Dining out in Paris....

Once we arrived in Paris, we had to search out the neighborhood for places to dine. Everything revolves around eating! There is no cooking in the hotel so we must learn to find the cuisines that we like and walk there. MonoPrix is just 4 blocks away on The Champs Elysees,

and they have everything from sundries, clothes to groceries. Lebanese was our first choice, and there was Al Aljima just a couple of blocks from us. I can't say much good about it. The food was OK, but they didn't serve the usual condiments, etc. and we were crammed into a small table just at the doorway. Noura is a much better choice, and it isn't much further. They have a Traiteur (take-away) and a nice restaurant which is all carved stucco...very beautiful. Our next meal was at Chez Andre! Chuck had Sole, and I had bouillabaisse. Ronnie and Sally Wood invited us to dinner there a few nights later, too. We had a Floating Island and some divine chocolate cake (isn't all chocolate divine?) Sally is a cake afficionado, and she is writing a book on baking cakes. I went with her to the district past the Louvre where they sell all the baking wares. So,  again, Chez Andre rocked. We were even able to walk there without Ronnie being accosted. On Valentine's Day we dined yet again. It is in the middle of the Golden Triangle where business, fashion,  luxury and the press all meet. This proved to be our favorite restaurant. It was the typical Bistro...noisy, crowded, but the food was spot on! The # 3 oysters were so good and tasted of the sea.

I don't like taxis...although they are necessary, but it is so much easier to just walk out the door; cross the street, and sit down. Coming from the Plantation where there is so much food service I look forward to not having to think about it all. There are a multitude of bistros, brasseries, etc. just across the street. We do bone up our little refrigerator with cheese, fruit, nuts and of course, wine...it is France, after all. 

Chez Andre

Another local haunt was Findi just across the street from the George V. We dined there frequently as the food was always good, and it was easy. and quiet. I so got tired of the sandwiched in tables where everyone could hear your conversation...or worse, I could hear theirs. Telephones should be banned in all restaurants. Or, at least excuse yourself.. Well, 'nuff said on that end!!!! The weather in Paris was cold and rainy being low 40s and high 50s the whole time that we were there. That made going out miserable, but nevertheless, you have to do it so honker down!!! Patty Richards, Sally Wood, Jenny Taylor and I made a trip across the Seine to dine at a sandwich shop in St. Germain. It was Cuisine de Bar at # 8 Rue de Cherche de Midi. 

Cuisine de Bar

This was one of Patty's favorite spots. Mostly. they served toast with toppings like cheese and tomato, proscuito and cheese or tuna and spinach, etc. I also had a pumpkin soup with crayfish which was delicious. We stopped at Bon Marche for a little retail therapy, but honestly, we just weren't in the mood to acquire anything else to crowd our cases. We walked back across the Place de Concorde over to Rue Faubourg de St. Honore visiting The Hotel Costes.

Hotel Costa Reception

What a bohemian place...very Parisienne. At some point we stopped for a cappachino....a good one with lots of foam and sprinkled cocoa on top. Yummy! It was raining by this time so we called a Uber cab to pick us up....spoke American, too. There in 5 minutes!!!  Other experiences included the Japanese restaurant Hanawa.

Hanawa

Great!!! Le Relais de L'Entrecote is where they only serve one meal....Entrecote (ribeye),  fries (frites)  and a small green salad.

Steak aux Frites

It is an all you can eat sort of place. Wow! I'm just getting hungry thinking about all this great food! Chuck and I adore Indian food. Our new best place Shantoor was only a few block away so we went there several times. It was upstairs in a dark and very atmospheric place. The menu was small but really great. They had an unusual assortment of pickles and condiments.There is just something really aromatic about all the Indian spices...and Tandoori meats I just adore. Of course, we had the usual lunches around the area, but we don't really do much of that as we usually get a breakfast included in our room. The George V had the very best Club Sandwich and if that didn't suit we had an omelet. The bar there was also really tops if expensive...but what the heck...you only live once..And, as my family said: You can't take it with you.

Santoor

Our dining experience in Paris has been tremendous. I'm sorry that I didn't chronicle the restaurants that we visited in 2013. They were all on the other side of the Champs Elysees. The Berkeley was one that stands out in my mind. Indira...and the Laduree..

Rue Faubourg St. Honore

Catch The Brass Ring On The Last Go Around!

Art Experience Paris 2014

Once again I am studying with my friend Laurie Pessimer

Laurie Pessimer

while staying here in Paris, France. Never let life pass you by without at least giving it a try. Laurie took me to the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in St. German for a session with a live nude model. It is a very old school which was started in l904 and many period artists studied there such as Picasso, Modigliano, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder and so many others it is hard to mention. Thought I would put
Academie de la Grande Chaumiere into wikipedia to let you know other heavies and found my name at the end of the list of artists who have studied there. Can this be true? I am so blessed. Guess the George V was right....the staff was so excited that I was to study there. They made a special plaque for me with madelines and sprinkles abounding...

