Guest Book

Ran into Derek after the Charlotte show yesterday and had a chance to chat with him for a few moments. I asked him about throwing out the first pitch at that recent Red Sox game and he told me that he was really nervous. First of all, it's no problem for him to play in front of thousands of people - but it's another thing all together to stand on the pitcher's mound in front of them. "Then," he said, "they don't give you any warm up pitches. So you only have one shot at it, and you sure don't want to bounce it in the dirt in front of all those people. I kept asking myself, 'Do I remember how to pitch?'" He acquitted himself well at Fenway - drawing upon his Little League experience as second baseman for the Phillies - and threw a strike over the plate. But he did even better here in North Carolina - a magnificent performance, including the most incredible High Cost of Low Living ever. At the end of this tune they play the most intensely beautiful music that I think I ever heard the Allman Brothers Band play - it was like they set a new standard for beautiful tonight! In a related story, I just found out this weekend that Warren has a baseball background as well. Turns out he was an accomplished player on his high school team, playing third base and pitching. In one of his games Warren pitched to another kid who later went on to the big leagues: Cal Ripken Jr. - whose 42nd birthday was the day of the Raleigh show ....