Australia – Road Report: May 2013

Bringin’ the Thunder Down Under with Lita Ford

Australia is as cool and beautiful a place as you might imagine.  The people are friendly, the country is clean, and the time zone is completely whacked out.  In fact, when you take the 15-hour-plus flight there from LA, you basically skip an entire day.  (We left around midnight on a Monday and got there Wednesday morning their time.)  But such is life, and fortunately, I really don’t get jet-lagged when I fly.  Plus, I can sleep on planes if I’m tired, so… it’s all good.

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Melbourne

St. Kilda district, near the hotel

Wednesday was a day off, so I connected with my long-time bro, guitarist Brett Garsed.  We took a drive out to his place (about 90 mins outside of Melbourne) and had a fantastic day catching up on all things past, present and future.  We have so much history together as friends and colleagues.  Always great to see family.

Nice countryside, en route to Brett’s crib…

With Brett Garsed, lifelong friend, band-mate,
and one of the world’s greatest guitarists

Thursday was a show day in Melbourne at the infamous Prince Bandroom.   But first, of course, I had to catch the local gym for an afternoon pump.  I would’ve grabbed a token pic or two of this health club, but I think I was still in shock from paying $25 for a day-pass to this motherfucker!  And yes, the Australian dollar is pretty much neck-to-neck with the US at the moment, so that was basically $25 US for a quick one-hour workout.   And therein lies the only real downside to the land of Aus:  You will drop some bank there.

Ocean front park, on the way to the gym

The show was cool, the crowd was loud, and the band played well (which, once again, was Lita, me, Marty O’Brien on bass and Mitch Perry on guitar). The Australia set ran the gamut of Lita’s career, all the way back from the beginning, though the latest record.

Pic courtesy of Heavy Magazine

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Cherry Bomb!

Particularly of note was the fact that we played a couple Runaways tunes.  Lita Ford – for those living under a proverbial rock in the history of rock department – was lead guitarist for the iconic all-female 70’s band.  But this is the first time Lita has ever performed any of The Runaway’s tunes live as a solo artist, and she sang the shit out of them.

Pic courtesy of Heavy Magazine

It was trippy to play “Cherry Bomb” and “Black Leather” (the latter written for The Runaways by Steve Jones, and also covered by the Sex Pistols).  If you would’ve told me as a young drummer back in the 70’s, at the height of The Runaway’s fame, that I would be playing “Cherry Bomb” with Lita Ford in Australia 37 years in the future, I doubt I would’ve believed you.  But hey – there we were, throwin’ that shit down hard!

Pic courtesy of Heavy Magazine

The interesting thing drumming-wise about these tunes is the two different sides of a punk feel you have going on.  “Cherry Bomb” needs to feel more classic punk, with a bit of urgency, and a looser, garage band kind of feel.  “Black Leather” needs to be sleazier, with a deeper pocket, and a little more snap to it, but still with that punk edginess.  Seems like it all worked out.

Here’s a vid of “Cherry Bomb” and “Black Leather,” back-to-back, floating around YouTube right now… just to give you a vibe.

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Sydney

Right through the glass of my hotel window, early evening…

We traveled on our day off, so we got into Sydney late afternoon.  It’s always a struggle for me to decide whether to engage a new city for a little adventure, or stay in my room and hit the practice pad or pull out the laptop and work on a writing project… or even go find a gym.  In other words, all the shit I would be doing back home, anyway.  On this night, I chose the latter.

Meanwhile, my comrades jumped out to the renowned Sydney Opera House to catch the season opening of “Vivid Sydney.” This is an annual event built around a stunning visual arts display where the Opera House and other downtown buildings become 3-D “canvases” to this breathtaking, high-powered projection imagery.  Apparently, the gang pulled up exactly five minutes before it began.

Here are a couple images that our bassist Marty O’Brien grabbed on his iPhone from the evening.  Ok… so I probably fucked up!  I should’ve gone.

From the collection of Marty O’Brien

From the collection of Marty O’Brien – The Opera House!

The next day I trained at the University of Sydney, right near the hotel.  Facilities were decent.