My announcement from George V

The Ground Floor Atelier

Now, the Academie was definitely stuck in time circa l900. The easels were much too short for me. The place was seedy and seemingly never changed over the years just like you would want it to be. The group was multicultural and ageless. There seemed to be a large constituency of young artists milling around. The atelier was on the ground floor, but the building seemed to have four or five floors of studios. The vibe was terrific. We did a 45 minute study... our model was a French woman about 40...she told us that she was an actress. She also said that she had been married 7 times in seven different countries. Not sure if she was saying 7 different men..because I could not follow the language that quickly. She was a great model since holding that pose for 45 minutes must have been grueling!

Sitting

Reclining

5 minute sketches

a 25 minute one.... a 20 minute sketch and then 3 five minutes sketches...

Somewhat Egyptian

and three 5 minute sketches. Phew. That was a workout. I had a new set of brushes for watercolor that had a bladder. They came in three sizes. My next experience would be at The Louvre, and they do not allow
vessels of water inside nor waterproof pens. Seems that some weird woman had decided to destroy a Delacroix painting with her pen...this all happening in the past year. Why????At any rate, I also bought watercolor crayons which I had never used before. So, not only am I in a whole different world, but I am in a total experiment situation with my tools. At the end of the day we were both tired, and I departed with a very heavy heart as I had to say goodbye to Laurie again. Now, on to The Lourve with Pauline Fraisse who has also been my art protege in Paris.

Pauline Fraisse...French Artist and teacher

I looked forward to the occasion to paint in the Louvre. It is a very special experience as not everyone can do this. We meet up at the information desk down under the Pyramid. I am anxious and arrive too early....there are 5 others meeting here, and they are all new to me but proteges of Pauline. As it turns out they are a daughter and mother from Argentina, a young man from Guatemala, one Parisiennne lady, a British woman and me. Since I had done this before while in Paris last year, Pauline asked me if I would like to go to the Egyptian Gallery for study. I am so excited. We had a very long hike and about 8 series of steps before we got there. The Louvre is such a vast place. We staked our postion in the corner of one of the chambers and pulled out our folding stools. The first exercise was perspective...and I chose a case with antiquities and lots of bits. Why do I always try to do so much with so little time...we are only allowed 20 minutes. And, I want to add color, too.

Ante chamber Egyptian Gallery

Pauline moves us further into the exhibit and this time we are to

Plaque

use of negative space.

make a sketchbook with a series of drawing on one page...










Once again she challenges us as we have 25 minutes to do this. 
Now, after this episode she asks us to pick out some people walking and set them in time and sketch it. 15 minutes. Since we only have a few hours to be in the Louvre...6:30 until 9 we must

Action....walking 

sketch each other. It is our last discipline.
Our time is up and we must collect ourselves and make it through the maze. This time Pauline takes us through the oldest part of the Palace which was found during the excavation of the I M Pei Pyramid.

The Pyramid at The Louvre

We all say goodbye under the glass dome and part ways. I wonder if I will ever see those folks again. Pauline offers me a ride..she has a new Citron car...it is raining so that is a good thing. We walk a few blocks to an underground parking garage. It isn't that far to the hotel and we chat along the way. She has a boyfriend since we last saw each other, and I think they may be moving in together. That made me smile as she is a lovely young woman and deserves companionship. She drops me off on the Champs Elysees a block or so from the hotel. It is another sad goodbye...My art experience in Paris has ended. It was so great!!

Life Along The Seine River...2014

Paris is a very familiar city for us. We have been privileged to spend many, many times here because of our association with The Rolling Stones. Chuck's first occasion was during the l982 Tattoo You Tour of Europe. So, after that there were several recording sessions at Pathe' Marconi across The Bois de Boulogne for Dirty Work, & Undercover.  Two songs for Forty Licks: and also the most recent sessions for Doom and Gloom and One More Shot were held in Paris at Giontelle Studios. 
 I was able to come along for some of those as well as our children Amy and Ashley. Of course, there were also European tours along with stops in Paris.  So, we have many fond memories over the past 32 years. The last couple of rehearsals have been held there. We have witnessed many, many changes through the years in this city. It has gone from being very stoic and pompous to multi-cultural and contemporary. Children were not appreciated in Paris as it was a Formal atmosphere.

