Put aside your feelings about his playing and how he compares to other Stones' keyboard players and all other irrational opinions about him and take a look at his diary. Somebody in a thread somewhere around here mentioned his diary on his website, and I went to look it up. At the beginning of the tour I looked for it but he wasn't posting one. He is now. I would imagine this was on purpose, but nonetheless, it is fascinating to read.

You are NOT going to get any insight at all as to whether Jagger and Richards speak to each other or anything else of the sort. It's a lot about Leavell, with his wife adding her own take on things, and how they function in their roles (she now has one, too) in the band and on tour. As we all know, it's a massive, moving machine, a sum of all of its parts, and somehow each show night they all end up in the same place to do a show. It's also more than a little bit about Leavell and his quest to eat lunch and dinner every day, but even that gives you an insight into his personality, admittedly one that some people aren't going to like. I like the guy, having met him and corresponded with him before (though not anymore), but even I think he comes off as petty and whiny sometimes. Not about anything to do with the band, but with some of his own personal idiosyncracies.

You'll deduce that likely there is no per diem for most of the entourage and while they get put up in really nice hotels, they pay for their own meals. Chuck complains about the cost of in-room coffee for one, and we find out he brings his own $25 coffee maker with him on tour along with his own coffee. On the other hand, he seems to have no problem plunking down thousands of dollars for a mandolin. I guess it's all about priorities.

Yes, he still drafts the set lists, and if you read all his entries you'll likely get some insight as to why set lists don't always go the way the "hard core" (his and the Stones' words) fans on boards like this would like them. Somebody associated with the Stones is obviously scouring the web all the time though for boards like this. The Staples II show with Taylor, CYHMK, Sway, etc., was a show Jagger isn't likely to repeat, mainly because he thinks a set list like that contains too many "unusual songs". Jagger apparently focused on the crowd's less than wild reaction to Far Away Eyes, for whatever reason. So, read into it if you will for why there's no Star Star or other songs people have been clamoring for on here. Jagger seems to be all about the war horses and only a few "unusual" ones each show, emphasis on "unusual" (Jagger's word. apparently).

So enjoy, and realize You Can't Always Get What You Want.

[roseandchucktourdiary.blogspot.com]

Oh man, that is a mind numbing read...all of a sudden I want him playing more piano if only to keep him from writing.

Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

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71Tele
Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

Instead of being snide about Leavell, read it and find out.

Sorry, did nothing for me. I get the impression that aligning himself with Mick during DW has paid big dividends. Interesting that Mick gets to OK the set list.....I pray someday Keith looks at it and says "F$$k No!"

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Thrylan
Sorry, did nothing for me. I get the impression that aligning himself with Mick during DW has paid big dividends. Interesting that Mick gets to OK the set list.....I pray someday Keith looks at it and says "F$$k No!"

I'd suggest that aligning himself with Mick during Dirty Work didn't do nearly as much for him as Ian Stewart personally blessing Leavell as his replacement.

From previous conversations with Leavell, I can say with reasonable certainty that save for Richards' two songs, Jagger pretty much will override anyone else's suggestions/contributions/attempted veto to the set list.

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Long John Stoner

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71Tele
Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

Instead of being snide about Leavell, read it and find out.

I feel terrible about what he has to pay for coffee. That makes me appreciate his mediocre keyboard sounds all the more.

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Long John Stoner

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Thrylan
Sorry, did nothing for me. I get the impression that aligning himself with Mick during DW has paid big dividends. Interesting that Mick gets to OK the set list.....I pray someday Keith looks at it and says "F$$k No!"

I'd suggest that aligning himself with Mick during Dirty Work didn't do nearly as much for him as Ian Stewart personally blessing Leavell as his replacement.

From previous conversations with Leavell, I can say with reasonable certainty that save for Richards' two songs, Jagger pretty much will override anyone else's suggestions/contributions/attempted veto to the set list.

Then I pray for the day that Mick has to explain why Keith is backstage playing snooker, because if he plays Miss You one more time his head will explode.

In seriousness, how did a guy who was a Brother, and did get Stu's blessing, turn out to be so musically.....corporate?

to me it sounds like you should not be telling on Chuck ?

Thanks for posting that, it has helped to reaffirm all my thoughts on the man. Dull, tedious, and one of lifes plodders. He shouldn't be anywhere near the Stones. Sorry chuck, but you'll never be a stone.

Doesn't sound like any big surprise around the set list.

Jagger really connects with the energy of the audience. When he sees the energy flagging he picks up his energy. But when he sees it is because of the song selection he clearly takes note.

I'll tell ya, it's not thrilling me to read it. During the Philly show, when they went into HTW I said to myself "please don't do the extra "Chuck" part" - but they did it. I can honestly say that it was the low point of the show.

Miss You...funny thing. It is kind of boring but you look around, there are 18,000 people there woo wooing and all...so I guess there's a reason they keep putting it in the set list.

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71Tele

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Long John Stoner

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71Tele
Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

Instead of being snide about Leavell, read it and find out.

I feel terrible about what he has to pay for coffee. That makes me appreciate his mediocre keyboard sounds all the more.

Mick is a bastard. Chuck should be given a starbucks card so he doesn't have to cart around his own coffee maker.

It just ain't right.

Thanks for the link and summary.