Also, I had no problem finding vegan food on this trip.  In addition to the usual Ultimate Meal smoothies, backstage fruit and veggie treys, and the ton of snack foods I brought with me, there were always some great vegan options to be found.

One stand-out dish came from a “natural” grocer near the hotel.  This was a beluga legume salad, with some pumpkin, dried pears and caramelized onion, among other things.  Killer!

The Sydney show was at a nice venue called The Factory Theater.  Again, it was another warm crowd and a great time.

Photo credit; Inside Edge Photography

Photo credit; Inside Edge Photography

Afterward, I dropped by CLUB FVCK, which hosted the official aftershow get-together.  Lotsa cool folks hangin’…

With Mandy Saints, proprietor of CLUB FVCK

And finally, here are the first couple minutes of the drum solo from Sydney.

Can’t wait to head back again soon.  The Australian peeps are super cool…

BR

Monsters of Rock Cruise 2013 – Road Report

Monsters of Rock!!!

Imagine: Over 30 different bands, thousands of music lovers, a big-ass ship with four different venues, and the Atlantic Ocean. That summarizes what the Monsters of Rock Cruise is all about.

Now, combine that with a little jet lag, an ambitious schedule, and a high school reunion vibe, and that would tell you a little more about my personal experience.

The Infinite Throw-Down

The day before the ship sailed, me and the Alcatrazz boys had just completed a short tour of Japan and endured a “leisurely” 24-hour travel day from Osaka to Ft. Lauderdale.  And as I was scheduled to play with three different bands – Alcatrazz, Lita Ford, and Nelson – I basically jumped aboard and went right to work.

The high school reunion part of the equation was about seeing so many of my compadres from the old days.  Damn!  Time warp central.  And so good to catch up with old friends.  I have a ton of history with so many of these folks; crossing paths back in the day on various tours, festivals, record dates, promo events, etc. and now, I see them in a hallway, or popping out of an elevator, or down at the cafeteria.  Super cool.  (And of course, I’m so bad about taking pictures… I’m sure there are a bunch out there of me with various other band members.) Here’s one I happened to catch floating around, taken after the second Alcatrazz show:

Lita Ford

Once we all got settled in, it was time for a quick, makeshift “rehearsal” with Lita and the gang.  It wasn’t a real rehearsal… just a quick get-together in someone’s cabin, going over the set at a low volume.  Michael Lardie (Great White, Night Ranger) was going to join us on keyboards for a couple tunes, so we needed to walk through the arrangements.

A couple hours later, we were hittin’ onstage at the main theater.  Played a nice set to a warm crowd.  Lita on guitars and vocs, Mitch Perry on guitar and Marty O’Brien on bass.

Here’s a behind-the-drums shot of the theater at soundcheck:

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Alcatrazz

Next up was a theater show with Alcatrazz at noon the next day (Sunday).  Always nice to “thrash it” with Graham and the boys.  (With Howie Simon on guitar and Tim Luce on bass.)

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Nelson…

Monday was double-duty, starting with Nelson.  This was the first time that this exact configuration had played together, so we did a quick run-through in Matthew’s room, again, just kind of talking through the tunes.  So the first time we all played together was at the actual show at 5:30. The brothers always sound great, and the twin guitar attack of Howie Simon and Joel Hoekstra was bad-ass.   I thought the band played well.

At midnight on Monday, it was time for Alcatrazz again, this time in one of the ship’s clubs called the Zebra Room.  Had a great time in the smaller venue.  It was also somewhat of a merging of past, present and future when the Nelson Bros joined us onstage for “Since You’ve Been Gone,” as Lita watched the set from the side of the stage.  My various worlds had collided… Trippy!

Graham and Lita hanging after the show

Tuesday night, we wrapped up the festivities with Lita on the stage on the outside deck.  Another nice hit…

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Vacation Time?

Unfortunately, this shot – taken from the deck of my cabin – was about as close as I could get to the actual Bahamas this time.