Arch at The Louvre Palace

Being Americans, we were used to high chairs in restaurants and strollers on the streets. Taxis just wouldn't pick you up if you had children along with you. Now, all ages are appreciated. All countries are appreciated! It's about the Muh.nee, as my Grandson Rocco says. But, it is still the same very beautiful city where Fashion, Art, Culture, Food and beautiful gardens abound.  Some things never change.
Here we are in 2014! I had another Parisienne moment at Cartier. Chuck gave me a tank watch in the early 90's. I have worn it since then. Patty Richards, Sally Wood, Jenny Taylor and I went out for a walk through St. Germain having lunch a great sandwich shop and coming back up by the Seine. We passed by the Cartier shop where I mentioned that the only thing I needed was a new watch band as mine had started to tatter. Patty mentioned how great the staff was at the shops here, and that I could probably get it fixed without even having to leave it. The next day I went over. They lady took a look at my watch and said their is no serial number on the band.??? I was a bait confused? I have had it replaced 4 or 5 times through the years so I hadn't paid any attention to that. They were all lizard. Came from Germany, Atlanta or Paris Cartier shops. She brought me the tray with bands and I chose a crocodile brown one. She took it back to have it put on, but returned quickly to tell me that the repairman would not install it since it was not a proper Cartier band. I could buy it and take it somewhere else to have it put on....really? Guess I had been duped at some Cartier shop along the way. But, why be so rude? She shoved it back at me like I was a criminal. Pomposity again! You would think they would want me to have a real Band!  Last year we stayed at The Bristol on Rue Faubourg-St. Honore',  and that was a wonderful experience. One side was glazed,  and the other was sueded. I am not sure how the chef managed that technique.

The Bristol Hotel

This year we are back at our beloved George V Hotel on Rue George V.  There has been a tremendous upgrade at the hotel through the years, but it has never changed on the exterior. Our early visits were to chambers with lovely appointments of times gone by...you could hear pretty much everything being said by your neighbors. We also had a suite on the top floor which was added during the l940s era and the ceiling were only7 feet high. The furniture was so small I could hardly sit on it. All that changed as the Four Seasons Hotels bought it and refurbished all of the rooms/suites while retaining lobby, foyer and ground floor rooms in their original grandeur. Jeff Leatham - he's the Artistic Director and has been there 14 years - check out his website it's amazing. He did the flowers for Tina Turner's wedding, Chelsea Clinton, Eva Longoria and lots of others

...he was in residence while we were there and since it was Valentine's Day he was arranging flowers in the lobby for delivery to hotel guests.                   

Jeff Leatham at Paris George V

Each and every day is love day for us!!! The hotel had cakes in our room nightly. How spoiled is that??? And, then on Valentine's Day they delivered the most divine Chocolate Cake!! One side was sueded and the other glazed with rose petals for decoration.

Chocolate with rose petals....

I had to look at that the whole day while Chuck was at rehearsal. When he got home he immediately hid it in the cupboard as he has been trying so hard to take off a few pounds. That lasted until our last night there, and I just couldn't resist. Out came the cake, and we devoured it!! Wow!!!   

The Aftermath!

Back To Canada

6/4/13

Rose Lane and Isobel..cutting up!

Time to move on….back to Toronto for our second show there and to Montreal after. The normal call for bags at 10am and hotel lobby at 2 for the bus to the airport applied. After closing up the bags, I kept my workout gear with me in hand luggage and was able to visit the hotel gym one more time. Rosie and I decided to skip lunch and eat something on the plane, so we just hung in the room until leave time. Flight was very short…less than an hour. But of course we had to go through customs and immigration when we got there, which slowed things down. We made it back to the Four Seasons around 6pm and threw our hand luggage in the room and went out for cocktails and dinner….avoiding time at the hotel with that terrible music that they pipe into the lobby and the bar. They really need to change that.

Roses at The Four Seasons Hotel

We had a very similar room as we had last time…with really weird and uncomfortable furniture, decor very angular and cold. The staff of the hotel are all really nice and accommodating, but the hotel itself leaves a lot to be desired for a Four Seasons. 

We decided to go to one of our old haunts in Toronto, Soto Soto, for dinner. It was pretty crowded and we had a short wait….just long enough for us to go upstairs to another bar for drinks. Soon the matrade came for us and seated us. It was nice to be back there, and we enjoyed the meal and service. That ended the day…

