Winter 2010 Babylon WASP US/S.American Tour(posted 5.29.10) The group forged into the new decade with another 22 shows on US soil, and 2 in S. America. Two exceptional support acts were enjoyed nightly--WAR MACHINE from Toronto, Canada and RAIN from Milano, Italy. Highlights were an incredible day air boating on the Florida Everglades, lunch passing through New Orleans, a kick-ass homecoming show in Foxboro, MA, paying tribute to Dimebag Darryll RIP at the Villa Rosa, ripping apart Harpo's in Detroit, and a momentous finale show at the reopened Key Club in Hollywood.
Fall 2009 Babylon WASP European Tour(posted1.7.10) The band ripped through 51 shows in 23 countries, with almost 40 of the venues sold out! The Babylon CD was released Oct. 12, and a video was shot in LA for the track Babylon. The CD's opening track Crazy was posted free online, to a widely positive response. The group's smoothest and chaos-free tour yet, a brand new Allen& Heath I-Live 112T digital mixing board was taken on the road, simplifying(almost eliminating) sound checks, with two shows even mixed on a MacBook Pro using the I-Live software, when the board had to be left behind for weight considerations. Blair's Blade LP was modified with 6 lasers running the length of the neck, creating a stunning visual effect. ENGL Blackmore and Powerball model amp heads and cool 2x12" cabs were used to full satisfaction throughout the tour! The band stole the show at the Hard Rock Hell festival, fully upstaging veterans Queensryche.
Spring/summer 2009 New WASP CD The Four Horsemen recorded(posted 8.29.09) The old late-80's custom Strats were dug out and steel-wooled off... and along with Blackie's trusty old Marshall heads, the golden Metropoulis, and a 25-year-old DOD 6-band EQ pedal for boost, numerous new leads were cut for 10 new tracks in the Boss's new ranch studio complex. With nightly visits from our racoon twins outside the door, Mike Dupke and the Boss tracked much noodling into something sounding excellent over a span of four weeks. Mixed with the incredible pinpoint accuracy of Logan Mader, and inspired by a certain Hungarian, this record takes what was begun with Dominator up a major notch.
Intercepting that span was four weeks in Europe to play 7 festivals and 3 headlining club shows. Highlights were Metalway in Spain with 60-mph sustained headwinds, Graspop in Belgium with Dream Theater and many others, Bang Your Head Fest in Germany, Hellfest in France, Rockharz in Germany, Sweden Rockweekend, and Norway Rock Fest! Again, the crew(with Velby on FOH sound) guaranteed that every set was 100%!
Douglas debuted his new blade Les Paul at these festivals, respectfully and hereby dedicated to its namesake, RIP. Realizing that the 1950's burned, rusted table saw blade given by his brother-in-law fit nicely on top of a red sunburst guitar that had seen little live action, he enlisted priceless machining help in his hometown, and remote-control model expertise in Encino, California to realize his dream of having the blade spin on the face of the guitar. Black paint, metal outfittings, laser pointers and much time and expense collided to produce this one-of-a-kind guitar. Special thanks to Johnnie and Scott at MacDiarmid Machine and Simon Lucas at Hobby People Encino.
Spring/summer 2008 The band tore up the Peace and Love Fest in Sweden, Lovech Fest in Bulgaria, Magic Circle Fest in Germany, DBTR Fest in Turku and Annka Rock Fest in Helsinki, as well as seperate stops(and final Crimson Idol sets) in Tampere and Olou, Finland. Special props to our crew: Kyle Sabel on guitars, Velby Thorsten on drums/monitors, Peter DeWint on FOH sound and Edward 'Taz' Gardner on lights and coaching! It's been so long since we've had a bad or 'problematic' live set onstage, and it is all because of the expertise of these guys. In the new times of YouTube and instant upload, it is incredibly comforting knowing that we can roll out of our bunks and stumble onstage--and know we can play our best for our audience every night, no exceptions!
Australian leg of 15th Anniversary Crimson Idol tour successfully completed(posted 4.23.08) W.A.S.P. spanked Kangaroo country for 5 intense shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Adalaide and Melbourne, enjoying warm receptions and high-class treatment from the first-rate promoter and his team. What a land--almost another planet! But rock and metal are universal in any hemispere!
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. Extra-curricular activities included visits to Elvis' Graceland home in Memphis, TN; a personal group tour of The Pentagon in DC, and a once-in-a-lifetime performance by The Les Paul at the Iridium in NYC. 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!
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.