I had a pretty full plate, mentally, so there just didn’t seem to be much spare time on this run.  I currently have four complete shows in my head: Lita Ford, Nelson, Alcatrazz and Stu Hamm, with both Stu and Alcatrazz being deceptively intricate, for different reasons.  And with the Japan run I had just done with Alcatrazz, we had added a handful of new tunes, so the “hard-drive” was getting kinda full.

In fact, I made a couple bonehead mistakes during the first two shows, and while I doubt many noticed, it really troubled me.  (Yes, I’m one of these guys who goes back to the hotel room after a show and fixates on any errors I might have made, agonizing over that shit!)  So between shows, I was spending extra time focusing on the next show at hand, immersing myself in the music and going over any arrangement notes.

Things went well, but I know I can make improvements on my capacity to memorize large batches of music.  After all, I have been doing this a long-ass time now, and I don’t drink or smoke weed, so I really have no excuse NOT to go in there and slay this shit.

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Staying Strong

Additionally, of course, there’s the training.  It’s an ongoing pursuit to keep the mind and body strong.  And while the gym on this boat was pretty scaled down, I tried to jump in there each day between shows or rehearsal and hit the weights or do some cardio.

Food-wise, the cafeteria salad bar was my salvation (along with the one to two Ultimate Meal Smoothies I had each day).  If you add enough beans and maybe some nuts and seeds to a large salad, it really becomes a complete meal.

Each salad is like a piece of artwork to me.  (Yes, I’m serious.)  And yes, I often take a pic of my salads!

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And if you’re really curious about the options, here’s a video tour of the salad bar on the boat:

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Fans, Friends and Finite Space

Artists and audience were more or less intermingled, with your personal cabin or backstage areas being the only artist-exclusive spaces.

This is really the best you can hope for on a ship like this…

But this was no big deal.  People were really gracious.  I signed a ton of shit and took a bunch of pics with folks.  Also did some reminiscing about past shows they would talk about.  Great times…

Look forward to the next one!

For a Road Report on the Japan 2013 Tour, click here.

Japan 2013 – Road Report

It had been awhile since I toured The Land of the Rising Sun, so I was looking forward to heading back over with the Alcatrazz boys for a few shows.  It was the usual line-up; Graham Bonnet on lead vocals, Howie Simon on guitar, Tim Luce on bass, and me on drums.  But this time, we were doing a special bill called Voices of Rainbow, which capitalized on Graham’s days in Rainbow, and included two other ex-Rainbow singers; Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White.

The concept was, Joe and Doogie would take the opening set with an all-Japanese back-up band, then we would go out and do our set, before bringing Joe and Doogie back out for a big encore.  All went according to plan.

Theaters always make for a cool venue.  They’re a lot bigger than clubs, but more intimate than arenas.  Of course, it’s still hard to top the overall vibe of an arena, but theaters are definitely fun to play.

Soundcheck at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo

Special props must be given to the extreme professionalism of the Japanese promotion team and crew.  Things run tight to the clock over there and everything always feels super pro and under control. And the crew – man, these folks were spot-on.  After just one time of seeing how my kit gets set up, my boy marked everything up with tape, then set it up perfectly for the next few shows.  Details, details, details.

The tour went great, everyone played well, and the crowds definitely seemed to dig the shows.

And yes, packed clubs are still fun to play, too!

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Vegan Food Galore

I like to mention the food situation when blogging about touring, since everyone always asks how I maintain a vegan diet on the road.  After well over 20 years on the path now, I can say that it just keeps getting easier.  Vegan options are everywhere, and even the word “vegan” is becoming more familiar to people all around the globe.

Our guitarist Howie Simon insisted that we go to this place that he had been on his last trip to Tokyo, and I must say, my man nailed it.  It was a simple, downstairs noodle house that was easy to miss from a crowded street, but their food was insane.

After grilling the waiter (who grilled the cook), and after actually hearing the guy utter the word “vegan” in broken English, I felt pretty confident that the noodle-heavy soup dish I ordered was a safe bet.  Probably not the lowest sodium item I’ve consumed in the last 30 days, but goddamn was it good!

Only drag?  Motherfuckers still smoke in restaurants over there.  (How did we elitist non-smokers ever tolerate that over here?)