6/5/13

Chuck Leavell on Honky Tonk Women

A day to kill before our show tomorrow. After morning coffee, we opened up our bags…but didn’t unpack as we knew we wouldn’t be in Toronto all that long. After some “wake up” time, we went out and walked along Yorkshire St,, looking around…and had lunch at Sassafras, a nice place on the corner of Cumberland St. Rose Lane’s main suitcase had torn up…and I had it repaired while we were in Chicago, but unfortunately the repair didn’t hold and it had broken again…so we looked at some bags in a small travel store…but she wanted to look around for some other options. We split up…her shopping for a bag and me just wandering around the area. We met back at the hotel…and she had found a bag she liked at the Hudson Bay store. I had arranged to do an interview with Kim Mitchell, who is an excellent guitar player and a very popular radio personality for Q107. Our mutual friend, Dimo Safari, had suggested it to Kim and he was kind enough to agree to have me on. He has a huge audience and is a famous figure in Toronto and throughout Canada. I took a cab to the station, getting there close to 5pm. He met me in the lobby and escorted me to the studio and introduced me over the air. Kim was great to talk to…very knowledgeable of my career and had me on for almost an hour. We played songs that I’m on from the Allman Brothers to Clapton to the Stones and even a track from my recent cd, “Back To The Woods”…“Wish Me Well”. It was a lot of fun and Kim was truly generous. He even gave me a ride back to the hotel afterwards. Fun stuff…

Our friends Scott and Debbie Brickner had come to Toronto for the show, and we had arranged to have dinner with them at Joso’s (pronounced “Yo So’s”), a really great fish restaurant not far from the Four Seasons, and a place that we have frequented through the years when in the city.  Scott and Debbie have been to several of the Retreats we offer at Charlane, and we have become food friends. We met up with them and walked there together. Joso’s was as good….and probably better…than we remembered. Rosie and I had a great time catching up with the Brickners….and Scott graciously picked up the tab for dinner. After we finished up,  we all walked back to the hotel, ending a very nice day.

6/6/13

OK, time to Rock it again. This would be show number thirteen (including the LA club show). No special guest tonight, which quite frankly is good….it’s nice to have them, but sometimes nice to make it just the Stones. Before we left for the Air Canada Center, I  hit the gym for a while, then met with my friend Dimo, who was coming to the show with a friend of his. We chatted for a while, then it was time to head out.

Mick Taylor

I did the set list thing in our dressing room, putting in “Sway” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”, which would give Mick Taylor more songs to play on in the set. We did the sound check, then had some down time to grab a bite in catering before going to VIP to see folks there. My pal Rob Bowman, an author and musicologist was there with his son, the Brickners and some others were around as well, and we made the rounds. Gig was another winner…great vibe, great energy. We didn’t bother going to the bar afterwards, given the terrible music they play down there…so we sipped on some wine that we had in the room and watched TV until bedtime. 

6/7/13

Our last full day in Toronto, and a day off. Last chance to enjoy a great city that we love and have spent so much time in over the years. We had a nice relaxing start to the day, enjoying some “slow morning time”. I had arranged for both of us to get massages with Coleen Quinn, who is a great masseuse that lives in Toronto and who also has a place in Vancouver. I’ve had lots of massages from her in both cities…she is definitely one of the best of the best, and I had looked forward to it for a couple of weeks since I contacted her. Rosie was to have hers at around 3, me at 5. But before we went, we had another short walk around the area and had lunch again at Sassafras. We cabbed it over to Coleen’s place, about 3 miles away. We went together up to her apartment…it was wonderful seeing her again, and we had a short catch up before I left to roam the area while Rosie got her massage. I found a nice book store not far away and browsed around, then stumbled on to a coffee house and refreshed myself with a nice cappuccino, reading the local paper for a while. At the appointed time, I made my way back to Coleen’s place where they had just wound up Rose Lane’s massage. She had that “massage glow” to her and had obviously enjoyed it. Then it was my turn…Rose Lane decided to walk back while I got rubbed on, and Coleen did a great job in  getting some soreness out of me. I had told her about my pain in the left hip and lower back, and she worked on that a good bit, which helped. Afterwards, she showed me a couple of stretches to try to help it heal. I thanked her and said goodbye, deciding to walk a bit. I walked a mile or so, then hailed a cab as it was threatening rain and got back to the hotel around 6:30. We relaxed in the room for a while before going out to dinner at Il Posto, a nice Italian place near the old Four Seasons hotel that is now being renovated into condos. It was a nice quiet dinner…just want the Dr. ordered after our massages…and back at the hotel we wound the day down with a couple of glasses of Chardonnay.

