"On a long and lonesome highway, east of Omaha"





Hello, everyone! I hope this blog finds you well, and inside staying warm. It's been a pretty cold winter for us out here on the road, and we are certainly looking forward to some warmer weather. The title of this blog is a line from the Bob Seger song Turn The Page, which often too well sums up our experiences on the road. Here are some highlights from our two weeks in Da Nati.

We arrived via bus from Louisville very early in the afternoon, as it was only a 2 hour drive. We had high hopes for things to do near the hotel, and for a successful run here in the Queen City. The first couple of days most of us laid pretty low due to the cold and windy weather, but opening night went extremely well in the new and gorgeous Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts. After the show, a bunch of us headed across the street to Nicholson's, a great looking bar and gastropub. We were not disappointed in the least. With great food including Scotch eggs, lobster and crab Mac n' cheese, and a delicious mixed green salad with beets and goat cheese insured it would be a popular place for all of us to gather. The Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale they serve didn't hurt either....

On Thursday, Billy, Rosie and I headed to a few great vintage stores, and then to one of the better independent record stores that I have ever been to, Shake It Records. That evening after the show, the entire cast made their way to the Sub Zero Lounge to have a fun filled evening of karaoke, (pictures above) as a way to say goodbye to Mel. She has been with us for most of this leg of tour as one of our company managers, and was just always such a helpful and warm member of our tour family. She will be sorely missed. But, I think we all had a pretty good time, regardless.

The weekend was pretty low key, and Monday brought our first non-traveling day off in quite a while. It was a bit warmer, so I headed down toward the river and visited the Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The park, of course, was closed, as was the team shop. But that didn't deter me from having a great day walking around and seeing the sights. After some time at home to reheat, I headed to the Rock Bottom Brewery with the cast and some of the crew to help celebrate James' son Sam's 2nd birthday. It was a much needed break, and a fun outing for all of us (video below, pictures above)

On Wednesday, I headed back to the ballpark so I could visit the Reds Hall Of Fame. Probably one of the best museums I have ever been to. So much great memorabilia, and it was extremely interactive. I was there for quite a while taking pictures, watching videos, and even throwing a few pitches from a regulation mound (pictures above). On Thursday, National Chili Day, Billy, Rosie and I headed to the American Sign Museum. Yet again, one of the best museums I have ever seen. It is a comprehensive history of American sign making over the last 100 years or so. Pretty fascinating. And, with so many large scale signs and examples, we could've been there for hours (pictures above). We even got to see craftsmen making neon signs, because they have a neon shop on sight. Pretty incredible to watch that in person. We left, hungry for chili, and though it may not have been Skyline (one of my all time favorites), Camp Washington Chili was pretty fantastic.

The rest of the weekend, most of us just kinda stayed inside and stayed warm. The wind and temperature started to get pretty brutal. But, we had one last hurrah on our final night in town. Katie's birthday was the following day, so we took her out to a bar with a great digital jukebox, and ended up singing along to soul, classic rock and 90's music all night. It was a great way to end our time in Cincy.

So, the following day we flew to Texas, and were greeted with 80 degree weather....and the rest you'll have to wait for until next week....happy March, everyone!
 

 

 

My mom wanted me to get a picture with Rick Pitino...no dice....





Ben and I after hitting a few in the batting cage at the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum

 Sam taking a few swings of his own

 The boys holding signature Million Dollar Quartet Louisville Sluggers after a successful promo

The boys and m'am

 Another beer made just for us

 That's right!  We all got bats!!!!!

Me and The Babe

 Holding one of Mickey Mantle's game-used bats

Me and The Splendid Splinter

Me holding David Ortiz's game-used bat

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who don't know, Rick Pitino coaches the Louisville men's basketball team. And coached our Boston Celtics for a while. And my mom just loves Louisville basketball and Rick Pitino. Random title for a blog, I know.

So....how is everyone doing? We got some pretty good weather here for our week in Louisville. I really didn't know what to expect from this town, but I can safely say it is one of the few places I really just wish we had some extra time in. Just a wealth of things to see and do, and we barely scratched the surface. But, here's what the week looked like....