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When communication with restaurant staff is kinda rough, another option is this: Go Raw!

Had a pretty decent raw lunch in Tokyo before soundcheck.

After each of the shows, there was always a delicious vegan option made available to me for my “hot meal,” usually a rice and veggie combo of some sort.  And on the last night, after the Osaka show, our most hospitable hosts treated us all to an elaborate meal at a traditional, take-your-shoes-off-and-sit-low-to-the-ground Japanese restaurant.

Amidst a menu that featured at least 30 different species of sea and land animals, they were thoughtful and meticulous in ensuring that my monkey-ass enjoyed a completely vegan meal.  Edamame, seasoned tofu and a kick-ass udon noodle dish were the highlights.  Domo, my Japanese friends!

Backstage catering always has your typical fruit and veggie treys, and these are a welcomed sight.

But in addition to the various meals and snacks I count on – once again – the staple of my nutritional existence on the road is the same as it is at home; a Superfoods Smoothie using The Ultimate Meal.  You will always find a blender in my bag, and always see me scarfing down 32 ounces of the green stuff, every single day on the road, and sometimes twice.

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Hittin’ the Weights

Training on the road can actually be more challenging than the food issue, because you are basically limited to facilities at the hotel or somewhere close to it.  But, you can always find a way to get in a good workout, and this is mandatory if you want to maintain that top-level conditioning.

Sports Centre in Osaka

No Tattoos Allowed?

Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything, as they say, and the “Sports Centre” in Osaka will have that distinction for me.  As I took off my jacket to start training, the club manager looked in horror at my left shoulder.  Why?  My tattoo was “exposed” in public!  My faded, little-ass scorpion tattoo, that I’ve had since I was 15.

Apparently, this upscale health club has a strict policy about there being no exposed tattoos in their gym.  (I found out later it has something to do with tattoos and their connection to the Japanese Mafia.)   As a masking solution, the manager guy – who was exceedingly polite – grabbed a shower towel and motioned for me to wrap it around my upper arm, tourniquet-style.  Are you shittin’ me, Holmes?

So… desperate to train and not wanting to upset this little man, I suggested in the alternative that we bandage it up.  He was cool with that, and proceeded to stack on the bandages so no trace of the tattoo could be seen beneath the adhesive.  (Man, everything these folks do is meticulous!)

My prevailing thought as I headed out to train?  Tommy Lee would be fucked.

Afterward, as I was walking back to the hotel, I reflected on how repressive that whole no-tattoo thing struck me.  But then, as I stumbled upon a familiar sight in Japan, another thought hit me:

Any culture that has rows and rows of unsecured bikes along the street, should be allowed to make up their own strange rules and policies as they see fit!  Because just one unlocked bike in my neighborhood would last about 5 minutes.

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A Few More Snapshots

Masks – A constant sight over there is people wearing these masks in public.  At first, I thought they were all paranoid about catching germs and/or getting sick.  But then someone reminded me that it’s usually a precautionary measure that they take if they’re sick so no one else will catch their nasty-ass germs.  An uncommon display of consideration, for sure!

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Me, Maya and Joe Lynn Turner, Howie Simon

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Although the gear traveled by truck to the next gig each night, we took bullet trains between cities.  It’s a smooth ride.  Here are a few of us at a train station, about to climb aboard…

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Pointing – Why must we rock and rollers always point in pics?  What are we actually pointing at?  Who are we pointing at?  You, the incidental viewer?  If so, what are we trying to provoke by pointing at “you,” the viewer?  And does this communication apply to any viewer who happens to stumble upon this pic in the future?

I’ll be thinking about this.

In the meantime, look for a similar “Road Report” about the Monsters of Rock Cruise through the Bahamas over the next few days.  Fun, fun, fun, people….

Update: Click here for the Road Report on the Monsters of Rock Cruise 2013.

BR

Live Shows Ahead!

I have shows coming up with bass legend Stu Hamm (solo artist, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai); Alcatrazz feat. Graham Bonnet; and also some solo stuff. Yeah… I know I’ve been really bad about keeping everyone posted on live shows, so here’s to keeping you all better informed.