6/8/13

St. James Hotel in Montreal

On to Montreal….but before leaving, we had a final walk along Yorkshire and Cumberland…shared a pizza at a little corner restaurant and peeked in a couple of stores. Rose Lane had found a store that sells nice scarves, and as our daughters both had birthdays coming up, we bought them both some for presents. That kept us busy until time to leave. We were excited about getting to Montreal…another beautiful and unique Canadian city….although we knew we wouldn’t be there very long. Montreal was hosting an annual Formula One auto race, and we knew the city would be buzzing between that and our show. Sure enough, when we arrived we could feel the excitement…and the traffic reflected how busy the town was….it was slow getting to the St. James Hotel, a beautiful hotel that we stayed at the last time we played the city. But because the race had brought so many folks to the city, we actually had to split our group up into two hotels….the St. James and the Intercontinental, which was just adjacent to the St. James. Fortunately, we were put in the St. James. It is an old hotel….very elegant and well preserved with beautiful appointments throughout. We settled into our room and waited for Tim Ries to call us…he had invited us to go to dinner with him and was making reservations. Tim called to say that he was working on it, but due to the race, reservations were tight and he was waiting to hear from the concierge about a couple of options. Rosie and I decided to walk down and have a drink in the hotel bar…but it had been totally taken over by a party thrown by Ferrari. The good news was that there was a really nice sitting room…sort of a library, which was virtually empty and quiet, and the hotel folks let us order a drink in there while we waited to hear from Tim. It was a lovely room…beautiful chandeliers, furniture and art. One of the portraits was of the current owner of the hotel, ??. The gentleman that brought us our drinks told us that he had made his fortune in the waste management business, but the St. James was his special passion and he checked on it all the time…not allowing any changes to be made with any of the rooms, furniture, appointments, etc without his approval. He certainly has impeccable taste and you could see the “love” he has given the hotel.

Tim finally called saying that they had secured a table at Les Pyrenees, a Spanish/French restaurant not far away. It was raining, so we wanted to take a cab…but one of our security guys, Vince , graciously offered Ronnie Wood’s car (which was on hold, but not being used) to take us. We accepted, and made our way there. Tim had invited Bernard Fowler to join us, and he met us there 10 minutes after we arrived. We had some very good Paella and some nice wine…and great conversation between us. Bernard left early, and Tim, Rose Lane and I stayed to finish the wine and just hang. The rain had subsided, so we walked back to the hotel which was only 6 or so blocks away. It had been great to spend time with Tim and Bernard…in a setting away from the show or from the travel.

6/9/13

The weather cleared, and the day was bright for the race…and for our show. The race was to start around 3 or 4, but most of the folks attending get there in the mid morning to participate in the festivities. So by noon it was nice and  quiet in our area. We took an easy morning, enjoying the first half of the day before going to the gig.
Win Butler of Arcade Fire was to be the guest for the show. Mick had done Saturday Night Live with Arcade Fire last year, and they did “The Last Time”, so it was agreed to do it with him again tonight. We met backstage in Mick’s dressing room as usual to go over it. We went through the arrangement and all seemed fine.

The rest of the evening was fairly routine…catering  for a bite, the usual “get ready” of set list, wardrobe, a bit of makeup and hair fluff from Caroline, then the stage. This was the first show that I didn’t get to the VIP area. I did have one guest…Jean-Pierre Keikens, for whom I had done a speech many years ago for his organization. But things kept me busy until time to hit the stage, and I just couldn’t make it to VIP.

Chuck with Win Butler

Montreal was ready for us…crowd was anxious to hear their favorite Stones’ tunes. “Dead Flowers” got the nod on the “By Request” song. The odd one of the night was Win….for some reason he put his guitar down on the floor of the stage after the first chorus….he seemed to fumble a bit with the words. I don’t know if he couldn’t hear himself or what, but it was just sort of odd behavior. Then at the end he threw his wireless mic out into the audience. Someone got a nice free expensive wireless mic out of the deal! The rest of the set went well, and we chalked up another one.

Boston

6/10-16/13
Left Montreal and winged our way to Boston.We were looking forward to being in one place for a week…well, almost a week. Just half a day short of one, anyway. We were to see lots of friends there, including our daughter Ashley’s boyfriend, Peter Tziros. Peter is an endodontist with a practice in Manchester, NH…which is not that far from Boston. His mom, “Lula”, was coming with him on the first show, and some dentist friends of his on the second. 

Boston Marathon Memorial

The afternoon of the 11th, we had lunch with our pal Bert Holman (who manages the Allman Brothers Band and who was the tour manager for us many years ago when we had the band “Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks”: Dickey Betts, Jimmy Hall, me and Butch Trucks) and Larry Cancro and his assistant Beth…both who work for the Boston Red Sox. We met at Legal Seafood, and had a nice time catching up. Bert caught me up on the upcoming 40th anniversary release of “Brothers and Sisters”, which is an extensive look back at that landmark era of the ABB. It includes some never before released rehearsals, jams and live recordings from a show we did in Winterland in San Francisco back in ‘73 as well as a remastered version of the original record. Hard to believe it has been 40 years since we recorded songs like “Rambling Man”, “Jessica”, “Wasted Words”, “Come And Go Blues” and the others…and nice to know that they have stood the test of time.

