Rocko and the Devils Blog

Our new labor of love and teamwork - "DOMINO"!

2007-10-21T10:34:00.000-06:00

Well then......here it is ................ our new labor of love and teamwork - "DOMINO"!

We recorded this song last week in a beautiful studio in Nashville called "Ocean Way Studios" with our very talented friends Joe Martino producing with us and Steve Crowder engineering. We are very happy with the results, and we are anxious to let you hear it and give us your reactions.

As always, we are giving it away to you - our friends and fans, because we decided that if we put it on iTunes, Rhapsody, and the rest of the pay-for-play web sites it would not get the exposure it could get from the word of mouth network that we have from the Rocko and the Devils web site. So if you love it or you hate it..... at least spread the word to everyone you know to check it out at www.rockoandthedevils.com.

If you recall about us - we are the "Anti-rock stars". We don't sell recordings, we don't sell merch, we don't turn a profit, we aren't pretty, and we always have fun. Let us know whatcha think! .........

Love - Rocko and the Devils

Well.....Oops!.....we did it again.

2007-09-30T08:44:00.000-06:00

Well.....Oops!.....we did it again. The Devils pulled off another live performance in Victoria, BC. Once again I gotta tell you, WE HAD A BLAST! Granted, it was not the scale of our show with U2 last December, but the fun-factor was almost as good. The time leading into the gig was the most special to me however. Spending some time with Hans and Germana in Marysville, meeting Sammie again in Seattle, and having Donna with us at 2 shows was just as wonderful to me as the actual performance by the Devils. You are all very special friends to us, and we cannot thank you enough for all of your love and support for us. Also we want to thank all of you who were there in spirit.

As for our show in Victoria, it was more fun for us and the crew than for the Def Leppard fans, or so it seemed from my perspective. Let's face it...there is NOTHING like Zootopians! We had some problems with the sound board in the afternoon, so or only chance for rehearsal before the show kind of evaporated, but the Devils came through anyway! The guys in the band - Brent, Jim, Larry, Scott, and Terry all gave 1,000% and shined like the stars that they are. The crowd seemed a bit lifeless for the first couple of songs, but the guys played their arses off! I went out on the thrust that goes out into the audience to try to get the crowd going, and when the people just sat in their seats as I was singing to them, I decided to take it up a notch and jumped off the stage to take some laps through the crowd and bring the music even closer to them. I am sure they thought I was nuts, but since I am - it either entertained or frightened them. I think that's what I was after, and I succeeded!! I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the show and the load out, so I am sorry I didn't post something here sooner.

I still have 3 more Def Leppard shows to go, and the days are quite busy. After I get home at the end of this week I will give more details, and as soon as we can get the technology together, I am sure we will have some video. We are hoping to go into the studio in October to record our new song "Domino", so we will have something for you if all goes well. Mostly I wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you for your love and support. I am humbled by everything you do for us. Thank you so very much!!!!!!!

Love - Rocko

See the amazing pictures of Rocko and the Devils in concert in Victoria on the Photos page at www.rockoandthedevils.com.

Two days with Rocko and the Devils

2007-09-28T08:44:00.000-06:00

Vancouver/Victoria, BC, September 28th, 2007.

According to Joe Elliott of Def Leppard ‘what happens in Victoria, stays in Victoria”. I’ll have mercy on you and disregard some of that :-)

Thursday Rocko met me at the box office outside the venue. I could see him coming from about 100 ft away (I know that stride!) As he came toward me, two concert fans waylaid him to chit-chat, and as he finished talking to them, I stepped into his path. He moved to avoid bumping into me and I stepped back into his pathway, and he finally looked up, saw me, and a huge smile “Donna!?!”. Moments later, massive Rocko hug, totally spontaneous, totally enveloping, totally wonderful.

We picked up my pass and ticket, and ‘follow me’ and we’re off. In through the backstage door, right up to the back of the stage and the grand tour. I got to see Rick Allen’s custom drum kit, Larry Gowan’s keyboard on a circular base which allows him to spin it and do crazy things with it, and some tricks of the trade for which I’m sworn to secrecy but which looked pretty damn cool and which Rocko invented for the band. Rocko told me to dig out my camera, then took my picture in front of some of this damn cool stuff and told me ‘look like a rock star’. (easy for him to say!). I also got to stand out on the end of the stage in front of 60,000 (nearly) empty seats and see the view from the band’s perspective – something I’ve always had an inkling to do ‘one day’.

We did the rounds around the stage, around the venue, talked to venue security about a multitude of things, including some special info regarding 8 lucky kids who got to do a meet and greet with drummer Rick Allen through his charity venture Raven Drum Foundation. Everywhere we went, Rocko introduced himself to people that didn’t know him (which was very few btw), and introduced me to everyone he spoke to (which was just wild, really). A few times I hung back, not wanting to get in the way, and he would smile and wave me over close, and include me in the conversation. It was a small gesture with huge impact to me. ‘Keep up’ again, and we were off to the Devil’s dressing room to meet the band. He’d introduce me to each member as we found them, and as he said my name, they’d smile a little and say hi, shake my hand and Rocko would add ‘from our website’ and their smile would get huge and then would come the hug. Jim is hugely tall! And gorgeous hair. Brent seemed a touch shy, but a beautiful smile, and Larry I’ll never call you by the wrong name again J. We met Scott on the way back out of the dressing room, and I was introduced to another fellow (production manager?) and to keyboardist Terry. I didn’t realize until the next night which Terry I was shaking hands with hah. Rocko had to go do something so told me to make sure to get a picture with the Devils. Being in a photographer’s frame of mind, I literally pushed Jim over to the rest of the guys (sorry Jim) and told them to 'line up.' The other fellow (sorry I just cant remember your name) told me I had to be in the photo too (doh!) so I said, well, who’s going to take the photo? He took the photo for me and I felt dwarfed (literally and figuratively). They pulled me into their ranks and it was surreal being surrounded by such a great bunch of guys.

Rocko came back and we were off again! Believe him when he says he walks miles! In fact, he’s being conservative with his estimates, I figure. We went off to gather Rick Allen’s guests and Rick came out to meet and greet them and you should have seen their faces! It was great. I was introduced to Rick once he’d finished, and found out he’s from Sheffield (home of actor Sean Bean and Sheffield United Soccer team -great accent too).

Just before we said our goodbyes, I gave Rocko the Banner book. I took it out of the bubble wrap, opened the first page where Tina inscribed the book to him, and he was very touched by the gift. He looked at a few of the pages real quick and was amazed at how a book had been published already, promising to read it at first chance.

Another hug, and Rocko was off to shower and get into gear for the show and I went out to find my seat. We said our goodbyes, which was easy, as I was going to say hello again the next day.

Sunrise on the ferry to Victoria Friday morning

Friday a friend of mine, TM, came with me to the venue. We met just after 6pm, picked up our tickets and passes and weren’t sure what to do – wait for Rocko to come out, or go in ourselves. We saw about 30 people go inside but couldn’t find out which door they were let in, so decided to go around to the back door like I did on Thursday night. The venue security looked at our passes and waved us through, and we found ourselves inside the loading dock area right behind the stage. I heard music (loud, good music) coming from the stage, and was suddenly filled with an unexplained excitement and giddyness. My friend and I rounded the corner and we were on the floor right in front of the stage, and Rocko and the band were on stage doing a sound check. I stood off to the side a bit, and Brent noticed me first, and his face lit up. The song ended, Rocko gave instructions about tweaking the sound here and there, and then into the next song. By this time he’d noticed me as well, and smiled, and kept on singing. It was ‘I don’t wanna fall in love’ and he jumped of the stage on the side furthest away from us and disappeared… just this disembodied voice as he walked here and there testing the sound as he went. I knew from Hawaii show that he’d walk around the entire ramp area, so kept watching the rest of the band and Rocko ended up right behind my friend TM who had no clue he was there. When I turned and smiled at Rocko, TM turned around and was shocked to find Rocko right there, and singing to her! She broke up laughing and he jumped back on the stage to finish off the song.

(Photo actually taken during show not sound check)

They had a few other songs to burn through, but Rocko took the time to come over and say hello to my friend and said he’d try to come see us between acts if he could. (True to his word – he did come and find us between sets just to say hello and goodbye) so TM and I went to find our seats and wait for the show. (and I finally got to meet Maris and her friend just before show time).

After a Roadie stand-up comic (who was hilarious), the Devils were on. I told my friend that I’d be down on the floor taking photos for most of it and she was okay with that. I went down to the floor and showed my pass, and the venue security lady wouldn’t let me in. She didn’t recognize the pass. Rather than argue with her, I went over to the security guy near the backstage area. I showed him my pass, and he said I couldn’t go in without an escort. I tried to patiently explain to him that the pass was all access, that I was there to take photos for the Devils, that the Production Manager for Def was also a Devil (hah… pun not intended), and had signed my pass etc, but he wouldn’t budge. Meanwhile the beginning of Eleanor Rigby was playing already. I was panicked! Hans and Germana, Tina, Sammi, the rest of the devils fans wouldn’t let me come home with no photos.

I looked over and saw Terry, and asked if he remembered me from the night before and he said ‘yes, Donna’. I explained what was going on, so he told the security fellow to let me in. However… that got me beside the stage on the crew side and I still needed to be able to wander on the floor to take photos. One of the Devils came over and heard what was going on, and gave me his pass. Armed with this light saber, I was able to part the security venue staff like the proverbial Red Sea and got to roam everywhere and snap as many pics as I could! I roamed and snapped, and I’ll tell ya… lead singers move at the speed of sound and are impossible to get clear shots of! Rocko… buddy, you move at the speed of light!! I was at the end of the ramp figuring on getting a good shot as he 'meandered' down the catwalk. Right…. He moved so fast I couldn’t focus the camera on him and the resulting shot is Rocko’s smiling face about 6 inches from my face.

The set ended. I don’t know all the songs (sorry guys) but there was Road Rage, Broken Brains, Domino (yes… I do love that song!), as well as Eleanor Rigby and I don’t wanna fall in love and a few more I was unfamiliar with. There was a cover tune of Cheap Trick's Cool Voices (which i loved), and Vivian from Def came out to play guitar on two songs with the Devils. The Devils played at least 30-45 minutes and the crowd took a bit to warm up to the show, but once they did, they couldn’t get enough. The set was over, the band went off to do whatever they had to do and Rocko was back into Production Manager mode as they changed the stage over. I went out to look at the merchandise and heard many people talking about Rocko and the Devils, had quite a few stares at my Devil’s t-shirt (felt good btw), and there was incredible feedback on Domino. People were mentioning it by name and I heard someone humming it as I walked past.

