About an hour and a half up the 14 last night we performed our first ever show with pals Lynyrd Skynyrd. Up there in the high desert country of Antelope Valley, we all surprised at the cooler temperature and the steady breeze, but do you think it dampened the enthusiasm of our crew or the massive crowd that showed up to witness this unusual coupling of bands? (Yes, that was a rhetorical question--no need to answer) It was one hell of a show.

Oddly enough Ted Nugent and Night Ranger have been in the Los Angeles area these past few days as well. And even more ironically, they were staying at the same hotel as all of our people. So between Michael Cartelone being here with Skynyrd, Ted and Jack here with their bands, you'd think we'd have a big family reunion, but this is one not to be. The problem is, it is still another day on the road, filled with the same responsibilities as any other, and we are all too preoccupied to do much else. Especially in LA. That in itself adds to the equation for each band.

So, the fact that Michael Cartelone got dropped off here at my house was a pleasant surprise. We got to hang out for an hour or so around the casa before hopping into the SUV, following the map Jeanne downloaded from a site on the web and heading up to the show. It was fun seeing Michael and Todd give each other a tour of their respective drum sets.

After spending the day before in the studio with Ron Nevison, JY and I were happy to see his face at the show. Michael Lamper and wife Marina Sirtis made the drive up too. Ricky from Skynyrd was his usual upbeat and enthusiastic self when he stopped by to say hello and let Marina know he was a big fan.

Throughout the show, the wind was a'blowing. The projection screens were swaying, and the people were up! They came for a rock show and boy did they get one!

Now tonight we play the first of two "Evening With STYX" shows in Anaheim and guess who is playing on the night between our first and second show? Yep, you guessed it--Lynyrd Skynyrd! Rock on, boys...