LIVIN' IN AMERICA

Back home! Well, close anyway...
Finally. Some imagery. Some thing worth 1000 words, cause I sure know my words aren't worth 1000 words. (I added show photos to the entries about the shows, so scroll down, take a trip down memory lane, and try to remember where you were when those shows happened...last week.)
I'll start by showing you how I have been forced to watch the World Series (and college football. And the NFL.), at all odd hours of the night in places with sub-par internet connections:


I mean, it's a neat application, but refreshing every 30 seconds at 3:30 AM trying to follow pitch-by-pitch or down-by-down is deflating in every way. Anyway, this was the top of the 9th of Game 4 this morning at 6AM from the Dubai airport.
Speaking of Dubai, here's a little bit of what it was like-
Views from my hotel room:





The soon-to-be tallest building in the world, under construction (one of thousands of buildings under construction in the city):



Dubai really went for it, all around. I hear they're building islands that will be in the shape of a palm frond, but that's not it - the next project is a set of small islands that are a replica of the map of the world. So you could live on "little Madagascar" or in "little Atlanta" if you wanted. Crazy. Also:





Hotels shaped like watercraft. Those hotels allegedly have more stars than Cassiopeia. I mean, 4 stars is pretty nice - what happens in 7 or 8??!? "Thanks for staying with us, Mr. Crowe. Your personal masseuse and chef will meet you in your room, which has the ability to break away from the mail building and fly you to the moon. Ah, and you will have the ability to become invisible as you choose until you check out."
Speaking of checking out, what about this mall:





That huge silver goiter looks a little weird, right? Well, it's this:



Yes, friends, a ski mountain INSIDE the shopping mall. Complete with snowfall every night. The day before the show, 2 guys rented ATVs and drove out into the desert. 2 other guys rented skiing equipment and hit the slopes. All four returned to the same hotel that night.
While they were doing that, John and i were shopping for gold and diamonds. We went to a four-story mall that sells only gold and diamonds. After much hunting, we finally found exactly what we were looking for:


Feels good to be a ring guy.
I didn't bring my real camera on this trip, but a shot of the show from the festival:


FINAL THOUGHTS
Crazy to be back out there - given the chaos that usually comes with an international trip, I had a great time. I miss all my boys on the road, and I'll take any 2 weeks I can whenever possible. Rolling with John everywhere was like a grown-up version of the days back in Abe, Hampton Inns, and *NSYNC watches. Good, good stuff. I gotta admit that I miss it a little bit. I love y'all.
Oh, and when chaos DID hit, I just looked at my mantra...


...and everything would work out.
See you soon.
-Scotty

HEATH ROW IS THE LABEL THAT PAAAAAYS ME

Ain't nothing but a layover thing, baaaaby
Sitting in the other London airport this time, waiting to jump on the flight to LAX (the club, not the airport). Still reeling from the shocks of Dubai and trying to figure out what sort of sleeping pattern I'm going to be on when I land in Los Angeles County in 12 hours.
But I thought I'd tell you: I LOVE London. I never feel like there's enough time here (I never feel like there's enough time in Selfridges, much less the entire city) - so much to see, do, buy, eat, drink, hear, fall down on, get hit by, and instigate. Some of my faves:
1) SoHo, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden. Record shops dedicated to hip-hop? Shoe stores on every block? A shop that gets new, rare inventory in every day? Slap me.
2) Accidentally slipping into a terrible (really, "wvreelie" bad) RP/Cockney/Welsh/Irish/Scottish/Australian hybrid accent when I'm having a conversation. I apologize for my ignorance, it's just so fun to say numbers: "wun, tuo, free, fow, faive..." Your accent is art, and I want to buy all of it. Specifically:

10/23/06 - LONDON

Happy Birthday, Mama.
October 23, 2006Kentish Town ForumLondon, UK
BeliefBigger Than My BodyVulturesGood Love Is On The WaySlow Dancing in a Burning RoomClarityTrust MyselfWhy GeorgiaGravityWaiting On The World To ChangeNo Such ThingDaughtersIn Repair
Before we get to the madness that was tonight, I gotta mention yesterday - we went to Abbey Road Studios to record 4 tracks for a television show. The place blew my mind. John took some pictures - we saw some amazing stuff and the atmosphere of the whole place is just sort of chilling in a very warm way. The band played Belief, Vultures, Gravity, and Waiting On The World To Change, jamming and playing other stuff here and there in between the takes. It's supposed to air in the UK and the US, so look out for it...
Some photos from Abbey Road, courtesy of Carolyn Snell:















Today we started with a hit at Virgin Radio - John and Robbie playing Belief and Waiting On The World To Change. Acoustic. Awesome.


And DEN! We hit the venue and started it off with a little Local-83 soundcheck party - throwback! Before y'all came in, I may or may not have heard John playing the chords to Outside in the Underground with Chris Karlic fluting a bit over it. It's nice!


And DEN! A few hours later...
The Forum is like a big, old theatre with the seats taken out of the floor label. Y'all filled the place up in a hurry, got it warm and ready, and my boys killed it. The energy in the room - coming off stage, coming from the crowd, coming from all the important folks sitting upstairs - was nuts. Belief - unbelievable. Not trying to be funny*. Slow Dancing is still a fave for me. The crowd was on fire the entire night, but especially shone in Waiting and Daughters. I caught myself watching, mouth open, head bobbing from the side of the stage watching the whole scene. Thank you, London, for making this show something special.
Then we got our hang out on and celebrated everyone's last night in London together. Exactly: fiesta, forever all night long.
I feel good! Helloooooo Ted!**
-Scotty


And, photos from the London Forum, again by Carolyn Snell:








*I AM funny***.**stolen from DRH, JJ and the chaos he discovered.***to myself.

