These notes come directly from Bill Rooney – manager for Chick Corea
for more than ten years and official road warrior.
Tour starts fortuitously with skycap being hugely honored to be
checking in Chick’s bags. Then we meet a couple in high enthusiasts
telling Chick that they are big fans and will be seeing at least 2 or
3 shows on this upcoming tour and wishing RTF good luck! Nice to feel
so welcomed.
Morning flight into Austin, TX finds us in a perfect place for
launching the tour. Great atmosphere, creative climate, beautiful, and
hot! Almost 100 degrees in May! A hot start for a hot tour.
Run into Stanley and Al at airport. Stanley flew from London direct
from gigging there.
On to the rehearsal room – our second home for a while – where band
meets crew: handshakes, “good to see you”’s, and with very little
ceremony, boom! It gets musical, and the group is right on it. RTF
sounding better than ever and really working hard to get the music
just right. The rehearsals last only four days to prepare before the
first show, and this music isn’t easy to play. You know RTF wants to
give their first audience their money’s worth.
Checking into the gear bag: Stanley’s set up looks like the old Grand
Funk Railroad! It’s arena sized!
Lenny got a brand-new custom drum set made of the same color (baby
blue) as his original (think any fans will notice?)
The real problem of the day is figuring out how we’re going to fit all
this gear into our buses and trucks! This is the most exciting tour
yet and also the loudest!
Crew is first-rate – here are the people behind the stage, setting it
up just right for the band and digging in for a world-wide trek:
Bernie Kirsh (FOH) — with Chick since the 70s. He has engineered most
of Chick’s records.
Denny Jagard (monitors) — Most recently worked with Prince
Travis Rogers — Stanley’s bass man, and, like Stanley, he too has to
switch between electric and acoustic and make it all good through that
massive setup (and it’s turned up to 11 no less)
Ethan Weber — Lights. Fresh from (ladies and gentlemen) The Stones!
Andy Brauer — One of the world’s top guitar techs. Just look at his
Web site: http://www.andybrauer.com/
Gary Grimm — Drum tech extraordinaire with Clapton, Eagles, and many others
Zero Nylin — Tour manager for McCoy Tyner, Lionel Richie, George Benson and more
Terry Cooley — Production manager for Beyonce, etc.
This RTF caravan is 20 people (with merchandise peeps and other
techs), 3 buses, and two trucks. Big wheels keep on turnin’ – and
we’re doing it all for you.
RTF’s first day was a 14-hour marathon of rehearsal, tech tweaking and
local (also hot) Tex-Mex food.
Here’s a peek at what the set list will probably look like to start the tour:
First Set
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Beyond the Seventh Galaxy
Dayride
Sorceress
Song to the Pharoah Kings
Second Set
Vulcan Worlds
No Mystery
The Romantic Warrior
Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant
Possible Encore (if you all want and clap loud):
Medieval Overture
Speaking of tunes, Chick has written a new one that will be ready soon
called: Galaxy 32 Star 4.
We couldn’t be more excited, from the guys tearing it up on the stage
all the way to the folks selling you T-shirts. This is as much fun for
us as it is for you. Except maybe the loading the truck part.
Please come back often for updates along the concert trail plus some
exclusive pix, perhaps a video or two and maybe a little howdy from
the guys.
Here’s to the first show: Tonight!
15 responses so far ↓
1 fred ravo // Jun 5, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I won’t miss the gig when it comes near my home!
2 Zcott // Jun 6, 2008 at 3:31 am
Good luck with the tour, guys! Great to see RTF back on the road; I hope I can catch you guys in the UK :-)
3 Poliotas // Jun 6, 2008 at 5:10 am
Sounds Great ! Looking to the show in Vilnius, Lithuania soon !
4 Braxton Pacatte // Jun 6, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I have waited 30 years for this reunion tour! Getting the blog from the road is a nice bonus. I have 2nd row Orchestra Pit seats for the 6/14 Phoenix show. This concert will be an experience to remember for a lifetime. Lenny’s Innovation Drumkit sure looks like the same color as the old baby blue Gretsch RTF kit, just like you said. 3 floor toms just like the 1970s kit. Could you let us know more details about the kit, such as: drum sizes and shell material? Maybe Gary Grimm could be coaxed into putting some tech notes here on the drumkit & about his part in the tour. Notes on Chick’s Keyboards, Stanley’s Basses and Al’s Guitars would be nice, too.
Thanks for putting the tour together! See you in Phoenix.
5 Kevin Carter // Jun 8, 2008 at 7:06 am
From Detroit : Wish I Could Make Show Hear But Lots Of Working Musicians Here Cant Make It . Come Back Soon Please!!!!!!!!
6 Russ // Jun 8, 2008 at 7:31 pm
One word from the Portland, OR show - WOW! Thank you so much for getting back together and playing here. My wife for 30 years goes to concerts with me as I try to recapture much of what I missed as a youth and some of what I actually caught which includes my first ever concert in Denver where you were playing ~1974/75. Seeing you together again was nothing short of magical. She was freakin a little bit before the show not being that familiar with the music- she was spell bound. End of story.
7 Stewart // Jun 22, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Just saw you guys last night in Detroit! It was like a 30 year time warp. What was especially cool was to see you guys all together. I have seen you all individually at different times but never together as RTF. Also, I was sitting 8 rows back, close enough to really see you guys play and really appreciate it! All of you still kick ass 110%. Stanley’s acoustic bass 20 minute solo was a trip! Insane!
