Hey Mary,
Ridley, God bless his post Labour (english spelling) Day white trousers, has shot out what we were to do here 3 days ahead of schedule.
Though I have finished filming here, I haven't left DC yet. Got a couple more bike trails I want to nail first.
I'm going to pop down to Jacksonville on Monday to check out the available facilities myself. Maybe explain to the press there what we are doing and when.
From everything I've seen the UNF fits the requirements of both teams perfectly, but, now that I have a day up my sleeve, It is better to go down there and make sure.
(I haven't been to Morocco since 1999, the world has changed shape so dramatically from then 'til now, it will be interesting.)
The chances of a TOFOG gig are looking slimmer. The one club down there in JAX that is a real full time touring act venue only has a capacity of 700, and Bruno believes ( though it may improve slightly with the planned renovations they are doing ) that with a full house only about 450 of that number would see the stage. Knowing ,that going in, you'll be unseen by a third of your nightly audience doesn't feel good, it feels like a rip off.
Thanks for running that poll for us, at 300 or so people saying they would like a show probably translates to 3 sell outs at that venue. However, to justify the costs involved of flying the band and crew in and accommodating them, gear etc, we would need to play a 2,500 seat venue on 3 consecutive nights ( like Stubbs in Austin) with a ticket price of $30 to get close to breaking even.
Added to that , it may be better for the profile of the sport not to confuse the issue.
Plus in reality, I can see objectively that it might feel like Hollywood wankerism of the highest order to be touting the team/sport and the band at the same time. It would probably just start another whole round of press about my "attempt" at being a "rockstar". The music seems to create such division with people, for some reason I am unable to fathom, a lot of journo's get so offended by the idea that Maximus can speak of "The Weight of a Man", and I'm definitely getting shotgun shy of being promoted as an ego maniac for doing something as simple as expressing my emotions and experiences in a song.
While I'm down there though we will have a good long look at that situation as well and I will let you know next week.
Stay good.
RC
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