulate and makes his opinion plainly.
Do I have an answer? Not particularly. I could start to explain certain things, prove other things, and justify the rest. But I don't need to - Here is his comment, as posted today.

Billy Morrison....are you for real? You have got to be the BIGGEST poser to ever walk the face of the earth. You look like you are wearing a freaking costume for christ's sake - a pre-packaged "LA Tattooed Love Boy Fret Scrubber" get-up complete with a Mark Mahoney stomach tattoo that says, of all things: CORE! Yeah cuz you are so hardCORE right? You must be if you spent all those years homeless on the streets of LA "shooting up anything you could". Give me a break. You got your eyebrow peirced when that was cool but where is it now? You got all the bases covered in the guitar slinger style game - the Les Paul, the Berry/Richards/Thunders riffs, the supposed ex-junkie tag, the tattoos, the clothes -- but look what yer doin with it - -playin' corporate gigs and chi-chi celebrity hangouts full of sycophants and papparazzi and "guest stars" ready to jam -- what the fuck does playing music with Donovan Leitch and Robbie Williams at four-star hotels and private clubs have to do with....you know...real rock and roll?!? Is Camp Freddy gonna be backing Paris Hilton for her record release party? Wouldn't doubt it.

Posted by Reality Slapper:

I'm sure the people who knew me over ten years ago will have a laugh at this. And I hope the rest of you understand that I am putting this up here because I believe Mr Reality Slapper needs to be heard. And by the way - if stuff like this makes you feel awkward, weird, angry, upset or even mildly offended, dont bother becoming a musician, because there are A LOT of haters out there.
Enjoy

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 04:57 PM | Comments (37)

March 09, 2006

Q+A

Let me start off by issuing the usual Large File Size warning for todays V-Blog. I answered all the questions but the video is pretty big – High Speed connection is preferred. So, with that out of the way, let me first say that The Cult were great. Billy Duffy looked and sounded amazing, singing BV’s like I have never seen him do before. Ian was singing better than ever, and the band were tight and powerful. The show was sold out, and it was nice to see the band back, and rocking hard. A good night out – went with Ricky (Warwick) and saw Matt, Jonesy, Martine (another Cult Alumni!) and a bunch of friends while I was there. Catch them if you can.

Today I have a meeting about another album I might start soon – I’ll give you more details if we decide to move ahead, but right now, its just lunch and a discussion. Could be interesting. And I have to pack for NYC – I am looking forward to getting out of town and having a few days on the East Coast. I’ll meet up with my people from Gibson Guitars while I am there – always nice to see the folks – and I have a couple of friends who will also be in New York at that time, so it should be a nice trip. Plus, of course, I get to see the whole Awards Ceremony thing. Sabbath and The Pistols (even though the latter are being all punk rock and not going, its still cool that they are being inducted ….. FINALLY!!). I hear that Metallica are playing the ceremony - tribute to Sabbath type thing. We'll see. So I will take the cameras and see how my time does – maybe an NYC Blog if I can get it together.

Not a lot else to report. CFR will be Matt and Donovan this week as both Dave and myself will be out of town. And the following week, we will be back in business, with Inger Lorre (The Nymphs) as a guest host. So tune in, turn on, drop out …… and have fun.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 10:41 AM | Comments (28)

March 06, 2006

OUCH!!

The V-Blog today pretty much just consists of some footage from a few years ago, when I volunteered to have my eyebrow pierced on live television!! No reason at all to put this up, other than I laughed when I saw it, and figured it might be of interest to some of you. Other than that, get your questions in and I'll do a Q+A V-Blog next time. Elton John's party was a good laugh. Great food, interesting company (we went with the Osbournes, who are nothing short of the perfect people to attend such an event with!!) and an amazing auction for charity. They raised over half a million dollars in about ten minutes, auctioning things like show tickets, a car or two, and one of Elton's piano's. At one point in the auction, we thought we had scratched our noses too vigorously, as the Auctioneer pointed at our table and said "I have Fifty Thousand dollars to my right" ........ we held our breath, went white, and stared at him ...... but the bidding continued and we breathed a collective sigh of relief!! Not sure if we helped punch the price up, but it was all for charity anyway, so no harm done!! Note to self - when attending high value parties, keep my arms BY MY SIDE!!!

Thats it from me - just wanted to put the piecing footage up, and check in after last nights festivities. The Cult play in LA tomorrow night, and I am sure that I'll be going to that one. Excited to see the band again, and no doubt Ricky and I will be meeting up down there to discuss Diablo strategy while Mr Duffy does his thing on the stage. If you are going, have a great time. If you are not going .....WHY NOT??!!!

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 11:46 AM | Comments (28)

March 05, 2006

PAARRR.....TAAAAY!!!!

