Tim Perfect Complexion Photo by Howard Rosenberg March 9 , 2000 From Denver A magazine asked me to name three albums that I'm currently listening to and why, so I thought you readers might want to see it first. Mars Lazar - Satin Skies Why - I just recently heard it during a massage session. It is designed apparently to complement the sleep patterns of the brain. Since I play music to the children just for this reason, I'm sending it home as a present. Also, the original approach to ambient music with its repetitious mapping - something I like amongst other works such as Philip Glass, Eno etc. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Michael Brooks remixes) Why - Here you have a great Sufi speaking in the language of the times... classic.. as is all his other works. Michael Brook does a good job of providing a backdrop to the singer giant. We Dived, Love Me Tender, Subhanallah - unreleased new songs I've recorded for my new album. The first is actually for Peter DiStefano's and Harry Gregson Williams' album project 'Rambient'. It will be the first ever 5.1 Dolby Surround album especially recorded for 5.1 (Also to be available on stereo). Why - A breath of more fresh air. xx Batman March 7 , 2000 Love me Tender Seattle Last night in Vancouver, I wanted to stop singing during Huuvola, simply because what Eric Avery was playing in the second verse almost and should have stopped me in my tracks. The only reason I carried on was for the sake of not balking at the moment. The only way to describe it was humbling, that these musicians playing with me give themselves to that degree leaves me grateful to say the least. I felt part of a band and not just ' The Man' being supported. Tonight in Seattle we recorded the performance for a new project called Bootleg TV, a Robert Fripp venture and I can only guess that they got one of the best shows of my life...big talk, but this was one of those that makes you realise why you do this in the first place. The Butane heart (Distefano) and I took a chance and performed our barely worked out cover of Elvis`s `Love Me Tender`and I `m glad it was captured for posterity on film. Billy Corgan and The Smashing ones kept their promise and flew in to be with us. Billy was going to come and sing 'Cuts You Up' and said that when he was learning the chorus and lyrics, it felt too close to home for him, recognizing that `this could have been written for me `and was afraid that he would crack on stage...this surely is a great compliment. This is like what he is doing with his new album, which is touring record stores and connecting with his audience, he is very sincere with it and will look back, despite the critical bitching he's getting for it and know that it was a great thing to do. I was graced with the company of Robert Fripp, who arrived half way through the show, due to meet up tomorrow to talk Bootleg TV stuff and even more. Then onto Salt Lake City, upwards and onwards....see you again Seattle. xxBatman March 5 , 2000 From Portland After the stun-gun show of San Francisco, through the vast vistas of the drive through Oregon to Portland, the air is good, in and out of the band..and the crew come to that. From the pearls of personal insight of the Butane heart, DeStefano or swell of subsonic feel of The Avery, the far away distance and misty eye of Kevin, and the Messy concern of Deangelis' grappling with the electronica hiccups, the wheels roll and the call is strong. I wish the Undertaker had been here tonight, to witness the investiture of the throne all golden and glowing that I found and chose from the backstage furnishings of the Roseland Theater. The first and newest spectacle of the show. Oh, what he would have written. A seat made for a king. Or a tiny fool whoever comes to mind on the night. Sitting in it felt like it belonged, almost like it had come home...............come and see for yourselves... Got news of The visit of Billy with his very Smashing Pumpkins, flying in especially to see the Seattle show. And as if that weren't enough of a treat, they tell me Robert Fripp is heading there too, the show will be filmed for his newly formed web label Bootleg TV..let's see if I can't get them both up on stage....... Batman March 1 , 2000 This day We Dived ..This came my way. This day......... We dived With Peter Distefano The Butane Heart With Harry Gregson-Williams... The Inscrutable This day we recorded a song This day We Dived This came my way From the Dede Mercan Thought you might like it too This day ...We Dived ( Don`t miss Mercan Dede opening for Peter in Toronto on March 17th) I dreamed I had an interview with God. "Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?" "If you have the time," I said. God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?" "What surprises you most about mankind?" God answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..." God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked.... "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?" God replied with a smile: "To learn that they cannot make anyone love them.. What they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis! To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally different. To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them...and likes them anyway. