final bow foxboro via instagram. i think its appropriate to note that Steve is dead center.
and that mick, ronnie, steve, keith, and darryl are the central 5. there was apparently
no second final bow of the official core group, whoever that might be currently.

its possible, if not probable, that it might be a while until we see our next official
photo of "the rolling stones"

if you can hold onto that position, steve, you got it made

its everybody's job in the stones to help bridge that gap

The Rolling Stones have kept a low public profile since the death of Charlie Watts on
August 24th, but in a series of new interviews with longtime Rolling Stone writer David Fricke,
they talk about the devastating loss, moving forward with drummer Steve Jordan, the song
selection for their upcoming tour, and a possible continuation of the tour next year, which
happens to be their 60th anniversary.

The main topic through all of the interviews was the loss of Watts. “The thing about Charlie was
that he was always there, always played beautifully and was always willing to discuss what to
do about it – how he could make it better,” Mick Jagger said. “He held the band together for so
long, musically, because he was the rock the rest of it was built around … The thing he brought
was this beautiful sense of swing and swerve that most bands wish they could have. We had
some really nice conversations in the last couple of years about how all this happened with the
band. It’s a huge loss to us all. It’s very, very hard.”

Keith Richards felt the same way. “Charlie had an incredible sense of humor,” he said. “And my
joy was I loved to crack him up. If you could hit that spot, he wouldn’t stop, and it was the
funniest thing in the world. He had an incredible sense of humor that he kept to himself unless
you sparked it. And then it could be painful to laugh.”

“A most vital part of being in this band was that Charlie Watts was my bed,” he continued.
“I could lay on there, and I know that not only would I have a good sleep, but I’d wake up
and it’d still be rocking. It was something I’ve had since I was 19. I never doubted it. I never
even thought about it.”

They’ve spent the past few weeks rehearsing with Steve Jordan. The drummer has been in
their orbit since the Eighties, and he was a member of Keith Richards’ band X-Pensive Winos.
“He’s very respectful of Charlie,” Jagger said. “He played with Keith before we started the
rehearsals, and then he did homework, listening to the tunes. When we talk about what Charlie
did on this one, we listen to the original record, and then we listen to the live versions. There’s
certain licks that we want to do, that Charlie did. There’s certain drum licks that one doesn’t think
about, but they’re part of the tune in a way that a bass part or a guitar part is part of the tune.”

Richards said he started working with Jordan back in July. At the time, they hoped it would be
a temporary situation and Watts would return to the group once he recovered from his illness.
“Steve brings with him a lot of knowledge about the Stones,” he said. “He’ll say, ‘No, Charlie
plays like this.’ Steve is so meticulous, so aware of the seat he’s sitting in. Steve said this to
me: Charlie played the drums. He didn’t hit them.”

The Stones generally play 19 songs at any given show, but Jagger said they’ve rehearsed 80 or 90
tunes for the tour. “I’m not saying we just touched on them, jammed on them,” he said. “We
can actually play them. That’s a huge amount. Keith and I were saying, the reality is that we
have to do at least twelve, 13 numbers that most everyone knows…We have a couple of numbers
from the extras in the Tattoo You reissue. We do ‘Living in a Ghost Town,’ which sounds pretty
good. We’ve got tons of numbers from most eras. So we have a big set list. We can certainly
change up the set list. But we still have to do ‘Paint It, Black.'”

According to Ron Wood, the addition of Steve Jordan has given even familiar songs a new feeling.
“‘Street Fighting Man’ has a new energy,” he said. “‘Midnight Rambler’ has a new approach. We
thought, ‘Oh dear, how are we going to do ‘Midnight Rambler’? Because there’s another language
of its own in that song. It takes its own course now, and Steve, if anything, is leading the charge:
‘I’ll tell ya when it’s gonna speed up, I’ll tell ya when its gonna be dynamic.; To see Keith say, ‘Okay,
then, you tell me’ – it was a really different thing. And Mick’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take that.'”

“Charlie would have loved it,” Wood added. “There’s an energy that Charlie projected through
his sticks, but Steve projects it physically as well. Whereas Charlie sat dead still, Steve is moving,
and so is the whole drum podium. You can see the satisfaction on Keith’s face, on Mick’s face.”

The tour ends November 20th at the Circuit of the America race track in Austin, Texas, and Jagger
said he’s not ready to say whether they will wrap it up once it’s done. “I’ve been asked that question
since I was 31,” he said. “And your answer is the same. I don’t know. I mean, anything could
happen. You know, if things are good next year and everyone’s feeling good about touring, I’m
sure we’ll do shows. I’m just trying to concentrate on this tour now.”

via voo thank u