February 19, 1999 Soldiers, at ease - Famous here. I apologize for the lack of communication. What I have here is an extremely quick note passed to me. Tour dates will follow, as well as a note from a fan about a strange experience, and also some hilarious words. Seems as if A.J. Stumpy Johnson's personal journal, or at least part of it, has landed in my hands on accident. Although I may not be permitted to pass this along, being it my first offense, I should get little more then a tongue lashing, but believe me, it will never happen again. Stay tuned to the bottom of this letter for that such entry. FIRST, and foremost, a recommendation. For all who do not know, which is many, the J's own, STEVIE SPICE is playing the keys for a few Sugar Ray tunes on this tour. As luck may have it, while the fellas are in New York, Sugar Ray is the musical guest on none other then the David Letterman show. Tonight, Friday, if you tune your tv dial to the Letterman show, you will notice a familiar face playing the keyboard. From what the press has released, Stevie is tremendously funny and has some terrific close-ups. I dare you to miss this episode, for Stumpy again shall be angered on your behalf. Tour dates. Many have requested them, here they are. 2 Skinnee J's, opening for Sugar Ray and Everlast: 02/19/99 New York NY Roseland 02/20/99 Philadelphia PA Electric Factory 02/21/99 Worcester MA Palladium 02/23/99 Montreal QC Metropolis 02/24/99 Toronto ON Warehouse 02/26/99 Detroit MI State Theatre 02/27/99 Cleveland OH Agora Theatre 02/28/99 Cincinnati OH Bogart’s 03/02/99 Columbus OH Newport Music Hall 03/03/99 Chicago IL Riviera Theatre 03/04/99 Manhattan KS Wareham Opera House 03/05/99 St. Paul MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium 03/06/99 Omaha NE Sokol Auditorium 03/07/99 St. Louis MO American Theatre 03/09/99 Denver CO Ogden Theatre 03/10/99 Salt Lake City UT SaltAir Pavilion 03/12/99 Seattle WA Paramount Theatre 03/19/99 Hollywood CA Palladium 2 Skinnee J's headlining their own tour: 03/24/99 Wilmington NC Metropolis 03/25/99 Greenville NC Attic 03/26/99 Clemson SC Area 51 03/27/99 Winston-Salem NC Ziggy's 03/29/99 Columbia SC Elbow Room 03/30/99 Columbia SC Elbow Room 04/03/99 Charleston SC Music Farm 04/04/99 Hilton Head SC Blue Nite Cafe 04/10/99 Hartford CT Webster Theatre And now to the part you have been waiting for, some unfiltered business. This is a letter received from a fan about his own Skinnee Experience. Please thank him for sending it, and welcome all of yours. From: brietve@CLEMSON.EDU (The Rietveld) To: FamousRT@aol.com what up man i dont know if you wanted us to share some stories with you or not but i will let you in on a skinnee experience i had this past summer. Last summer in columbia,sc, the J's made yet another stop at the infamous Elbow Room. This skinnee experience would be like no other for me. The crowd on this humid, summer night was exceptionally rough, people were getting tossed like no other. about a third, into the set i catch none other than kerry collins. Then the carolina panther quarterback and currently the new orleans saints qb. Well i go up to him and i was, "you kerry collins?," he responded with the "yeah man." of course he was intoxicated as shit. next thing i know he grabs me around the neck and we are jumping. then i get an elbow to the ribs by one of his offensive linemen who was also there. sure it was accidental, but it put me out for the remainder of the show. then i see damn kerry collins trying to crowd surf. i was like what in the hell is this honkee doing. hes like 6'6 220 or something. him and his offensive line were hurting us runts trying to hop to the j's. then guevera said no more. he laid down the law on collins and his little thick neck clan. guevera said, " i dont give a fuck who you are, or what you do? but we dont take that kinda shit from anyone? so calm the fuck down or i will have your fuckin ass thrown out of here!" of course thats pretty much what he said, it got the job done and the panthers quit acting like fools. thats my story of how the j's own the stage and watch out for us little folk trying to support them. later - brian And now, the secret journal entry of Stumpy. The show, 02/06/99 Phoenix AZ Celebrity Theatre, was on a circular stage. 360 degrees of fans surrounding the stage. Here below, seen for the first time ever on international email, is the entry of all's majesty. Sat. Feb. 6 - Phoenix, AZ I've decided to go ahead with letting the J's play in a circular venue. To this point they haven't shown the focus necessary to perform under these conditions as they are easily distracted and continuously try to spin in circles while playing their instruments. It took 45 minutes to disentangle Special J from his mic cord after sound check, so I have my doubts. As expected, my performance in Vegas stole the show. Unfortunately, the J's performance was proof that they are stealing my money. Stumpy Thanks to all who have spoken to me online, it was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to more in the future. - famous <---- back