Our drive from Columbus was pretty short, so once we got settled in, most of us headed to get groceries to fill our full sized fridges for the week. On Tuesday morning, I brought Austin to the theatre for his weekly piano tuning during load in. The boys and m'am did a promo at the Hard Rock Cafe, which by all accounts was one of the more successful and fun promos they have done in quite a while (picture above). I wish had hadn't missed it, but that didn't stop me from heading to the Hard Rock anyway to get yet another pin for my collection. After walking around a bit, I headed back to the hotel to chill before opening night. We arrived at the theatre as always for orientation, and let me tell you....not only is the Kentucky Center For The Performing Arts a marvel of modern architecture from the outside, the theatre itself was stunning (pictures above). And the crowd LOVED IT. They were attentive, appreciative and loud. Gotta love it. Following the opening performance, we were invited to the Bluegrass Brewing Company for our opening party, and to sample the beer they made especially for us, Jam Session Ale (picture above). It was a great laid back party, and a nice way to celebrate with the cast.

Wednesday morning marked the day I had been waiting for for quite a while....Amy's arrival in Louisville! She came in early that morning amidst a snow storm. And later that afternoon, she, Jam and I headed to the Highland area of Louisville. After a stop at a couple of guitar shops, we had an amazing lunch at Tom & Chee; a grilled cheese restaurant. They even had grilled cheese donut sandwiches....MMMMMMMMMM....I didn't have one, but what I DID have was fantastic. We made a stop at Why Louisville, a little curiosities shop, and got some souvenirs. Then, back to the hotel for me to prepare to go on as Sam! I had about a day's notice, which was great because Amy had never seen me play that role, and I was able to get her tickets. The crowd was pretty amazing that night, and it felt great to be welcomed so warmly.

Thursday was Valentine's Day, and Amy and I had a really pleasant day walking around Old Louisville and taking pictures of the gorgeous houses that surrounded this historic district. Then it was off to dinner at this elegant Italian restaurant, Vincenzo's. Amazing food, impeccable service and an old world feel inside a more modern decor, it made for a fantastic Valentine's dinner.

On Friday, a large group of us including Amy, Ben, Lizzie, Corey, James (along with his wife Tara and their adorable son Sam), Billy, Rosie, David Sonneborn and I headed to one the coolest places I have ever been: the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. We had so much fun walking around and seeing how they go through the process of making bats, and all of the memorabilia they have. I got to handle and swing game-used bats....Mickey Mantle for my mother, and that of Red Sox DH David Ortiz for myself. And if that wasn't great enough, I stepped into the batting cage using the Ted Williams model bat. It had been about 2 years since I had stepped into a cage, but I guess the muscle memory is still there. I hit every pitch. We even got Ben to step in and take some swings. He had a ton of fun, and even smacked a couple! Which is pretty awesome considering he had never hit a baseball before! After the museum, we headed to do a little browsing at an antique store while we waited to be seated at Toast on Market. A quaint and busy little place, but we clearly caught them at a bad time. They were busy, my food was cold and they were running out of everything. When they said they had run out of TOAST....it really just became comical. It was a great day though, and it was really nice for Amy and I to get to spend some quality time with Ben and Lizzie. I love those two.

Saturday morning came early, and Amy and I took a cab out to see Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby! Hard to believe that this May will mark the 139th year; so much history in that building, and so many elegant animals have run on that track. Now, horse racing really isn't my thing, but you HAVE to appreciate being in a place like that. I'm glad we didn't miss it. The museum was quite nice too, and it was a pleasant way to start the day before heading to do two shows. That night, the two of us and Corey headed to the historic Galt House Hotel, and the largest bourbon bar in the world, Jockey Silks. You can't be on the bourbon trail and not sample some local flavor, after all.

I am writing you from the bus as we make our way to Cincinnati this afternoon. I said goodbye to Amy as we headed out, and she is on her way back to Florida....but, she'll be back in Memphis! So, it won't be too long!

I am looking forward to the next city, and to explore yet another city I've never been to! Along with the great sights we saw in Louisville this week, I received a DVD of my show, Walkin' The Line. I have posted quite a few videos on YouTube, so please check them out! Below, you will find links to a couple of my favorites, but please watch the rest!

That's about it for now, but I will be back in another week with news from Da Nati! Have a great week, everyone!

 

 

 



"Why oh, why oh, why oh.....

Billy Bob and Kelly celebrating their 1,700th show of MDQ on the same night we celebrated 450 performances on tour

 



The Ohio Theatre; not where we played, but the first theatre I ever played on tour....12 years ago....

 



The beautiful Palace Theatre

 



Ben and his pig

 



Some of the cast and crew as we are preparing to watch Cody on Letterman

 



Waiting for soundcheck at the Thunderstudy promo

 



Riverside recording #3

 



"Especially not ole Liberace, here"

 



A blackjack table at Harrah's in Las Vegas, where our fellow MDQers started previews this past week

 

 

 

 

That's right, kids, we're in Ohio!  Or, at least, we were. 

 

Now, to preface.....Columbus didn't have a whole lot to offer as far as excitement, but it was a pretty big week in the world of Million Dollar Quartet.  So, on to the week....