The rest of the night passed quickly, Def Leppard were good, the crowd was appreciative, and then it was over and time to try and wind down from the whirlwind of the last two nights (which was veeeery hard to do)

Just also want to add this: there is a definite excitement in being part of a large touring production, even though I know the job takes its toll on mind and body more than any other job perhaps. The people I met both evenings were professional through and through. They each know their jobs; they strive to do the best they can to make sure the audience is only aware of the people on the front of the stage, and not about what goes on behind it. Rocko is a consummate professional, always polite, always positive, always ready to find solutions, and still able to smile endlessly throughout every stage of what he does. I was given 5 star treatment, made to feel comfortable and welcomed, and Rocko didn’t miss a beat with his job all at the same time. I didn’t manage to get a photo of Rocko and myself together in those two days, but those smiles and the warmth of the hugs is worth more than any photo in the world.

Donna Mair.

See the amazing pictures Donna took of Rocko and the Devils in concert in Victoria on the Photos page at www.rockoandthedevils.com.

Meeting Rocko in Seattle

2007-09-25T08:44:00.000-06:00

Seattle, September 25th, 2007.

Much of the work I do in activism is relational, concrete… we develop professional positive relationships with key people and I occasionally run into some amazing people. And then, much of the world of rock and roll is virtual… we are fans of people and bands who, well, they are one in a million or more, we are one OF a million or more. Sometimes the world collides, and in the world of U2 it’s a beautiful thing.

Rocko and his band of merry men deliver this atmosphere that both enforce and eliminate the velvet ropes, the distance between us and the band we love, and other bands that many love, of stages and ellipses, lights and sounds and walls. The artists can concentrate on communicating with us from the heart knowing Rocko and others pave the way for this. Nobody in the industry does it better… and that’s not just my personal opinion. And our Rocko's an unpretentious rock star in his own right who really loves his fans and has time for us.

He can pack 40 hours into a 24 hour day, and I feel he has a way, like I'd heard Bono does, of when you are with him the rest of the world can wait. He had to take a call or two… he’s a man in demand, but folks went to his voice mail too. He serenaded me… there’s a magic that happens there. He introduced me to other hard-working production crew, shared about some of the folks he worked with, gave opinions of the state of rock and roll in the world today, of life and love. Of previous years of the rock and roll lifestyle and what it has evolved into as these rockers grow up and still wanna rock and tour but live more grounded with wives and families here and at home. Teaching me the difference between tour manager, stage manager, production manager, I think there’s another manager or two in there I missed! Just an amazing amazing time.

Maybe the joke is true that it used to be sex, drugs, and rock and roll, it's Lipitor, Viagra, Starbucks and VH1 Classics! In fact that is the channel that is on in his motor home all the time, a mobile home he shares with about a dozen other staffers, one of many motor homes. While the world sleeps they roll down the road.

He has done one of the most awesomely, amazingly things I've ever seen done with a guitar… he takes all six strings and tunes them to an E chord. So an open strum is an E. And then he plays his new song Domino, and he plays chords on top of this E-strung guitar. I've got to try that. It sounds full, it sounds unlike anything I'd heard before. And he loves the response it brings, how it lights up fans like me on a new song he is so proud of. Just blew me away. Rocko, I never got to thank you for Blackbird. That song, I’d never heard in full-on chords, only picked thru as a ballad, it was great and affected me deeply. But I think you knew that.

The busses and rocker with a guitar on the curb attracted the attention of a few local people… we met a young guy who says he was a producer and even came back a while later to introduce his buddies. We sang them a hunk of broken brains. I’m not sure Rocko noticed the two young girls at the end of the drive, watching all this… I can see how rock star egos and groupies can develop quickly, and how refreshing it is when some like our man here, and often those he works for, realize this rock world is bullsh*t and the end of the day and busyness and heady-ness of it all, those at home really matter, and a handful of fans and friends who appreciate them for just being them.

He told donna previously that he would call her when he was with me, so on the way to the airport he called her and we sang part of Domino to her and I got to say hi. That was almost surreal, so cool. Unbelievable, can you believe our Rocko is an honorary fruitcake?

Sometimes when times like this happen I leave with tears of joy or as high as a kite or even sad it ended. Here with Rocko, I felt, feel valued. He wanted to see me, just me as I am, not a fan of anyone but him, I could have seen these bands in concert probably, but those of you that know me know I know more of them academically than their music, and Rocko was not on stage, missed him by two days. This time. He had an errand to run, about a 40 minute drive and it was awesome. And I got a concert on the curb like Germana and Hans did. And the laughter.

Thanks Rocko, see you soon. Stay close.

Sammi.

Backstage with Rocko at the Def Leppard concert

2007-09-16T11:13:00.001-06:00

Marysville, CA, September 14th, 2007.

Rocko is on tour with Def Leppard these days as the Production Manager and he invited us to the show of this historical rock band in Marysville. We got to the venue without any problem and went looking for 'a guy named Mike under an umbrella', who had our names on a list but didn't immediately realize it, and first sent us towards a sort of V.I.P. area of the parking but then came running after us to point us in the right direction... backstage parking. Next gate, and another guy wanted to steer us away and asked for credentials, but we did the magic move... we called Rocko. At this point the guy was probably starting to worry he was doing the wrong thing and he let us through even though he had no idea where we should go, and neither did we but our man came to rescue us and to open the final gate.. into the backstage parking lot where the big red/silver trucks were all lined up together with several tour buses.

He greeted us with his typical huge smile and a bear hug, put the backstage stickers on our Rocko and the Devils shirts and took us on a tour through the backstage area. And there we were, following the boss backstage shortly before the public was let into the venue. It was all ready for Foreigner to play, with Styx' equipment just around the corner ready to be rolled in, and Def Leppard's stuff already on stage, like Rick Allen's drum kit.

As we cautiously followed Rocko, it was obvious that he was in his element. How many times have you seen him in that position, overseeing everything? He showed us the video screens and mentioned that two of the three were a new design which makes the screens much lighter and allows the wind to go through. He asked us to compare the two different types of screens during the show, the new design had a lower resolution, but it was still much better than the screen of U2's Vertigo Tour which was in fact the older design cut up in smaller pieces to allow the wind to go through.

On our way to the catering tent we met Rick Allen, and Rocko introduced us as the ones responsible for the Rocko and the Devils web site. Rick mentioned the Def Leppard web site and MySpace and agreed on the importance for a band of having an online presence. He is a very friendly, very cool guy (also for being around backstage 3 hours before his show!).

Rocko also introduced us later to a bunch of people, a couple of which he has known and worked with for ages, and we also met Jeffro, original member of Rocko and the Devils when they were still simply the "Journey Crew Band" or "Jeffro and the Mooncrickets". The tour continued inside the "video control truck", which was densely packed with high-tech equipment and the crew member in charge explained how the video screens are controlled during the show. Seeing all this technology and the professional crew doing their magic is just amazing. There is a whole "small city" behind the stage with a great diversity of talented people all working together, perfectly coordinated, to produce an amazing concert night after night. Crew members deserve a big part of the applause after each show.

Dinner was veeery good, lots of options to choose from! and then they tell us it's a hard life on the road... HA! ;-p Scott came to meet us there, and once we were done with our food, ice cream in our hands, we went to visit Scott's "cave"... hehehe.... guitars, guitars, guitars... He explained how he prepares the guitars each day with the final check shortly before Def Leppard hits the stage. Germana had the honor of holding one of Phil Collen's guitars, a heavy one that was!!! Phil Collen only played a part of one song on it during the show.

A quick visit to the tour bus where we could see how the crew travels and lives while on the road...and then it was show time!!! No, no... not Def Leppard but the show we actually went there for! We sat on the asphalt "like a bunch of hippies" and got our private show, with the songs some lucky Canadians will get to hear from the whole band in less than two weeks... And did you know that With or Without You can seamlessly morph into "I want to hold your hand" by the Beatles? and into another 3 or 4 songs? But I digress... Rocko's new song is an extremely catchy tune, I still had it stuck in my head after 2 days, stay tuned for some surprise.....

We noticed several crew members with very original T-shirts and discovered that one of them designs these shirt (you can see some of them at thisgigsucks.com). One shirt had the text: "No Picks, No Sticks, No Set Lists, Beat it!"

Five minutes before Foreigner were scheduled to start, we went to find our seats, smack center 4 or 5 rows from the b-stage. Now a short side note... all of the Def Leppard's fans were very surprised and pleased by this "new" addition to the stage, that lets the band come out and play right in the middle of the crowd...

Foreigner played a good gig and after Foreigner's set we went backstage again to discuss their performance and we took the chance for a few pictures with the rock stars... Rocko and Scott! ..and one with Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan from Styx, when they were getting ready to take the stage.

Styx were also pretty good, unlike many young opening acts you see these days it didn't feel like they were playing the same song over and over again just changing the lyrics... you could actually hear very different songs. And the crowd, maybe because it was already dark at this point, was very much into it!

Foreigner and Styx were both so intense that when Def Leppard's turn came it felt like we had already come to the end of the night, but their show was also so good that time flew! We only knew one song of their set (Two Steps Behind), which was performed acoustically at the end of the B-stage, right in front of us.

We rushed as soon as the last song of the main set started, and backstage we ran again into a Rocko so busy he didn't even see us... we knew it would have been like this, he had warned us before, so we just made our way to the car and left, beating the traffic.

It was a very special night, so much that it *almost* makes up for the fact that we will miss the Devils playing in Victoria... but we know there will be other opportunities!

A huge thank you to Rocko for taking the time to show us around backstage, playing some songs in the parking lot, dinner and everything else. This man is a real pro in what he does, and on top of that he is a great guy with a heart of gold. Also many thanks to all the people who were so kind to talk to us, and give us a glimpse into the backstage world of a huge concert production like this one. And thanks to Foreigner, Styx and Def Leppard for putting up a great gig!

Germana and Hans.

Rocko and the Devils Open for Def Leppard

2007-09-07T11:22:00.000-06:00

It's Official!! Management signed off on us opening in Victoria, BC, Canada. Def Leppard with special guest Rocko and the Devils on September 28th at Save On Foods Memorial Centre.

Love - Rocko and the Devils

... 2 days earlier :

HELLO EVERYONE! THE DEVILS ARE CALLING! Boy oh boy! It has been a busy time on the Def Leppard tour for us Devils. The day after my birthday, August 21st in Raleigh, South Carolina - about 10 minutes before the show a huge storm came through and tore the roof off the stage we were set up on! Pulled it back like a sardine can and dumped tons of water all over the equipment....Check out the video on YouTube ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=OO3voY4--F4 ) No one was seriously hurt, but the show was postponed until a week later. Unfortunately that put us on a schedule of 10 shows in the last 13 days, with long bus rides on the few days off.

Sorry I have not written to you all sooner, but it has been a bit hectic. We have been working on a little something in the mean time however.......and I think you may already know what it is.......... OK......We have been very anxious to tell you this.........but after the embarrassment with the TV people, I was hesitant to say anything until it was a "for sure thing".

