Doogie White's BLOG page

Doogie's BLOG

23rd May 2010

Last night's final show in Buenos Aires was filled to the rafters and
then some. It started rather later than the others as a "Very Famous"
comedian had a soldout show in the same venue just before us, so all
the tables and chairs, food and fancy dressings had to be put away.
The roar when the band finally hit the stage was staggering.
The fans sang along to every word and knew the versions in English.
The cameras and video phones were in full sight and then at the end
and very respectfully they were all turned off as once again we played
Catch the Rainbow in memory of Ronnie James Dio. Thank you Buenos
Aries..Enjoy this very special weekend that celebrates your
independance from Spain. 200 hundred years...Whats that in
metric..Lets ask the BBC. Peace

21st May 2010 - Catch the Rainbow.

Fiends,

The 1st 2 shows in Buenos Aires with Rata Blanca went very well. The audience came and sang and danced and got truely involved. We ended the main set with Catch the Rainbow, strangely a song I had never sung before, as a tribute to Ronnie Dio. Just the mention of his name had the whole venue singing "Ole Ole Dio Dio". It had the hairs standing up on my neck. It was a beautiful thing. A huge thanks goes to the Rawkers who came to both shows for the warm reception to our rendition of the song. Tonight sees the final show in Buenos Aires before heading off to Rosario and Cordoba for a couple of gigs. So we will continue to play Catch the Rainbow for these shows and take and share a moment to think of the contribution Ronnie made to so many of our lives and to send our thoughts and prayers to Wendy and the extended Dio family. Buenos Aires..Thankyou.

15th May 2010

Fiends,

I am in Buenos Aires to do 5 shows in Argentina with Rata Blanca to promote the album "The Forgotten Kingdom". First off, the rehearsal rooms are awesome with a GREAT vocal PA which I have not really had..well apart from Long Island..EVER.
It makes rehearsing for hours a joy rather than a wasted opportunity. The band are loud but clear and are really rawkin. (yup the drummer seems normal) The set is coming together with a mixture of Rata Blanca songs from the album alongside some Temple and Rainbow songs. Language is of course a small hurdle to leap but musically we are doing just great.
We have done TV, radio and press for the shows and the buzz is positive. Now the band have gone off to do shows without me, leaving me to explore this amazing city.

Things to note if you come here.
The BA version of Spanish is similar to the Glaswegian English.
Cars without lights including taxis, motorbike and cyclists seems to be the norm...Maybe it runs the battery down. Its kinda hairy when you do cross traffic and the guy you almost T-boned has blacked out windows, no lights in a 70s Ford Cortina. Which still looks cool.
The city is set out like NYC, in that traffic goes one way or the other up and down Avenues and life begins at 10pm.
My hotel is the Atlas Towers and is on the crossing of what would be Regent and Oxford Streets. Noisy 24/7 but magical. I am on the 1st floor which means I can enjoy the traffic with the air poluting Merc buses and the sirens of some police and ambulance crew attending another victim who was saving his battery.

Peace