 

We left Hershey, PA on Monday morning, and found a huge snow storm awaiting us on our 8 hour trek to Columbus, OH.  Tired and bit road weary, we all found our cozy hotel rooms, and awaited what we had all been looking forward to all week: Cody Slaughter on Letterman.  Now, I should say, that this wasn't some random occurence.  It was Elvis tribute week, so he had quite a few Elvis tribute artists on, including Brandon Bennett, who is Elvis in the Chicago company, and Lance Lipinsky and his band the Lovers; he plays Jerry Lee in the Chicago cast.  So, on Monday night, we all gathered round the tv set, and watched our buddy perform on Letterman.  And let me tell you....he nailed it.  He is just unreal.  And anyone who doubts that should see our show and watch clips from Elvis in the 50's.  If you don't see the uncanny resemblence and sound, you are not playing with a full deck (see photos above, and videos below).  That night also marked the first night of previews for our boys and m'am in the brand new Las Vegas company of Million Dollar Quartet.  We know they killed it, and can't wait to wish them well on opening night on the 18th (pictures above).

 

I walked around a bit when time and weather allowed to take in some of the interesting architecture and Captiol city sights, and of course take pictures.  It was pretty cold there, so I didn't do a whole lot of exploring.  We did however, have a great unofficial opening night party at a local bar, and that was pretty awesome.  We hadn't had one in a while, so it was fun to be out with everyone and get to let loose a bit. 

 

Thursday marked the first time the Thunderstudies and I had done a promo in quite a while (pictures above, and videos below).  In fact, by our estimation, the last time we had done a promo together was when we performed at half time at the Miami Heat just before New Year's last year.  Along with that, Katie had NEVER done a promo before.  So, it was a great experience for us all to be able to get up there and do it again.  That afternoon, I met up with Billy and Rosie for dinner at one of our haunts, Potbelly Sandwiches, and then headed to Sugar Daddies; an amazing brownie store.  The woman who worked there was nice enough to give us 15 BAGS of brownie pieces for the cast......damn, they were good. 

 

On Friday, Billy, Rosie, Jam, Ben and his wife Lizzie and I took a trip to a trendy part of town, Short North.  It happened to be the area that housed the bar where we had our opening night party, and an establishment we had been to the night before.  After a failed attempt to eat at a highly regarded restaurant, we decided to walk a bit....and freeze...and ended up at The Press Grill where I had a fantastic meatloaf sandwich; perfect on such a cold day.  After that we stopped in for some gourmet coffee at Union Cafe, which was pretty amazing, and much needed as we braved the cold walk to the North Market.  Filled with different shops and vendors, our favorite stop was Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream; yes, it was freezing outside.  But no temperature stands between me and good ice cream.  I had Ugandan Vanilla Bean, Salty Caramel and Black Coffee.  Hell Yes.  After wandering a bit, we took the frigid walk home, and then defrosted in our rooms until the show that night. 

 

On Saturday morning, Jam and I headed to another part of town to get hair cuts at easily the coolest and best barber the cast has visited on tour: Old Familiar Barbershop.  If you are in the area, it is a must.  Just really rad guys, and the best hair cut I've had, maybe ever.  We stopped for coffee at Upper Cup on our way back for the matinee. 

 

Sunday seemed to go pretty fast, and before I knew it, I was on the bus headed to yet another city I had never been to, Louisville, KY. 

 

I'm writing you from our theatre here, the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, and in a couple days we will be making our way to Cincinnati.  So, I hope you enjoy this week's blog, and trust me, there is more to come from Louisville in next week's!  Take care!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sweetest Place On Earth, Beardos, and old friends

 

Hello, and greetings from Hershey, PA!  It was a pretty great week despite the snow, cutting winds and bitter cold.  Here are some of the highlights!

 

When last we left our heroes, we were making our way from Schenectady, NY where I had just rejoined the tour after my week in Arizona.  We arrived in Hershey late Monday afternoon, and looked forward to all the day held on opening day. 

