It's official. We will be back at The Roxy in Los Angeles during December for three shows (the fourth one would have been Xmas Eve, so we decided to just do the three shows this year) and we will be theming the shows this year. Each week will be completely different sets and different guests. More about that soon. The dates are FRIDAY DECEMBER 4th, FRIDAY DECEMBER 11th and FRIDAY DECEMBER 18th. And the tickets will be just $20 per show, or a special $100 ticket that gets you into all three shows, plus an opportunity to come and hang out all afternoon on the 11th and be a part of the soundcheck, say hello, take some pics with us and get a signed print. Trust me - get your tickets - we are planning some cool shit!!!

This week was a fine example of just how things can turn around on a dime in 'The Business'....from all quiet on the western front, to full speed ahead, in one day. I find myself awake on Camp Freddy show day about three hours before I should be....head full of a million different projects! Last nights rehearsal was dynamite. A few of our guests came down and we went at it for about 6 hours. Normally we don't rehearse but as its been a minute since our last show, and we wanted to do a few new songs and had a couple of new guests, we figured....what the hell, it can't hurt, right?? So we did what we do, and had a fucking blast doing it. At about midnight, sushi seemed the right call, so a few of us headed up to Sunset Plaza for a bit of Yellowtail and a Sunset Roll (mmmm.. you gotta try it!)



And after about 5 hours of sleep, I find myself deep in the virtual world, Twittering away, chatting on Facebook, updating the blog here, with a voice inside my head saying "go to sleep you moron." I feel a nap coming on later! The gig tonight is shaping up to be a good one. We also have another show on the books in Las Vegas on Aug 30th - I'll try and find out some details on that one and let you all know. And it seems that something is happening in LA on Sept 10th as well, as part of the Sunset Strip Music Festival, but as per usual I know nothing about it. I'm sure all will be revealed soon! I'm also starting work on a TV thing that should be really exciting and fun to shoot, and will be even more entertaining to watch! That world is full of "don't say anything yet" types, so for now, that's all I can say. Hopefully when we shoot, I can persuade the 'powers that be' of the value of letting people have access - the odd bubble-tweet, or video blog, or something! We'll see.



The prototype Les Paul Billy Morrison model guitar is expected to be in my grubby little hands in the next week or so. I am so excited to see how it is - basically I look it over, play it, make sure its all good, and then it's off to the races. Until that approval happens, nothing can be done. So with any luck, it'll be close to what I imagined and we can start showing you guys exactly what it looks like. Also, the project with Ginger Wildheart was so much fun (and sounded so good) that we decided to do it again. The Viper Room in LA on Aug 26th - and this time we are going to attempt to stream the whole show live on the web. Yep - not content with learning and playing an hour and a half of pure classic Wildhearts songs, we want to let the world in. The Viper Room have been wonderful and agreed to let us do this, so technology notwithstanding (and we all know how that can be), at 10.30pm PST on August 26th, Ginger Wildheart, Scott Lipps, Michael Butler, Beans and Yours Truly (plus a couple of friends) will be appearing live, direct, hot, sweaty and beaming.... on a computer screen near you. We will post the link and the directions nearer the time. Lets make this a worldwide broadcast and show people that it's possible to provide fantastic entertainment for rock music fans everywhere - for FREE.



Finally, I wanna send out love and respec' to my homie, Danny-Boy from La Coka Nostra. First of all, their album dropped....and it's a monster! Only for grown ups, ladies and gentlemen. Go get "A Brand You Can Trust", turn the volume up, and let the beats and rhymes mash your head. And secondly, he is one of those guys that just....'has an eye'.... check out this design. I LOVE it. Danny - you rule. Right. I got some Facebooking to do - if you are in LA tonight, go to the House Of Blues, bribe the security, flash a bit of leg, buy 'em a beer, look for an open window, pretend you're a roadie, do whatever it is you guys do to get into a show. I promise its a good one! Have a fantastic day. Billy

The article below appeared online today - so I guess we are off and running with all of this. If you are planning on coming to either of the Sam Ash appearances, I STRONGLY advise getting Twitter installed on your phone. I will be conducting a few fun experiments using the app and you will only get to join in if you are a) present at the event and b) have Twitter on your phone. Don't say you weren't warned! As far as the guitar goes, I have been sitting on this for a while now, and can't wait to show you guys pics. I have worked closely with Gibson on this guitar and await a prototype shortly to see if we are close with the specs. I know the artwork that I did in Photoshop absolutely fucking rocks. So with any luck, this Billy Morrison model will be both aesthetically stunning and a dream to play. So here's what we have so far...

