Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart in the Arena Di Verona in Italy on June 1st during the Soul Book tour of 2010.

How I got the tour

"My love for Disneyland actually helped me get the Rod Stewart gig in a special way. I had been off the road for the better part of 20 years. I knew I wanted to get back out there in a big way but wasn't sure where to start. 

I got a call from my friend sax player Paulie Cerra. His daughter and her Mother had a trip to Disneyland planned including a screening the film "The Princess and the Frog"; Disney's first animated film starting an African American lead character. I jumped at the chance to go. The little girl's Mom had an acting job that afternoon and was only available to go to the screening. As we rode down to Disneyland she told me she worked for Rod Stewart's manager Arnold Steifel. She said she wished she could reconmmend me but they didn't need any singers. Within a month's time, she called to say one of the girls was leaving and asked me to submit my resume. I auditioned and got the gig. The rehearsals were gruling. I had to learn the vocal and dance moves for 30 songs in one week. Bridget Cady and Di Reed (his backing vocalists) worked hard rehearsing with me.

I toured with Rod Stewart in 2010. The tour began in Dubai. It was super exotic. We flew on British Airways business class from Los Angeles. I'd never had a seat that turns into a bed before and it was fabulous! We stayed at Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina in Dubai. It had a 24 hour gourmet restaurant, a private hotel beach, beautiful views of the water, and lovely spacious grounds.

I had gotten approval to speak with Los Angeles's No. 1 Morning drive show DJ Gary Bryan at K Earth 101 to report about the tour.



DJ Gary Bryan, Lorelei, Antonio, Lisa Stanley

They'd made me aware of the 'camel washes' they had in Dubai and I tried to organise a visit. Unfortunately our day off was a Muslim holiday so the washes were closed. 



Here's a fun fan video from that tour.

ISRAEL


Pictured here on the Israeli stage                                       Seen in a local Tel Aviv newspaper

The tour took us to Israel. I met a few fans before the show.

                  
Anat Ben-Yair Biton                    Orel Ben-yair


We spent several days there at a beach side hotel. We shopped among the street vendors and took a road trip to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. Rod's last gig there had been 27 years prior. My brother  in law Mark Hudson's half sister Judy had missed that first concert because she was at the end of her pregnacy with her son who joined us at this show. It was a great night!