OK...It is time to get ready for the trip to Greece. Of course I did not pack and spent my last night out with Morris killing brain cells and complaining about senseless bullshit. I have been a bit nervous about the trip because I am bringing my Master 1/2" tapes on the airplane with me. Seems to be OK with everyone that I have talked to.

I woke up and ran to the gym and tanning place...yes, I need to take photos soon! Nik was driving me to the airport. He showed up about 15 minutes late...Greek thing...Adja, his girlfriend was with him. We headed to JFK and my trip had begun.

Traffic was not too bad...we arrived and I went to the Olympic airlines counter to check in. My ticket was waiting for me...HUGE MISTAKE! Plane ticket...paid in cash...American guy going to Greece...Olympics soon...SECURITY!!!! I was held up for 30 minutes after the metal detectors. I was worried about getting my tapes around the X-RAY machines. This was easy...They spent 30 minutes documenting my digital camera and scraping my hands for drugs and explosives.

OK...I am through the detectors...I go immediately to the bar...I inhaled my vodka and headed to the plane. FULL flight...Screaming babies...I was moved to the front...supposedly quieter. Hmm...The passenger next to me had a 6 month old boy...quiet (AT FIRST). I tried my best to hide the noise with the new ‘Tage Majal CD. It worked very well...Dinner arrived, I had some wine...I wanted a bit more so I could sleep...The dude steward said I could help myself. 2 glasses later he cut me off saying he was concerned that I would get too drunk. 3 glasses of wine? Holy shit dude!!!! So...I suffered my way to Athens...2 hours of sleep and very tired. The plane arrived an hour late. I waited for luggage and was met by Black Lotus at the airport. We headed to the hotel. I think I had stayed here before. I am sure actually, just cant remember when! OUZO thing!!! I arrived at 1PM. I found out that I had ‘til 3 before I had to go to work..LOTS OF REST!!!

I called the front desk for a wake up call and got up an hour later to shower and get ready to see what the mastering studio was all about.

Black Lotus had said from day one that they wanted me mastering in Athens. Once I walked into Athens Mastering I realized why. This place is amazing! John, my engineer and Christos the owner are fantastic. After about 5 minutes into song one I realized that this was the only place to be. Not that I would ever turn down a week in Greece!!!! Every little detail was noticed by John. The compression...EQ’s...this guy is insane! We worked from 4 til 11 and Black Lotus arrived. Dinner was at the studio. Two hours later day one was done. I am so excited about the results. Just full...fat and louder! I returned to the hotel...wide awake. I was snoozing a bit the first half of the day. Jet lag is funny. I wanted to go out, but decided to sleep. I sat with Jimmy at the bar for an hour and headed to my room. Still a full week left here...lots more to come!

I actually slept ‘til 2PM! Well...I woke up at 8 and had breakfast and then went back to sleep! I immediately headed to the pool on the roof. I just need to walk down the hall and up the stairs. It is nice to have a pool bar outside of your room! I sat in the sun and ordered some Ouzo. I was looking off the roof and noticed the rooms directly below had balconies. I was jealous...so...I immediately headed to the front desk to investigate. They said that the balconies were for suites with the exception of one small room. They brought me to see the room...it is amazing! The corner balcony with a pretty cool view. I immediately gathered my stuff and changed rooms. I headed back to the pool. I had ‘til 5:30. I sat and had an ice coffee with the bartender Tasos. He was familiar with Savatage and a musician himself. It was time to go back to work. Elias from Black Lotus drove me to Athens Mastering. It is actually very close to my hotel. I returned back to Athens Mastering and we continued. Song by song I realized that I was in the perfect place for my CD. John was an artist, not just an engineer. Stressing that he heard frequencies first before the songs. We got through "Faces" and about half way through "God Damn War" when Andreas arrived. I was to go to dinner with my label people and their wives/girlfriends. Now...you know how intense I am about my CD. I trusted John so much that I decided to leave him alone to finish GDWAR. This is a huge vote of confidence. Everything I was hearing, he was doing...So, we drove to get Andreas’ wife and we headed to dinner.

