I'm posting this from my laptop in the desert, somewhere near Palm Springs. As I sit outside on a sun lounger, watching the amazing sunset over the mountains, sipping a drink, smoking a Benson & Hedges cigarette (an imported one from the UK - the strong kind, not the weak lights you get in the drugstore) and watching people play golf about 20 feet away from me, I forget what I'm...oh yes, that's right. Music. Guitars. Noise.

So, it seems that I will be testing the new Digital Les Paul for Gibson during January. A very interesting instrument. I'm not sure how I will take to it, but the lovely folks at Gibson NYC sent me an email asking me if I would be interested in trying it out for a couple of weeks and reporting my findings. So I think they will ship one to me, along with the box of tricks that it comes with, and I will give the guitar a workout - both at the next Camp Freddy show in Las Vegas on January 5, and in Dohney's studio during the first half of January. We will be working on some new tunes and I can't think of a better time to try it out. I'll let you know what I think.

I also have to say a word about the devastation in Southeast Asia. I have spent a lot of time over there - many visits to Bangkok and southern Thailand. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. The death toll all over southern Asia is monumental - please, if you can, make a donation. They need help - any help, and we can all do our bit to aid them. Camp Freddy will be doing a couple of benefit shows - keep an eye on the site (www.campfreddy.net) for more details.

Now that the retail madness of Xmas is over (it would have been easier to have just bought stock in Louis Vuitton!) I can relax for a few days in the desert sun - massages, facials, sunshine and an acoustic guitar. I'll be back next year. Hope everyone reading this has a wonderful New Year's eve. Stay safe and bring 2005 in with a bang.

Peace.

Billy