I have received a fair amount of requests to do a report for my "Country Music USA" show...more and more KEEL/RK fans are showing up here in Laughlin Nevada for these gigs since I made it public, and last night Metal Man & Pita came all the way from Pennsylvania to visit and see the show...

As I've said elsewhere, this show is a real departure from anything I've ever done, and it is a joy and a challenge. It's a big production Vegas-style show that features tributes to some of Country Music's biggest stars, and I play the role of Ronnie Dunn from Brooks & Dunn. We've got a great band behind us, and some cool stuff like an awesome video presentation on huge screens on either side of the stage, and confetti cannons...

This is my second season with the show, which runs 23 weeks a year from October through June. That still leaves me 29 weeks a year to pursue my other projects and activities. One thing I like about this gig is the structure and routine which I have never had before - my life and career have been mostly chaos, wondering where the hell I'm going next, how I'm going to get there, and what I'm going to do when I get there. This is possibly the closest thing I've had to a 'real job' since I was a teenager, but what a cool job...I love the road, but on this gig I have more time to be creative and take care of business (as opposed to driving all night, or hopping from one airport to another, having my guitars smashed by baggage handlers...)

I am here for a month now because of the holiday season (I'll be commuting to Las Vegas the next 2 weekends for the Ronnie Lee Keel shows), so I literally move into the hotel, carting in my music gear, portable office, kitchen, clothes. I always get a room as high up as possible facing Northeast (I prefer the desert view to the neon).

My day starts with coffee and ESPN, checking emails until the maid knocks on the door. While she's emptying the ashtrays and disposing of last night's beer bottles, I head down to the showroom - the 600-seat American Heroes Pavilion where each night's show takes place. During the day there's never anybody around, so I pull up a stool centerstage, grab my acoustic guitar, tape recorder, and notebook and spit out song ideas for an hour or so. There are two grand pianos which I sometimes piddle around on also, hoping someday to come up with another "Dreams Are Not Enough" or "Calm Before The Storm".

I try to get out of the hotel every day for a walk to the mall or to see a movie - saw "Casino Royale" a couple days ago, highly recomended. Every couple of days I drive over the bridge into Arizona to hit the post office and Walmart. Sometimes I'll spend an hour in the hot tub or putting golf balls on the little green by the pool. Except Sundays - I don't leave the room on Sundays during football season.

Afternoons are spent with ESPN - "NFL Live", "Jim Rome", "Around The Horn", "Pardon The Interruption" - while working on computer bidness (business) & correspondence.

3 PM is dinner time. Usually in the EDR (employee dining room) where all I have to do is swipe my card and eat whatever I want, as much as I want....24/7....gotta be careful with that...

My daily preparation for the show is very ritualized - first beer at 5 pm, bath at 6:15, out of the bath at 6:39, makeup/hair/wardrobe and then the long 2 minute walk from my room to the backstage. The show starts at 8:00 - the order is Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, and then the whole cast comes out for the finale "God Bless The USA". Then the meet & greet out front after the show, and I'm back in my room at 9:50.