And like that...

Generally speaking, you know where the Toyz are when they're not on stage. Each of them has their own little routines, habits that allow you to track them down when you need to talk about business consideration like bookings, promotions, etc.. Tommy Gunns is probably sitting at home, with an acoustic guitar, practicing his country music chops. Dannii Lee Damage is usually waking up confused as to where he is, beside, or underneath, some hot 19 year-old. Johnny Emaxx is likely to be sitting, bottle of Jack in hand, smoking a dart and watching UFC or some 70's grindhouse flick. But then there's Likki Stixx.

I understand that he's the big (little?) networker of the band. You go to any event, in any city, where the people to know are...and there's Likki, dropping names and pressing the flesh. And that is all good. But sometimes when you're trying to do business on his behalf - you need something signed, you need to confirm a scheduling change - the man is all but invisible.

A few years ago, we were setting up a small tour of feedlots in Appalachia. Likki had been in some trouble the last time the band had been through (something to do with roofies, a goat and a 14 year old?) and the local authorities wanted him to take a drug test, and sign a personal behavior guarantee, before they'd let him back into the county. No problem, right? Wrong. I couldn't for the life of me track Likki down. He was on a retreat at a monastery in Nepal, where he sat in one position for a week, without eating or speaking to a soul. Tough to negotiate with someone who is on another plane of consciousness.

And that's how it goes with Likki. Everyone marches to the beat of their own drummer, I get that. But does this f**king guy need to follow a drummer who lives in the ether?

Shabbat shalom...

Eli Finkelstein (Cy's kid)