This just caught my eye :

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Entry 5/18/13 - We had fun talking more about our situations….agreeing how good it is that we still get to do this. It seems that McCartney will be working more than we will…but of course that depends on if the Stones decide to keep this ball rolling after this run. No sense in speculating about that now….and we should know something solid about that in the next month or so.
We wrapped it up and walked back to the hotel, calling it a day.

The coffee story reminds me of a similar thing he mentioned in the blog he kept during A Bigger Bang, which is that he used to go to laundromats to wash his clothes while on tour! And if my memory serves me correctly, there was even a photo of him heading out of some five-star hotel with his laundry bag in hand. I remember being flabbergasted at the time. I think he mentioned it partly because he kept having trouble trying to make sure he had the right coins for the laundromats in different countries. Who would've ever thought...

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Beast
The coffee story reminds me of a similar thing he mentioned in the blog he kept during A Bigger Bang, which is that he used to go to laundromats to wash his clothes while on tour! And if my memory serves me correctly, there was even a photo of him heading out of some five-star hotel with his laundry bag in hand. I remember being flabbergasted at the time. I think he mentioned it partly because he kept having trouble trying to make sure he had the right coins for the laundromats in different countries. Who would've ever thought...

He sounds like a real whiner

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Beast
The coffee story reminds me of a similar thing he mentioned in the blog he kept during A Bigger Bang, which is that he used to go to laundromats to wash his clothes while on tour! And if my memory serves me correctly, there was even a photo of him heading out of some five-star hotel with his laundry bag in hand. I remember being flabbergasted at the time. I think he mentioned it partly because he kept having trouble trying to make sure he had the right coins for the laundromats in different countries. Who would've ever thought...

Clapton does likewise.... says hotel laundry uses too much starch.

I read a story that an expert (testifying in the Michael Jackson case) is a sleep advisor to the Stones (and NASA and the CIA). Surely they have coffee and laundry advisors?

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Alfonz
I read a story that an expert (testifying in the Michael Jackson case) is a sleep advisor to the Stones (and NASA and the CIA). Surely they have coffee and laundry advisors?

Chuck has a Beard Advisor.

...Chuck's Tour Dairy would be funnier ....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
...Chuck's Tour Dairy would be funnier ....

I wonder if he is eating for free in exchange for mentioning every restaurant he eats at....

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treaclefingers

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71Tele

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Long John Stoner

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71Tele
Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

Instead of being snide about Leavell, read it and find out.

I feel terrible about what he has to pay for coffee. That makes me appreciate his mediocre keyboard sounds all the more.

Mick is a bastard. Chuck should be given a starbucks card so he doesn't have to cart around his own coffee maker.

It just ain't right.

Coffee is not good for ya.

Maybe Mick is giving him tough love.

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Rockman
...Chuck's Tour Dairy would be funnier ....

"Milked Honky Tonk Women solo again tonight".

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GravityBoy

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treaclefingers

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71Tele

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Long John Stoner

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71Tele
Does every day's entry start with "Woke up. Trimmed my beard." ?

Instead of being snide about Leavell, read it and find out.

I feel terrible about what he has to pay for coffee. That makes me appreciate his mediocre keyboard sounds all the more.

Mick is a bastard. Chuck should be given a starbucks card so he doesn't have to cart around his own coffee maker.

It just ain't right.

Coffee is not good for ya.

Maybe Mick is giving him tough love.

To the contrary, actually coffee is now considered a 'health drink'.

Coffee is for closers.

"Staying a the MGM meant that we just had to walk down to the arena for the show…so we killed time in our room drinking coffee and doing email and other tasks. Rose Lane and I love our morning coffee…but these hotels charge an arm and a leg for a pot….I’d say an average of $25-30.

So we’ve learned to buy us a coffee maker at the beginning of the tour and pack it in our bags, taking it with us. I had bought a $25 unit that works just fine…and when you calculate what one would spend over the course of a tour just to have our daily java fix….it would come to something like $2,000.
So we make our own coffee…get the brands we like and have it when we like it…which helps our comfort level as well as our pocketbook!"

>< Reminds of the "Jason Newsted backstage incident" where he would make his own sandwiches from the gig catering then eat in his 4-star hotel room.

I think mr Chuck Leavell is one of the reasons the Stones are still on the road. Seriously: he would not have been asked back for such a long time now. I think some of the people here are being very offensive to the guy. Who really knows him? Be glad that somebody within the band is writing a diary. It give is some information. Stop reading it if you don't like the guy.

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Thrylan
Interesting that Mick gets to OK the set list...

Keith said so years ago : Mick has to sing the tunes so he gets to pick the ones he can sing that day.

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mega
I think mr Chuck Leavell is one of the reasons the Stones are still on the road. Seriously: he would not have been asked back for such a long time now. I think some of the people here are being very offensive to the guy. Who really knows him? Be glad that somebody within the band is writing a diary. It give is some information. Stop reading it if you don't like the guy.

I don't get offended by the jokes on Chuck. Mr. Leavell looks so different from what you expect a rocker to be that it's inevitable that some of us are going to laugh about it. Chuck is talented musician but he doesn't seem to belong to the stones even after all those years playing and working hard for them. As long as the jokes are funny, I'll keep laughing, no disrespect Mr. Leavell.
Rock and roll,
Mops

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Thrylan
Sorry, did nothing for me. I get the impression that aligning himself with Mick during DW has paid big dividends. Interesting that Mick gets to OK the set list.....I pray someday Keith looks at it and says "F$$k No!"

He does