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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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?

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)

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)

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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!!!

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