As promised, another V Blog from the week of Diablo rehearsals. Those of you easily offended should not view this blog! It contains scenes of debauchery and perversion not witnessed since the age of the Roman Empire. Well ..... actually thats a lie!! A little nipple and a few swear words is more accurate, but I'm just trying to be socially aware here!! Busy days right now, but enjoy the blog, and we will be back for sure with another V Blog from the trip down to San Diego on Sunday for our first show. Until then, have a great couple of days, and see you at a show soon.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 10:54 AM | Comments (7)

August 16, 2006

CHANGES ALREADY!!!

I cannot tell you how long and hard this week has been for me. All the usual rubbish that I get myself into continues flooding in - and on top of that, Circus Diablo has been in the rehearsal studio with all guns blazing for 10 hours a day. My voice is shattered!! I am on voice rest right now. But the band sounds fucking awesome!! Cant wait. The bad news is that due to circumstances beyond our control, the San Francisco show on Friday has been cancelled. We will reschedule it at another time, and our sincere apologies to those planning on that night. So this makes the Sunday 20th San Diego show our first gig. Followed closely by the Key Club on Friday 25th in Los Angeles. And of course we also have the Vegas HOB show on Sept 1st and the Phoenix Martini Ranch on Sept 5th. Our agent came down to rehearsals and we started planning a few things. So wheels are in motion and all is well in the Diablo camp. Tonight is a TV dinner for me, and NO TALKING Morrison!!! V Blog tomorrow people. Sorry about Friday, but rest assured we will be up an at em next week.

See ya

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:37 PM | Comments (15)

August 12, 2006

SIN JIN SMYTH

UPDATE: The Podcast from last nights CFR with Alien Ant Farm and Jack Osbourne is now up in the Podcasts section of the site. If you have subscribed to the Billy Morrison Podcast in I-Tunes, it will automatically appear in your library.

Good morning. How are we all this fine Saturday? Hope everyone is fit and well and smiling. I've had a good week. Very fruitful. I think I am most excited about being asked to team up with Billy Duffy on the movie that has had his name attached to for a while. The film is called SIN JIN SMYTH, and one of the meetings I took last week was over at the Warner Bros lot with the director of the movie. I was contacted and asked if I would like to collaborate with Billy on some music for the film, as well as actually be in it. Now regular readers know that I have a little side penchant for acting, so needless to say I was intrigued. Working with Duffy is something I love doing anyway, and the chance to get more acting under my belt is always good. I went over, saw a 45 minute rough cut of the movie and was sold. Its fucking great!!! The movie stars Roddy Piper, Richard Tyson and Jonathan Davis (yes, he from Korn!) and is a modern horror flick. So I will be writing with Billy over the next few weeks and working on some music for the movie, AND we will be scheduling some days for shooting some scenes as well. My only stipulation was that I got to have a gun. A big gun. In fact, give me a MASSIVE weapon!!!! They agreed!!! So watch out - Morrison is literally about to blow some shit up!!CHECK IT OUT HERE.

I also went to see a screening of Employee Of The Month - the new Lions Gate movie that has a couple of Camp Freddy tracks attached. Starring Dane Cook, Dax Sheppard and Jessica Simpson, it is a comedy set in a HUGE superstore, and is VERY funny!! Andy Dick also appears in the movie, and the interaction between him and Dane and Dax is just hilarious. The movie opens in October and the soundtrack album is also slated for release at that time.

Yesterday was spent in the car. No, I am not exaggerating. I left the house at 11.00am and got back at 7.00pm. Could'a driven to Vegas and back. But where did I go? Irvine. 50 miles away!!! Oh my GOD!!! How do people live there? I mean its nice and all, but the WHOLE journey on any freeway is done at 3 miles an hour!!! I don't make a habit of blogging about the traffic, kids, so trust me when I say that it was the WORST drive of my life!! The day was all about setting up my new In Ear monitor system, and despite the terrible traffic, I am really excited to put it all to the test. Its now all racked up, ready to go, and Diablo start rehearsals for our dates on Monday, so I will get a full four days to dial it all in. I really am a tech geek, right??

