"Meet me tonight in Atlantic City".....

Rainy Saturday in Manhattan. The Borgata in Atlantic City, where we performed last night and again tonight, is the only venue on the tour with multiple shows. It's good for the crew, as they can leave the gear setup at the end of the show and it's good for the band because we can take the stage tonight, arriving later, yet knowing what to expect.

Soundchecks are very important and I am someone who likes to feel prepared, but in this rare instance of playing somewhere that we played the previous night, it's an extra luxury to be able to walk in and go perform. Last night's show was today's soundcheck!

The venue itself is an anomaly, as it is really a large ballroom, compared to the arenas we have been playing. There is no innate positive atmosphere in the room, but the crowd last night was great - filling in whatever the room itself lacks.

On this last day of April I can look back at the first day of the month when we opened the tour in San Jose. Each show holds unique memories. In many ways we've come as far as the miles we've traveled.

Now we'll see what May flowers come from the April showers.

Shane.

Ghost (what ghost?) In The Machine

As we were traveling back to our hotel after last night's show in State College, Pennsylvania, I looked around and observed the moment. I was struck by the realisation that it has been less than two months since we first convened as a unit. I had to count that again to make sure I was correct. Yes, it was just the beginning of March that we embarked on this journey. Not even two months.

Of course since our coming together we have spent almost every day in each other's company, but in my observing last night, it was the closeness I felt to everyone that spoke of a span of time far greater than what "two months" represents in my mind.

One might sentimentally call this a "warm and fuzzy" feeling, but I prefer a less syrupy depiction. In moments such as this of which I'm speaking, the computation of an event attains a sharper point of focus and perspective. It's almost as if one is outside of oneself, truly observing, and in that detachment there is a clarity which has a quality that is rarely felt. It may be momentary and not necessarily factual - but one certainly feels that, at such a point in time, you see something for what it is. It is subjective and elusive and maybe just something to be logged, filed away and "forgotten" as in not dwelled upon.

The experience of this tour is being shared by each one of us in the band and those who travel closely with us, and in this shared experience there are as many subjective interpretations. It's funny how life will always find ways to put situations in front of us that we, as individuals, need to confront. And it continues to do so until such a time as we have conquered whatever that issue is that needs addressing.

I am presented daily with opportunities to learn more about being flexible - physically and emotionally! Sting made a small change in the running order of songs last night. In doing so, it meant that I would change guitars four songs in a row rather than once, with the routine I had going. My goal right now is to always find a way to simplify, whether it's with guitar changes or with my playing within a song. Can one chord do instead of two? That may sound like a joke, but I'm serious. The answer often is "Yes". Especially if one wants to find a way. And "Yes" is such a beautiful word. I much prefer it to "No"!

So I decided to play one of the songs, Synchronicity II, on a different guitar than usual - a guitar with a different tuning. I sat with it and realised that I could play it in this new configuration and that the change for me would help keep my life and the overall show more simple. That may, quite possibly, change again tonight! Who knows? Who cares? It's not important. At the end of my stint with Chris Botti last year opening up the Sacred Love tour, I wrote a retrospective of my experience on the tour. It begins with Sting's advice to me "not to sweat the small stuff". Aye-aye, Cap'n!

Change can create "chaos" in the "routine". Maybe the best way to minmize or neutralize chaos is to maximize flexibility. Think "Yes" before the knee-jerk reaction of "No". Also, if there's no "routine" then one can't interject chaos into it either! No ghost in this machine!

I am learning much from Dominic on this tour. Musically that is a given, but I'm speaking about a larger perspective. It is about the kind of response he will give to a request Sting might have. Even after playing together for fifteen years, Sting may request a different approach from a "routine' part in a song, and Dom's reponse is always uncategorically "Yes". The spirit behind that "Yes" conveys, without hesitation, a willingness and belief that he will find a way to successfully execute the request. There's never any intimation of "I'm relinquishing something that I hold precious". What it speaks of is committment to the big picture. I think this is what defines success.

Tonight is the last show for Phantom Planet. Each one of them - band and crew - has been a pleasure to be around. They joined us onstage last night, playing with us during Lithium Sunset, and will do so again tonight, taking a communal bow at the end of the show. We all wish them the utmost success, which seems to be the direction they're headed anyway. I'm sure I'll run into them in Los Angeles.

Shane.

Bosses Past and Present

I have just finished watching Bruce Springsteen perform on the Today show. Devils and Dust - capos and open tunings! Bruce was using different guitar tunings on each song he performed, from what is considered to be "standard". I don't know how much he has experimented with alternate tunings over the years, but in the time that I worked with him, it was not something that I was aware of.