Traffic is pretty bad at times here, everything seems to take about an hour to get to. Kinda similar to Sao Paulo, but not as bad! We went to a pretty trendy place near the sea. The restaurant was very Americanized, good food. Dinner was finished at about 2:30AM. I was not at all tired, so I had Elias bring me to Revenge of Rock. This is a pretty cool bar that I usually wind up at when I am in town. Greece still has some Heavy Metal bars. These are great to see when you have a new CD coming out! Metal videos...metal music! Before I knew it the time was 7AM!!! Yikes...I was a mess!!! I was dropped off at the hotel by some friends and headed straight to breakfast. I don’t have to leave the hotel until 4PM...I need sleep!!!

I believe I woke up at around 2PM this fine Sunday in Athens. I headed straight to the pool area for some iced coffee and sun. I am not sure if you are familiar with Nescafe’. It is an instant Greek Coffee. John in the basement makes it all the time. You can find it almost anywhere in Astoria. Frappe’ is the real name for it. Nescafe’ is the popular brand. A friend of mine from Athens stopped by to say hi and we talked while I awaited the arrival of Black Lotus. Today was the day that Black Lotus and I were to sit down and discuss everything. Game plans...track listing...touring...everything. Andreas and George arrived at the hotel at around 4PM. I was still very tired, but the coffee helped! We headed to a Greek café’ near the new Black Lotus offices and sat down to discuss the many "Faces" of business. Everything went very well. I love working with these guys. There have been discussions about separating War from Faces. I don’t want to do this at all...We came up with some neat alternatives. In the future I believe there will be a separate release of the WAR CD...I do want to write 2 more songs. The devils song and a resolution song. This of course will be based on the future of the war. I also want to add some computer animation. There are so many possibilities. My meeting with Andreas and George lasted about 3 hours. I was to then meet Elias, Black Lotus’ head of promotion. We met up at about 8 and headed to a city just north of Athens for a dinner meeting by the sea. I love Greek seafood...I love all seafood! There are these tiny little fried fish (smelts) that they have that are incredible. They still have the heads on! Octopus...shrimp, calamari...it is all good. We had some Ouzo and discussed many different possibilities. I am so excited for the future. We finished dinner and headed back to Athens. There was yet another stop at Revenge. Elias stayed for a bit, he had to get up to work. I had photos the next day so I was behaving! I went to a couple more bar/café’s with a friend and headed back to Zapholia to sleep. I did not have to leave the hotel until 4PM so I had plenty of time to rest! I found out today that Kemp is arriving late Tuesday night. We may stay longer because there is not much time for us to explore Greece...just three nights as it stands now.

Have I mentioned to you just how much I hate photo shoots? Photo shoots...video shoots...rehearsal...least favorite things for most musicians. I woke up again at about 1PM and headed again to the pool! I spoke to Tasos at the pool bar and got a little more sun before I had to leave at 4. I finally got to meet Seth. He is the graphic artist for Black Lotus. I have seen his work and heard so much about him. We stopped and had yet another Greek late lunch and then I was left alone with Seth. We talked about the cover ideas we both had and we were actually on the same page...same color ideas...same photo ideas...We talked about what kind of photos to take and then we went to Seth’s basement studio to work. Within the first few photos I was so amazed at just how great of a photographer he was as well as an artist! I really feel that these are some of the best photos of my career. I like being a solo artist more and more. I can take the time to concentrate on what I want without having 5 other people waiting in line...I love a band and plan on keeping my line up together once we tour...but photo sessions are much easier one on one! Group shots everyone has to look OK. I have had so many group photos where my picture was not the best I had, but the band looked the best as a whole. We shot for about 5 hours, I believe I had about 50 usable pictures when I was done!!! We finished up and headed to the Texas Club!!!! We were met by John from the Greek Savatage Legion. The next night I am going to debut 2 songs here in a party for the Legion. Seth was going to leave right away, but he and his assistant decided to remain for a few drinks...this led to shots...Yikes...I got back to the hotel and went to sleep at about 5AM. I let John hear some music in my computer...he was very surprised at the improvement in my voice from the demos. Luckily for me Kemp was not arriving until 8PM...I had until 8PM the next day to recover from this night! Yet another successful night in Greece!

