From that point on, we were thoroughly engaged in a verbal ping pong match in which questions, quips, stories and repartees were tossed around at a steady pace. Relaxed and more at ease in the spotlight than ever, Dan was his usual blend of adolescent boy, well-spoken man and consummate performer. He aimed to please, and did not disappoint.

It is four hours before Bullet For My Valentine is expected to hit the stage, and drummer, Mike "Moose" Thomas, and lead vocalist, Matt Tuck, are hanging out in their tour bus. Matt is recharging his fuel cells by munching on a banana. What could be a better time to ask them questions about the band, their idols and their music?

For a while, in 2002, the band had split up due to their bass player, Nick Crandle, leaving the on the eve of cutting a demo. When asked about the unfortunate situation, Moose had this to say, "Our old bass man left, so we were getting ready to go into the studio to do the demo, and said, 'F*** it, we're going in on our own', and cut the demo that got us the record deal." 

I recently had the chance to catch up with Saving Abel.  We had the chance to talk between sound check and show time, and then briefly after the show before they had to leave for their next performance.

Their crowd pleasing set included eight songs: the infamous current hit "Addicted", a rousing version of "New Tattoo", and  "Get Out of My Face", which must have touched off issues with someone in the crowd since there was a bar fight brewing in the corner mid-way through that one.

Even though filming won't be over until the end of October, fans are already enjoying this latest season of The Closer. Raymond Cruz (Detective Julio Sanchez) is especially looking forward to an upcoming episode that introduces everyone to his character's family. "I don't want to reveal too much, but there is some really good drama around what happens in episode seven. Real intense drama...Not just my character, but all of the characters in the show...going into their backgrounds a bit,” says Cruz.

Just like any fan of the show, Raymond is a Closer junkie too! He reveals this season has a particular theme -- power. "It explores power, and the lack of power, and the way it affects people with what they think they have and what they don't, which is terrific.  Some people appear to be in control, but they really have no idea what is going on, and no control over the situation."