What he did in the song Devils and Dust provides a simple droning aspect to the instrument, and particularly when performing solo adds a greater degree of "bottom end" or bassiness in the absence of a bass guitar, broadening the sound and adding richness and texture. In the second song - All I'm Thinkin' About - he accompanied a beautiful, and for Bruce an unusual, falsetto vocal with an open tuning which has most recognizably been associated with Keith Richards since Honky Tonk Women days.

I use both capos and open tunings a lot. The use of each on an instrument can be like changing from jeans and a T-shirt into a well tailored suit. Different looks for different moods. The key is to not get locked into unchangeable patterns of behavior. And now I'm playing harmonica onstage also - complete with Dylan-esque harmonica rack - which is a recent development and one that I am really having fun with.

The first time I was introduced to Sting was backstage at a Springsteen concert in London. Little did I know then what I know now! I have been afforded the opportunity to learn from the best and in return, to make my reciprocal contribution. Both of these artists are pushing the envelope of their experiences and challenging themselves to learn more each day and the fruit of that challenge is savored by each listener, each fan, in the communion of this offering.

The results speak of a personal quest that is borne out of effort and discovery. Something inside drives one, even ones who have seemingly attained unimaginable success, to keep learning and to continue growing. Stagnation is not an option, or at least the mere suggestion or intimation is a powerful enough "drug" that the choice then is the "sobriety" of effort channeled into the reinforcement of what one knows can make one stronger and more nourished. No steroids or Viagra here!

What could be more inspiring than to be offered Sting and Bruce's examples of ongoing personal resolve. Each day is a blank sheet tinted by our accumulated experience - not governed by it.

Shane.

A Day In The Life

Well there I was espousing about Spring and Winter and metaphors etc. etc. and no sooner does it all turn from blustery to downright problematic!

We had had a "thrilling" landing in the plane pulling back in to Chicago after the Cleveland show last night. The flight crew did an amazing job, eliciting unanimous applause upon their successful reattchment of wheels to terra firma. As we descended it felt like we were one of those cardboard models from a really bad B-movie. The plane was fishtailing - swaying horizontally from side to side. I was half expecting to see Godzilla outside the window!

But today when we left Chicago there were some mild snow flurries. No problem there. But as the flight progressed towards Canada, we were told that visibility was too poor in London, Ontario and that we might have to fly on to Toronto - a two hour drive back to London. That was in fact what occurred except the "ten minute" flight on to Toronto got longer and longer as we circled there also for at least another half hour.

We eventually landed, cleared customs and piled into a vehicle that took us to London. We had already missed our soundcheck at the arena, and so it was going to be a case of hitting the stage cold and winging it. It sounds a little overly dramatic, but there is a comfort zone to eye-balling the venue and getting a feel for the day's environment.

In reality, our crew has things so together, that there is so much continuity from night to night. It really is amazing. But there is the tactile factor that is an important part of each show's preparation. Even though there may be little change to the immediate surroundings, because we are on the same stage every night, each place has its own character and feel.

When we finally arrived, the guys in Phantom Planet were walking to the stage. I went out and took a look around so that at least I would have a sense of where we were. And the joint was jumping tonight! The largest crowd of the tour so far - so excited and appreciative and deafening at times.

Well, just "a day in the life" of a rock'n'roll band.

Shane.

A Tale of Two Tours

Today, Saturday April 23rd, we leave our "home" in Chicago - where we have been based for over a week.
This marks the midpoint of the tour, timewise and also in numbers of shows performed.

The weather, which was so warm and sunny when we arrived has given way to what you might call an Indian Winter!
A revisitation of a strong, cold wind, snow flurries and a glimpse at the entrenched, huddled, bundled-up masses, too savvy to have put away those scarves and gloves so soon!

But early Spring is like that - and so the tour, also. You can reach plateaus where you feel you have conquered something, slain a dragon if you will, like the onset of Spring and its promise of Summer, never really considering in the warmth of that feeling that "Winter" can return before its next due date!

But sometimes incidents occur that, in the moment, can throw one off course, and it is only in the wake of reexamination that you can push through to another level of yourself.

Such has it been for myself in discovering a way to begin a transformation of my approach to playing, to find a stronger bond to the people I share the stage with, to restructure my own self-imposed boundaries and limitations.
If all this sounds obscure, maybe it is.
But I am looking for, and finding, something bigger and better in how I can approach the shows on this tour, and in Oxford, Ohio and last night in Cleveland, it has borne the fruit of trying a different approach - looking at something in a new way and acting upon that idea.