If my late 70s memory is working right, back when I was in high school, I last saw Al Di Meola in Paris, France playing with Larry Coryell, Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin: 4 guys 4 acoustic guitars and 4 stools. That was one of the best concerts i have ever seen. Another great concert was with Chick Corea and I thnk it was Herbie Hancock also in Paris, France 2 guys, 2 grand pianos and a fantastic 2 hours of music. I know I saw Stanley Clarke during that same time frame too but I can’t remember exactly when or with who. Back then we could usually only afford the cheap seats way in the back and we were usually uh.. feeling pretty good, which probably has something to do with my lack of clear memory LOL!
This time it was great to be able to buy tickets that were up front and really see and appreciate the level at which you guys play.
Thanks for touring. Your schedule looks super busy. It is not like you guys even get a break between shows and venues! So hang in there and keep up the great music.
Stew in Detroit.
8 Poliotas // Jul 3, 2008 at 3:00 am
The show in Vilnius was stunning ! Great solos, but most of all i had a pleasure to hear well k’nown old tunes playing live today, near my home..(whoo can imagine that some day i will see these guys near my home, when i listened just RTF records in my school days, and to get these records was a deficit in Soviet Union times..), Chick is one of my musical heroes, and his staff- the base, great compositions, form, and fenomenal improvisations on it, along with fabulous Al’s and Stanley’s solos- the result is indeed amazing, trully Mans Band !(like Lenny said..) Thank You guys for coming to us, i brought some music students to the concert, i’m sure- You changed their lives! And for me it was big fiesta, of course ! Good luck on the European roads !
9 David // Jul 10, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Paris, L’Olympia. When Lenny said ‘we don’t announce the names of the tunes - because you know them all, right?’, actually in my case, nothing could have been further from the truth, so the odd intro would have been a bonus! But for the last 30 years or so, I’ve been listening, and marvelling at what you guys have produced - never anticipating that one day, the opportunity to experience it all LIVE would come around. Well, in Paris just a couple of days ago it did - and wow, this was a gig worth waiting for! 30 years’ of expectation consumed and totally justified in a little over two hours in the company of 4 fine musicians whose contribution to my own musical education and fulfilment, I really find hard to put into words. Thanks guys - for 3 decades of extreme listening pleasure - and an evening which will live on in both my wife’s my own mind, forever. Good luck with the rest of the Tour - and thanks again, for bringing your music to Europe.
10 Fredravo // Jul 11, 2008 at 10:46 am
2 days that I saw RTF in Paris and my memories are still immersed in this good moments of music!
Do not know what to say, words are missing, so thank you very, very much for allowing me to experience this.
Chick I still like when you double the drummer with your vibraphone mallets, there is some kind of magic in it, like when you played in “Jazz a Vienne” a couple years ago with Touchstone band!
I was right not to miss this gig!
I wish you all many, many good gigs and good moments together!
fred
11 J. Markus Sihvola // Jul 18, 2008 at 2:33 am
At Pori Jazz festival, Finland, 17th of July, the musicians seemed to have a good time on the stage and also the audience was very enthusiastic.
Live renditions of long pieces had even more epic feel than on records. At climax points (especially on “Song to the Pharoah Kings”) the band seemed to achieve a kind of intensity that is seldom heard anywhere. Bad acoustics blurred many notes but this is how I usually feel while listening to some rock band on the stage.
Sad that the gig was so short (due to a busy schedule). There was no “No Mystery” nor “Dayride” (and no time for encore - I was prepared for “we want more” chants). Thanks for the great show anyway!
12 Ken Klaver // Jul 23, 2008 at 1:39 pm
On 19 July I saw RTF in Essen, Germany.
I drove 200 km from Holland to Germany to finally see you guys playing live… It was great!! What an experience. I’ve been an RTF fan since the seventies, in my school days. I have never dreamt you’d come together again!
Thank you all for the great music throughout the years and for this concert I will never forget.
I wish you all the best!
Ken
13 Salvador Moreno // Jul 24, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Last July 12th at Lorca, Spain I had the chance of making one of my dreams come true. For over 30 years I have been following your music. Apart from the fact that you sound like if you have been playing together all your life, the concert itself, at that castle was really magic. Thanks to you all for signing my old record. and to you Lenny, for the sticks. A real treasure for an old fan like me. Good luck with your music and your lives!
14 CJ and Fredy // Jul 25, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Wow~! Nice concert in Nice. I thought it would be goofy with the olive trees and the difficulty of getting a clear view.
But one could see the smiles on the guys faces, which seemed about as big as the smiles on our faces, hearing lick after lick and the logic of each completed piece. Great music, well executed. Thanks for the joy.
15 Mark D. // Aug 10, 2008 at 12:24 am
I can’t thank you enough for reuniting and touring again. To this day, I consider Romantic Warrior my favorite album. I remember listening to it soon after it was released during my junior high years, too young to enjoying seeing you guys play live. Then the band went separate ways. YouTube was the closest I had ever been to seeing the live RTF until the 2008 Tour. I made the most of it — left home in Lawrence, Kansas to catch both shows in Austin, Dallas, Chicago and Indy (my work got in the way of us being “Mutually in Omaha” or me “Meeting You in St. Louis”). A wonderful and generous woman in Chicago gave my wife and me two backstage passes for after the show (I believe her cousin worked for the promoter), which enabled us to meet Stanley, Lenny and Al. The entire RTF groupie experience has been the highlight of my year, and I will remember it always. I hope you guys release a DVD so I can refresh my memory on the details from time to time. You guys were fantastic - the show was “intoxicating and euphoric.” Thank you again. Best wishes to you all in the future.
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