IN REAL LIFE, I'M MORE DISTINGUISHED

I'm like a bloke from London, England...
As soon as Tony, John, and I find out how to get online at this hotel of ours, we'll fill you in with our Cockney escapades.
GREAT show tonight. They did it For 'Em at the London Forum.
More soon. Me promise!
-C.R.O.V.A.

AMSTERDAM, I WISH I WAS YOUR LOVER

Seriously, I got lost in Amsterdam. And for the record, I'm for the record. Really love the new one. I don't care if their fans hate me (remember the "Brian Rocks! Scotty Has Crabs!" sign?), I don't care if Ryan pretends he hates me, I love 'em.
I like to think of myself as a world traveler. Sort of a nomad, if you will. I pick up things when I travel, and I think I've learned some of the cardinal rules (Go Cards) of Amsterdam:
1) Bicycles outnumber people. There are enough bikes here for the population of China. I should know.


2) Everyone likes good "Hond in the Goot" every now and then.


3) Instead of Punk'd, celebrities get "Weggesleept".


4) I bet trains called "SnailTrams" are really fast. Hence, #1.


Ok, Tony Held is here telling me I'm late to dinner. More from Holland soon. We ARE in Holland, right? Sorry, I'm not good with traveling.
-Scottie B. Hawkins

10/14/06 - ATLANTA

Very few things are better than Atlanta in October. The weather is crisp, it always smells like smoke outside, and there's a(n) ubiquitous sense of understanding in the streets. It always makes me think of the Exchange Club Fair. Now THOSE were good times.
Schpeaking of GTs, one thing that's better than Atlanta in October is Chastain Park Amphitheatre in October. Man, she's pretty. For all you non-Atlantans out thurr, the tradition at Chastain is to bring dinner...maybe a table, some wine, some candles (don't forget the candelabra [not to be mistaken with the "can dela, braugh?"]), and a tasty little dinner (EatZi's was always my go-to). The seats in the pit are tables (and actually not in Pittsburgh, as is the common misconception), but the other seats are all like big benches with a huge aisle in front to build your restaurant. So what you have is a dinner party of thousands. Reeely reeely nauiiice, as the Aussies say.
Man, and my boy at Chastain in Atlanta in October? Nevermind the Venn Diagram, that's the fire!
BeliefClarityBigger Than My BodyVulturesNo Such ThingIn RepairGravityHeart of LifeWhy Georgia > My Stupid Mouth > Back To You > My Stupid Mouth > Why GeorgiaWaiting On The World To ChangeComfortable (solo acoustic)Find Another Ewe
GTs, GTs - best show I saw all tour. Yes, I know, 1 of 3. 4 if you could the Webster Hall broadcast. But I'm still an expert and I know good stuff when I see it. Speaking of GSWISI:
Tubbs aka David Ryan Harris opened this show up and tore it up. Full band, full on, if you were there, you got a mother effing show tonight. And some new music was available...
After those guys started it off, they took a breather and jumped back on stage with John. Everything was just solid. Heart of Life was great to see, and the Why Georgia (My Stupid Mouth [Back to You]) performance was very very very cool. Waiting started with a little wiki-wiki DJ action. Then we got Comfortable before the tour closed out with Find Another Y'all. Great night. Great Scott!
Then we started the trek that takes us to where I currently sit - a dark room with walls covered in carpet in a country whose favorite publication is Flounten Shouten. More on that in a minute.
-Scott-HEY!


(it's blurry cause Bigfoot took the picture. And he sometimes forgets to turn the flash on. Silly Sasquatch.)

I LOVE (AND HATE) OCTOBER

I don't know what's with the sports kick lately (one time a friend of mine dared me to wear a "cup" to school, meaning an athletic supporter - instead, I put a dixie cup in my pants. True story. I've come a long way.), but I can't get enough. This month being something like Fogo de Chao for a Tyrannosaurus Rex, we took advantage.
TECH OVER MARYLAND, 27-24.NO BUENO: MD 1st and Goal on the GT 8 with less than a minute to go.SO BUENO: MD 4th and Goal on the GT 19 with less than 30 seconds to go.SO BUENO IT'S NO BUENO: After MD kicked a FG to take a 20-14 lead, my buddy sends me a text: "17 all!" I think he was hanging with the Captain. And I'm not talking CJ.
METS OVER DODGERS, 9-5.NO BUENO: Top of the 1st, 6th, and 8th; bottom of the 9th.SO BUENO: Bottom of the 5th. The place was ELECTRIC - when Nomar came up with the bases loaded...


...nuts.
SO BUENO IT'S NO BUENO: NikeID Dunks. Dodger Blue with a hint of Gold and White for them GT beaus (altogether shouting out BHS).


SPEAKING OF BHS: We realized Mets LF Shawn Green has an uncanny resemblance to our dear friend Sammy Miller, BHS OF 1996-99. HSP.SPEAKING OF DA WICK: Who's that guy hugging Albert Pujols after the 3rd out was made in the top of the 9th last night?
Alright. Time to listen to the new Game single about 40 more times.
-Scotty

LET'S GO BLUE

yes sir.