Hard Rock Cafe, Nyc, (8 May 2008)

[babayaga]

Evening folks!

Just sounding you out (well...two of you at least), but yours truly is heading westward in 2008 for a special birthday trip for Milady. We're coming over with a gang of Scouse mates on 26 April, and after a fortnight's gallavanting about America, intend to head back to fly out of NYC on 9 or 10 May (still being arranged).

Looking at the map I have a drummer and a bassist in that sort of vicinity... (forgive me if I've got it totally wrong...!), but I can't imagine coming over there and missing the chance of even a partial EMP get together in the HRC.

I would clearly be doing a Greg....("...so close, but yet so far!")

What do you reckon....? Is it a goer perhaps??

Let me know and I'll see what can be arranged with the itinerary.

Cheers - G.

[SilverHamer]

I tell you what...if something can't be arranged during my off time, I think I will be putting in for vacation time so I could work my way in that direction as well. I mean, c'mon...if YOU can travel 5,000 miles and get this close, hell, I can go 1/5 the distance to meet you somewhere along the way. I will have to get with Tessie and discuss it but it is far enough into the future that we can make plans. Looking at my current work calendar I can say for sure that the 26th of APR thru about the 1st of May will be my work week, but then I will be off for the next 7 days. And if I'm driving I would need more travel time...so hell yea. I could do vacation. Not knowing your itenerary, I would like to request that if we are to arrange an EMP gathering of some sort that we try to make it after you've had a few days to become un-jet-lagged ;)

Damn...wouldn't it be cool!!!!

[MarkE]

Sign me up too. I can drive into Manhattan, no biggie. Its far enough in advance that Im sure I can work it in. hell yes...

[babayaga]

Fabulous.... it would make my trip to meet up with at least a couple of you if we can work it that way!

Sandra has also asked whether your better halves might like to come along to keep her company while we rabbit on about the power of prog!!

That would be nice as well... the more the merrier if they're up for it!

[SilverHamer]

Well, Graham, I can't speak for MarkE, but I have this feeling that he is probably in the same boat as I...and that is that my wife an I are attached at the hip when I am home...in that I mean that we usually go everywhere and do everything together...or we don't go anywhere or do anything at all...but we are together in whatever we do or don't do. So, I know as sure as I'm sitting here that there is absolutely no way at all that I could leave home without her on a trip like this. I haven't mentioned it to her yet but I will when I get home this week.

Wherever we do this, I hope that it would be somewhere that we will have the opportunity to play some music together. It would be a damn shame for any of us to get together and not play, man. G, don't worry about dragging an axe along because I know you'll have plenty to deal with without it...but I think I can hook you up, man. Or MarkE, or both of us...LOL.

Hey, has anyone heard from MarkD lately? I haven't seen him post anything in a while, nor have I seen him respond to any emails for a while either. I hope he is doing well and isn't overwhelmed with his job and stuff.


* * * * * * * * * *

Forgive me, I just went back and re-read Graham's initial post and for some reason his suggestion to meet at the Hard Rock Cafe eluded me. I know it was in the subject but for some reason I had it in my head that Chicago was in the mix somewhere and that he was traveling between there and NYC. Silly me. However, NYC at the HRC is still cool by me! YEA BAYBEE! Hell, I was already looking at mapquest to look at the roads between here and Pennsylvania HAHAHA. I have a daughter who lives sort of on the way in Louisville, KY, and it would give me a stopover point and a chance to see her and the grandkids. If we just do NYC, I may look into flying up, and if I do that, there goes the idea of bringing along some musical instruments.

[MarkE]

Hi Guys

I dont know what time we will arrange to meet, but I will drive from PA. I can probably make it there by 5-6pm local time. Its about 2.5 hours from here. I will probably come alone. I might be able to arrange for Lindsay to meet us depending on her school/work schedule.

Forgive me for being an idiot from NY who has never been to HRC but is there dinner and/or a show? I will probably stay with you guys for the evening and trudge back to PA late, get some sleep and be at work the next day. I will also probably leave from work (about an hour north of here) and drive directly to NY.

MarkD??? MIA I guess. I know that his job is like mine and he is up to his ears all the time.

[Tarkus]

sounds like a great time - and with marke and markd being locals hopefully it's doable.

i just checked to see what day 8-may-08 was... a thursday would be tough for me. nevertheless, i put it on my calendar and will add nyc-area airports to my regular searching. if i see a stupidly cheap r/t air ticket perhaps i could get up there for an overnight then return. no promises, but i won't summarily rule-it-out either.

:hhjj:

[MDDRUMZ]

Holy crap!!! Absolutely "YES!" I'll take off that day for sure. NYC is very accessible for me - an hour and a quarter on the train. If there is any chance of us playing, I'd load what I could in the car and drive. Hell, I wonder if the Hard Rock has a back room with some house instruments???

Sorry for the late reply. Work has pretty much sucked for the past month and there have been several all-nighters and weekends in there.

I have a wedding to attend this coming weekend, but after that my wife will be working Saturdays so I can get back in the EMP saddle and catch up on some long overdue recording.

This is great. I really hope we can make this meeting happen.

[babayaga]

To coin a well-known Beatles phrase.... 'its getting better all the time!'

BTW... are up very early or going to bed very late? :-)

[MarkE]

Wow...thats just about everyone! This is gonna be fun. Lindsay was here over the holiday weekend and she would like to come too.

[MDDRUMZ]

Graham - A little of both I suppose. As usually happens with me these days, I had a nap for a few hours (which is typically ALL I've been getting for slep lately), so I snapped to and was alert. So I caught up on some much-negelected e-mails, (*a-hem) EMP posts, etc. then went back to bed for a few more.

[babayaga]

Mark... I've been tending to go to bed earlier than usual (around 11pm) and then read my biography on the Monty Python crew for a bit. I usually read for around half an hour and then sleep - I then wake up, without fail, at around 4:30 to 5:00 am! Toss and turn (if I don't get up to save disturbing Milady - fate worse than death! ;-) ), and then drop off for an hour or so when the real day starts. The trouble is, in the afternoon come 4:30pm I'm ready for a nap, and if I sit down in a comfy chair I just flake out. Maybe I should move to Mexico or Spain or something and call it a siesta?? :-)

[SilverHamer]

There is nothing like a good old fashioned POWER NAP in the early afternoon...and on a good day I will be able to grab a SAFETY NAP about mid-morning as well. On a bad day, well...no nap at all, POWER nor SAFETY. hehe.

I usually wake up faithfully at 4:15am every morning, regardless of what time I went to bed...not from any alarm either. It's more of a biological function...and that is all I am going to say about that...

[MarkE]

While we're on that subject...I have this Lazy Boy recliner in my living room. The damn thing is haunted. Unless there are several people in the room with me, I expire in about 60 minutes (max) when I sit on it. its spooky...I never feel sleepy, or even remember falling asleep. I'll sit to watch some star treks or whatever and next thing I know Wendy is laying a blanket on me three hours later.

I think it just may be old age :)