The coming days we were to see lots of other friends…Jeff and Cathy Tucker from Atlanta; Scott and Debbie Brickner from Houston; Gordon Beadle and his son Martino (Gordon is a great sax player that I did a gig with many years ago in the south of France); Richard Regan and his family from Maine. We would spend a bit of time with all of them, mostly in the bar of the hotel. Matt Clifford’s girlfriend, Caryn Tomlinson, who works for Universal Records in Artist Relations made the trip over from London to see Matt. We all had fun in the coming days in Bean Town.

On the first show at the TD Garden, our guest would be Gary Clark, Jr. He has guested with us a few times before, and we did “Going Down” with him again. As before, he tore it up, doing a fine job. We did a few songs that we haven’t done much on this run…including Beast of Burden and Sway. The fans seemed to enjoy it, and we did, too. Rose Lane and I spent some fun quality time with Peter Tziros and his mom before the show, in the catering area. She is a lovely person, and I think that was probably the first time she has been to an event like this…especially in the back stage area. For the show, I spied them both in the Tongue Pit. I had thought that Lula wouldn’t want to make it to the end, and figured it would be great if she stayed for something like half the show. Much to my surprise, they both were there until the very end…and Lula was smiling the whole time, which made me very happy. 

The 13th was an off day for us, and I had interviews lined up. First was an interview for the local Fox TV station , Fox 25, in the morning. It was supposed to be “live to tape”, and was to be aired the next day, but as it turned out, it was live…it turned out fine, and I was told later by one of the Stones’ staff that it helped to sell some tickets…cool. Then back at the hotel in mid morning I had an interview via phone with Chris Ryan on WKXL FM and sister stain WMYF AM. It was short and sweet, and Chris was well prepared. Later in the day, I did a live interview on WZLX radio…a top rated station that plays “Classic Rock”. Chuck Knowlin was the personality that interviewed me, and it was really quite fun. We kidded around together…talked about The Allman Brothers, Stones, my latest cd (he was kind enough to play “Wish Me Well” from it during the interview), The Mother Nature Network, and  other fluff. It seemed to go over well as we had a good many phone calls during the time I was there. After the interview he asked me to do a segment for his “Chuck TV” program which is played over the Net. (see: http://wzlx.cbslocal.com/2013/06/14/chucktv-chuck-leveall-of-the-rolling-stones-rewrites-the-theme-song/ )

Lisa Fischer with Bernard Fowler backstage

We wrapped that up, and I was taken back to the hotel. Rosie and I went to the bar for cocktails, and ran into Lisa Fischer there. We had some great personal time with her, just talking about the tour, her role in the just released film “20 Steps from Stardom”, in which she plays a prominent part and catching up in general. Lisa is just THE GREATEST, and we love her soooo much! It was really special to have that impromptu time with her.

The second show at TD was on the 14th. and there was no special guest with us that night…so we threw in “All Down The Line” and a raucous version of “When The Whip Comes Down”. For the ballad, we did “Memory Motel”, which was also the “By Request” tune for the night. As it has a reference to Boston in the lyrics, it went down well. The rest of the set was well played and there were lots of smiles going around the stage. A great way to finish up our two shows in a great city.

Saturday the 15th was off, and the rain had finally stopped. After the morning routine of Starbucks coffee and a leisurely wake up, we decided to enjoy the sunshine by going to the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, which are right across the street from the hotel. It was quite crowded, being a Saturday…but we enjoyed walking through it and “people watching” some…as well as watching the ducks and swans floating on the large pond there. We made our way to Charles Street, window shopping and occasionally walking into a store to check things out. Eventually we made our way around to Newberry and strolled through it again and finally back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, even taking a short nap. For dinner, we decided on 

Philadelphia

6/15-21/13

The Rolling Stones 2013 Philadelphia

On Sunday we all prepared ourselves for the move to Philadelphia. The two shows we were to do there had sold out early in the tour, soon after the dates were announced. So we knew we had lots of hard core fans coming to see us. Rose Lane and I also had a good many personal friends coming as well. Lynn Lavery and her pal Bill, Rose Lane’s childhood friend Casey Adams, John Malloy (a Charlane Plantation client and friend), Red Nienkirchen (a fellow musician, music teacher and producer), Ronnie Finestone, Carol Davidson and her son Alex. Scott and Debbie Brickner and some others. Upon our arrival in the late afternoon, we settled into our rooms  at the Four Seasons and went down to explore the offerings in the bar. After the soothing effects of a vodka martini, we went out to eat at an Indian restaurant not too far from the hotel called the King of Tandoor.  It was not bad, but we were somewhat disappointed that they did not serve drinks there, so we couldn’t have our usual bit of wine with dinner. But we managed to survive that bit of hardship and enjoyed the food, then headed back to close out the day.

