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October has been crazy, we’ve been on the road touring almost the entire month. I believe I’ve only been home in C-Town for five days the entire month…and three of those days I was gigging around town. Right now I’m backstage at The Aud in Rochester, NY waiting to take the stage. The Rascals are about to begin, The Turtles will be next and then we will take the stage to close the show. And it will be a blast!!!!

The past two nights we were in Niagara Falls, Canada performing at The Fallsview Casino. Both nights were sold out and, as always, Peter was incredible!! I love performing there…the venue, the production staff, the security staff, everyone that has anything to do with the Fallsview are the absolute best!!!

“Niagara Falls from my hotel room”

Two weeks ago we were up in Onamia, MN with The Teen Idols. Peter Noone, Micky Dolenz and Mark Lindsay on stage together at the same for the entire show is one fun-filled, hilarious time…you never know what’s gonna happen next. Kinda like a rock-n-roll Rat Pack. Below are a couple of pics from that show.

“Mark, Micky & Peter”

“Mark, Peter & Micky”

Local update: I told you before about Wes’ new project, “That 80s Band”. You really should check them out; they are great. And who knows, when I’m off the road, you just might find me up on stage with them sitting in and singing some 80s songs.

“That 80s Band”

Mark this down on your calendars; Spina, Sullivan & Hudak will be doing another reunion show at The Mad Cactus on Wednesday, November 25…the eve of Thanksgiving. Expect total musical mayhem. Happy Halloween…eat lots and lots of candy.

Wow, this has to be the shortest summer I can remember! And it went by so fast…except for watching Cleveland Indians baseball…that was slow and very painful. But autumn, which is my favorite season, is upon us. And boy is it going to be a busy one!!!! I’ll be traveling through many states over the next 2 months, racking up those frequent flyer miles. I’m in Las Vegas right now and I’ll be in Seattle, WA on Tuesday.

Last night we were in Stafford, TX for another “Teen Idols” show. And what a great show it was!!! For those of you who don’t know, the Teen Idols are: Peter Noone, Micky Dolenz, and Mark Lindsay. The three of them tore up the stage and brought the house down last night. The Hermits along with Wayne Avers (Mickys’ guitarist) is the Teen Idols band and we rocked the house. Here are a few pics from last nights show.

“The Teen Idols at soundcheck.”

“Peter, Micky & Mark take the stage!”

“Everyone singing along to Henry The VIII”

Due to our busy tour schedule you won’t see me playing many dates in C-town over the next month and a half. Billy and I won’t even be back at The Mad Cactus until October 15. Hope to see you all somewhere along the road.

I can’t believe its already August…this summer sure is flying by!! I just got back from Connecticut where we performed at the Mohegan Sun Casino. We always have a great time there. Once again, I ran into my good friend Lou Christie who had just finished performing there. The day of our show the Noonatics were having a luncheon to celebrate Peter’s 45 years in show business. Peter, Billy and myself stopped by to say “hello”. It’s always fun hangin’ with the Noonatics.

“Hangin’ with the Noonatics”

CD update: I wanted to let you know that my solo CD “Sometimes, When I’m Alone” is now available on iTunes and Amazon mp3 for downloads. Also, last fall I cut a licensing deal with Retrospect Records who re-released all three Love Affair albums on CD. They also re-released the 1992 album SPINA & SULLIVAN “12×8x2” on CD. To get to the site go to: www.retrospectrecords.com Of course, all these are still available on my website but for those of you that do not use PayPal you have other options.

Two weeks ago, in what seemed like the entire musical community of Cleveland, came out to support fellow musician Alan Greene at Cebars. His wife had just passed away. It was truly an emotional musical experience. Below is a picture from that evening when Eric Carmen and myself joined Alan onstage and sang some songs by The Who. It was very bright in that dark bar.

“Eric Carmen, Paul Christensen, myself & Danny Powers”

Before I sign off I was wondering…how’s the “hope and change” been working out for you??? Are you choking on it yet?

Wednesday I’m off to Vegas for seven days of R & R. See ya when I get back.

I hope everyone had a wild and fun 4th of July weekend. We sure did…performing in Springfield, OR on the 4th and then flying to Chicago, IL for a show on the 5th. Needless to say, I’ve seen enough firework displays to last me until next year.

A couple of weeks ago while in C-Town I stopped out to see ex-Love Affair band mate Wes Coolbaugh’s new band “That 80’s Band”. They rocked the house. They invited me up on stage to sing a couple of songs….I had a blast.
Below is a pic of me on stage singing with them. That’s Diane on keys and Pete on drums.

