DMG: This new round of touring is hitting cities that the band weren t able to cover in 2003.

BD: As you know, it s unusual for us to tour two summers in a row and it s not something we discussed last summer. One of the reasons that we are out again this year is that Tom was so pleased with the line-up. We ve got seven people in the band and everyone sings so it s been healthy for re-producing the vocal parts that are on the records. He wanted to keep everyone interested and working and we had good turnouts for the shows last summer and that was encouraging. Plus the response to the new material was strong and it s tough because a lot of people I spoke to after the show hadn t realized that Corporate America was even out. Most of the venues are different, with a few the same because of offers, but most are new for us. For that reason we have revamped the show somewhat and will be doing things we ve done on past tours.

DMG: With the band now, the core of yourself, Tom, Fran and Gary Pihl, can you tell us a little about them?

BD: Yeah, about Gary he really compliments Tom s playing and he is completely on the mark all the time. He has an intuitive way of playing and with those guitar harmonies; you have to be very precise. So there is no margin for error there except at solos that he comes up with on his own. Aside from his on-stage duties, he always served as a go between Tom and the crew. Gary s job is to work with the crew to make sure everything is in place, so his hours go beyond jus the studio and the stage. I am indebted to him for taking on more than most. Fran s son Anthony also plays guitar and he s exceptional, plus that affords Tom to play keyboards, which are a big part of the records as well. Some nights they allow me to play rhythm guitar (laughs). I ve sort of learned to play keyboards as well, but I don t think I can play beyond what I play with Boston so that s been fun over the years. So the seven of us help Tom who s adamant about when you come to see a live show, it should be live. It s never been a question about whether or not we should these vocals on a DAT tape. With Boston what you see is what you get.

DMG: Also for a lot of people who saw you last year, the big surprise was having Kimberly up there as well. So you have this striking woman up there on a stage littered with men.

BD: Kimmie is a terrific addition and I am sure, a highlight of the tour last summer. Tom saw Kim playing at a small club outside of Boston and he was looking for a bass player. She was actually playing guitar in that band, doing the leads and things, so aside from her presence on stage, he was also impressed with her vocals as well. He went back to talk to the band after the show, and he said that they weren t looking for another guitar player, but that he needed a bass player. I believe she said, as the story goes, that she asked him to send her six or eight songs that we were considering doing for the tour. She got a bass guitar and had a friend in Nashville who tutored her and she came back having them pretty much down. And I have to say that next to Gary, she has probably worked hardest in getting ready for the tours. Now I can t even imagine her not being the bass player. Plus with her vocal ability she lends another voice to the band and she contributed a song to the C.A. album, that was quite well received last summer, and that was from people who weren t familiar with it. In addition, she is just such a personable individual and we try to meet as many people as possible given our schedule and she is always the first person out there greeting the fans.

DMG: Does the band get a chance to tour overseas at ebony porn all?

BD: The last time we played over there was in Japan on the 78-79 tour, the Don t Look Back shows. We ve been close to going back and it s been discussed. Tom makes the last call on those types of situations and he maybe considering it somewhere down the line. We ve only just been there once, which I guess is once more than Elvis.

DMG: So the band is rolling thru Texas on the 13th and 14th of this month, after the tour what s in store then?

BD: I m going back to playing Beatles songs. If I was a more ambitious person, maybe I d go work on a solo project or something, but I enjoy doing that. We get off this tour on August 30th, and then the drummer for my Beatle band has us booked for the first weekend in October, so we can t wait to get started again. I know there s going to be no break for Tom, he actually got together a week or two prior to the tour with Kimberly and Anthony and started working on new Boston material that they ve both submitted. Anthony actually wrote three songs on the C.A. album, and that is a really new and encouraging thing for the band that we have all these writers in the band now. Had we not be doing this tour, they d be in the studio working on some things, so I know Tom is proceeding with that when he gets home. Unlike myself, Tom is really a workaholic and even though it seems like it, he wasn t sitting still all those years between records; he s always got something going on. And as a lot of people know, he started his own company way back when (Rockman) and came up with the amplifiers we currently use on stage. He s got his hands full because if he s not on tour or in the studio, then he s inventing something. I think it bodes well for another Boston record, and I know better then to put a time limit on it, but I don t see it taking as long between projects given the line-up that we have now.

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