Getting Ready for the Tour

It has been at least 20 some odd years since I have done a tour of more than 10 days. There was the J Geils tour a few years ago. Crazy and fun. Sort of being in a musical sitcom. So much fun and filled with the unexpected. Like the time when Kid Rock came to sing in Detroit or Keith Richards showed  up to hang out. Fenway Park with Aerosmith and me trying to run interference for Peter to use the catwalk.

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I don’t expect to get shot at like the time in Belfast 1980. Out in the street. Snipers and English soldiers.  As it happened..I walked out of the back of the theater and my Bandmates were waving at me like crazy from the bus. So what should I do? A tap dance of course. Just then a hand slammed me up againt the building. An English soldier said..”Trying to get yourself killed mate?” Didn’t know he was talking about a sniper not my bad dancing!

Playing in a monsoon outdoors in Tokyo 1981. Rain was coming down like crazy. Playing my guitar on the song Seven Days, I realized I hadn’t died, so I decided to step out from the covering into the deluge much to the delight of the 50,000 people in the audience that were equally as wet!

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I didn’t pay much attention to certain logistical things on the Joe Cocker Tours in the 70’s and early 80’s. I was just having a ball and showing up where I needed to be. If it wasn’t flying, soundchecking, or performing, I was out and about seeing the sights!  Michael Lang and I once rented a Maserati to drive up to the Maserati factory in Modena, Italy. We were cruising along doing about 190 KPH ( about 120 MPH )  when Michael looked in the rear view mirror, said “woah!”, pulled more to the side as a red Ferrari passed us like we were standing still!  Nice factory though!

So off I go. Let’s see…clothes, suitcase, passport..umm…umm…I better make a list. Better still I’ll send and email to my son and daughter who have been doing many world tours in the past few years! They’ll know what I should do!!  Hah…

Any thoughts anyone else?          Stay tuned for the Tour!  OY!

Mitch Cort Guitar small

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