I woke up at about...hmmm...2PM once again! I was very excited that my best friend was arriving this evening. I was also very excited to have a day off!!! I actually did not do much at all this day. I ordered room service and sat in the sun. At about 6PM I went to get Kemp some flowers. 7PM arrived and Elias picked me up to drive to the airport. When Kemp came through the terminal doors I was so happy to see her. You must understand that she was there with me and for me as I wrote and demo’d all of this stuff. When people were telling me I was nuts for singing, she was telling me they were nuts. So,,,a little over a year later I was mastering my CD in Athens Greece and my best friend was there with me. It seemed so unreal. I was very happy this night. We headed back to the hotel. After we dropped her stuff off in my room we grabbed a cab to The Acropolis for dinner. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was at the base of the Acropolis. The Parthenon was lit up...we were starving. The place was very classy...we were a mess...but we didn’t care! After dinner we were to go to the Texas club. We decided to try and walk there. Directions were different every time we asked! I decided to call John from the Legion. He met us in a city square and we headed to Texas. Sakis from Rock On Magazine was the DJ. I was given a magazine from earlier in the year in which I was on the cover! I love Greece! I signed some autograph’s...had a few drinks...listened to "Faces" and "Fade Into The X" and headed back to get a little rest. We had to fly to Thessaloniki the next day for some press and another listening party. At the time I was ready to sleep I really was not thinking about anywhere else on the planet. I was at peace with myself and life was a very good thing!!!!

I can never sleep when I have a wake-up call!!! I wake every 15 minutes and look towards the clock...this night was no different. Our flight north was at 11...The hotel was about an hour from the airport. So..we had to leave by 9...I know Kemp was very tired because she was working in the Alps every day before her arrival. I let her sleep as late as possible then we headed for breakfast. Soon our car was here to take us to the airport. We slept in the cab, we slept on the plane...We arrived in Thessaloniki and were immediately greeted by Vagelis from Metal Zone Magazine. He had a busy day planned. We first checked into our hotel...then we headed towards the sea for coffee. Iced once again!!! From there we visited a few record shops and headed for a Heavy Metal Café’! Yes...metal lives in Greece! From there we left with the staff from Metal Zone for dinner at another seafood place by the sea. Lots of food, Ouzo and talks about my CD and the WAR. It is very interesting to see just how much the rest of the world knows about this war. The US public was very blind to a lot of the truth until recently! After dinner I had to leave for a TV interview. We did this by the sea. Lots of Savatage questions! Then, we headed to a radio station for the world debut of "Faces". I was so happy to debut this in Greece with Kemp in the room...everything seemed so dream-like. I had another radio interview and then it was off to the hotel to change. About 20 minutes later I had a photo shoot for Metal Zone and an interview with Vagelis. The photographer was having fun flirting and taking photos with Kemp. I would much rather have photos of her than myself anyday! Once we were finished with the interview we headed to a castle on a hill, an amazing view of the city. I had another photo shoot...Kemp also took pics of me! The day was not over yet!!!! We then headed to a metal club for the Metal Zone listening party. I was greeted by about a hundred Sava-freaks and I signed autographs and took photos. I snuck in a few WAR songs this night too!!! At about 3AM we called it quits and headed back to the hotel. Kemp and I talked ourselves to sleep still discussing the events of the day and the world. Yet another wake-up call tomorrow!!!!