We got permission from the Def Leppard band members, we got the OK from the promoter, we got the OK from the booking agent, but we are still waiting for the top brass in management to say "IT"S A GO" before we announce that ..................ROCKO AND THE DEVILS WILL BE THE OPENING ACT FOR DEF LEPPARD ON SEPTEMBER 28TH IN VICTORIA, VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA!!!!!!

Love - Rocko and the Devils

Dear Sweet Eleanor

2007-02-21T13:52:00.000-06:00

Way back when Rocko and the Devils first got together to rehearse for our big night in Hawaii, we were all on time off from working for Journey and U2 in January of 2006. We had gotten permission to use Journey's equipment in their secret warehouse north of San Francisco. The guys in Journ ey are the greatest and were very helpful to us all through our adventure. We had to go out there anyway to pack up the gear for a one-off Journey show in Phoenix, so we just came out 6 days early and rehearsed. We were still not locked in on what we would play yet, so we just started messing around by jamming in the key of "E" since my limited voice range works well in that key. After trying several variations on a basic Metallica theme, for reasons I will never understand I started singing the words to Eleanor Rigby over this heavy rhythm of the old "Peter Gunn" bass line. It was just something we did and then looked at each other and went "WOW, this is cool! We continued messing with it.... trying 3 part harmony on the verses (made it sound too much like Yes), speeding it up, slowing it down, but it always came down to the version we played in Hawaii. For all of us the Beatles were the greatest songwriters ever, so it was important to us not to do anything disrespectful to any of their music, so if Sir Paul ever hears this version, please know that it was done out of pure love. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed playing it!

Love - Rocko

Link to the video with the Eleanor Rigby performance from the Hawaii concert:
http://www.rockoandthedevils.com/video/video.htm

And on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAwszCY5gxE

Happy St. Valentine Birthday, to all the animals!

2007-02-14T15:53:00.000-06:00

Today is a very special day- February 14th. This is the day that each year my wife and I celebrate our pet's birthday. Since our pets have always been acquired through Animal Shelters or Forgotten Four Paws, we aren't really sure of their official birthday. So we decided to consolidate them into one day that we could easily remember. Valentines Day just seemed like the best day because it's basis is pretty much centered around love, and the pets just overflow with unquestioning love for us. No matter how long I am gone.....6 minutes or 6 months, they are overjoyed at my return. We have 3 cats....all girls, so you don't tell their age.... their names are B.B. (as in B.B. King), Kiki (as in Kiki Dee), and Minky (as in...Minky!) Then there is their big brother....a Norwegian Elk hound, German Shepard mix who's name is Sharky. They are super-friends to them selves and us. We don't really consider them our pets as much as our furry children. To celebrate the occasion we are going to let them split an entire(de-boned of course)roasted chicken. They enjoy this more than you can imagine, and tolerate us singing "Happy Birthday" while they politely share the bird. So to all of you and all of them.......Happy St. Valentines Birthday!!!
Love - Rocko

Hola from partly sunny Florida!

2007-02-11T11:27:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is, my first Devil's Blog!! Had a few questions from everyone on the guestbook the other day, so here goes.

Germana- Yes, I do enjoy a good bottle of wine! I have been big on Australian wines lately. So much great wine, for a reasonable price! I am always up for suggestions on new ones, so lay some on me!! As for my everyday life? There are some things that happen on a daily basis when we are on the road, like unloading the truck, setting up the gear, doing the show, and putting it all back in the truck. However, it's the new faces and places that keep me out here. I love to travel, and experience new things, and being on the road, for me, is the ultimate way to see and learn something new every day. Not to mention, I get to play with cool toys!!!

Donna, I will visit my myspace later today.

Tina- I actually use my pedals on stage (did for the hawaii show) to get "my sound". I build them to keep me out of trouble when I am off the road. Got to have something to do with my free time, or I get stir crazy!! I also sell them through a friends store in San Francisco. As for a tropical island....... Had a fruity adult beverage or two, played a big rock show, and took a week off in Maui with my Girl!! Life is good!

Anyway, I would reallly like to say a personal Thank You to all of you who come and share in our little den of iniquity here on the web. I do check the message board almost daily, and really enjoy reading everyones comments and thoughts. Keep them coming!! Now, let me see if I can get some other Devilish figures to say hi!

Scott

Technology and the world

2007-02-08T14:30:00.000-06:00

Unbelievable! It is incredible to me that by smacking a bunch of buttons with letters and numbers on them that you can reach the entire planet. Even more so that the planet can talk back to you. And taking it one step further that we can share/relive that incredible night last December in Hawaii by putting one of our songs we performed on our web site and on YouTube.

Link to Rocko and the Devils on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/rockoandthedevils

Link to the "I Don't Wanna" video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_c6_IDREHs

Sharing is a good thing, and we love doing it. I am sure that if we had a recording contract, we would not be able to do this for free, so enjoy it while you can........and take big bites. We would love to put "Eleanor Rigby" and "I wanna be sedated" videos up on the site as well, but I have yet to get permission from the publishing companies to do it without paying up the ying yang. Maybe if the YouTube video gets enough views and "5-star" ratings it will make the industry sit up and take notice..........or maybe not!?! You people have the power, how you use it is the question.......

Love - Rocko

I Don't Wanna

2007-02-06T13:08:00.000-06:00

Greetings Devils Advocates! As you may have noticed, we now have a VIDEO of one of the songs we played in Hawaii up on the web site. Thank you to "The Doctor" for putting the technology together to do this. As I said in the last blog, there is a bit of work involved with putting any thing in the cyber domain without going through the legal stuff. This song was written by a friend of ours from Nashville by the name of J Paul. The first time I heard it on his myspace page ( www.myspace.com/jpaulmusic ), I really wanted to try to play it with the Devils. We had to change the key that it was written in originally, because I just can't sing that high!! We wanted to wait until J Paul actually heard our version of his song, to make sure he didn't hate it, before putting it on the Rocko and the Devils site. He wrote me back after seeing it and had very nice things to say about our performance. What a great guy, and what a talented songwriter. Check out his myspace, I think you will like his stuff.

I would love to put more stuff up, and I will in time, but please enjoy this one and let us know what you think. Please don't bother with any comparisons of his version to our version, ....that's boring! We love and respect J Paul for letting us play his song, and we hope you enjoy both versions!!! Talk at ya soon!!!

Love - Rocko

Hello...... what's this?

2007-02-05T08:42:00.000-06:00

Blog? Blog? What is this? Blog? Blog! .....BlogBlogBlogBlog!! Well.... it is fun to say anyway! Greetings to you all from your old pal Rocko. Sorry I have been a bit scarce on this web site of ours. I told myself that I would concentrate on doing all the little things around my home that I have said I would do "when I get time". I gave myself the deadline of Super Bowl Sunday to complete these tasks, and I have done a relatively good job of knocking them out. Today, I am putting the final coat of paint in my office, and then I am pretty much done..... until I find some more things to do!

Our new webmaster, who I call "The Doctor", has done a fantastic job of making-over the web site. The pictures that people have sent to us from the Hawaii show are unbelievable. Thank you all so much for sending them to us. If any more come to us we will add them to the rest.

A lot of you have asked about T-shirts, CD's, Video, or bootlegs of our show. Herein lies the problem with our little rock band in the real world. We don't have a record company, manager, or any more songs recorded...... yet! We did take some video of the show, and we have some cool stuff ready to show you, but then the "legal" issues come up. We cannot put anything on the Internet that we did didn't write unless we receive permission from the entity that owns the publishing rights. This can be relatively expensive for some songs. Now if we had a record company and a manager, this could all be subject to negotiation. At this point we have neither.

Since we first started this project, we have not made a dime on any of our songs because..... well, we have pretty much shared our music for free! Record Companies tend to frown on this kind of behaviour because it is not how they do business. We of course would like to become real rock stars and get a record contract and quit our jobs as road crew and play music for the rest of our lives, but it ain't gonna happen by next week. So we will still be working for artists that we love and doing the music on the side. As far as putting out our own video of the show, or printing our own T-shirts, or releasing a CD..... the up-front money to finance this is more than I can afford right now. After all, I am unemployed right now..... but not for long I suspect.

Now that's not to say we are giving up on the Devils by any means. I have been in my basement writing new songs, and I am pretty proud of them! I hope to get together with the rest of the guys soon and see what they sound like with their ideas as well. I do however want to share some of the video we have from Hawaii. I am just working out the details of some legal issues, which I should have very soon. So I hope you will be patient for just a little while longer, and I think you will find it is worth the wait. Stay tuned my friends!

Love - Rocko

Hawaii concert photo album (Rocko)

2007-01-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well.....sorry it has been a while. Rocko here! I know it has been a long time coming. but the photo page has been updated with pictures from Hawaii (http://www.rockoandthedevils.com/photos/).

What an incredible night that was! We are all still reeling after that experience! What can we every possibly do to top that. All of you who came to the show were so kind to us, it was as if you really sort of knew us before we played the show. It was completely a whirlwind experience, since right after we finished I had to turn back into the stage manager and do all the tasks for the end of the tour. I never really got a chance to talk to the U2 band members after the show, other than to give 'em a hug and say good-bye. That's just the way it goes I suppose, but I will see them again sooner than I realize. In the mean time, I am spending quite a lot of time in my studio basement (which my wife named "The Man Cave") and I will be spinning my wheel on creating more songs. If you have photos from December 9th, please use our web site to post them, we would love to see more from you all. Talk to you soon!.........

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook

Wonderful holidays (Rocko)

2006-12-31T13:00:00.001-06:00

Hello all of the friends of the Devils!!!!!

Rocko calling, and may I say thank you for understanding us taking a little bit of time off for the holidays. Each of us has been off doing family get togethers for Christmas, as I am sure all of you have as well. I hope each and everyone of you have had a wonderful Holiday season, and the best to you for the new year as well. Please be careful tonight as we bring in the new year, there is a lot of amateurs out there!........... As to what is up with us, we are still reeling from the incredible response we have had for our show in Hawaii that magical night a few weeks ago. As I always say..." mere words cannot express"..... but I do want to thank all of the fans who were there to see us, your response was incredible!!!! You have succeeded in making a bunch of road crew feel like rock stars, even if only for one day, and we shall always feel that you were the people who made it happen for us. Of course it would be great if we could go on writing new songs and recording them, but so far we haven't received any record deals, so we will continue producing shows for the artists we know and love. This doesn't mean we won't find a way to play again, it just won't be next week, that's all.

We have received a lot of great photos of the show, and we will be finding a way to post them for all to see and exchange. As was noted on the diary I did for U2.com, "it was like watching a dream from outside our bodies" so I want to thank ALL of you wonderful people who sent us pictures so we can see it really did happen!.........As to what we do next, the new year will bring new adventures, that is one thing for sure! As to what they are...... you know how we love surprises, and there are quite a few in store!!!! Just wait and see.......