 

I woke up pretty early on Tuesday morning to drive Austin to the theatre to tune the pianos, and then to Harrisburg to pick Vince up from the train station after he took a couple of days in NYC.  And, Cody rejoined us in Hersehy after a month traveling around doing that whole....ya know....Elvis thing. I dropped them off at the theatre for a rehearsal (I did quite a bit of running around that day) and then went home to chill a bit before opening night. Having worked at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster for quite a while, I knew the Lancaster County area quite well, AND I had quite a few friends coming to our opening show. Unfortunately, I had explained to them that it was near impossible for me to go on on opening night in any city, unless it was an absolute emergency. So, I went to the theatre for our orientation as usual, and after taking my pictures of the lobby and house (what a gorgeous theatre! Pictured above), I went to my dressing room to find something to do for the evening. No sooner had soundcheck started, did I get a phone call from one of the stage managers asking me to come to the stage.....I was being called on to be Johnny Cash. Now, I've done the show on relatively short notice before, but only twice when I was already at the theatre. The first was when I went on opening night in Minneapolis as Sam Phillips. So, I went through sound check, keeping an eye on the time, knowing that I needed to get to Susan and get into my wig as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I was trying to let all of my friends know that I was on, and to breath as much as I could.

Opening night went extremely well, and I couldn't have been happier to be able to perform for my friends. It had been 2 years since I had seen any of them, and it was a great way to catch up. After the show, we headed to a local bar, Finnici's, to have a bite to eat and enjoy a coctail and some nice conversation. The next day, I read the review.....I was shocked, humbled, and quite pleased. I won't bore you with what it said, but you can find it on my website, www.scottmoreau.com.

Because I had spent so much time in the area, I offered to bring a group to Amish country. So, Wednesday morning, Corey, Ben, Billy, Rosie and I headed off on a little road trip. We stopped first in Lancaster to see my friends who had seen the show the night before, and they welcomed us with open arms; giving us a tour, and making my cast mates feel as though they had worked there for years. After that stop, we headed to a few of my favorite places in Intercourse (see Ben with the welcome sign above) and Bird-In-Hand. The first stop was the Mt. Hope Winery. All of their wine is made locally, AND they had renovated the space to add a brewery! After sipping a bit, and trying their new beers, we headed to the Kitchen Kettle Village, one of my favorite stops. There they have a fudge shop (which, was closed unfortunately. I missed seeing my dear friend Deb who works there), a smoke house (with the best sweet bologna and cheeses I've ever had), various little shops, and the queen of them all....the Jam and Relish Kitchen. There, you can sample everything they have to offer; jam, relish, pickles, hot sauce, cookies, pie....EVERYTHING. It's one of my favorite places, and was a hit with my pals. I couldn't leave empty handed, so to compliment my bologna and cheeses, I picked up some honey mustard, pickled beets, cookies, and a new addition....BACON FLAVORED PICKLES....MMMM....PICKLES.....MMMM.....BACON.

After a quick trip to the Olde Candle Barn, we made our way to a place I had never been: the Shady Maple Smorgasbord.  Now, I had heard a lot about this place, and that it was supposed to be the best buffet around (pictured above).  However, I didn't know it was HUGE.  It could've easily seated 2,000 people at once.  Options upon options; hot buffet, salad bar, made to order, desserts....just unreal.  It was a major hit with my people, and we left there stuffed.  I should point out, that as we drove around, Ben would point out every Amish person we saw....and jokingly referred to the bearded Amish men as BEARDOS.....I don't know why, but I found it so damn funny, and it was one of the highlights of the trip for me. 

 

On Thursday, Billy, Rosie, Jam and I braved the wind and the cold to head to one of my favorite places, Hershey's Chocolate World.  With a cute little tour, a 3D movie, a chocolate tasting and the biggest selection of Hershey's related products you have ever seen, it is a great time.  And a trip there is not complete without getting a shake, or on this cold day, a hot chocolate. 

 

There was a lot of hibernation going on among the cast, but I did head out on Friday to take one more trip to Lancaster to say goodbye to everyone.  I planned on stopping by a few places downtown, but a few of them had permanently closed, and it was way too cold out there. So, I headed back to Hershey and warmed up inside before heading to the theatre that night. 

 

Saturday was the eve of Jam's birthday, and so we headed out to a local bar for some food.  I had some amazing crab and havarti dip.  I think he had a pretty great time, and it was awesome to be able to show him some love on his special day...or the eve of it, anyway. 

 

Sunday marked our last day in Hershey, the Superbowl, and also the 56th anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.  Having to be at the theatre, I got the idea that the Thunderstudies should order some pizza and have our own little party while we watched on Austin's giant computer screen.  That really was a lot of fun.  When not watching the game I paid tribute to the Day The Music Died by listening to all three artists' songs.  Overall, it was a great way to end the week. 

 

I am writing you for Columbus, OH where we have just finished our week.  The trip here was long, cold and snowy, but we were thankful to be here in one piece.   It has been a big, eventful week for MDQ, but I will save that for my next blog!  I hope everyone is staying warm, and not wearing themselves out shoveling that snow!  Please take care, and I'll be back with more in a couple of days!