A look at the events aboard the

MYSTERY SHIP

Date: Thursday 11-8-07

Place: 3rd Stone from The Sun

Vessel: The S.S. Mystery Ship

To all crew members:

Morning - Today I received great news...... Our New Cactus Band CD and Thee Image albums have just been released in Japan. 

The cool thing about Japanese audiences is their ability to rise above the superficial aspects of an artist's appeal.                                                                      They are not so much impressed by a concert's mega-lighting system or special effects like a musician flying over their heads on wires as they are with the intensity of the artist's performance. Ability, passion, dedication, willingness to go above and beyond their expectations I feel, are the criteria that they measure a performer by and not necessarily in that order.

The one thing all the groups I have been with have in common, is most of the players give it all they've got when they're on the stage. No matter if there are 500,000 people in the audience or 500.... fans know that these guys are digging deep down inside themselves to bring out the best they have for the.

You would think that with all the awesome technology Japanese audiences have available for enhancing the entertainment experience that they might be jaded to some degree and expect cutting-edge production effects at live concert events. While they appreciate any effort to make the event an unforgettable one, I believe that 1000 Gene Simmons flying above the crowd spitting out "fire" while his band plays "I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night" would not compare to an acoustic jam with Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Billy Gibbons, Elvis Costello and Sting. Hey I like Gene, we've jammed together in Tampa for a children's charity and last time we met he said to me "ahh yes the guy who does that song I love 73 trombones!" He's a funny guy. But there are very few audiences I know that judge you by how good you are rather than by how good you appear to be. That's one of the many reasons I love Japanese music lovers!

Recently we played at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas. One of our sponsors were Panasonic. They are owned by a Japanese company, Matsushita. I had the pleasure of meeting with some of their execs and found them to be super people. After our show they came by our autographs table and we shared stories about the early days of Rock Music. Their vision for music and entertainment is right on target!

Here are some words of wisdom from them:

As we move forward together with our customers into the uncharted future of the 21st century with the prospect of future technologies and systems yet to be thought of, Panasonic's standards are still firmly grounded in the philosophy of company founder Konosuke Matsushita. He began our journey in 1918 by inventing a two-socket light fixture. Profound in its import yet elegantly simple, Konosuke Matsushita's breakthrough led to what is now one of the world's largest electronics companies. As he built Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., he never lost sight of the importance of putting the needs of his customers and the public first. Panasonic will continue its Customer First tradition of creating new products that resolve the challenges in business and personal life, helping us all enjoy more of what life has to offer. The name Panasonic is synonymous with innovation, quality, performance and ease of use. We look forward to a bright and shining technological future, and to playing a leading role in the digitally networked society, propelled by the creativity and dedication of our employees here and around the world.

Afternoon - Our present location:

Next Destination: Dallas Texas 11/24/07