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

A day in the life of Rocko

2006-12-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a diary I kept for u2.com of that night...

http://www.u2.com/highlights/?hid=335

At the final night on the Vertigo Tour, Rocko and the Devils – led by U2’s Stage Manager Rocko Reedy - got to open the show. Here’s the diary Rocko kept for U2.Com of a day he ‘took off his my stage manager hat and put on my rock star hat’.

A day in the life of Rocko

5:30 AM - Wake up from a dream that we played the first song and the crowd just stood there in silence. Jumped in the shower and went to the coffee place for a venti latte.

8:30 AM- Arrived at Aloha Stadium. U2 had done us the huge favor of sound checking the night before so we could get a sound check. Brought our van load of gear up on the 30 semi-trucks of gear that make up the U2 stage. Grabbed another cup of coffee and went to check out the sea-containers that we would load-out U2's equipment into after the show. It would be a long night from the look of the parking lot full of containers.

10:00 AM - Rocko and the Devils set their gear on stage at the same time our good friends from the Pearl Jam crew set up their stage stuff. With all their gear as well, it looked like we had a lot of stuff too. It looked cool!

11:00 AM - Rocko and the Devils start our sound check. It is the first time we all played together in 2 months, it was strange on the big stage, but the U2 crew helped us out, and it started to sound amazing.

12:00 Noon - Rocko and the Devils finish, and the Pearl Jam crew set the rest of the gear for their band's sound check. Between all 3 bands there is a lot of stuff up there. I take off my rock star hat and put on my stage manager hat. Jake Berry, my boss and my friend, takes off my stage manager hat and tells me to go be a rock star. This is killing me! This stage has been my home for 131 shows. I could (and have) walked it with my eyes closed. It was my hell and heaven. My best pet and my worst beast. I had not thought about the end of the tour yet. I went numb for a bit, then started to giggle uncontrollably.

3:00 PM - Pearl Jam come in for a sound check. The guys in the band are super cool, and they come up and say very nice things to us. It helps calm me down a bit.

4:00 PM - PJ finish and we reset Rocko and the Devils gear. I go out in the parking lot to meet family and get to chat with hundreds of U2 fans. Very nice people. Very strange they know my name.

6:30 PM - The house lights go out and we hit the stage! After the first song, the crowd applauds and screams wildly. This is very different from the dream I had this morning! I notice several of the REAL rock stars on the side watching us. OK, now I'm a little nervous.

6:45 PM No one has booed us yet, so I decide to go out on the catwalks, what an incredible feeling! Like watching a dream from outside our bodies! The crowd is full of incredible energy, and we soak it up like a sponge.

6:55 PM - People seem to like our music. I am flying on adrenaline, so we launch into The Ramones "I Wanna be Sedated". The whole place starts to pogo dance. We go into the stratosphere. I forget how tired and sore I am from my "day job" and leap 8 feet in the air and down into the pit for the last verse and chorus. Who the hell are these guys? Why are the audience screaming? How would you feel? No words can describe the feeling!

7:00 PM - WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU MAN! I put on my stage manager hat again and get back to work. OMG! It's the last show! Gotta get set lists! Gotta do set change! 2 sets of special guests on stage! House lights! Load out! Trucks, stagehands, forklifts!

6:00 AM the next morning - We finish load out and I head to the hotel. There is a marathon going on and I get within 500 feet of the hotel and I can't get through. I finally turn around and go to the airport and fall asleep in the parking lot of Starbucks.

10:00 AM - I finally get to the hotel. I fall into bed. To sleep... perchance to dream? Did this all really happen? So they tell me...

Love, Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

An amazing dream! (Brent)

2006-12-12T13:00:00.001-06:00

Aloha from NashVegas,

Brent Jeffers here...Had this amazing dream last night that I jammed with my devil buddies in a big giant stadium on a tropical island in front of thousands of people. In all seriousness, this dream come true was one of the most euphoric 25 minutes of my life. It was such a rush seeing all you Devil Advocates out there rocking and singing along with us, it's an experience I'll never forget thanks to you. Scott, Jim, Larry, Dan, and Rocko...you are not only great musicians but also my friends. It was an honor to share the stage with you. Also, thanks to Jeffro, Chuck, and Mike for watching our backs. Y'all take care now, ya hea.

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

WOW!! (Rocko)

2006-12-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Devils Advocates,

Rocko, "back on One".....Wow! What mere words can describe how I feel right now?!? Rip Van Winkle maybe, as I have just slept more in the last 24 hours than I have in the last month. What a whirlwind of a month it has been, and a typhoon with an earthquake day in Honolulu on December 9th. It is definitely beyond description, but not beyond giving the proper thanks where it is due to all the people that made our incredible dream come true!

Where do I begin?.............Well of course first and foremost it must be giving the Devils their due! To my brothers - Larry O'Connor, Jim Handley, Brent Jeffers and Scott Appleton, as well as the "Inspirational Padre" Terry Lawless, and our well endowed crew - Jeffro Hannah, Kevin Elson, Chuck Beckler, and Mike Price. You guys are the most talented humans I have ever had the pure pleasure of working so hard with. Thank you for enduring my relentless verbal torture and abuse......and not giving up!......

To the wonderful U2 crew - one hundred plus of the hardest working, most loving bunch of guys and girls I have ever known!.......To Adam, Bono, Larry, and Edge (A,B,L,E) the most able and capable men I have ever worked so hard for and with. You have always inspired and driven me, and now have shown me the way to bring it to others using the energy they give you!........ To Paul McGuiness, the man who bravely gave me the chance to come from being Pinocchio to becoming a real live boy!.......

To Melanie, our webmistess and cyber-babe extraordinaire who gave us a path to the world through a bunch of buttons with letters on them......and of course, as I have not overstated enough to please myself, to each and every one of you that come here to the Rocko and the Devils web site - Zootopians, U2 fans, Journey fans, new and old friends, and the generally curious souls who have supported and inspired us to play with the last drop of essence in our souls on that wonderful warm night a couple of days ago. Here is to all of you who were there with us in person - and the rest of you who were there in spirit. Your energy for the last year has inspired us to give the most joyful noise we could never have imagined we could possibly make. Thank you for the love, thank you for the courage, and thank you for giving us the Devil music your parents warned you about!! ...........

Throughout this entire project, as well as the U2 tours I have worked for the last 15 years, there is one person I have seldom mentioned here. This is because I guard my private life very tenaciously, but I must now cry out with joy as I share this moment of joy. She has given me the courage to achieve goals when I am so weary I felt I could not go on, to play the music in my soul when my fingers hurt so bad, and to sing the notes in my mind that my voice could not reach. She has stayed by my side when I am away from home for so many months, and I love her more now than I ever have before. To my wonderful wife Hollie, who has never held me back from my dreams, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........As to what is next? More songs? Another tour? A CD? A video? ........Let us all enjoy Christmas, and then get ready for the adventures of the new year!!! .........but The Devils ain't done yet, not by a long shot!!!!!!!!.............

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

WHAT A NIGHT!!! (Scott)

2006-12-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

WHAT A NIGHT!!! I am still on cloud 9 even almost 24 hours later!! Looking at the sea of people in front of us last night was one of the most exhilerating experiences of my life!! First off, I have to say a HUGE Thank You to everyone who was at the show!! Germana, and the girls were right down front with their devil horns on, and I saw a bunch more out there in the audience before the show started! I can't tell you how cool that was!! Second, I have to give a really huge Thank You to all of the U2 tour personnel. They really went the extra mile for us, on the last day of a tour (which is always the busiest), and for dealing with a few tech's pretending to be rockstars for the day, I salute you! Of course big thanks to U2, Paul McGuiness, and Jake Berry for letting us play. Jeffro, Mike and Chuck, we couldn't have done it without you!! And last but not least, I have to thank my band mates, we worked really hard for this, and how sweet it is!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!! Now, it's time for a cold adult beverage on the beach!!

Scott

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Thank you!!! (Jim)

2006-12-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

Greetings one and all!!! I'm sitting in the dressing room and Pearl Jam is on now. There are not words to express my gratitude to Rocko Reedy, Scott Appleton, Brent Jeffers, Larry O'Connor, Dan Tracey, Chuck Beckler, and Jeff Hannah. AND....of course to EVERYONE who's been so good to all of us. It was GREAT to see signs and people wearing horns!! Thank you to the wonderfull gents in U2 for having us along.

Thank you........

Jim Handley/Rocko and the Devils

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Devils rock the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii!!!

2006-12-09T19:09:00.000-06:00

What a show!!!!!!!!!

See the complete photo album on the Rocko and the Devils web site:

http://www.rockoandthedevils.com/photos/

Some comments from the ones who were there at the Aloha Stadium:

"You Guys ROCKED the stage in Hawaii.... Awesome band, Awesome music. Hope to hear more from you guys in the future."

"What an amazing show! We were right down in front of the stage to watch as Rocko and the Devils treated the crowd to a healthy serving of all out rock and roll. Wonderful version of "Eleanor Rigby." Outstanding and heartfelt version of "Dirty Roadie." Everyone in the band was feeling it and playing great. They just nailed the closing version of "I Wanna Be Sedated." The crowd loved the Devils! We were all smiles and high-fives throughout the set. As a fellow graduate, I was totally stoked to see two fellow alums of Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois (Rocko and Larry) setting the bar for Pearl Jam and U2. By the way, we got many compliments on the high-quality Devils t-shirts. Hope you sold all of them! Still glowing! " ~ Mike-o

"Rocko, the smile on your face last night as you guys played was angelic :) (a devil? yeah right lol). you fairly glowed the entire set. And you had the crowd listening from the get go, you really know how to engage people to listen. The rest of you guys were fantastic too - the sound was incredibly clear in the stands, much more clear than the band that followed you :). My friend jacquie (justgimmewhatiwant) just said to tell you: she was very impressed, and thought you were awesome too... that you guys are incredible live. I agree. " ~Donna m

"Hey Rocko and the Devils! You guys did a FANTASTIC JOB on Saturday night - bona fide rock stars to be sure! Your energy and enthusiasm on stage was so apparent, we could see you guys were enjoying every second of the performance, as did we :) It won't be long now that the "Who the hell are these guys?' will have to be deleted from your concert t-shirts. ... I hope you guys can get some much deserved rest and relaxation for a little while at least. Keep following your dreams and we hope to see you again soon." ~ The Canadian Contigent Cathy, Kim, Katie, Dorota, Penny, Mel, Mike, Janet and Trev

"Now that was a fun show! Rocko and you little Devils you R-O-C-K!!! Didn't get to buy your t-shirt so now I'll have pay like $500 on e-bay or something, darn. So anyway you were great and the night was great at Aloha. Thanks for rocking and for taking care of the Rockstar. You are the Rockstar's Rockstar!" ~ Love, Alli M, Alameda, CA

"Wow...Rocko, you guys were awesome....I really thought the energy was amazing! And since I was on the end of Edge's B-stage I got a handshake from Rocko!! Congratulations on your chance to shine in front of the stadium crowd! I really appreciate all you have gone through to get to that point!! Sounded great ...keep it up guys!" ~ Eden aka Steelerfan!!