Tonight is an all new CFR from 6.00pm to 8.00pm on Indie 103.1FM. Also available online at www.indie1031.fm. Tonight we have Alien Ant Farm popping by to participate in some Freddy radio madness - I believe Donovan is my partner in crime tonight - and rumor has it that I might be joining the band for an acoustic rendition of their hit, Smooth Criminal. WHAT?? An acoustic Michael Jackson song on CFR?? Lets see what happens.

Tina - We obviously have ideas about what the first single will be, but as we decided not to push for an 06 album release, we will save tose decisions for later on. You have NO IDEA how long the run up to an album release takes!! I mean, I didnt either. We will have details at some point, but suffice to say that the people we are talking to explained to us that releasing ANYTIME after October is a waste of time, (because of Xmas) and that they want us to release in the first few weeks of 07. There is no point in shooting ourselves in the foot just because of impatience, so we are taking our time. They are the ones who know about such things, so the decision on what single will be first is a way out yet.

Jay - Oh yes. I most certainly did see S.D.C. live. Many times. What an amazing band. WAY ahead of their time, and stunningly hip. It was always an event when they played - get dressed up, travel 200 miles to the show ...... and then have a fight!!! Good times.

OK. I have waffled on enough for today. Have a great weekend, tune in tonight for CFR if you can (and if you cant, you know that our very own UK Paul will be facilitating a Podcast for you!!) and I'll be back next week. I PROMISE another Diablo Rehearsal V Blog. Yeah, I know, I make some empty promises around here. But I will. I promise!!! !

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:32 AM | Comments (14)

August 09, 2006

NO DRAMA SO FAR

CAMP FREDDY: A brief look.

Please note that this is a large file size. A high speed connection is preferred.

A brief look at Saturdays show. Gotta tell you - it was pretty cool!! Hope you enjoy. So far, the week has gone pretty easily. Monday found me over at the Mastering Suite, with Mike Clink, mastering the three tracks that we recorded for the Employee Of The Month movie. The whole process of mastering is just completely beyond me!! I mean, I can hear the difference, and without a doubt, once songs are mastered, they sound fatter, louder ..... just ..... better. But how those guys do it, I just dont know. Its such a technical process, tweaking tiny portions of EQ, nudging REALLY expensive compressors and 'watching' the track on spectrum analysers ..... its pretty crazy to watch. Anyway, our tracks were done, they sound great, and we all get to go watch the movie at a screening on Thursday night. The soundtrack album is released sometime in October, and we have two tracks - Cheap Tricks Surrender, and Marc Bolans 20th Century Boy - both in the movie, and on the soundtrack.

Yesterday was a Circus Diablo business day - lots of emails and phonecalls from our tour manager, setting up the logistics that come with playing shows, and a long meeting with the business manager, setting up the myriad different things that need to be in place when a band actually becomes a band. Funny - when I was 16 and lying around playing guitar on my bed, dreaming of standing on a stage and playing to a packed house, I NEVER dreamt that I would know about, and understand, what an article of incorporation was!!! Billy Duffy and myself also spent a good few hours with guitars running through the songs, which is always so much fun for me. We start band rehearsals again at the end of the weekend, and it will be good to see the others again, and dial the set in some more. Looking forward to jumping in the bus and heading up to Frisco, and to our first show.

The rest of the week is all about dialling in my In Ears, my new Bradshaw rack, and generally being professional about my equipment. I like to turn up to rehearsals fully dialled and ready to go. Oh yeah, and its also going to be about finishing season three of The Shield!!! Is it just me, or is that show fucking AWESOME!!!!?? I am so into it - the same level of intensity that 24 gave me - God Save Netflix! It has opened me up to so much great entertainment. We are also deep into the whole Alias thing (Sydney Bristow - we LOVE her!!!), so as usual, there is a lot of great TV happening in Chez Morrison!!