Billy Morrison, scheduled to appear May 6 and May 7, 2009 in the Ontario Mills, CA and City of Industry, CA location respectively is best known as an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who plays with Los Angeles based band Camp Freddy. Morrison also fronts Circus Diablo and has hosted Indie 103.1’s Camp Freddy Radio with Dave Navarro in 2008. Morrison will be giving guests a sneak peak at his upcoming Inspired By Gibson USA model during his appearances where he will sign autographs and meet and greet his fans. Doug Aldrich from the mega-hit group Whitesnake will join Morrison at the two California locations.

Saturday morning, and our usual dash to the airport held nothing out of the ordinary - late (ish), we screamed up Barham Blvd on our way to Burbank and our SouthWest flight to Sin City. I had been invited to go and celebrate Perry Farrell's 50th birthday at The Mirage Hotel and Casino, and I was one of a whole bunch of us that would be performing later that night. The voices inside my head were having a field day! Equal measure of 'humbled and happy that they even asked me' and 'I don't deserve this, maybe they made a mistake' resonated as we pulled up and parked the car. No time to over think it, we met up with my manager Rick and jumped on the plane. As far as flying goes, SouthWest is pretty much like the Greyhound bus of the skies. Always packed to bursting, we are shoe-horned in like cattle, and given a pack of stale peanuts for our enjoyment. But 50 mins later and we are touching down in the middle of the Nevada desert. No drama so far.



The Mirage. Never stayed there before. Home of a certain over-zealous tiger and some seriously 70's style decorating! The vibe is the same as most of the Casinos in Las Vegas... faux luxury and give us all yer money!! The casino floor was huge (not Venetian huge, but still very large) with the familiar sound of bankruptcy and despair filling our ears as we walked around. Outside in the gardens, however, it gets really nice. Waterfalls, landscaping, dolphins, grottos, bridges, pathways - it's a lush tropical paradise that must cost millions a month just to water!! And in the middle of all that jungle is the 'Bare' pool. A topless pool, roped off from the rest of the world. And yes, thats where the gig is happening. A constant live Twitter stream from both myself and Dave became the theme of the day. Pics and updates from everywhere - allowing a glimpse in real time into the days events.



Soundcheck gave me a new appreciation of how it must be at a Camp Freddy show. Hours and hours of fine tuning and many guests all waiting to do their songs and make sure it sounds ok. Usually, our soundchecks fly by for me, as I am not only playing every song but working out who's arrived, who sings what, and when, with who etc. On Saturday, I just kicked back as a guest performer, and I LIKED it!! No stress (at least, not for me - somebody else had all the stress that day!!) and some great moments. Watching the OG Janes Addiction run through songs and sound more powerful and trippy than ever before is a wonderful thing. My songs came and went with no drama and it was off to dinner at the stunningly fabulous Japonais restaurant.



Showtime! A thousand of Etty and Perry's closest friends jammed into the Bare Pool area in front of a really well executed stage, with lighting that would have made most tours cry in envy! The place looked fantastic. And over the next hour and a half, the audience were treated to a who's who of Rock and a what's what of classic and cool music. Porno For Pyro's performed together again. Killer! Sen Dog and Debbie Harry laid out an amazing version of 'Rapture' together. I played EMI with Mark McGrath, Rebel Yell and Eyes Without A Face with Billy Idol and Call Me with Debbie Harry. And of course, a show like this always has the 'Stage full of everyone' finale, and I grabbed a guitar for a beautifully chaotic version of the Stones 'Sympathy For The Devil' as Perry was given his cake, and proceeded to sing with all his friends.

I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate such a milestone birthday and I hope that Perry enjoyed himself even half as much as I know all his guests did! I am super greatful to have been invited and to have taken part in the performance. Gigs like that don't happen very often, but when they do, they become those special 'I was there' moments that only Rock And Roll can really produce. And guess what? .... I was there.

Billy