These last two shows, here at the middle of the tour, will serve as a demarcation for me, and I fully expect the second half of this tour to blossom and flower, as April's seasonal uncertainty will eventually wave goodbye to the last vestige of Winter's cold.

It is only natural that the shows get better with time. We are working hard to be better every day, individually and as a unit.
The focus is very much on evolution, and that emanates decisively from the very top!

Shane.

Spring forward!

It's been a blogless few days.

We have been hubbing out of Chicago, which is bursting with Springtime and warmth and the happiness of the local inhabitants exuding the joy that comes with long Winter's passing.

I have gotten to experience Spring twice so far this year, which feels like a mystical gift.
I am someone who feels that there are four distinct seasons in Los Angeles.

The usual cliche is to prefer the East Coast because one likes the seasonal demarcations.
For me, they are no less pronounced in Southern California - just with a different emphasis.

In Los Angeles, trees bud and blossom in early February. And soon the explosion of life on the visible plane manifests with a confidence that knows it cannot be constricted. How sexy!

And now, maybe two months later, I can feel the beauty of it all repeating.
Of course this has probably been like dominos falling as the seasonal wave has swept from West to East and South to North.
Mile by mile, with each passing increment of time.

You realise that the process is eternal and, excuse this cliche, as day becomes night which becomes day, etc. etc. the wave of "new" life really seems to be the same life that has always been, in constant motion - never the same - always transforming.
The onset of Spring is like nature's inside joke - you can't help but burst out laughing at the sheer joy and wonder of it all.....some days anyway.

Especially now (maybe it's age or shall we say maturity) - I want to be awake to opportunity, and by that I mean to recognize any event as an opportunity to grow and to learn.
I can look at every person I am around and see a teacher. It doesn't mean that's always the case, but it always boils down to me making a choice. In what do I choose to invest?

I need to raise my own bar.
People around me are certainly elevating it to new heights on a daily basis!

I started playing music as a child, because I was intuitively drawn, with a powerful magnetic attraction, to something that could so consume me, soothe me, accompany me and entertain me all at once. It provided a world that was comfortingly insular.

And then you realise that girls like to watch you while you play. Eureka!

Aahh...Springtime....these are some of my mid-tour passing thoughts and fancies.

Shane.

Beyond The Glitz

As a performer, you have to stay connected to the process.

I will arrive today at the venue and the equipment will be set up and ready to go.
The dressing room will be readied for our arrival - food laid out and clothes on hand in the wardrobe case.

For the crew, employment is being on the road - one tour dovetailing into the next, each maybe lasting more than a year in duration.
Early load-ins, late load-outs. driving overnight to the next tour stop, waking in the middle of the night at the next truckstop.

It is spending the major part of each day in a building where there is no natural light filtering in, and the rooms in which the behind-the-scenes work is done usually have no windows either.

When we walk offstage, the work of tearing down what was erected hours ealier, begins.

For anyone in any line of work, recognition, a word of thanks, a blessing, is sometimes all one needs to be infused with the energy to continue.

To know that those you are working for, whomever they may be, have the consciousness of appreciation, will maintain the smooth running of the machine.

Yesterday afternoon Sting, Dom, Josh and I played for music students at the University of Missouri and Sting once again spoke of his writing process, taking questions also.
From there we went to soundcheck at the venue on the lovely campus at Columbia, performed the show, departing quickly after we came offstage for the airport under police escort.

Meanwhile the deconstruction of the stage occurs - as in this moment, a few hours later, the reconstruction of the stage will be happening in preparation for tonight's performance in front of a new, excited crowd.

I am working with the best - both on and offstage.

Never forget that.

Shane.

Mercury Falling? Mercury Retrograde!

It's late and I'm tired in my hotel room after a great show in Denver. Grateful for a good show tonight after some odd equipment gremlins appearing last night in Salt Lake.

I've had an interest in astrology for a long time. More casual than serious, but one thing I've become somewhat attuned to over the years are the periods of time when Mercury is retrograde. This occurs about three times a year for about three weeks at a time.

The analogy is that of two trains moving in the same direction. When one is moving faster than the other, the slower train can appear to be moving backwards. From our perspective on Earth, Mercury appears to be moving backwards in the sky when retrograde.

All planets have times of retrograde motion, but those of Mercury are more well documented.
It is associated with breakdowns, either mechanical or of communication between people.
You may typically see cars broken down at the side of the road, more so than usual. Computer breakdowns seem to be common too.