A Dec. 2012 Scrap Metal Show feat. Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent),
Mark Slaughter, the Nelson Bros. and Graham Bonnet. (Photo by Ken Young)

Tour Dates:

w/Alcatrazz featuring Graham Bonnet

Dec 28th, 2012 – Studio Seven – Seattle, WA

Japan Tour – “Voices Of Rainbow 2013″ (also includes Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White)

March 12th, 2013 – Tokyo: Nakano Sun Plaza

March 13th, 2013 – Nagoya: Bottom Line

March 14th, 2013 – Osaka: Club Quattro

Monsters of Rock Cruise

March 16-20th, 2013 – Bahamas

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Stu Hamm Band (power trio w/Jude Gold on guitar)

January 10, 2013 – Bend, OR

January 11, 2013 – Portland, OR

January 12, 2013 – Seattle, WA

February 2, 2013 – The Main Stage, Romana, CA

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Bobby Rock

Drum Clinic and Masterclass:

January 19, 2013 – Bermuda Drum Institute – Hamilton, Bermuda

February 10, 2012 – A special solo performance in Los Angeles featuring the new 360-degree Mega set-up “Alphabet Kit” – details to follow…

See you guys out there!

Superfoods Veggie Blend: Your Shortcut to Superior Health, Energy and Vitality!

The Superfoods Veggie Blend – as described in the following video I recently threw together after a late-night run – is quite literally one of the healthiest meals you can ever have… even though you will be drinking it! Scope the vid, then scroll down for more details:

Warning: a 32 oz serving of this kind of drink is going to be too much for most people to start off with. Remember, I’ve been drinking these kind of concoctions for years and am used to knocking down 10 to 13 servings of produce everyday. So start small. Don’t drink too much at one time, especially if you’re not acclimated to eating a lot of raw fruits and veggies every day. It can’t really hurt you, although it can cause some gurgling stomach and other digestive disturbances if it’s too much too soon.

Please read the info below first…

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Shortcut to the Mountaintop

It is a daily lifestyle commitment to stay in top condition and enjoy incredible health and wellness year-around. Contrary to what a lot of marketers would have you believe, there are really no “shortcuts” to this end, in the sense of just taking some magic pill or wearing some vibrating belt against your belly a few times a week. However, there ARE shortcuts in terms of things we can do to most efficiently and effectively achieve our greatest health aspirations, and it’s been my personal obsession to study and practice them since my parents owned a health food store back in the mid-80’s.

Example: depending on what your optimal daily caloric requirement is, we all need anywhere from seven to thirteen servings of fruits and veggies everyday. Everyday! But this is a staggering amount to most people (especially if your current average is zero!), so how do we do it? What’s the shortcut?

Well, the shortcut does not necessarily come in the form of pills and powders (although certain kinds can help). You really do need to consume the actual fruits and veggies, as these whole foods contain an abundance of essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, as well hundreds of various phytonutrients. So here it is:

Superfoods Smoothies and Superfoods Veggie Blends

When we blend fruits and/or veggies in a high-powered blender (like a Vita-Mix) with water and maybe a little juice, we will not only be able to take in multiple servings in one drink, but we will also enjoy superior assimilation of all those nutrients. Then, when we integrate these servings of produce into a smoothie or blender drink that also involves some macronutrient-heavy ingredients, we have what is perhaps the highest caliber serving of nutrition available: a Superfoods Smoothie or Superfoods Veggie Blend.

The key distinction is that a Superfoods Smoothie is a supercharged version of a traditional smoothie (which utilizes bananas and other fruit). It’s main objective in my philosophy is to provide you with a well-rounded foundation of daily nutrients.

The Superfoods Veggie Blend is a supercharged version of a traditional veggie-based blender drink. It’s main objective is to provide you with multiple servings of vegetables and contribute to your daily servings of macronutrients… kind of like an exceptional nutrient-dense meal, only better.

The Superfoods Veggie Blend, with the almighty beet root
to keep things on the red side!