"You were clearly having a lot of fun, and your energy was infectious. Thanks for the entertainment - and for setting the mood for U2 - it was a great show. IMHO - PJ should have stayed home, and let you guys play longer :-)) Take care guys, and keep rockin" ~ Julie aka trinity1167

"Rocko and the rest of the Devils! I could not WAIT to see you guys take the stage and I was not disappointed! As soon as I heard you start I dropped my stuff at the ONE table and ran down to watch. What fun!!!! ... And I can't wait to see who ends up opening up for YOU GUYS ONE DAY!" ~ Beth (trescrazymonkeys!) P.S. Thanks for kicking off a great show. Oh and by the way, "Road Rage" got me through most of mile 17 in the marathon......! Had it in my ipod!

"Your set in Bonolulu was definately a highlight Rocko. It was almost surreal, but for a little while yours, and ours, dream came true. i even got Eleanor Rigby after you said you weren't playing it - go on, lie to me again . . . . . LOL! and i can't see this performance as a one-time shot - yer good! see you soon. may you get everything your heart desires -you worked hard and deserve it. stay close" ~ sammi from seattle =)

"is it really over? I mean... really??? when's the next Rocko and the Devils show? I guess now the U2 crew has finally understood that sign I had... "I love Dirty Roadies"... My horns have been with me for all the dates of the australian tour as you know, and now they're in my suitcase, sadly waiting for another chance... I was prepared to have a post-U2-tour depression, and I have a post-Rocko and the Devils-gig depression instead. It would've been better for me without PJ, and one hour and half of you guys!!! It was so great to be there and see you playing in front of that giant crowd... and Scott's face when he saw me and my horns and my signs, and the surprise on his face watching me singing along to most of the Devils songs..... hehe ok I'll admit I haven't learnt Road Rage too well :p Thank you guys... ... Thank you, thank you, thank you, I will miss you. Here's to hoping I'll see you and the Devils again on stage soon :)" ~ Love, Germana

"Dear Rocko, thank you very much for coming over, for adding something to the banner. 'The devils work is never done.' I sure hope so, because I really enjoyed the show. You all looked so delighted up there. It really was a treat to see and hear you guys deliver what you promised. heehee, I was actually proud to be wearing those silly horns Germana pushed in my hands :-). ... // congrats for fulfilling dreams. Life doesn't get much better than that !" ~ Love, Tina

"Hi Devils! What a great show you guys did! Congratulations :) That was so awesome, you rocked the stadium and its surroundings. Let us know if you're going to play more gigs. Thanks for keeping in touch with all of us these months. Rocko, I did finish the marathon after the show, in 4:44 hours. Could have been less if I hadn't injured my knee after 20 miles. It was great anyway, the adrenaline of your show, PJ and U2 was still running through my body. A big mahalo to all you Devils! I wear my Devils shirt with pride! Take care." ~ Hans

"Thanks for the great opening to an excellent concert. Looking forward to your next tour!!" ~ Paula

"Hello Rocko, hello Devils! Mahalo for a wonderful show in Honolulu. I had a great time listening to you and seeing how much fun you all had up on stage. It was even better than listening to your recordings. I hope that your shirts will be available online because I couldn't find any :( Happy Holidays!!" ~ JuneT

"Hey Rocko- You guys were amazing in Honolulu....I would rather see you than most opening acts any day. Your set had so much energy and you really seemed to be having fun up there. My friend and I were down on rail on the headphone on Edge's side and we were shrieking like little girls when you reached out and touched our hands. Thanks again!" ~ Emily

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Larry ready to rock 'n roll!

2006-12-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone for your support. It's been a long time since i rocked and rolled(about 40 years) I'll be thinking up there about all the great musicians I had the honor of playing with over the years. (Especially you Mick) Thanks for thinking of me Rocko when you put this thing together even though I know McCartney was available.

Your pal, Larry

PS Lets go kick their ass................

Ready to ROCK!!!

2006-12-05T13:00:00.001-06:00

Hey Everyone!!! Hope you are all as psyched as we are for Saturday!! The Devils are all in Nashville today, sans Rocko, rehearsing for the big gig, and we are ready to ROCK!!!!!!!!! We have workded very hard, to put on the best show we possibly can, and now we are ready to have some fun with all of you!! See you Saturday!! 6:30 sharp!!!!!

The Devils

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

T-shirts avalable at the Hawaii show (Rocko)

2006-12-05T13:00:00.000-06:00

Rocko and the Devils T-shirts will be available for sale at the show. There will be a limited amount of shirts (500) and there is only one style. If demand warrants it, they may be available on line through U2.com, but I didn't want to get stuck with a butt-load of expensive car washing rags after the show.

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Singing with U2 in Tokyo (Rocko)

2006-12-01T13:00:00.000-06:00

Dear friends of the Devils,

Rocko calling! Sorry I have been out of touch with you all, it has been extremely busy in U2 world. The roller coaster of life on the road with U2 has been going 1,000 mph, and the events leading up to our performance in Hawaii has taken some exciting turns. I am so excited I can't sleep, it is 5:30 AM here in Tokyo. We have done 2 shows here and had to load out the equipment for 3 days so Eric Clapton can do a show in the same venue tonight. On the flight here 5 days ago, I played a song for Bono on the plane, it is a song that you guys have not heard us play yet, and I was going to let it be a surprise.... but the sequence of events over the last few days has me reeling.

We have a version of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" that we are going to open our show with in Hawaii, but it is unlike anything you have ever heard. Everyone knows it is against the Rules of Rock to try to play a song by the Fab Four and expect people to like it, but we are very proud of this one. I had not let the members of U2 hear any of our stuff yet, but I let Bono hear it on the flight to Tokyo...... and his reaction was incredible. The next things that happened are beyond belief for me, so I would not be surprised if you think I am making this up, but it did happen, I swear!!!!!!

Last night U2 did a performance of "Vertigo" and "Windows in the Sky" on a rooftop in downtown Tokyo for live broadcast on Japanese television. The view was absolutely spectacular!!! Bono was busy all day with speaking engagements to increase awareness of World AIDS Day in places all over Tokyo. Once again I am so proud to be involved with a man who gives so much of himself to help the world community, he is an inspiration to me when I am dead tired from hauling 30 trucks of gear around the world for U2. Because he could not be at the location until about 20 minutes before the live performance broadcast all over Japan, Edge had asked me to stand -in for Bono for the run through's in the afternoon............um, excuse me?......am I dreaming?.......did Rocko just say that he sang with U2 on a rooftop in Tokyo?

.......Yep, I got to sing with Adam, Edge, and Larry with the beautiful city of Tokyo spectacularly lit up in the background. It makes playing in Hawaii seem like a walk in the park, but I am soooooooo excited I am about to burst. My vocals were not great on Vertigo or Windows by comparison to the greatest singer in the world, but for these guys to let me do this with them........I have no words that could adequately describe how I feel. I am still numb to the whole thing, maybe I am still asleep and I am just dreaming that all of this happened........OW! ......nope ......I just punched myself in the face and it really hurt, so I guess this is real!!!!!!

The one thing I do not want to lose track of as we move ever so closer to the show in Honolulu is this - if it was not for all of you, the incredible fans of U2 who come to our web site, none of this would be possible. I would just be the dirty roadie that I have been for the last 32 years, loading 'em in and loading 'em out. You all have made this a spectacular event in our lives, for Scott, Jim, Larry, Brent, and me, and I hope we don't disappoint you when we play. Everything we do is for you, and I hope we are worthy of all the love you have shared with us. Stand by to go live!! You guys are the biggest part of the Devils!!!!!!

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Devils open at 6:30 PM in Honolulu (Rocko)

2006-11-18T13:07:00.000-06:00

Dear Everyone, First of all - THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!!! You have done an amazing job of getting the word out about our band. People are coming to this web site in record numbers, and downloading our tunes more than ever before! We have just found out that Rocko and the Devils will be performing at 6:30 PM on December 9th. The ticketed show time is listed as an hour later, but we are starting this early to make sure that Pearl Jam and U2 have enough time to do their full sets. We hope you all can spread the word so there is still a lot of fans there early enough to see us. We are just grateful for the opportunity to play for you all, no matter what time we start our show! To be able to open for two of the biggest bands in the world is beyond comprehension, however for us personally to be able to perform for you guys, the fans of U2 and Pearl Jam.... well.... I gotta tell you.... we are overwhelmed with joy!!! Thank you so much, and get ready for a burst of energy and excitement that will make your soul shake to the core!!!! . .. ..

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Aloha from Brent

2006-11-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody Brent here, haven't signed on for quite a while, But like Rocko has said we all have been very been this summer. Scott, Jim and I are coming up to our 80th show with the Journey and Def Leppard tour. What a great experience this has been. We all got along great and became 1 big happy family. I had the opportunity to rekindle a friendship with Dave Wolf, Def Leppards Guitar tech who I worked with back in 1987 on my first tour with Stryper. Anyway, 5 shows left on this classic rock tour, and we are all starting to really focus on the big show coming up in Hawaii. Even though Rocko is on the opposite side of the planet, we are staying in touch daily, (I'd hate to see Rockos phone bill). We will be getting together for a dress rehearsal in Nashville before flying out to Hawaii. Less than a month away.WOW

Aloha, Brent

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Rehearsing Devil songs in Sydney (Rocko)

2006-11-12T13:01:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well! Haven't we been busy little Devils.... Greetings, G'day, hello and "how ya doin'" from Rocko. I haven't had a chance to write here in the guest book for quite some time, but we finally had an actual day off here in Sydney, Australia after finishing the first 2 of 3 shows. So what did I do on my day off? Of course I went to the empty stadium and scrubbed the floor of our mammoth stage. After storing it for 7 months and then getting enough rain to frighten even Noah with his ark, it was a bit dirty to say the least, so I went over to the Telstra Stadium by myself to scrub it down. I didn't want any help from the rest of the crew, as they deserved a clear day off. I also had devilish motives for my solo venture, I wanted to rehearse my vocals. So I took my iPod full of Devil songs with my custom made Ultimate Ears in-ear monitors (...which absolutely are the best!!!) and went and sang very loudly to 74,000 empty seats (....and 12 very puzzled security police guarding the gear) while I scrubbed the stage on my hands and knees. I believe on the night in Hawaii I will sing standing up, as it would be hard to play my guitars in that "pony position". The security folks thought I was out of my mind, and of course they were right! It's just that when I am working on the U2 show, I am so busy I cannot afford to let my mind wander from my duties as stage manager. It is a full time gig that requires my full attention, but it pays off in spades when we have U2 shows as good as the ones we have under our collective belts. Last nights' was the best so far, first of all because it didn't rain!!!! The band was in fine form and surprised the crowd (and us!!!) by playing some rare gems they haven't played on the Vertigo tour before. But today was my day, so I got the stage clean and sang for a good 4 hours, or roughly going over our Rocko and the Devils set 8 times. It felt pretty damn good!!!! Bring on Honolulu baby, I'm ready!!!!! Brent, Jim and Scott are still working the final 6 shows of the Journey/Def Leppard tour, so they are busy little devils as well, however they will rehearse in Nashville together with Larry one last time before they hop on a plane to Hawaii. We hope to rehearse as a band in Honolulu before the show, but after playing a private show for the Def Leppard and Journey band and crew members last October 24th in Grand Rapids at a very cool club called "The Intersection", I can safely say WE ARE ALL READY!!!! I really miss the Devils, and it is strange being on the opposite side of the planet from them, but I feel with them in spirit, and thanks to worldwide cell phone/Internet technology - I can wake them up in the middle of the night when it is 17 hours later for me!!!! I will write to you again soon - as time allows, but with a little prodding..... maybe the rest of the Devils will check in here in the guest book...................