“on stage with That 80’s Band”

As you all know, I travel a lot and I must say for all the traveling I do, as long as I avoid O’Hare (the WORST airport in the world), it is usually a pain-free experience. Sure, there’s the occasional flight delay and every now & then there’s a TSA agent that doesn’t speak very good English, but other than that…it’s all good. My girlfriend Kellie on the other hand has had nothing but problems. Mechanical problems, missed connections, weather problems (a snow storm in Las Vegas?!)…you name it…it’s happened to her. Kinda like the movie “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”….only worse!! The last straw final came while she was performing her show on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean heading towards Israel. The ship’s engines caught on fire. After they towed the ship back to Egypt the next day Kellie decided on a different mode of transportation for her return back to the states. And I just happen to have a picture of her traveling home.

“Kellie traveling from Egypt back to Las Vegas”

I just arrived back home from a week of concerts with Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone. We performed 6 shows in 5 days in 5 different states. And we had a blast!!!!! There are even videos of some of the performances on YouTube. Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night came to our Alexandria, VA show. That was a thrill for me personally considering that the first live concert I ever saw was Three Dog Night at Public Hall when I was in the 9th grade.

“backstage with Jimmy Greenspoon”

Our last date of this run was in Suffern, NY where the Noonatics had a “Brigade.” I know…. you’re wondering, what’s a “Brigade?” That’s when Noonatics come from far & wide, this time as far west as California and as far east as England, to spread the musical word of Herman’s Hermits to the masses. The Brigade was put together by Mo but Jana stole it from her and banished Mo to Siberia to spread the musical word all by herself without the help of the Brigade. Below is a picture of me hangin’ with the Brigade before the show.

“with Jana’s Brigade”

Local update: Billy & I will be making all of our Mad Cactus Thursdays in July. Billy will miss the July 16th date but I’ll still be there with Jeff Varga filling in for Billy. Stop in and say hello!!

I head back out on the road this Friday so have a safe & fun 4th of July.

Summer in C-Town is always a wonderful time of the year but I’m usually on the road so I don’t get a chance to experience much of it. Since returning from Toronto a week ago, I’ve been able to enjoy a rare 2-week break from touring. That’s the longest I’ve been home during the month of June in years!! So, I’ve been performing some dates locally, recording, soaking up the sun and seeing some of my friends perform.

This Tuesday I’ll be lending my talents on keys and vocals to Steve Jochum as he headlines a concert at Cain Park to debut his new CD “Sky”. And this Thursday Steve returns the favor as he joins me at The Mad Cactus filling in for Billy Sullivan. Speaking of The Mad Cactus, Billy and I will be there for most of the Thursday nights over the next couple of months. And we always have a good time…lots of our friends in the music biz stop in and sometimes even join us for a few songs.

“Debi Lewin (The Divas, That 80’s Band) sitting in.”

This Friday Billy and I will be performing at the Coe Lake Gazebo from 7:30pm to 9:00pm as part of their summertime concert series. After that, I’ll be heading back out on the road with Peter Noone where we will be doing five shows in five different states in 6 days (Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Florida & New York). Hope to see ya at one of the shows!!!!

While relaxing here in sunny, hot (110 degrees) Las Vegas for 4 days with Kellie after a very busy month and a half, I realized that I had not posted a new blog in about a month. Part of the reason was because my blog was down for about a week due to maintenance.

Earlier this month we did the first full “Teen Idols” concert at the former Westbury on Long Island in New York. The theatre has changed names so many times I’m not quite sure what it was called the week we were there. Anyways, the show was incredible. One of the highlights was when Peter and Micky had an American Idol moment…Peter was Simon and Micky was Paula and they rated Mark’s performance of his hit “Just Like Me”. But the funniest moment for me occurred during Peter’s portion of the show when he did his impersonations of Micky and Mark. A great time was had by all and the audience loved it. Below is a picture of the “Teen Idols”.

“Mark Lindsay, Peter Noone & Micky Dolenz”

The day after we headed to Georgia where Peter Noone and his Hermits headlined a British invasion concert that also featured Peter & Gordon and two of my dear friends Joey Molland (Badfinger) and Terry Sylvester (The Hollies). It was nice being able to hangout and catch up on each other’s lives.

Last Wednesday Frankie G (Coming Undone) and I attended the Taurus Party. It was the first one I was able to attend in the past three years due to my touring schedule. It was great seeing old friends John Gorman, Murray Saul and writer Deanna Adams among others.

“with Frankie G of Coming Undone”

I fly back home to C-town tonight just in time for my Mad Cactus Thursday. Mike Hudak will be filling in for Billy Sullivan. Also, this Friday will be another “Spina, Sullivan & Hudak” reunion, this time at the Rush Hour Bar And Grille. Yes, we are doing a reunion show at a club we never performed in when we were together…should be fun. See ya then!!!!!

As usual, Epcot in sunny Orlando, FL was lots of fun. Nine shows in three days…and because of the wonderful audiences and how well the staff at Disneyworld treated us, we were ready to do nine more shows! Below are some pics from Epcot.