The next day was also off for us, but we knew we would see many of the friends listed above, all of whom were coming in that day. As they were arriving later, Rose Lane and I spent the first part of the day roaming around the streets, exploring the shops en route to a wash and fold place to get our laundry done. Again, no real damage to our pocketbooks, it was all window shopping. On the way back to the hotel we took note of Davido’s Restaurant. We had dined at a Davido’s in Boston and enjoyed it…but didn’t realize it was a chain…and knowing that we would be having dinner with our friends that evening, we took the opportunity to stop in and make a reservation. 

Back at the hotel we saw Casey Adams checking in and spoke to him for a bit. Soon after, Lynn, Carol and the others came in and we greeted everybody, telling them about the reservation for later. After some down time in the room we met Lynn and her friend Bill in the bar for a drink before dinner, catching up on what she had been up to and with what has been going on back in Macon since we’ve been gone. Soon the others…Casey, Carol and Alex came down and we headed off to Davido’s. 

Dinner was fun and lively, with everyone enjoying each other’s company and the excellent food. It’s great to be able to share these good times with friends that we haven’t seen in a while, and to be able to have them enjoy the “Stones Experience”. All were primed for the show the next night.

For our first show in Philly, the guest would be Brad Paisley.

A former guitar tech of ours, Dave Rouze, who had worked with us for several tours had gone to work for Brad a few years ago. Brad apparently liked Dave so much that he gave him a permanent position and he had moved to Nashville and has been there ever since. Dave is a fantastic guy, and we have all missed him…but of course we are happy for him with his gig with Paisley…and we were all very happy to see him at sound check. In the mix for our “By Request”, I had put up “Dead Flowers”, and it had won the position. That was the perfect song to do with Brad, so we wound up combining his guest spot

Brad nailed “Dead Flowers” in rehearsal and we touched on a couple of other tunes, then broke from the stage to go back to our dressing rooms.

The Philly crowd was amazing…really a high energy night, both from band and audience. We had a nice bit of social time afterwards in the hotel bar…spending time with all our friends. I met a nice young fellow named Mitch Hinkle. He seemed to be in his early 20’s and introduced himself to me, saying that he is a piano player from the Atlanta area. We had a nice chat, and I could tell from our conversation that he was serious about his playing…I gave him the names of some other Atlanta musicians and suggested that he contact them to try and put together some jams. Always nice to find young folks that want to get into music and that have the passion for it. I sent him one of my CDs to his home address…hope he gets some good things going for himself.

The next night there was a fun tour party put on by the fine AEG folks. It was in a spot in “Cuba Town” called Cubalebre. They had rented out the whole place just for the band and crew. There was a tight Cuban band playing, some dancers that put on some exhibitions and good food. Nice to have the time with everyone together, and kudos to AEG for putting it on. Most of our friends had left for home, so it was just me and Rosie….we stayed for a bit, enjoying the company of our “Stones Family”, then discretely left to go have dinner. We had spotted a seafood restaurant in Rittenhouse Square called Devon Seafood Grill that looked good…so we popped in there to try it out. It must have been somewhat of an off night for them….the service was pretty good, but the food was slow to come, and the fish was pretty dry. To their credit, when it was apparent we didn’t eat much of it and they asked why….we gave them a straight answer and they only charged us for one of the dishes instead of both. Hey…anyone can have an off day, and they were honorable about it.

No show on the 20th, and after a trip to the gym, we fought the boredom by once again exploring the streets of Philadelphia near us. Walked around South Broad, 15th, 16th and 17th streets, Panama, Pine, Lombard and Locust, and some others in the neighborhood.  We did better for dinner than we did the night before, having a nice steak dinner at a place called Butcher and Singer. Excellent food and service…good wine list. It is apparently something of an institution in Philly…with good reason!

Rose Lane and Chuck's 40th Anniversary!coming up...

Paris 2014

Getting to Paris to hook up with our friends in The Rolling Stones was quite an ordeal. First of all our show schedule at home prior to the departure was grueling. Hunts that we had scheduled months in advance had to be rescheduled to January from February and during that time we had multiple shows to do.