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Devils fans spot Rocko in Sydney

2006-11-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

Honolulu here we come (Rocko)

2006-11-01T13:00:00.000-06:00

G'day my friends! Rocko calling from the land down under! It is a beautiful day in Brisbane, Australia, and the U2 crew is all here putting the tour back together for the rescheduled shows. The plane ride to get here was brutal(30 hours of flying for me), but it was great to get back together with my U2 crew mates again! Everyone on the U2 crew is excited for us to be playing in Hawaii, and we are ready to rock! We will be here in Brisbane polishing up the stage and programming all the lights, sound, and video for U2 to carry on the Vertigo tour to completion. There is a great sense of pride amongst the crew to make this the best shows we have ever been a part of for the band, and we are anxious to kick it into gear and get the show on the road!!!!

Sorry the Rocko and the Devils site has been wacky lately, and thanks to our fantastic web mistress Melanie for getting it going again. She is truly the "queen of Cyberspace" for us. Thank you, and a big shout out to Melanie!!!! There was such a tremendous surge of people coming here that the server did a meltdown. Thank you all for your patience and understanding - and please keep coming and writing to us on this guest book page. We love to hear from you! Time for me to get to work, but we look forward to reading your comments each day! As you can see, we have lost a ton of postings from you all since August 28th - which is regrettable, but I hope you will spread the word that we are up and running again, and you can fill it up again with your wit, wisdom and love!!!! Honolulu here we come.......

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 4

New recording - Dirty Roadies

2006-10-18T13:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Zootopians,

We have put two new songs on Rocko and the Devils web site. A new mix of "ROAD RAGE" and a song no one has heard (at least not our version) called "Dirty Roadies". Please enjoy them, and if you do.... please tell the planet about our web site.

http://rockoandthedevils.com/mp3/MP3.htm

Mahalo!

Rocko and the Devils

Original post and replies in: U2 Fans Unite in Hawaii message forum

New recordings from Nashville!!!

2006-10-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

ROCKO AND THE DEVILS CALLING!!! ALL RIGHT THEN EVERYONE! I HAVE MY CAPS LOCK FULLY ENGAGED FOR A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! LISTEN UP! .....Ahem,....Sorry about shouting, but we are very excited here in the Rocko and the Devils web site. As you may know, we went into a recording studio last week in Nashville to record our rehearsal for the Hawaii show, and the results were absolutely stunning! We are dying to share the tunes with you all, but we have to move cautiously because of legal stuff (copyright, publishing, public display of affection, that kind of stuff...) so we are going to release the songs one at a time over the next couple of weeks. Make sure your Browser cache is clear before you go there, but if you go to www.rockoandthedevils.com and then click on the MUSIC page and click on "Broken Brains", you will find a brand new remix of our song. I think you will find it very interesting to hear the evolution of the tune from the original version. First of all, it's in stereo! Secondly there are now background vocals on it, and most of all the recording quality is much better than the first basement tapes we have had on the site the past several months. We may be making a big mistake by releasing these for free, but we are just too excited to keep this to ourselves. So download Broken Brains and crank it up on your stereo, I-pod, or whatever media you have, and let us know what you think!!!

Love - Rocko and the Devils

Original post and replies in: U2 Fans Unite in Hawaii message forum

Guestbook down (Rocko)

2006-09-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello.......hmmmm..........You must be Zootopians............My name is Rocko.............yep...........that Rocko!.............. I wanted to first of all thank all of you who have been so nice to us in your letters and comments on our web site. Although we would love to join you in some of the wonderful activities you have planned for Hawaii, please accept our humble regrets that we won't be able to come as I still have to give my undivided attention to putting the U2 production together. After all, it will be the most important show OF THE CENTURY! So I've got to make sure everything is right with my "day job". Thank you so much for your offer, however. I do come here to your web site, as well as U2.com, but I resist the urge to write things in here.It is your web site, the true U2 fans, and I respect that very much. I do think you guys have a great thing going here, a lot of hard work by you all, and it shows what creative and humorous people you are. Nice work!I wanted to let you know that our web site - rockoandthedevils.com has not been working properly for the last week. We are trying to fix it, but we think someone may have hacked into it. If you try to write something in our guestbook, it just keeps asking for the password over and over. We hope to fix this as soon as possible, so please accept our apology until it is up and running again.Best wishes to you all, and please come and write stuff when we are back in order. I may not reply if you write to me here, as I don't want my "roadie prints" all over your lovely site. Keep up the good work, and carry the love........................

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: U2 Fans Unite in Hawaii message forum

Rehearsing at the "Man Cave" (Jim)

2006-08-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

Greetings one and all!! I just wanted to say hello, and let everyone know that the Devils have been taking advantage of the break in the Journey/Def Leppard tour to get together and spend some time rehearsing. We all got together at the "Man Cave" lair to run through some things, and we also made a small public apprearance at an event where we were invoved with the performance of Mildred and Patty Hill's favorite song (Oh Man am I gonna get in trouble for that one! You guys are smart, you'll figure it out). We're all pumped up for Hawaii and can't wait to get there. We're looking forward to seeing all of you soon.

-Jim Handley

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 3

They must be Zootopians... (Rocko)

2006-07-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

For those of you that don't know, last April when the Devils were supposed to play in Hawaii, but didn't because of the postponement, I went with my wife Hollie on a holiday in Maui. We already had it booked, and there was no way I would not go. So we went and had one of the best vacations of our lives. We never get to spend enough time together as it is, and for her constant understanding about my relentless touring and being away from home so much, we decided to go anyway - as we had been there 3 times before. Maui is our favorite place to go and relax after a long tour.

So there we were - on the east coast of Maui, just coming back from a long hike in a state park that leads to a magnificent place called The Seven Pools. It is a naturally occurring set of waterfalls that is beautiful beyond description, just look it up on the internet! After we had been there and were almost back to our car, we were walking along the last bit of path that runs parallel to the only road in or out of the place, when we heard the screech of tires and a woman exclaiming "There's Rocko!" I have to admit that I was startled, but I turned to my wife and said "....they must be Zootopians...".

They pulled over and we had a pleasant chat for a quite a while. Of course they wanted to know anything I might know about when the rescheduled shows, and specifically Hawaii. I couldn't tell them anything official, as even I had not gotten confirmation from anyone yet, but I thought I could give a devilish clue, without violating any confidence. I told them a tale of the first time I ever came to Hawaii.

I was working for The Scorpions in 1991, and we had just finished our tour in Japan. The last show was December 7th, 1991 - 50 years to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack that started World War 2. After the show I was in Tokyo, and I went out for to a bar with the promoter ( a Japanese man named Nori) and the sound man for the Scorpions ( a German man named Horst). We were having a great time together when it suddenly occurred to me that it was a monumental anniversary, and how ironic it was that 3 men from 3 countries that used to be such fierce enemies 50 years earlier, were now such good friends. Would our parents have believed it?... Maybe not.... but we agreed that we must do all we can to make sure that we never let it happen again. That night I flew from Tokyo to Honolulu, but after crossing the International date line it was December 7th again, and I flew in over Pearl Harbor to land at the Honolulu airport at 6:30 AM, almost exactly 50 years to the moment of the attack. It was an emotional moment that I will never forget.

This all relates back to the "Girls from Canada" because I told them this story and then said "...wouldn't it be amazing for me to make that same journey (...flying from Japan to Hawaii) on the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day? I never said that's when the show would be, but I gave them a Devilish wink and said "...now don't tell anyone what I have told you". ....To my surprise, and I might add - to my relief, none of these fine ladies ever leaked this information to anyone! So thank you to them, and all of you, for keeping the faith for us. All the best to you!!!!

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 3

Rocko and the Devils will play the Aloha Stadium!!! (Rocko)

2006-07-20T13:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Planet Earth, Thank you to all of you who have remained faithful to us. It was slowly driving us mad to not be able to say anything to all of you about the turn of events for our performance in Hawaii on December 9th. We are honored to be able to perform with Pearl Jam and U2. It looks the the roller coaster ride is starting up again!!!! Are you ready to get on????

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 3

Tour announced: http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1967

20.07.2006 U2’s Vertigo Tour Hits The Road Again!

It's official! At last we can confirm the rescheduled Vertigo//2006 shows. U2 will hit the road again in November. Starting in Brisbane on November 7th , U2 will play further dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan before finishing in Hawaii on December 9. Kanye West will join the band in Australia and New Zealand while Special Guests, Pearl Jam will join Rocko and the Devils for December 9 in Honolulu.

These show dates are rescheduled following the postponement of Vertigo//2006 earlier in the year. For full ticket information in your area please see below. “We are very happy to announce the rescheduling and appreciate everyone’s patience.” said Arthur Fogel, of TNA. The Vertigo Tour opened in San Diego in March 2005, is set for a grand finish in Hawaii with the addition of Pearl Jam. “It’s going to be a great night in Hawaii,” said Paul McGuinness, U2’s manager. “The band are really pleased Pearl Jam could join the bill, a great end to what has already been a very successful tour.”

