The Bobby Rock Newsletter #101 (6-17-23) - Back in the Saddle... in Sweden!
The Bobby Rock Newsletter #101 (6-17-23) - Back in the Saddle... in Sweden!
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Greetings, Everyone!
We are back! Let's dive right into it...
In This Issue:
- Back in the Saddle: A personal update in the aftermath of our 100th Newsletter edition. Onward we shall roll!
- Sweden Rocks: Behind the scenes at Sweden Rock, one of the world’s largest music festivals.
- Healthy Eating: Makeshift meals on the road, here and abroad...
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Back in the Saddle...
(A Personal Check-in)
From the road!
(Pic by Teddy Allison)
My Friends -
Welcome back! It was nice to take a short reprieve from the Newsletter and reflect on “the first 100." I took a couple days to scroll through our archives and scope bits and pieces of all we’ve covered these past couple years. I feel good about the work and have appreciated the feedback. Is it a proverbial "labor of love?" Yes. Do I have any kind of end-game agenda for doing these Newsletters? No... except to not waste your time... and to simply follow the muse.
And with that, it’s time to get this bitch cranked up again. How will we proceed? Probably as a bi-monthly Newsletter with editions every other week. And on the off-weeks? How about an abbreviated mid-month and end-of-month check-in, where we’ll feature a little something from these massive-ass archives or my primary blog?
As always, I will try to be more concise with these Newsletters, although I tend to struggle with this (as you guys well know). Mostly, I just want to keep the quality poppin’… to deliver cool shit to my peeps!
On a personal note, fatherhood has been really something. (It's my first Father's Day tomorrow. Holy fuck!) Our little man is healthy, happy, and growing like a son-of-a-bitch! And with that, his beautiful momma and I have been navigating all of the usual challenges, including his whacked sleeping habits, which are only rivaled by his papa's!
But all is well and, we think, quite normal. In fact, Kari and I recently enjoyed our first "date night" since our boy's birth in late-Jan. The unanimous decision? A Dodgers' game!
(You know you're with the right woman when...)
That's the latest. We (the Lita Ford camp) are looking at a busy summer of shows ahead, so I will look forward to keeping you guys apprised with all the highlights, as well as a whole lot more. As always, thanks for reading.
Best,
BR
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Sweden Rocks!
Behind the Scenes of Sweden Rock in Pics and Vids
We just returned from Sweden Rock, one of the world’s largest rock festivals. This was either the second or third time I’ve played it with Lita and, as usual, it was a standout experience. Along the way, I took a few pics and vids, just to document a quick “behind-the-scenes” peek of a few sights and sounds… nothing too extensive, but hopefully a bit insightful. Enjoy
The bill: quite a line-up over 4 days:
The grounds around the hotel were stunning… just as I remembered the last time we played the festival:
Of course, I had to take a run ASAP. Here are the 4 short clips combined into one vid. So gorgeous around there!
Here’s what I wrote on social:
A slice of life from today’s 8-miler in Sweden. Beautiful place! Tried to integrate a quick grocery store visit into the run, and had to make the roundtrip from the hotel twice since I forgot my ID for the credit card purchase the first time. After that, I was able to hit some beautiful trails and scenery in the area. Perfect weather today, as well!
On show day, we got to the gig well in advance of our set time to prepare. Here were our more-than-adequate accommodations:
They also had a wall-of-fame collection of every Sweden Rock concert poster from the past 30 years. Pretty cool!
And here’s a peek from the stage about an hour before soundcheck:
And then I saw this…
Here’s what I wrote about it on social:
On the rare occasion that we play a show with Deep Purple… and I happen to see Ian Paice’s drum kit already set up side-stage prior to our soundcheck … yes: I WILL have to grab a shameless selfie and document both the sentiment and significance of both band and drummer. Ian and the mighty Purple… two of my all-time faves. “Made in Japan” changed my life. So great to see these road warriors STILL out there killing it, more than a half-a-century later!
The show itself was a blast!
Here’s a side-stage excerpt of “Larger Than Life” towards the front of the set:
And here’s some obligatory drum solo footage:
Social: Just had to capture the moment yesterday at Sweden Rock with Lita Ford. I usually try to hold down an ostinato with my feet on the double-pedal and hi-hat, leaving my hands free to quickly document the vibe. Love these Euro festivals and their huge, rowdy crowds!
Ran across this pic from near the soundboard out front. Look at how massive the screens are!
About an hour after the set, they had us signing autographs for awhile. Man, the people there were so cool… real music lovers!
Saw this guy’s back tat and asked if I could take a shot of it. Astounding work, right? Damn!
And finally, you can’t talk about being in Europe without marveling how fucking immaculate their bathrooms are over there! Scope this out:
Indeed... keep up the great work, Europe!!!!
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Eating on the Road
While over in Sweden, I thought I would document a common eating protocol for you guys: hitting a local grocery store, rather than relying on a local restaurant. And by the way, I pretty much eat the exact same way at home or on the road: 100% plant-based, with a steady influx of calories throughout the day via my 2 to 3 meals—one of which is always a very specific superfood smoothie—and lots of healthy snacking (or grazing).
Because I’m so physically active between the weightlifting, running, soundchecks, shows, etc., I try to avoid eating too much at one time… which has necessitated eating a whole lotta smaller servings throughout the day to make my caloric requirements (usually way north of 3000 calories).
So in addition to my daily smoothie (which is actually THREE scoops of my Dragon Dirt powder, with 2 bananas and an orange, all mixed with water… more on that later), I try to have at least one meal with lots of greens. Here’s the quick video snapshot:
To review:
1 bag of spinach
1 bag of Spring Mix greens
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado
Marinated Tofu
Shitty Wishbone Italian dressing
Loaf of high-fiber whole-grain bread
Vegan bologna (for extra protein)
Mustard
Not pictured: a bunch of fruit for snacks and smoothies, and a couple different bags of raw trail mix and nuts for snacking. I try to eat a solid 5 or 6 servings of fruit per day, along with one serving of seeds or nuts. (And this doesn’t include the hefty amount of high-antioxidant fruit—in powder form—or the raw flax seed meal, in my Dirt.)
On one day, I had a bunch of the salad and a sandwich for my biggest meal.
On another day, I had the salad with tofu for one meal, and then just the sandwich as a robust snack later.
Pretty good bang for the buck on a quick store run!
Pretty good bang for the buck on a quick store run!
Beyond all that, I travel with my Dragon Dirt powder, some Clif and Lara bars, and for a quick microwaveable meal: a Seeds of Change brand rice/quinoa pouch, and a can of beans or veggie chili.
Finally, with all of my non-Dirt meals, I usually pound down 6 superfood capsules, typically comprised of two different capsule blends I've created. (More on this soon, as well!)
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To sign up for this Newsletter and/or to scope back issues, click HERE.
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Thanks again, everybody. Connect soon!
Until then,
BR
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