Chuck Leavell and Gregory Allman

January 10 was a Tribute to Gregory Allman, our dear long time friend. It was a all star cast with Don Was as musical director and Chuck playing keys in the core band. This will be aired in May so I am sure that you can Google up the agenda. That was a week long rehearsal so it was very busy.. The following weekend was a finale for New Harmonies, a Smithsonian Exhibit that I had been the Chair for over a period of 3 years. This was sponsored by The Georgia Humanities Council in conjunction with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Our parting event was a Salute to Georgia Roots Music. Of course, I asked Chuck to be the Musical Director for this show. Along the way I had asked Robert McDuffie, a consummate violinist,  to participate with his students from Mercer University at one of the local programs in Perry, Georgia. We had 12 locations around the state each promoting their local musical talents.

Rose Lane and Chuck Leavell with Camille and Robert McDuffie

Robert preformed Ashoken Farewell at the opening, and I immediately mentioned to him that he should perform that with Chuck at some point in time. It is on Southscape which is one of his recordings that was done in honor of our beloved South.

The Georgia Roots Music Band

Robert  was totally in agreement, and it seemed that he was very keen to take the stage with a rock and roll band even though he had never attempted anything like that before. When the idea came up for the Festival I knew that he would definitely be interested in participating. He agreed!!! So, to round out the evening performance. Chuck asked Gregory to chip in. They wanted to do a tribute to native son Otis Redding and would be working with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Michele Malone was asked to do a song. Jimmy Hall was also brought in to add his talent along with Randall Bramblett and his band of musicians: Davis Causey, Mike Steele,and  Gerry Hansen.

Salute to Georgia Roots Music with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

In conjunction with this evening event there was also a day long program saluting the roots music for which Georgia is so well known. Both events were sold out!!!! I was so proud...of everything and everybody for being so wonderful.. Plus, it was just great to have this ending for what had been a tremendous tour through the state. Not to mention that my job was now finished, and I could take a deep breath and pack that suitcase for yet another adventure with The Rolling Stones. The really fun thing about all of our time in Atlanta was that I got to spend really special time with our daughter Amy and her husband Steve Bransford along with Miles and Rocco, our grandchildren. They got to come to the rehearsals both at The Fox and Symphony Hall. It was perfect. So, time to make it back home.

Amy and Miles Bransford

Steve and Rocco Bransford

We had more hunts scheduled after the shows in Atlanta, but we are seasoned entertainers and it just didn't seem like a big deal. I unpacked my cases from the Atlanta run and just made a pile to the side for things that I wanted to bring to Paris. Adding to the pile along the way packing just didn't seem like much. My next adventure was to meet our daughter Ashley Rose in Savannah, Georgia. Chuck and I bought a home there in the Landmark District last year  and have fallen in love with the town. Ashley and Peter Tziros became engaged in front of the fountain in Forsyth Park, and now they are marrying at St. Paul's Greek Church.

Rose Lane and Chuck with Peter Tziros and Ashley

So, it was all about wedding plans and visiting sites, etc. That and I am still doing work to the house so it was a busy long weekend. Now, back to Bullard to meet up with Chuck who has stayed at home to ready the plantation for our being gone.. After 6 days of nonstop cooking, hunting and cleaning we are nearing the final days of sanity,  and they announce we are about to have a monumental snow/sleet/ice storm. This was January 28th...and our leave was to be the 30th. Just like they said, bad weather came rolling in on the 29th....stranding motorists, school children and workers by the thousands in Atlanta.

Snow at Charlane Plantation Homeplace 2014

Alas, it also stranded 4 of our hunters from YUM! at The Lodge because they couldn't get through Atlanta. We sent them out in the snow for another quail hunt which made them happy, and, of course, one more great meal at Charlane Plantation is never a losing proposition. Now, packing became the priority and Chuck and I had to really rev it up. We hadn't planned on being so busy up to the last minute. Nor, did we have time to focus on the fact that we just might not be able to get to Atlanta for our flight on Thursday. Hal Hamilton, our new employee, drove us up to the airport, and luckily we made it!!! Cars were strewn along the roadway where folks had just abandoned them during the storm. It was a graphic site. We made it to the airport...checked our luggage and found the Delta Lounge. Delay, delay, delay....and after 7 hours of waiting and sitting we board the plane one more time and they turned us around because of a hydraulic leak. Oops. We are stranded. Do we get a motel at the airport and try to make a flight the next day. Bummer! But, just as we are collecting our bags the pilot says, " well, they might have another airplane somewhere, but I don't think that will happen."  Well, to our luck, there was one and it was only 5 gates away. Yay!!! We had another wait around, but we made the flight and it was smooth sailing! Good thing we had booked our arrival for an extra day as we know that you need at least 24 hours to allow yourself an adjustment to the time and lack of sleep. We made it in due time, and our driver squired us away to The George V Hotel...what a lovely place to lay our heads. We slept no less than 12 hours!!! Our whirlwind lifestyle had gotten to us. Now, on to our next adventure....life in Paris for 17 days.....