Well we're just completing one of these cycles. Mercury is once again in apparent forward motion again, and if things have seemed off kilter for any of you, hopefully they will flow more easily now. But the period right at the beginning and end of retrograde motion seem to be particularly powerful.

Last night in Salt Lake we were held up from going onstage as a piece of equipment which the lighting guys use to communicate to the "follow spot" operators - the spotlights that pick us out individually - was not working, and then towards the end of the show, after I'd let it all hang out on my solo in "When The World Is Running Down", my gear just started flipping out.

I had no idea what was going on - I just knew that the squealing sound emitting from my amplifiers was unintentional and not good!

I bypassed all my effects and plugged directly into my old Ampeg amplifier, with a guitar cable. Totally old school!
Nothing wrong with that mind you. At least I was up and running through the end of the show, though at about one quarter of the volume.

When the gear was set up today, there was no problem - which sometimes can be the worst kind of problem, because you don't know what it was, or if and when it might return.

But I attribute it to the foibles of Mercury's energetic effects - it's last throes of retrogradation. Good riddance!

Anyway, we received another fine review this morning in the Salt Lake Tribune. When things start going belly up onstage, the key is to not let on too much to the audience, which can be hard, because most of the time it's not that obvious.

And now to bed. I'm under the weather and losing my voice - the ultimate ironic manifestation of Mercury's communication roadblocks!

We have a day of rest tomorrow, Wednesday, and I'm sure I'll be fine by the time we travel to Columbia, Missouri.

Shane.

Songwriting 101!

It's a beautiful Sunday morning - sunny and cold - and as I look out of my hotel window at downtown Boise, there are just a few vehicles on the street and no pedestrians. There's nothing like the quiet of a Sunday morning.

The show last night was a lot of fun for us, and according to the fans I talked to afterwards, they felt the same way. Once again there was great appreciation for us just coming to town. That we performed with passion made it all the more special.

Dominic and I joined Sting at Boise State University yesterday afternoon, where he gave a master class to students majoring in musical composition.
(Josh would have joined us, but he had traveled home and back on our day off.)
There were about twenty students present and Sting talked about his writing process, his influences and inspiration, and we played several songs - Dom and me on acoustic guitars and Sting playing bass. The class lasted for an hour.

When Sting first called me about the tour, this was one of the first things he mentioned - that the thrust of the tour was to play colleges, but also to give these classes and share his/our experiences with the students. Even at that juncture, the intent was that we would hopefully participate as a band.

At various times, people have asked me to teach them something about the guitar, and only in the relatively recent past have I sat down and done so with anyone. I used to wonder what there was that I could teach another person.
Dominic remarked afterwards how when he was at music college, though he had a wonderful teacher, nothing like this ever occurred, and how incredible it would have been for an established artist to have come in and done what Sting did yesterday.

In the same way, in the front row at the concert last night, there was a little boy pressed up against the railing. He was maybe nine years old. At the end of the show I reached out and shook his hand.
I remember when that was me, watching The Hollies in concert near my home in London, and Tony Hicks, (an excellent pop guitarist) was looking out and vibing with us in our "section". It was so personal and I have never forgotten how special I felt.

This young boy will remember this show for the rest of his life. These students will never forget Sting coming and speaking to them.
And likewise, these people and events are now part of my life - our lives.

Just another in what's becoming a long line of wonderful experiences at the present time.

Shane.

Montana....

Of all of us, Josh is the only one who had performed in Montana previously - maybe the only one of us who had even been to Montana.

When you perform in more out of the way places - and Missoula would fit that description(!), there is a hunger and an appreciation that is evident in its urgency, and that defined the audience tonight.

As a performer you get swept up and carried aloft by the surging energy and enthusiasm.

Our dressing room was very close to the stage and we could hear that Phantom Planet was tearing it up, opening the show.
They have been great every night, but the roar of the crowd tonight was proof that they were having a particularly good show.

There were a lot of young faces in the audience and it was a "general admission" standing crowd in front of the stage. Everyone there was excited to have Sting come and play and the audience, en masse, responded in that way that makes you want to leave nothing in reserve.

This is what feeds me.

After the show I went to the merchandise booth to sign some of my CD's and I'm happy to have met everybody who came to say "hi" tonight. I'm pleased to have met you and I thank you for your kindness.

Shane.

One Man's Bounty....

After three shows in a row, today is a day to replenish.

The physicality of a show, particularly a high-energy show, can take a profound toll on the body.
And the energy of the shows on this Broken Music tour are exactly that.

There's the physical expenditure of the performance, the physical exchange of energy between performer and audience, the effects of the sound on mind and body, which can be powerful if it gets loud and the effects of travel mixed in too.