Hollywood goes nuts today. The place gets shut down in four block chunks and everyone gets totally pissed off that they cant drive anywhere without taking detours! Its Oscar night, and after the ceremony (which now seems to take second place to the parties!) its time to do the rounds of the festivities. Last year, I stayed away from the madness, but this year I shall be attending two of the little 'get togethers' - The Rolling Stone/Us Weekly thing, and Mr Elton John's Annual bash. Should be interesting - God knows what you wear to an Elton John party ..... you know you're not gonna come close to outdressing your host!! I am playing it safe - suit and tie, keep out of the way, and enjoy the mini-quiches on the silver platters!! I'll post a diary of the afternoon/evening events once I have recovered from what promises to be a late night.

Those of you that tuned in to CFR last night will have heard a) Dave, Donovan and myself seemingly on crack!!, and b) another Circus Diablo track from the forthcoming album. The former was a product of WAY too much coffee, and the later was a product of three weeks in the studio. Both were a lot of fun to do. We had a laugh last night on air, and it was a manic two hours. As Dave said, we actually have to 'come down' after doing a CFR - I went home and watched a bunch of 24 episodes to bring myself back to reality (ish!). Next week, I will be away in New York for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame so Matt and Dave will be handling the show, and I believe they have Inger Lorre from The Nymphs coming in as a guest host for part of the show. Bummer I'll be missing that one.

And finally, the whole MySpace thing is a trip! Having stayed away for years, we finally succumbed with a Circus Diablo profile, and now I cant stay off the thing! I find myself clicking on profile after profile, checking people out that I dont know, reading about random, bizarre stuff, adding new friends ...... no wonder 60 million people are on that thing. I shall be starting the first MySpace Anonymous 12 step meeting very shortly! And it seems to have given the freaks somewhere to call home. I love this. You're never far away from some pretty crazy shit when you browse that place - as it should be. Although I hope the new mainstream publicity in the glossy monthly mags doesnt ruin the vibe on there. Either way, I am glad we decided to do it. And a big thanks to Chris Temple for putting the site up and moderating it (although so far, I've been on it every day!!). See you in cyberspace people.

Thats it - gonna watch a movie this morning and chill out before getting ready for the parties later. I hope you all have a great day, and I'll be back soon.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:40 AM | Comments (11)

March 02, 2006

WHATS IN A TITLE?

I was listening to a Gary Glitter track this morning, called 'I Didn't Know I Loved You Till I Saw You Rock And Roll" and apart from it being a great track, I wondered where long song titles have disappeared to?!! I mean, that is some CRAZY song title, right? Most of the long, intricate ones belong to Nashville. "My Baby Dont Love Me Now That I Only Have One Arm" ....... "My Dog Done Died And Now I'm A Lonesome Cowboy" .....those type of things. But maybe we should bring the intricate song title back to Rock. All ideas for long Rock songs to the usual address!!

So - I have been tweaking away in cyberspace and have updated a few things and got our shit together with a Circus Diablo MySpace page. The TV page here has got a few more older blogs and clips now. I started the long-threatened YOUR TATTOO page - send in pics of your tatts and be a part of the Morrison Ink Collective. Big up to Gregg for being the first in line. You'll see the links to both the Tattoo page and the Circus Diablo MySpace profile in the new section to the right of this post, entitled NEW ITEMS. And todays pic is a preview of what the new Camp Freddy site will look like. Most of the site is done now, and we are just adding all the old content from the previous site. Once thats all up, and we have the thing looking great, we'll launch the new, improved version, complete with ratable pictures, forum (for you lot) and a shop. I'll let you know when it happens.

Kate - Your passage from the book of Beretta had me in stitches. I had to think for a second about putting up video of shooting, cos it really is a subject that gets people all mad. But I decided that it is what I do, I make no apologies for it, and if people dont like it, then they should be reading someone elses blog. And your response showed me that was the right decision. You dont have to be 'pro guns' around here - you just have to take it all in the spirit its intended ..... good fun. So thank you.

Dave C - Chances of Circus Diablo dates in the UK are good. Its just about scheduling. Our agent is currently looking at the end of the year, sometime in November, for a quick two week visit. We will be fitting in shows around The Cult. Ian is still doing stuff with Riders On The Storm and Billy is keen to to CD dates, so we should be all good.

Ylais - To clear up the MySpace confusion. I have not been on MySpace before. The Camp Freddy profile is run by a kind fan who is looking after it for us. And the new Circus Diablo profile is being moderated by a friend, with access available to the band.

This week has been a quiet one. Plenty of TV time (LOVED Lost last night. More dark, abandoned bunkers appearing, and weird medical experiments taking place. Just my cup of tea!!) and web tweaking. Next week, I have a few meetings about Circus Diablo, and we'll see where that takes me. This weekend is the big Academy Awards thingy - I know I'll be going to an amazing party on Sunday night, and I'll give you a full report afterwards. There's also a few other parties that I'll do a quick drive-by at and get a little taster. Sometimes Hollywood gets so..........Hollywood!!! Think I'll be getting to Starbucks now and filling up on the Java. Take it easy peeps -

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 10:00 AM | Comments (20)