Pretty soon gonna start to feel nostalgic about these long bus rides… but not today. This one is grueling: 500 miles from Columbus, OH, to Madison, WI. Today we are having a showing of “This Is Spinal Tap” in the bus. Not nearly as funny as "The Godfather."

We played last night at the historic Southern Theatre in downtown. Following the destruction of 4 theaters in Columbus between 1889 and 1893, th Great Southern Fireproof Theater opened in 1896. In 1903 the touring production of Ben Hur played there, with a cast of 350 and two teams of horses pulled chariots on treadmills! A beautiful hall with concentric arches for acoustical amplification, its stage hosted such luminaries as John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Al Jolson, Isadora Duncan and W. C. Fields!

And Steve March Tormé.

Tonight we arrived in Madison WI, where Steve was reunited with his lovely wife Angela and their two young daughters, Ruby and Sonny. Steve now lives nearby in Wisconsin.

Also as luck would have it, I was able to hear my brother Judd perform in concert with #1 hit country singer Rodney Atkins ("Watching You"). Communicating by cell phone, we were able to hook up tickets, backstage passes and transportation. I went with Nicole, our production manager, because she was the ONLY other person on the bus who had heard of (and was a fan of) Rodney Atkins! It was a treat to see Judd playing in front of about 6,000 people at the local arena here. Rodney Atkins wasn’t bad either….

Photo shows Jeff, Nicole, Rodney Atkins and Judd Fuller