Australian leg of 15th Anniversary Crimson Idol tour successfully completed(posted 4.23.08)
W.A.S.P. finally made it down to Kangaroo country for 5 intense shows in 4 major cities, enjoying warm receptions and high-class treatment from the first-rate promoter and his team. Special thanks to Alex and Jason, The Poor and Wikked Bliss for an unforgettable trip. Highlights included a day at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo and a 9-hour drive through the outback from Adelaide to Melbourne. The incredibly long plane rides surprised everyone in that there was none of the dreaded Euro-style jetlag!! The time spent sleeping was just perfect to get right back on track...next stop, Bulgaria or bust!
US leg of 15th Anniversary Crimson Idol tour successfully completed(posted 3.13.08)
24 shows in just over one month brought the now-polished CI performance to many of the country's and Canada's top rock cities and rooms. The band crushed in New York City, Quebec City, Toronto, and Hollywood in a befittingly sold-out homecoming affair at the Key Club. A bounty of extra-curricular activities included visits to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Elvis' Graceland home and Heartbreak Hotel as well as the famed Beale Street in Memphis, TN; a personal group tour of The Pentagon in DC, a once-in-a-lifetime performance by The Les Paul at the Iridium in NYC, followed by a personal signing session; and an early-morning visit to the site of the new and old Yankee Stadiums in the Bronx, among others. Luminaries attending the shows included the awesome Monte Montgomery, and Rita Haley(gf of Dime R.I.P.) at the first show in Dallas, the Bullet Boys in NYC, genius amp-builder George Metropoulis in MI, and ex-WASP/current FFDP guitarist Darrell Roberts in LA. We had the distinct pleasure of the nightly talents of openers Liquid Violence from Buffalo, NY and Fatal Smile all the way from Sweden, who we played many shows with in Europe! Thanks guys!! Any doubts of the health of hard rock in the states were quelled by the abundance of AquaNet-sprayed rocker teenagers filling the pits at many of the venues...and to quote the boss: "There's some girls out there!!" Halleluyah!
European leg of W.A.S.P. 15th Anniversary Crimson Idol tour successfully completed(posted 12.27.07)
W.A.S.P. tore through 2 tour buses, one tour manager and 37 shows in 10 countries, earning solid attendance and glowing reactions to the Crimson Idol performances. The group also played two large Christmas festivals along with Doro Pesch(who Douglas auditioned for way back in 1990), and peformed at the original Cavern Club in Liverpool, UK where The Beatles cut their teeth. Other highlights were visits to Edinburg, Scotland, Budapest, Hungary, and Berlin and Nuremburg, Germany.
Blair played his two original Mutant Twin prototypes through the Crimson Idol set, and 2 of his Blair Les Pauls in the second classics set. The Metropolous amp heads were excellent, and ENGL amps were tried out near the end, to much praise. Two openers were enjoyed by all: Triosphere from Trondheim, Norway and The V8 Wankers from Germany. A five-week US leg reconvenes in Mexico City in late January.
Douglas in W.A.S.P. rehearsals for fall Europe tour(posted 10.18.07)
Douglas has rejoined the W.A.S.P. crew in LA for 2 weeks of intense rehearsals for an upcoming two-month string of European headlining dates. Most noteworthy is that the tour will mark the 15-year anniversary of the group's 1992 landmark concept album The Crimson Idol with a live performance set against a full-length movie version of the story of Johnathan, the central character of the record. The record will be performed in sequence, in its entirety.
Blair was originally drafted to tour with W.A.S.P. in 1992 just as the original Crimson Idol world tour was about to begin. 16 countries and 64 shows later, bassist Johnnie Rod had been fired and singer Blackie Lawless disbanded the group in an attempt to launch a solo career. 15 years later, Blair is in the right place within W.A.S.P. to contribute to this important and personal anniversary.