“On stage at Epcot”

“Peter performing with the audience”

“backstage between shows with Peter & Dave”

After Epcot, it was off to Las Vegas to perform the first of many “Teen Idols” shows. Who are the Teen Idols you ask??? They are: Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere and The Raiders), Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) and, of course, my boss Peter Noone (he’s also the youngest). Needless to say, the show was a smashing success.

I mentioned in my last blog that I would post some live shots from the Billy Hufsey “Confessions” CD Release show that took place earlier this month. Here they are.

“One of the dance troupes that opened the show”

“Billy on stage….still breakin’ hearts”

“laughing while Billy tells a funny story…about me!!”

“with Kellie & Billy after the show…enjoying the end of a perfect evening”

As I’m writing this I’m flying from Las Vegas to Manchester, New Hampshire to begin the next leg of this road trip, which starts in Rutland, Vermont. I always try to sneak in and out of Vermont without anyone knowing that I’m a conservative Republican. If they find out they will force me to hug a tree, denounce Reagan & make me eat an egg white only omelet with Vance & Dave. So shhhh…please don’t tell anyone.

As I’m about to head down to sunny Florida later this week for 6 shows at Disneyworld, I thought I’d share some of the fun I had the past 2 weeks here in C-Town. I rarely get to spend this much time at home and the timing couldn’t have been better considering all the great music and events happening around town leading up to the Rock-n-Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony that was FINALLY happening in it’s rightful place…Cleveland, OH…the birthplace of rock-n-roll.

The mayhem all started last week with the Moondog Coronation Ball at the Q (Quicken Loans Arena).  This was the first chance I’ve had to perform in my hometown since becoming a member of Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone three years ago. It was a great show and a thrill to be sharing a stage with Little Richard. Below are a couple of pics from that show, courtesy of Janet Macoska.

“Peter & I watching Vance dance on the Jumbotron”

“Peter looking his youthful self”

The show ended sometime around midnight and afterwards I stopped in Parma to see “That Eighties Band”. Wes, Debi and the rest of the band were excellent and the place was packed.

Next to the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony, probably the most exciting event took place this past Friday as my dear friend, Billy Hufsey, returned to his hometown to celebrate the release of his new CD “Confessions”. And typical of Billy, it was no ordinary CD release party. For the packed house of media, fans & friends at Earth Nightclub in the flats, Billy had two different female dance troupes perform to start the show, which was followed by a ten minute video highlighting Billy’s career. After that, Billy took the stage for a mini concert that rocked the house. I served as Billy’s musical director on keys, acoustic guitar and vocals. Rounding out the band was my longtime cohort Mike Hudak (Love Affair, Gary Lewis & The Playboys) on drums, Mike Criscione (Sonny Geraci) on piano, Steve Jochum (Wild Horses, “Funky Poodle”) on guitar and vocals, and Bobby Bruno (Bruno Bros. Band) on bass and vocals. And we all had a grand time. I will soon post some pictures from the actual performance and I believe there will be a video of the performance on Billy Hufsey’s website. Below is a pic of Billy and I sharing a funny moment during our soundcheck.

“At soundcheck”

To make the evening even sweeter, I hadn’t realized until after the show that I produced 2 of the tracks on his new CD . Cha-Ching!!! See ya soon.

Aah…the Cavs are in first place, spring is in the air and baseball season is about to begin. Life is good!! It’s enough to make me not think about the economy and forget, for the time being, all the wacky things they’re doing in Washington.

I’ve been in C-town a lot this month, which gave me a chance to perform a bit around town, prepare for some upcoming projects and take care of some things on the home front. One of those things was to get a new dog. Meet Diva!!

I have two more weeks at home before heading back out on the road. But lots of fun things are happening around town over the next couple of weeks. Billy Sullivan (who is now also a Hermit) and I are still holding down Thursdays at the Mad Cactus when not traveling and this Friday The Cleveland Boys (Wes Coolbaugh, Mike Hudak, Darren Frate & me) will be making a rare appearance there. Saturday afternoon U41 will be performing at the IX Center but unfortunately I won’t be able to perform with them, as I’ll be at soundcheck for our Herman’s Hermits show at the Moondog Coronation Ball that will be held at the Q that evening.

After the concert I plan on going to The Parma Tavern to see Wes’ new band “That Eighties Band” perform. If you’re looking for something to do after the Moondog concert, stop on by.

Remember: Next Friday, April 3, at the Earth Nightclub in the flats of Cleveland Ohio Billy Hufsey will be having his CD release party and mini concert to celebrate the release of his new CD “Confessions”. Though Billy Hufsey and I have been friends since childhood and have worked together in the studio many times, this will be the first time we’ve ever performed together live. It all starts at 7:30pm. See ya there!!!!