I’ve written quite a bit about my staple approach to the Superfoods Smoothie (which, for me, always involves two scoops of The Ultimate Meal smoothie mix). So now, as the ultimate complement to the Superfoods Smoothie, let’s look at the Superfoods Veggie Blend (as discussed in the video).

Basic Foundation:

Slightly larger serving sizes pictured above

The following will make either one really large serving, or two regular servings:

• 1 cucumber (peeling is optional)
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 beet root (peeled)
• a handful or two of spinach (or kale)
• a handful of baby carrots (or one regular carrot)
• a handful of frozen fruit (tropical blend, for example, like mangos, pineapple, etc.)
• around 16 oz of liquid; combo of water and apple juice. (The juice makes it sweeter, so if you prefer to go heavy on the juice at first, eventually try to scale back to a more water-heavy mix.)

If all you did was the above recipe, that would be great in terms of getting a lot of the essential micronutrients inherent to fruits and veggies. But because it would be lacking in a couple key macronutrients (protein, healthy fats), it would only classify as a “veggie blend” blender drink, which would fall into our snack category. (This is still great, though!)

To make it a true Superfoods Veggie Blend, consider adding some combination of the following:

Extras

• 1 scoop of The Ultimate Meal; this is the easiest way to ensure that your veggie blend drink instantly becomes a Superfood Veggie Blend. (This option works great when you have a one-scoop serving of The Ultimate Meal for breakfast, because it will give you the recommended two scoops per day.)

OR

• 1 scoop of some kind of veggie protein powder.

From there you might try adding some healthy fats. If you want to integrate some nuts/seeds, here are a few options:

• trail mix (dried fruit is okay), as pictured above
• pumpkin seeds, as pictured above
• any modest combo of nuts, either mixed or an individual serving; cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc

Note: Your total daily caloric expenditure should determine how many nuts or seeds you add to the blend. If you’re super active and burning a ton of calories every day, then it’s probably advisable to include some form of nuts/seeds in this recipe each day. Otherwise, I would advise only including nuts/seeds in this recipe every other day.

Additionally, you could experiment with adding one of the following as a way of getting some healthy fats in your blend:

• an avocado
• flax seed meal or a teaspoon of flax seed oil
• milled chia seed

So there you have it. And again, start off easy… give your body a chance to acclimate to this incomparable form of nutrient density. And once it becomes a part of your regimen, get ready for new levels of superior health!

Best,

BR

Lost Dogs Update – Great Home Found!

Yes, gang… it all worked out in a big way. Holmes and Sherlock have found an incredible forever home and will be living their “happily ever after” lives with a family of 5, which includes two regular children and one furry one named Beau! Here’s the quick overview:

Great family shot!

My friend, Fred Coury (yes, that Fred Coury), has a studio here on the premises and had taken a heartfelt interest in Holmes and Sherlock. He would typically see them around the lot multiple times a day and would always go out of his way to say hello and interact with them. They sure loved him, and he likely would’ve adopted them himself had he not already had a couple pups of his own. So, right when I forwarded him the link of the last “home needed” post, he got a hunch to call Bobby – a mutual friend and colleague of ours – and basically said, “You must adopt these dogs. I’ll text you a pic.” And that was basically it!

When Bobby and his wife saw the pic Fred sent, they felt an immediate connection to Holmes and Sherlock and knew these were “their” dogs – no question. They had just saved a dog named Beau from the pound last year and had been considering getting him a companion or two these past few months. Now was the time.

The Journey Home

It’s always a big change for everyone – dogs and humans – when new doggies are integrated into a new household… especially when there’s already a doggie there! But it doesn’t have to be difficult. So, to ensure the smoothest transition, the pups and I connected with my good friend Parker Bartlett (LA “dog whisperer” extraordinaire) and we all headed out to Bobby’s place. Parker, who I’ve mentioned around here before, had been helping me out with the dogs over these past few weeks, and is an expert in all things canine. She also had a keen insight into the intricacies of Holmes’ and Sherlock’s special traits, so I thought it would be great to have her on hand for the initial homecoming.

