Ian Gillan kicks off solo tour

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan steps out on his own on Wednesday, August 16th, with the launch of a solo tour at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York. The five-week North American run is in support of his solo album Gillan's Inn, which he released to celebrate 40 years in the music business. The vocalist told us that he's really happy to start things off in Buffalo, for a few different reasons: "Buffalo's a great music town. It's got a lot of great music bars and musicians, and a great feeling for rock-and-roll. My friend and manager Michael Lee Jackson lives there. My producer Nick Blagona lives just across the border in Toronto -- so it gives us a good excuse to visit 'the ballet.' That's a euphemism, of course, for a strip joint, but we call it 'the ballet.'"

Gillan's got another chance to engage himself in the arts on Thursday, August 17th, when the tour hits Toronto.

He will wrap things up September 21st in Medina, Minnesota.

Deep Purple are currently on a break from a planned two-year-long world tour behind their latest album, Rapture Of The Deep. The band goes out again starting October 3rd in Salzburg, Austria.
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