We woke up and headed for the airport...we slept in the cab, we slept on the plane, we slept in the cab back to Zapholia!!! We arrived at Zapholia and confirmed our extended stay until Monday. Kemp was surprised because a few Savatage fans had located the hotel and were waiting for autographs! I was happy to relax and actually get to show Kemp Greece without an escort! This afternoon we decided to walk to the temple on the hill in the distance from my Hotel...of course I never got the name because I am an ugly American tourist!!! The climb up the mountain was fun and adventurous. Kemp tends to like the difficult routes anywhere in life! We forged our way to the top and sat for late lunch. Great food and ice cream!!! It was a long walk! We then headed back down the hill...We were both posing for photos along the way....Kemp decided to pose like she sat on a cactus...and actually did...she had lots of splinters in her butt...lucky splinters!!! I gave her my shirt to pad her from the splinters and we finished our walk laughing and singing...I made up a country song about all of her mishaps...She had a bug in her eye also!!! Many other things! When we arrived at Zapholia Kemp immediately passed out. I had to go to the mastering studio for final touches and fades. It wound up taking me 4 hours to finish. When I returned Kemp was still asleep...I was not far behind...we finally were to get a night of rest! No wake-up call in the morning!!!

Rise and shine....we did not get up til 11AM! Kemp had slept like 15 hours! We missed breakfast at the hotel. We decided to forge out on our own and walk to the Acropolis. People in Greece think we are nuts because we like to walk...They don’t know just how much us New Yorkers walk every day! The walk was not that bad. We stopped and bought cherries from the local cherry guy...he was pretty animated. We then saw the hill and knew we were close. Both of us had a lot of shopping to do. So, we did a bit of shopping, then stopped for brunch. This restaurant was amazing. Right along the shopping streets at the foot of the Acropolis. From there we ventured towards the hill. Along the way we seemed to do everything wrong. Everyone was stopping us from our photo attempts. I guess we were insulting the gods!!! Yikes! Once up on the hill it was more of the same...lots of photos and lots of people asking us not to take them! It was fun to try to get away with it anyway! On the way out we stopped and bought tons of stuff for friends and family. The walk back was a lot heavier than the walk there! Noone could tell us the right directions back, it seemed everyone had a different route! Eventually we found our street and were close to home. We had a dinner appointment with Andreas and his wife at 10PM. We arrived back at about 6PM and rested a bit. Before we knew it, we were back at the pool bar with Tasos and awaiting Andreas. He and his wife arrived, we had a few drinks and headed to a traditional Greek restaurant for dinner. We had a great time, by 1AM we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we had another wake-up call...but we were going to an Island so we were excited for this one!!!

WAKE UP!!!

Alright...we got up, missed breakfast cuz we were late...got a ride from Elias to the port. When we arrived we missed the 10 AM boats. So...we asked around and nothing was leaving ‘til 1. So...we bought tickets, everyone in the ticket office suggested Spetses. I had no idea where the frick I was going. I had a lot of cash and my credit cards so I did not care! We sat with Elias and had breakfast...it was 11AM when he had to leave. From there we slept on a port bench until our boat arrived. Not the most comfortable place to sleep!

The boat was nice, very fast, I took a lot of pictures on the ride. Kemp kept smashing her head into the TV. Before we knew it we arrived at the port in Spetses. This place was adorable! Very story book like. We were immediately greeted by an Inn Keeper and his wife. We were handed brochures and told to check out their place. We followed. Surprisingly enough the place was amazing! Right by the water. We had a room with a roof balcony...it was only 40Euro a night!!! I could stay here for 2 weeks!!!!! We obviously took the room and headed towards the beach. The first thing we did was rent a motorbike for the day. This is how everyone got around on the island. We immediately figured out how to drive this silly thing and headed out on our way to explore. After fueling up we headed to the hills. The route around the island was incredible! Cliffs...blue sea...mountains...we were both almost crying because of how perfect things worked out. Along the way we stopped at a stone beach for photos and ice cream...we then finished our drive all the way around the island. This only took about an hour! From there we showered up and got ready for dinner. We were starving. It was about 7PM and the restaurants were empty. What we did not know was that Greece had a soccer game for the European title. First round. We heard the yelling! Dinner was seafood once again...I love the food here! From there we decided to walk a bit because we were so full!!! Lots more photos and yes...ice cream! From there we returned to get the bike and cruise the hills in the dark. I do not think I have ever seen this many stars. I could only imagine being an old sailor and following the stars to my nearest port. It was incredible we sat and stared at shooting stars for about an hour. Then we decided to head back. It was about 1AM. Kemp was exhausted, me too! We fell asleep, but not myself for long! I woke up itching...something was attacking me in my sleep. From there I noticed the people out at the bars. I sat in bed for about an hour. The itching was driving me nuts. Kemp was out like a light! I decided to go exploring. I wound up in a bar with an Irish bartender. Kinda ironic. I live in a Greek neighborhood and my bartenders are Irish. I go to Greece and wind up in a bar with an Irish bartender. She had vacationed there 7 years ago and never left! She told me just how bad the mosquitoes were on the island...Ahh...the attack! I closed the bar....this side of the island closed at about 4...everyone went to another port for live music. Apparently it was open til 7 there. Kemp would have killed me if I stumbled in at 8AM!!! I headed back and went to sleep. Hoping to avoid the killer mosquitoes...I actually bundled up to only reveal my face! I was safe for the rest of the night...or was I?