All the kids…

The “B” family home is perfect! It’s on the outskirts of LA, where the trees are tall, the air is clean, and the trails and canyons are plentiful. Their home is warm and spacious and the whole family is cool, gracious, and extreme dog people. When we first got there with the pups and eventually made the introduction to Beau, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of these two new intruders. But he was definitely interested in playing right away. So we took a little time, kept everyone on leashes at first, and followed Parker’s lead as to the what and how. Before long, we were all inside, “off-leash,” and the dogs were already getting things sorted out.

Bobby and I stepped outside with the dogs at one point, and that’s when the real action began. These three went tearing around their massive yard, chasing after each other, having the best time… like they had all known each other for ages. Truly – this was meant to be.

Notice the crazy similarities between Sherlock and Beau? Trippy!

All initial reports since have been glowing. Everyone’s happy, and Holmes and Sherlock (who will now also get their “forever” names) have acclimated incredibly well… “like they’ve been living here for years,” Bobby told me.

It all worked out this time, gang. And remember – spay/neuter, get tags, get microchips, do the right thing by your companion animals. They depend on us.

Peace,

Bobby

Two Special Little Dogs in Need of a Great Home!

Meet Holmes and Sherlock; two incredible pups who are ready for their forever home!

As mentioned a couple posts ago, we found these two little characters zipping around a rehearsal studio parking lot here in North Hollywood.  We’ve tried to connect them with their original guardians over these past two weeks, but have not had any luck finding them.  (Flyers, Craigslist, local networking, shelter notifications, etc.)  We think they might have been dumped – which makes this story all the more tragic.  I’ve been personally fostering these guys since October 22.

They really are great dogs!  Everyone around the studio here freaks over them when we go out on for walks and potty breaks.  These dogs are friendly to everyone.  And from what I’ve observed, they seem to be very low-maintenance doggies.  (Or at least – coming from a cat person like me – as “low maintenance” as dogs can ever be!)

We estimate these guys to be around a year old, give or take a few months.  They’ve been neutered and microchipped, and are getting vaccinated and dewormed this week, so they will be fully ready to join your family.  And yes, if you have youngsters, we think they would be great with kids.  We’ve seen no signs of aggression out of either of them.

Meet Holmes

Holmes is the more immediately outgoing and gregarious of the two.  He usually goes right up to strangers to get his pets and scratches, and he certainly loves the attention.  He’s a little ball of fire in his public life; very energetic and curious about most everything.  But back at the crib, he likes to “kick-it” and chill out.  Must be all that energy he burns off!  And, of course, Holmes sports that “perpetually concerned” brow, which adds to his unique character..

Special note: Holmes will usually cock his head at you when you sing to him or speak in an artificially high voice.  He appears to be confused by these things!

Holmes seems to be a “puggle;” a pug/beagle mix, but may have a couple other breeds mixed in there, as well.  He’s a little smaller than Sherlock and has shorter legs.

Meet Sherlock

Sherlock is a bit more timid and cautious when he first meets most people.  He’ll still let you pet him, but he prefers to watch Holmes grab the spotlight with newcomers, then gradually ease over for a little attention.  Once he gets to know you, he can be as equally excitable as Holmes.  And when it’s time to go outside and I break out the leashes, it’s actually Sherlock who stands up and makes the most fuss about it.

Special note: When Sherlock feels like it, he can stand up on his back legs for up to 10 seconds if you hold a doggy treat just out of range of his mouth!

Sherlock seems to have some Chihuahua in him, along with some other breeds, and is a bit taller than Holmes with longer legs.

The Bonded Pair

These two definitely came from the same home and, as far as we can tell, are likely blood relatives.  Their tails are identical (the pug effect?) and they arrived with matching collars (but no tags), another indication that they lived in the same place.  Beyond that, they are extremely close and get along great.  They MUST be adopted together – no exceptions.

Contact Us!

This adoption will be through a rescue group. If you are interested in giving these guys a beautiful forever home, hit us up ASAP at info@bobbyrock.com.

Or, if you are unable to adopt them yourself, please spread the word and post this entry far and wide.  We need to get these boys settled into their new digs as soon as we can.

Thanks much,

BR