My only general rule was to steer away from things I played with the band over the past couple of tours. I was interested in re-shaping the Rising material for live shows, so people could hear the bare bones of that.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As soon as it was understood that we could handle things in our own way, it was the thrill of my life to walk out on that stage with people just hemming the band in.
The audiences are there as a result of my history with the band but also as a result of my being able to reach people with a tune.
When I go to shows, I'm really looking forward to hearing the songs I know. I don't like it when a band tries to expose me to new stuff.
I find a lot of up-and-coming musicians I enjoy, present them to my viewers - and hopefully inflate the growth of these artists by putting them in front an audience that wouldn't have been aware of them.
I've been told by a lot of people after concerts that they felt the show was just for them. And I try to make it that way.
You have to be willing to deal with the ups and downs of the music, the ups and downs of the audience.
I've definitely seen bands before they made money kind of change their thing on the next tour, and I prefer it when it's a little more raw.
I used to tour with this band. I was a drummer. I would tour a bunch for about 10 months out of the year and act for about two months. I would make what I needed from acting and would stretch it out.
When I stopped touring in the early '80s for a few years, it was a mistake looking back. I lost touch with my audience in a way and I think that was a bad career move.
I was so anxious to succeed that I made a practice of appearing on all the disc jockey shows I could, in order to publicize the band.