The new show dates are as follows:
Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 17th/06 - (New Date) Friday, November 24/06
Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, March 18th/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 25/06
Brisbane - QSAC Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 21st/06 - (New Date) Tuesday, November 7/06
Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Friday, March 24th/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 18/06
Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Saturday, March 25th/06 - (New Date) Sunday, November 19/06
Adelaide - AAMI Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 28th/06 - (New Date) Thursday, November 16/06
Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 31st/06 - (New Date) Friday, November 10/06
Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, April 1st/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 11/06
Honolulu - Aloha Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, April 8/06 - (New Date) Saturday, December 9/06

In Tokyo, 3 New Show Dates have been confirmed Tokyo - Saitama Super Arena - Wednesday, November 29th/06 Tokyo - Saitama Super Arena - Thursday, November 30th/06 Tokyo - Saitama Super Arena - Monday, December 4th/06

More information for ticket holders in Australia/New Zealand More information for ticket holders in Japan More information for ticket holders in Hawaii

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Spread the word about the Devils (Rocko)

2006-07-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello to all you "Devils Advocates" out there! Rocko here. We are out on the road with Def Leppard and Journey and the shows are just incredible. Each night the roar of the crowd is more intoxicating than the night before. I am amazed at how many people we run into that call us by name, considering we're just a bunch of road crew who happen to play in a band together. We are just starting to play Devil music again together and it certainly is fun to do. We are planning to get together for rehearsal in August, just in case some gigs come up for us!.............. Do I know any secrects?........Probably!............Am I gonna tell?,,,,,,,,Not yet!...........Well when the hell am I gonna say something??............................................................could be soon. Here's the deal my friends, we love seeing comments here in our guestbook, and those of you who come here regularly are good and cherished friends. But we need to get the word out about our music. I mean,.....what the hell!! - we are giving the tunes away free! We need more people checking out BROKEN BRAINS and ROAD RAGE. Telephone, Telegraph, Teleprompter, or Tell-a-friend! We want to see and hear about more people coming here to check out the web site. If there are more hits on the Rocko and the Devils MUSIC page...... then maybe.......just maybe...... I will give some devilish hints......

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 3

About opening acts (Rocko)

2006-06-12T11:30:00.000-06:00

When it comes to opening acts for any of the artists I work with I try to make them feel like stars. I live through their adventures, and I want them to walk away from the experience feeling that they were taken care of as professionally as possible. One never knows who the next "big thing" will be. The first time I met U2 they were the opening act for The J Geils Band. They were young, brash, high energy kids who hadn't yet acheived their musical peak. (...a nice way of saying they weren't that good yet!) You treat people the way you would like to be treated - with respect and encouragement. Some acts are so used to being treated like dirt by other productions they don't know how to react to my ways of doing business. I have had bands offer me gifts and money for special treatment - which I turn down and tell them "...give it to the guys who don't treat you with respect after they are done abusing you, it might make them realise how unprofessional they really are acting". Secret Machine, Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol. Kanye West, the list of my new friends from this last U2 tour is quite long, and I would be happy to work with any of them again. However I would not be buying any of their CD's..... only because I don't buy anyone's records. I have plenty of music drifting in my head already!

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

The bigger picture (Rocko)

2006-06-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

Message from Rocko.........6/6/06? Oh that old rumor!!! Actually the number is 9/9/09! People have gotten that wrong for centuries, it always cracks me up when I hear that. Trust me, when the world comes to an end, everyone will know it - and there won't be anything you can do about it. So my advice to everyone is live every single moment like it may be your last, that way you won't be disappointed. As humans we tend to worry about the stupidest and simplest little things, only because we don't step back to look at the bigger picture. Rock shows don't matter, computer web sites don't matter, and anything I have to say CERTAINLY doesn't matter. . . . ... We devils have been very busy spreading our wings over Europe and the Journey shows have been amazing! The band has been playing excellent, as always, but as I said before - it is the fans that make the show. The crowds at each of the shows have made each performance some of the most incredible we have ever had! The audience not only knows ever word to every song, but at times is louder than the band!!! Journey will definitely be returning to Europe within the next year for many more shows. ..................Oh yeah......remember when I said "an announcement will be made in the near future" about.....you know.....the other thing you come here to find out about? Better pay attention........you know how I love secrets and surprises, right? Bwaah-haa-haa (...evil laughter)

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Devils Holiday in Germany (Scott)

2006-06-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

6/6/6- Or Devils Holiday, as I like to call it!! Hello all, Scott here, in Germany celebrating the day off (Yes, even Journey let us off from work to celebrate our Holiday!! ;-) ) with a little German beer and Schnitzel (sp?) We have had a couple of great gigs in the UK, and are looking forward to meeting our summer tour mates, Def Leppard, for the first time tomorrow. Hope all is well on the other side of the globe. Cheers, Bye!!

Scott

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Hi from Scotland! (Rocko)

2006-05-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Rocko calling! Well, we have arrived in Scotland! In the 32 years I have been coming to the UK this is the first time it has been blue sky and sunshine upon our arrival. Nothing against Scotland, mind you! It's just that dark cloud that follows me around throughout my life. It is wonderful here, and everyone talks with my mum's accent, which makes it even more enjoyable. We will be doing 6 shows in the next 8 days, and most of the time we hit the ground running, as some of the bus rides are 16 hours long. So although we would love to have a cup of tea with you, I'm afraid that time won't permit. Thank you for the offer my dear! Most of our friends out there want to go out and have a few beers, and - believe it or not, I stopped drugs and booze in 1990 when I worked for Aerosmith. The Devil needs no spirits to do his work!! . . . . . . . . The Journey band and crew are ready though, after spending a week rehearsing in California. It is the first time in about 25 years that Journey has played in Europe, so they have a lot of energy to burn up on stage. The Devils will not be appearing with them, but we will be playing a little before sound check if time permits. Now remember, Larry is still at home in Chicago, so we are not the "Devils Compleat" - but we can blaze through a song or two with Jeffro on bass, so we will have "a bonko time!" . . . . . . .

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Calling from San Francisco (Rocko)

2006-05-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello!....Hello!.........I'm in a place called San Francisco!! Rocko calling! I am with my fellow Devils Scott, Jim, and Brent at the Journey rehearsal studio in a secret location north of San Francisco getting ready for our short European tour with Journey next week. We are going to Edinburgh, Scotland - Milton Keynes and Manchester, England - with stops at festivals in Germany, Sweden, and The Netherlands. (For information on dates go to www.journeymusic.com) It's really great to be working with Journey band and crew again; we really have a great family out here, and it will be a fun summer touring North America with Def Leppard and Journey. We have been pretty busy getting things ready, and we haven't had time to play Devil stuff yet, but I am hoping today that we might play a song or two. Make sure you check out the radio interview Scott, Jim and Brent did in Nashville. It's on the "NEWS" page, and you can get there by clicking on NEWS at the top of this page. There is also some new pictures on the PHOTO page, and we will be taking shots of our hijinks this summer and posting them as well. I hope we will run into a few of you as we travel around. Please let us know what you are doing as well! Still haven't heard official word about the U2 tour yet, but trust me, when we do it will be posted here right after I do a little dance and scream "YAHOO!!!" . . . . . .

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Brent, Scott and Jim Radio Interview (Brent)

2006-05-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody, Brent here. Scott, Jim and I had a great time early this mornin on a radio show called Big Hair Friday, Basically, Its a 1 hour mornin show where they interview 80's bands that reside in Nashville. Recently, the've had Slaughter and Winger and today, they wanted to interview us road dogs that tour with Journey. My girlfriend Laura runs the front desk there and when she told the DJ that her boyfriend works for Journey, they were excited to have us, especially when they found out that we also play in a band Rocko and the Devils and were going to be opening for U2 later on this year.

Listen to this interview on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, Tennessee: mp4 file

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

New song for download: Broken Brains (Rocko)

2006-05-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

OK everyone - here ya go!! Please click on the MUSIC tab above and you can hear another song by Rocko and the Devils. As I said - it is called Broken Brains, and it is a song for the parents of teenagers. I personally don't have any kids (yet) but I know lots of people that do, and it's funny hearing them talk about the problems their kids get into, at which point I remind them we used to get in the same problems (or worse) when we were their age. Same as with Road Rage, this is a "warts and all" recording of us at rehearsal last January, no overdubs, effects, and done without a net. I held off on putting this song on the site because we had hoped to do a proper studio recording, but then I decided "what the hell", this is what we sound like in the basement - where we wrote this stuff and worked on it. It is Devil music, please enjoy and let us know what you think. Please burn it to a CD or put it on your iPod, as it sounds like poop on little computer speakers. And feel free to send it to your local radio station. We don't have a record deal yet, so it's not a problem with residuals or anything like that. Be sure to keep a copy of these tunes in this rough format. They will be worth a fortune on ebay when our record finally comes out. Love - Rocko...........PS - Hey Bono! Don't even think about stealing these lyrics, they're copywritten. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOSS!!!

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Greetings from California (Jim)

2006-05-02T00:36:00.000-06:00

Greetings one and all! Jim checking in from the bay area out in California. Scott, Brent and I are all up here prepping gear to be sent out to europe for the Journey leg starting June 2nd. Thank you, to the wonderful people who were so nice to my mom. She's had nothing but great things to say about the U2 fans she met on her way back from Hawaii. She told me how nice everyone was, and she seemed VERY impressed that everyone also knew who Rocko and the Devils were! I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope that we get to see ALL of you very soon. Dare I say it?.......Don't Stop Believin'....hee, hee, hee.....I crack myself up!

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

On tour with Journey (Rocko)

2006-04-26T13:00:00.000-06:00

There is a good chance that the Devils will be playing before Journey every day of the upcoming tour, the only thing is - it will be in front of empty seats. Every day the Devils get up and play before the band comes in for sound check so the sound guys can dial things in. The only people that see this are the local stage hands and the touring crew. Talk about a tough audience! However, we would get a chance to work on new material on days off, and then try the songs we are working on over a big sound system. As far as us opening for Journey, that probably would not happen as they are performing with Def Leppard in a co-headline tour, so there just ain't enough time for us to play or we would go past curfews and cut their performance time (...not a good thing to do to your employers) As I have said many times before though; the Devils love surprises and secrets, so keep watching this web site, and you may get just that!!!!

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Message from Rocko

2006-04-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

Wow! is all I can say. The pictures and video are incredible! I am so glad so many of you got to enjoy the spendor of the Hawaiian islands as I did. I was glad to hear that everyone made it home safely, I am sure it is hard for all of you to come down to earth after spending time in the most incredible place on the planet. So today is the day I promised myself I would get back to the bust-ass hard working guy I normally am, and catch up on all the e mails and phone calls. There is lots to do for me, particularly deciding what I will be doing this summer. I have received a lot of offers to go do huge tours for other artists, but I have a feeling I will stay loyal to my friends with Journey so I can be as close as possible to Scott, Jim, and Brent. We shall see.... But for now I will be checking in every day here on the website, so please drop a note and let us know what your thoughts and comments are. Talk to you soon!

LOVE - ROCKO

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Back from Maui (Rocko)

2006-04-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

HELLO! HELLO! Rocko returning to the little slice of reality called home after the most incredible holiday I have ever been on - 2 weeks in Maui!!!! I first of all want to let the Zootopian girls from Canada who ran into to my wife and me in Hana know we are so glad you made it back OK. The Hana highway is the most challenging stretch of road, (with 157 hairpin turns over sheer cliffs). Driving during the day is hard enough, but doing it at dusk and into night as you did is extreme! I will write some more about what I have been up to in the coming days, but first I want to hear about all you guys who went to Honolulu. Your adventures were the talk of the islands (...at least on the radio) Please write back.