MB - Camp Freddy loves an East Coast trip. But we can only do it when someone hires us to come!!! And unfortunately, there doesnt seem to be anything on the horizon right now. The shows in October are San Francisco, and Orange County (both private shows) - seems like everyone out there needs to start lobbying the rest of the members of CF to do another public show!!!! You know what to do!!!

Terri - I presume you are referring to the Diablo Vegas date? No, its NOT in stone. We are very frustrated right now, as we are trying to firm up three other dates - Phoenix, Vegas, and one other date - and it is proving to be very difficult. The Cult play in the UK very soon, and the time slot we have to do these three shows is very narrow. Be sure that we are doing our best to get those shows locked in - but if it doesnt happen, then its not meant to be. Right now, the purpose of doing a few shows is just to break our 'live virginity'. Proper tours and bigger coverage WILL come - trust me.

OK - its time. Need to leave. Thank you to EVERYONE who attempted to get in on Saturday (Theresa - I didnt realize you didnt get in. I'm so sorry - we'll arrange something for the next CF LA show, OK?) and thanks to all who keep visiting this site. I will be back on CFR this coming Saturday, and Indie have arranged for Alien Ant Farm (remember the Michael Jackson cover - Smooth Criminal?!) to visit us for part of the show. I'm having tons of fun around here - hope you are too.

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:13 AM | Comments (15)

August 06, 2006

FEELS LIKE A HANGOVER

Its been a little while since I had a drink, but this morning I feel 100% hung over!!! My body aches, my head is throbbing in a very big way, and my eyes will not focus on anything!! Last nights Freddy show was completely off the hook. One of the best shows we have ever done. I don't really know what it was - the choice of guests, the mood between us all, the audience ..... not really sure. All I know is we all had an amazing time, played really well, and the House Of Blues on Sunset was jumping last night. I'll have the full set list put up on the Camp Freddy site with a complete list of guests, but highlights were Robby Krieger from The Doors playing Roadhouse Blues with us (that guy is an amazing player, and lets face it - he pretty much invented all this 'Sunset Strip' scene ..... a real pleasure and an honor to have played with him).

Also, Cypress Hill and Slash just completely tearing up Rock Superstar and Paradise City, and a fucking amazing version of ACDC's Highway To Hell, with Billy Duffy and Slash guesting on guitars and The Panic Channel's Steve Issacs on vocals. I have to tell you that Steve just CRUSHED the song - I could not believe how amazing he was singing that track - and the audience were screaming the chorus along with him, making for one of the most memorable Camp Freddy moments ever. Its a pretty special band that we have created and I am very proud to be part of some incredible rock and roll history moments. You don't see this shit very often, and I honestly believe that the reson we are in our 5th year of existance is because of the attitude of the players. Everyone is a team player, there are no egos at a CF show, and I think that everyone involved always goes home with a smile on their face. THAT is how its meant to be.

I am too wasted this morning to type much more, but thank you SO very much to the LA chapter of the Diablo Street Team, who were out last night flyering for us. You know who you are, and you are doing a fantastic job. To be onstage at a Camp Freddy gig and have a Circus Diablo flyer come tumbling over the barricade onto the stage in front of you is a VERY cool thing!!!! Great to see a few friendly faces at the front (see .... I TOLD you that you could get in if you tried!) and thanks to everyone who attended the capacity show last night. A great evening, absolutely awesome to be back onstage with my Freddy brothers, and here's to many more like that one.

I am off to nurse my headache - maybe a couple of hours of shooting at the range will blast it out of me!!! Enjoy the pics, courtesy of our good friend, Todd Newman. More to come when I feel a little better. I know I have promised V Blogs, more dates, more info on stuff - thats why I dont like to say too much about things until they are FOR SURE. When I can give you details I will - but for now ...... where's that Starbucks and a pot of Asprin???