Two Blair Mutant Twin doubleneck acoustic/electric guitars--one originally used in 1992--will be employed to cover the many signature acoustic parts on the record. A brief intermission will be followed by a second live set including many of the band's classic cuts, as well as a few from the latest CD, Dominator. Most dates on the tour will eschew opening acts, offering 'an evening with W.A.S.P.'...
"Joining these guys on a moment's notice, and being thrust in front of rediculous crowds, performing a record that--as soon as I heard it--I knew would become a classic, a record to celebrate, a record worth going back to, adjusted my bearings regarding where I was as a player, and as a person. Following a tour like that, I had no reason to return to the same old tired guitar histrionics. The way that the Mutant Twin had so precisely fit what was needed for The Crimson Idol record, perfectly matched my own growing vision of what infused great rock music in the classic sense--in my case, from a Led Zeppelin perspective--music which blended many strong acoustic textures with great electric tones, riffs and layers. The Crimson Idol is all this: with powerful composition, arresting orchestration of all instruments from strings to incredible drumming, and an explosive integral story that takes the listener from top to bottom. It is really a masterpiece that few artists(re: Blackie) can ever achieve."
"Following this experience, I was inspired to reach farther--not to settle for the status quo. This is what working with W.A.S.P. has instilled: driving me to develop first more Mutant Twins, then GuitarCross and ASIA, and subsequently signal2noise. And wouldn't you know, the Mutants have been dug up, dusted off, and are more than ready for another round of front-line action playing one of the best rock pieces of all time!!"
Spring '07 Press Release to Guitar Magazines:
Boston-based guitarist Douglas Blair has had an odd on-off relationship with the ‘80’s LA shock-rock quartet W.A.S.P.(www.waspnation.com). First an extensive multi-continent tour in 1992. Then a few overseas festivals in 2001, filling in for a travel-prohibited Chris Holmes(of “Decline of Western Civilization Pt.II fame). And now since May 2006, for several more European runs, as well as a long-deserved appearance on a new W.A.S.P. studio release. This unlikely pairing may finally evolve from fill-in last-minute-call to final call…
“15 years is three full lifetimes for me--I’ve been three different people and players in this group. I‘ve grown and improved between each stint, in ways I would never have otherwise.” Normally shouldering a self-invented GuitarCross 8-string guitar/bass hybrid in a ‘power duo’ named signal2noise(www.s2nusa.com), Blair asserts, “W.A.S.P. is the only band I’ll play guitar with--I won‘t be the perpetual sideman that bounces from band to band, looking for the next gig. And I’ve never played better than now, thanks to all of this incessant touring.” Indeed, the group was called “The Iron Men of Rock” by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister in recognition of their grueling touring schedule of late. Audiences throughout Europe--new and old--are filling arenas and venues in approval.
The politically-charged Dominator(Demolition/Europe) was released April 16th and has met critical and fan acclaim not seen by the group since 1992’s hallmark Crimson Idol release(which Blair toured in support of). Finally in the hotseat at Blackie Lawless‘s Malibu studio, Blair recorded the leads through custom George Metropoulis 100W heads. Lynch and Gilmour influences can be suspected, yet Blair’s on-the-edge intensity comes through unhindered, and provides an example of what to expect in his blistering live W.A.S.P. exhibition.
“I customized a couple of old mid-90’s Washburn N4’s with scalloped fingerboards, stained glass panels--one a backlit church window--and old Sustainiac Sustainors, and these things are the ultimate stage workhorses--they slam! Also, I severely perverted three Les Pauls into equally dangerous stage machines.” Shure UXL wirelesses, Boss effects, Metropoulis and Marshall JCM200 heads, and Marshall cabs round out the live rig. “We go out every night and give the crowd a 150% rock show--I really feel like I’m doing an 90-minute Olympic downhill ski race--shows like the ones we grew up on. We sweat a gallon each, and so does the crowd!!”
Blabbermouth.net: (May '06)
W.A.S.P. Welcome Back Guitarist DOUG BLAIR
For more information on W.A.S.P.:
Read Douglas' tour and gear blogs on www.myspace.com/s2nusa, or go to www.waspnation.com.