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Hey Everyone!! (Scott)

2006-04-04T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone!! Good to see you all still hanging out in our little corner of the web. We had a great rehearsal last week, it was soooo nice to have all of us "under one roof" for the day. We had such a great time working on our set, and doing a few "Nashville tribute" versions of tunes just for kicks. We were also lucky to catch up with our old friend Peter Frampton, who was rehearsing at Soundcheck the same day. As some of you may know, Jimmy and I worked for Peter for a while, and it was very nice to see him and the rest of the gang. I hope everyone who is goiing to Hawaii this week has a GREAT time, and don't get tooo sun burned!! To say that we are looking forward to getting there at the end of the year is a huge understatement!!!! Until next time.

Scott

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Rocko Calling

2006-04-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

ROCKO CALLING! HERE I AM! SORRY I HAVE BEEN AWAY! I'M BACK!!!!!!!......OK everyone! Sorry I have not posted anything in the last couple of weeks, I have been at home doing something I seldom get a chance to do.... be domestic! I had forgotten how much pleasure I get from doing the most simple things around the house; spring cleaning, yard work, changing the oil on Bessie Mae the Devilmobile, and generally being a good husband. I have been on the road since January of '05 and there are many things I just can't do until I am home for a while, so that's what I have been doing. Now I would like to get down to answering questions!!! First of all, we have no information about the U2 family member illness. Please realize how important it is to allow U2 to have peace and privacy regarding this situation. Everyone's prayers and well wishes for all the families of U2 band and crew are so important to us, and we thank you for all your help. Rocko and the Devils will still be opening for U2 in Hawaii!!!! The promoter is putting the last bits of information together before the official announcement of when the postponed dates will be rescheduled for later this year in Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. You can expect an announcement on U2.com, as well as this web site, in the near future, so please stay tuned. Last week, Larry and I flew down to Nashville where we met up with Jim, Brent, and Scott for a long day of playing at a rehearsal studio called Soundcheck. It was a gas! The band sounded great together after practicing apart from each other so intensely for the last 2 months. We have decided that now that we have time before the gig, we will write some more songs and go into a recording studio and do it right. By the end of the day there we were all fired up to keep playing - my voice was shot but it was so much fun! I can't wait until we get together again. There is a lot more things to be said, but I don't want to spew too much just yet. I am going to Maui next week for 2 weeks vacation (...it was booked for right after the original show date, so I figgered why not go anyway!) but I will try to stay in touch via the web site. Stay tuned....

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 2

Update on the Devils (Rocko)

2006-03-04T13:00:00.000-06:00

Rocko again! So.... Here is the latest update about what we have been up to. The last time the Devils played together was early February when we all converged on Nashville for our final rehearsal all in the same room. We made a "board recording" of that rehearsal and each of us has a CD of it so we can rehearse with headphones and iPod's. Me in the stadium seats away from the stage after load-in in various venues all over South America, Larry at his home in Chicago, and Scott, Jim, and Brent in Nashville. Kind of a strange way to prepare for the biggest gig of our life! However it is the only way to make sure we are tight on the night. Scott, Jim, and Brent leave next week to work for Journey who are playing at a private corporate event in a tropical state that starts with an "H",but they have and will again get together with Larry a few days before they come to Honolulu. I have just finished the South American portion of this leg of the U2 tour, and unfortunately I injured my knee when I fell off the stage during the first of 2 shows in Buenos Aires. I am walking with crutches right now but will be OK as I have a week to recover.Then it is on to New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. If, and this is a big if, our U2 production team can get the show flown into Hawaii from Japan and loaded into Aloha Stadium the day before (April 7th) and have everything U2 ready to go, we might have time to rehearse one last time together that evening. That's what the guys were talking about when they said "if Rocko doesn't have us turning the grinding wheel". I still have to do my job as Stage Manager, with a 45 minute break to get up and be a rock star, then back to running the show and loading it all out. This brings me to a point I would like to make about why we are doing this. Our performance is more than an unbelievable personal opportunity for us as musicians, it is more for the incredible fans of U2. In all of our years of touring there has never been people in the crowds of any of the artists we set up shows for as dedicated, as loving, as caring, and as exciting as U2 fans and Journey fans. They are all cut from the same stock - that is... ordinary people doing something extraordinary. You know if you have ever been to more than one of these shows what I am talking about. All Rocko and the Devils represent is - that we are the same as all of you. We are just like the person in the crowd who holds up a sign saying "pick me" or "I play guitar". The fact is we work for artists who are confident enough in who they are, and appreciative of the hard work we put in each show to give them a stage to do what they do best. But neither rock star or road crew member would have a job if it wasn't for the fans. Everthing we do is for you, for without an audience, what we build is totally indefensible. There would be no reason to build these huge productions if it was not for the fans. And trust me, I have seen these guys rehearse without a crowd in front of them, the music is just not the same without you. So thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for coming out and giving us purpose. I hope our show is worthy of your soul sharing.

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Hi from Brent

2006-02-27T13:00:00.001-06:00

Hey this is Brent finally checkin in, the silent keyboard player. Just hearin from you all you guys has sparked an excitement and inspiration. I wanted to answer the question asked me on 2/15 about being so famous in the 80's and now having to back Jonathan Cain? First, I was never so famous, nobody knew who I was because back then I was more like a crew guy playing keyboards offstage. Back in the 80s alot of keyboard players were hidden off to the side in those big hair bands. It wasn't cool to have a keyboard player on stage, But I was as happy as a pig in slop, I was still playing keyboards for my favorite band back then. Now, to work for Journey as Jonathans keyboard tech has been another dream come true. Jonathan Cain has always been my mentor as a keyboard player and songwriter. I feel becoming his tech and him trusting me to watch his back has been the biggest step I've taken in my career(gotta give credit to Rocko and Jay for bring me on). But this whole Rocko and the Devils thing has thrown a whole new twist, another adventure to add in a chapter in my book of life

Brent

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Greetings from Nashville (Jim)

2006-02-27T13:00:00.000-06:00

Greetings to one and all from Nashville, Tn! I thought I would try to take a minute (as I can't seem to sleep) and check in to say hello. First off, thanks to everyone who keeps coming by and saying nice things. It's great to have the support of so many people! Don't worry, we'll deliver when we hit the stage! I'd also like to say thank you to those who've listened to the music file that we've posted. Obviously not a studio recording, but just a quick board tape from a rehearsal here in Nashville. Thanks for enjoying the song, and NOT sending me emails about "the snare tone", or "the mixing of the toms". We just thought that you might enjoy hearing something that we're doing. I'm still practicing on a daily basis, trying to get everything down the point where it's second nature. I hope this way, i can enjoy the show....without feeling too nervous. We're also working on keeping the playingt chops up......Scott and I played last night, here in town, with a group we play with (The Jones) when we're home. So....the night of the 7th, huh? Let's see how everything comes together that day......but we'll try to be there if we can. Please keep checking back, Mel's rotating content as fast as she can, so there's always something new going on here. thanks again for coming by, and please leave us a note!!

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Larry checking in (Larry)

2006-02-23T13:00:00.001-06:00

How ya all doin? Hey wait a minute I'm not from Nashville! I'm from Chicago. Hey what's up! Larry the bass player here to check in.I want to thank everyone who took the time and effort to drop us devils a line of encouragement. It is very cool to share our fifteen minutes of fame with all of you. This whole deal has been a real trip,and we are really excited to be able to play on U2's stage for the best fans any band could hope to have. Also; if Rocko doesn't have us turning the grinding wheel on Fri the 7th I will be at the Tiki.

Larry O'Connor

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Road Rage song for download (Rocko)

2006-02-23T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello from Rocko in Santiago, Chile!!! We have the first actual "DAY OFF" since we started 2 weeks ago with the 4th leg of the U2 Vertigo Tour. It has been challenging; as always with a show this size, but has paid off in some of the best shows I have ever seen them play! Well... we finally did it... we have put one of Rocko and the Devils first songs up on the site here. Please go check it out and let us know what you think. And most of all I want to thank everyone who has put comments here in our guestbook. At the end of a long day when I am completely soaked in dirt and sweat it brings a smile to my face when I come here and see a new message from someone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Hello from Mexico (Rocko)

2006-02-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Rocko here in Monterrey, Mexico where we are setting up the stage for the start of the final leg of the U2 Vertigo tour. It is very busy for me here, so I will try to answer questions as I go. First of all - MERCHANDISE! We are in the process of getting some things together for T-shirts, and hopefully it will be available for purchase on-line as well as at the Hawaii show. Please keep in mind that we are road crew, not rock stars. We don't even have a record... well not yet anyway, but you never know. Second of all - we have not had time to go in the studio to record anything so we don't really have any mp3's we could put on the web site. We have reference tapes of our rehearsal - but they are very raw garage band sounding. I hesitate to put that here and have people think we suck, because live on the U2 stage it's gonna sound MASSIVE! I hope to get a video of our Hawaii show and release that, but it's all a bit of a wank if we don't have a record deal. I don't want to wind up with 5,000 dvd's of our show sitting in my garage, ya know what I mean? We shall see, just be patient and we will do whatever fate allows.

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Rehearsing in Nashville (Rocko)

2006-02-01T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! Rocko here. Thanks to all of you who post here. I hope to answer questions whenever I can, as I am leaving soon to start the final leg of the U2 tour. Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and ... oh ya... HAWAII!! We just finished rehearsal in Nashville and the Devils sound absolutely amazing. We will all keep rehearsing as time goes by until the big gig, the Devils in Nashville and me on the road,(in the back of a truck, no doubt). We unfortunately don't have any mp3's of the songs we wrote ... yet! We simply ran out of time to go into a recording studio and do it right, but I think we might get some kind of video of the show in Honolulu. Stay tuned.

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Hello and thanks! (Jim)

2006-01-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Hey! When did this go up? That's what I get for traveling and NOT watching the internet!! Jim here to say hello and thanks for checking us out. Please don't be afraid to say hi and leave your thoughts here. When we finish rehearsal, I'll come back and add some of my own.

Jim Handley

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Welcome! (Scott)

2006-01-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the website everyone!! Scott here, guitarist with the Devils, just stopping by to say hello, and thanks for all the votes of confidence!!

Am I excited? In a word. Yes.

Scott

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1

Thanks to everyone! (Rocko)

2006-01-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone for coming here and writing cool stuff. We will try to answer all questions from everyone, and pass info on as it comes along. We will add more stuff as we go, but right now we are rehearsing a whole bunch of tunes, including some original songs. Stay tuned and check back often. Be warned we love surprises and secrets, but the Devils won't deceive you, nor try too hard to mislead you, while playing just to please you, with clues set about to tease you...... Nothing rhymes with "orange"... except "door hinge"

Love - Rocko

Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 1