Ouch! I was woken up about an hour after I fell asleep by a bite on the lip...no, it was not Kemp! It was a frickin mosquito! I wanted to get up and see the sunrise, but I did not need that kind of wake-up call. I have become really allergic to mosquito bites. Before you knew it I looked like JJ from Good Times!!! I was actually giving Kemp a run for her money in the lip department! She took pictures of the sunrise while I scrambled to find allergy pills. She was saying how it did not look bad, I knew she was holding in her laughter! It got huge! I tried to go back to sleep, but it did not work. I rolled around in bed til 11 and we got up. The lip was still swollen, but not as bad. We checked out of our room and headed for breakfast. All of the restaurants were great on this island. We finished up and decided to ride around the island again. Our boat did not leave ‘til 4. This time I let Kemp drive...HELP! She is nuts! We made it around the island in one piece, barely, thanks Tomb Raider Kemp! We returned the bike and decided to walk to the fishing port. This is where all of the live music bars were. The port was beautiful...quiet. Everyone was still asleep! We wandered to the sea and found some interesting statues. Kemp posed with the Mermaid, me with a Greek God. I was more like a Geek god with my swollen lip! Watching the clock we headed back to the port at 3:30 and awaited our boat ride to Athens. We did not want to leave! On the walk back we ran into Sakis from Rock On...he was even staying at the same place! I wish I had found him last night, but I would probably have a large headache!!! The boat arrived and we headed back to Athens. I am sure we will be back there again! Next time we want to spend 2 weeks just island hopping! When we returned we headed to Zapholia, I had a final business meeting by the pool bar and I said my goodbyes to Andreas and George. Kemp and I decided to walk around a bit, We headed through the streets and stopped by Revenge of Rock to say goodbye to the owner and staff. We headed back top the hotel and packed our stuff. It was amazing how much we accumulated! I was lucky that I had the bag I brought my tapes in! We had enough room for the overflow! By 4AM we fell asleep...yup...another wake-up call!

Wake UP!!! I hate waking up! A quick shower and we headed to breakfast. Our bags were awaiting the cab to the airport. One of the waiters was a big Savatage fan. A lot of people are here in Greece! I had such an amazing time! We finished our last Greek breakfast and headed for the taxi. The airport was pretty quiet. We checked in, stumbled through the metal detectors and sat by the gate. It was funny, they called boarding 4 times...each delay stating some mechanical problem. When we walked on the plane Kemp noticed right away how bad it smelled up front by the bathrooms....she thought this was the delay...she was right! One side of the planes bathrooms were broken...all flight there were lines! Most of the flight Kemp slept. I tried to write some lyrics to a new song. I was getting really bad head aches. Golf ball/altitude thing! I fear all of the flights on my press tour! The plane ride went by so quickly with Kemp there. We landed and headed back to my house to sort our stuff and relax. The night ended with a Venison ka-bob barbeque and Kemp’s first viewing of Joe Dirt. I made it 80% of the way through. I had passed out in my best friends arms. The trip was over...I want to thank Black Lotus, Athens Mastering, Kemp and everyone else in Greece for an amazing trip! I will be back...before I know it!!!!