Clapton_ The Autobiography - Eric Clapton [149]
We began the American tour by commuting out of Columbus for a few days to maximize family time, starting in St. Paul and working our way across to the eastern seaboard. About a week in, just before I left home to hit the hotels, I caught a bug that completely laid me out. It turned into a chest infection that remained with me off and on for the rest of the tour, and forced us to cancel a gig in Detroit. I have canceled only two or three times in my whole career, and I am proud of that. I take it very hard when I can’t show up, as I feel like I’ve let everybody down. Nevertheless, once I’d recovered, the shows continued to pick up momentum, and we hit our groove early on. This was a great band, one of the best I’ve ever gone out with, and I knew we had tons more to give.
After another shorter break in Columbus, listening to my kids’ new American accents, I headed west to meet J. J. again and launch our album. We were scheduled to do an intensive three-day press junket, after which I would travel on to Tokyo to begin the Japanese tour. I really don’t know if this promotion stuff serves any real purpose. I’ve always been resistant to it, and it’s not unusual for me to do a week of promoting and then meet someone on the street who will ask, “Are you still making records?” The best part of this particular affair was to be sitting next to J. J., feeling him bristle as his patience wore thin from being asked the same ridiculous questions over and over again.
I was really looking forward to Japan. I have a lot of friends there and a very loyal following. The morning after I arrived in Tokyo, Hiroshi came over to the hotel on his new Cinelli track bike to give me a sample of some jackets he was designing for the Japanese division of Levi Strauss & Co. He is a great designer, taking classic or military designs and just adding one or two distinguishing features to make something new and unique. He is still a leading pioneer in street culture, hence the Cinelli. Track bike riding is taking over from skateboarding in Japan, and Hiroshi is in the avant-garde as usual. I have caught the obsession of course. He is very infectious, and I have begun buying vintage road bikes, not to ride but because I have always loved the equipment of cycling, especially bikes and accessories from the sixties. My magpie tendencies have led me into a lot of collectible territories over the years: cars, guitars, clothes, art, watches, and, most recently, guns and western belt buckles. The watch collection was a dangerous excursion and I became really obsessed, particularly with rare Patek Philippes. I couldn’t believe the prices some of their chronographs would reach at auction, and it was as if I were testing myself to see if I had the nerve to buy these things. I was spending vast amounts of money at one point on pieces that were arguably of interest only to someone like me. I found out that, when the boat issue came up and I tried to sell some of these priceless pieces to pay off my debt, the profit wasn’t half as great as I had been led to believe. But no matter. I have educated myself enough to know that what I have is good, and I love these timepieces. They are so beautifully made.
We stayed in Japan about two weeks too long, playing eighteen shows, twelve of which were at the Budokan arena in Tokyo. I didn’t really mind, because I love being in Japan, but I was intensely homesick. I had been away from home for almost seven months and was really missing my family. The music was great, and the fans there really know their rock history, so the Dominos material was well received. The highlight of the tour, as it is every time, is hanging out with Aki and Tak, and their boss Mr. Udo. Tak is usually the tour producer when we’re there, sharing management responsibilities with Peter Jackson and Mick “Doc” Double, and Aki looks after me, driving me around and taking care of my every