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 09:10 AM | Comments (17)

August 05, 2006

FREDDY PLAYS THE BLUES

OK heres the deal people. I have been unable to get on this blog as much as I would have liked this past week - I suppose that's a good thing cos it means that I am busy working! But I have missed the interaction, the comments, the questions! Next week is a little calmer, so I'll be around. And I will do a V Blog from todays Freddy show at the House Of Blues for sure. Should be able to get a few fun bits and pieces from the days events! Its really early, and those cameras I told you about a couple of weeks ago are due to knock on the door any second (round two of having your life examined under a microscope!!) so I'll keep it brief.

The week has been absolutely full of good stuff - from the whole In Ear monitor thing (getting moulded and ordering all the lovely shiny technology!) to guitar rehearsals with Billy Duffy for Diablo (you should hear some of the stuff that Duffy's doing on these tracks ..... fucking awesome guitar!!). There was a writing session at the Sunset Marquis with my old pal, Jed Leiber - we were working on an old riff that we have had for a while, and I started writing melody and lyric with him, and laid down a guide vocal. The cameras were there that day too, and we even did a walk through of the grounds, and talked about the day I got married there, with Robbie Williams as the Priest!! The song sounds pretty cool, and we will carry on with that one next week. If it turns out well, I'll put it up for some soundtrack stuff. And I took a great meeting over at the Warner Bros studios - seems like I'll be involved with a movie, doing some music and also being in the film. That one is exciting and when the paperwork is done, I'll fill you in on the details. We had a Diablo management meeting - went over the numbers for the upcoming dates, got on the same page with the three dates we are trying to add (again, details soon), got some updated info on the whole album release thing (it appears that the release date will be a bit later than we wanted, because of the whole Xmas thing - probably now very early 2007, with dates across the US to match. When its all signed, sealed and delivered, you will be the FIRST to know ....... trust me, I am as impatient as you are!!!) - and I generally caught up on a bunch of details.

So I am sure you lot will forgive me if I haven't been as accessible as usual - its just been a case of having to actually put the hours in this week. You know, Billy.... work??!! Shit - I forgot about how that feels!!! But its all in a good cause - it means that I continue to be able to make music, be creative and not jump off a tall building!! I better get my ass in gear otherwise those cameras will be filming me washing my hair!! Off to another great day of Camp Freddy madness! Thank you SO much to all the street team people - LA and SF are full up - we still need a couple of people in the OC/San Diego area and also Vegas. But its up and running now, with downloadable flyers and stencils, and we will add more and more material up there for all you Street Teamers as the weeks go by. We love you all. Thats it - gotta dash - see ya soon.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:14 AM | Comments (8)

August 02, 2006

A QUICK DIABLO UPDATE

Its very busy around here, what with the CF show, the Diablo dates and all the rest of it. So bear with me folks. Havent had much time to cruise the web and update stuff. But I do want to tell you all a couple of things. Some of our dates keep changing, and I dont want to confuse the issue by keep changing things on the sites - I want to wait until EVERYTHING is locked in, and then I will post the changes. I can tell you that San Francisco on the 18th, San Diego on 20th and Los Angeles on 25th are 100%. Those dates are not going anywhere. Phoenix, Vegas and one other keep moving around. When they are finalized, I will make sure that you all know about it.

The other thing I want to let you know about is the Street Team thing. What we are going to do this time around, is have an ONLINE flyer, and an ONLINE stencil (you know, for spraying through !!!! ) and when these moving dates settle down, we will put those up on a special link on the Circus Diablo site, and email that link to the Street Team members. So we know you havent heard back from Chris just yet - he is waiting to get all the ducks in a row before contacting you. But a lot of you have emailed and I really appreciate that. By the end of the weekend we will know what we're doing, we'll post the revised dates, Chris will contact the street team people and we'll all be happy bunnies!!!

I HAVE to get off this computer and get moving - tomorrow is a full day with a meeting and a movie screening in the morning, and then down to Irvine to get my ears moulded for my In-Ear monitors, made for me by Ultimate Ears. I will get a few pics while I'm doing that and post about it at some point cos that whole thing is a trip!! But thats another blog ......

Patience - its a virtue ..... but fucking hard to do!!!!

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 09:38 PM | Comments (9)