Hey Matt!
Wow... now THAT IS a coincidence! Jeeze, and I hate this tired cliche', but in this case I have to use it: What a small world!!!
Agreed, it was quite a shock when I heard of Gene's passing... ( it will be two years this April ) ... I was invited by the immediate family to the private services PRIOR to the public service, but the word got out and... it was jam packed at the funeral home. I've never seen anything like it. I mean fans and people from all over made the trip to be there, and this was HOURS BEFORE the public service. I was chatting with Todd inside and even he was blown away by it. Yes, Gene was quite popular, and even moreso "across the pond" as they say. Anyway,
That was a great offer from Gene to do that tour, and I didn't hesitate to take the gig. It was a blast, but also a bit of a pressure cooker as Gene keyed HEAVILY off the drums. The other thing was that Gene's backing band was a 15 piece big band complete with strings! Now that was fun to kick! I'll never foget the experience... or the packed concert venues either! Gene certainly had a loyal legion of fans. As a matter of fact, the only venue that wasn't full, was in Detroit. All the rest though... wow. You know, you either LOVED Gene's voice, or you didn't... there was no middle ground. We certainly played for all the people that LOVED it! A true gentleman... and the pay wasn't so bad either! :-) Again though, regarding the drums:
It was so much easier for the kit to be supplied than for me to have to drag mine all over the country... then there were the airlines, etc. It was a neat experience to have the drums already there and set up when you walked in for sound check.
Thanks for replying Matt! Too cool!
Tommyp