By Martin Popoff
"But funny stuff is always going on on the road with these guys, because we're all masters of the game, you know? Like, we've done every joke in the book in our respective bands. This time Kimball (Bobby, Toto), we were in South America, and Kimball took my travel bag. I was standing at the counter and I had it touching my leg, always, I'm a pretty seasoned traveler, but to make a long story short, he likes to fool around constantly. So what happened was that I saw him peripherally and I don't think nothing of Bobby, I don't think he's a threat so I let my guard down for half a second, and the next thing I leaned down to pay for something and my bag is gone. So I flipped out and I'm running halfway out into the airport now, out of the store into the airport screaming 'where's my bag?!', and he turns around from one of the columns and he holds it up. You know, I mean it's stupid, but constant tricks are being played like that. You know, room service tricks, all the same old tricks in the book, just being relived at this age (laughs)."
After the business at hand, we talked for quite a bit about Rainbow, which Joe considered to be one album away from smash commercial success. Joe had nothing but good things to say about Ritchie, and it sounds like he would jump at the chance to reform that era of Rainbow and create the proper follow-up to the excellent Bent Out Of Shape album. In fact, meetings had been called between some of the players, with the lone hold-out thus far being a particular Man In Black. Clear some schedules boys, break some bread, let's see it happen...