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves." I sat there for a while enjoying the moment. I thanked Him for his time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer." People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will rarely forget how you made them feel.. xx Batman February 28, 2000 Letter from Mexico Mexico City. 26th February 2000 The arrival in Mexico City was for me a re-visitation to a country that held me as an artist to a debt of sorts, having failed to come to Mexico on two previous occasions due to circumstances out of my control. I was aware of a general lack of belief among the fans that I would even turn up in the country. This fact gave a kind of urgency to my approach to doing as much press as possible whilst in the city just as a way allaying the fears of any fans reluctant to come to the show due to this incredulity. I must admit to feeling a little like Madonna on the first day of press duties going to a Tower Records press conference that is usually only reserved for such luminaries of major fame that I certainly don't imagine I belong to....until then... Mexico City, the city that loves Peter Murphy even if the national headlines completely missed the point and dubbed me 'la vampirico de la notre', at least they seemed to take notice, and my children even get the invaluable gift of seeing me on the same page in the national Mexican press as their hero Ricky Martin! My first impressions, or should I say, second impressions of the City were a mixture of familiarity to my home country Turkey with its polarities of wealth and poverty and the more emotional quality of people in general. Passion and pure emotion seemed the watchword for the audience, an undying willingness to accept and be taken just about anywhere I chose to direct them. Going on stage is always stressful and this time was no exception. I remarked to Eric Avery, my newest and most `present` self contained bass player (a man with substance), about pre-show anxiety and he agreed that the feeling of the urge to simply go home and forget about it and get a `proper job`, as it were. By the time the show, just 2 weeks in the making, hit the stage, it was uproar from beginning to end. There seemed to be no vampires for miles except for they obviously flew to the writing hands of the journalists of the dailies who used the noun repeatedly in subsequent reviews. This show was us, Eric, Peter, Doug and Kevin, feeling what it was like together in the heat of performance for the first time. The result was the beginning of what is going to be a raw band and ready to be themselves and no session band mentality - a personality and force in the making. With some stunning rehearsals behind us that saw us meld into a band that sounded like it had been together for years, I was and am supremely confident in the prospects for the Tour 2000. And Mexico was at once like an old friend sending us on our way to the stars, and also a reminder of the task that I have to somehow deconstruct the misguided cliché that I somehow support the funny but sometimes tiresome reputation 'vampirico de la luna'. Forever yours Mexico Batman January 20, 2000 Peter's solo tour itinerary (all confirmed so far!) February 26- Mexico City, Mexico - El Circo Volador March 1- Anaheim, California - Sun Theatre March 2 - San Francisco, California - The Warfield March 4 - Portland, Oregon - Roseland Theatre March 5 - Vancouver, Canada - Commodore March 6 - Seattle, Washington - Showbox March 8 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Horticulture Bldg March 10 - Denver, Colorado - Ogden March 12 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The Rave March 13 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - 1st Ave March 14 - Chicago, Illinois - Riviera March 16 - Detroit, Illinois - Clutch Cargo March 17 - Toronto, Canada - Guvernment March 18 - Cleveland, Ohio - Odeon March 20 - Washington DC - 9:30 Club March 21 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza March 22 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza March 24 - Boston, Massachussets - Roxy March 25 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -Trocadero March 27 - Atlanta, Georgia - Masquerade March 28 - New Orleans, Louisiana - House of Blues March 29 - Austin, Texas - La Zona Rosa March 30 - Dallas, Texas - Deep Ellum Live April 1 - Mesa, Arizona - Nile Theatre April 2 - Las Vegas, Nevada - House of Blues April 3 - Los Angeles, California - House of Blues April 4 - Los Angeles, California - House of Blues April 5 - San Diego, California - 4th and B January 11, 2000 MDT information promotional poster click on flyer pl   Click here for older answers from Peter     NEWS | TOURDATES | TOUR NOTES | BIO | PHOTOS | MERCHANDISE | MAILING LIST | LINKS