Mind you, with Sting the travel is blissfully luxurious! We define jet-setting!
The van that takes us from the hotel delivers us to the door of a private plane. Once onboard there is abundant good food, and after we touch down there is a van waiting for us, also by the airplane door, to deliver us to our destination.
Baggage claim? What baggage claim?

These are the perks of working with an artist who has achieved the success that can support this form of luxury, and a man who wants to share that bounty with those around him.
It's not flashy. It's not ostentatious. What it is, is common sense and maximizing one's energy, and to be able to channel that energy to the primary point of focus - the show.

The environment that surrounds us, wherever we are, is always nothing but soothing and supportive - from our rehearsals in Tuscany to the on-the-road every day touring schedule.

As a joke the other day, Josh asked our airplane attendant if there were any nachos, not expecting that on the following day he would be served a special dish of the very same, with all the trimmings!

So I am spending my day off looking at a sun-drenched lake from my hotel room window, with the evergreen laden mountains of British Columbia as a backdrop. For all of this I am grateful, and recharging my batteries for tomorrow's show in Missoula.

As Dominic says, "I envy us!"

Shane.

The Simpler Life!

It's Tuesday night after the show in Kelowna, BC.
We nailed it tonight. It's strange the road that leads you to where you want to be.

Monday night's show in Spokane was, for me, a Murphy's Law show! Anything that can go wrong, will.
I don't know if a feeling of over-confidence had set in, in the afterglow of the show in Eugene, where I found a certain stride, but I came crashing down to earth - metaphorically speaking. (Tonight I came crashing down to earth - literally speaking! But more about that in a moment.)

In Spokane I forgot cues, I broke a string, generally felt behind the eight ball all night long. So tonight in Kelowna, I was looking for redemption.

When I say it's funny the road you take, what I mean is that the experience in Spokane was crucial to tonight's performance - and maybe the rest of the tour.

There is no place for complacency. When I woke up today, I was struck with the idea that today was a fresh start - and how that is the beauty of each new day. A fresh palate on which to create. You can separate yourself from whatever negativity ravaged you before the period of rest that separates you from the ensuing dawn.

A few minutes after we came offstage in Spokane, the four of us gathered in Sting's dressing room while he went over his notes from the show. Each night there are things Sting notices that he wants to change, hone and refine - things that we will rehearse at the next soundcheck.

We enacted all of those points in tonight's show. We were strong and powerful. There was a rhythm to the show as one song flowed into another. We played "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" tonight, by the way.

The crucial lesson from Spokane, and a metaphor for my life, was that I need to simplify things. How can I do what I do, more simply, more efficiently, more essentially?

When I got back to my room last night, I got out my acoustic guitar and played through some of the "trouble spots". I found a new way to play one song that I may not have discovered otherwise, and I learned yet another song in a different tuning. (I use different tunings on different guitars.)

I want to be flexible. Sting's show - Sting's band, is about flexibility. Nothing stays the same. And that goes for tomorrow!

Anyway, if you're wondering about me crashing down to earth, picture this......
It's almost the end of the show. The crowd is right there with us. We're at the end of "She's Too Good For Me" and in the crashing final beat, I leap and fall straight backwards, landing on my back a few inches from a couple of big lights on the stage, my guitar clanging noisily on top of me!

The last time that happened I was with Springsteen. He reassured me he'd been there plenty of times!

I must say, I gave the crew and our tour manager William, a good laugh. Now I need to find out if it's immortalized on film. Oops!

More to come. We're having a blast. Hope to see you at one of the shows......

Shane.

The wind-up

So I'm backstage a couple of hours before tonight's show in Spokane, sitting in a deserted hallway of the arena, just outside our dressing room.

The British have a penchant for what is known as the wind-up. To wind somebody up about something is basically to play some kind of a practical joke - larger or smaller. There can be a set-up to precede a wind-up, or maybe not.
It can also be poking fun at someone. You soon find out people's threshold for tolerance and/or embarrassment!

When we were rehearsing in Italy, Sting was teaching me the backing vocal part for Desert Rose - in Arabic, maybe?

Everything we played was being recorded. I'm trying to grasp the sound, scansion and melody of this odd foreign sound.
Quickly Dominic calls across the room, "Donal! (the man in charge of recording to the computer) You've got to get this! This is good!"
The sound of me trying to get the pronunciation and phrasing of this lyric, "Hadi muddah twela, wana n'hauess ana wala la rzalti" was appealing to Dominic's brain - all the possibilities of potential humiliation that could be enacted!

A few days ago, Sting changed the key of Driven To Tears. Last night, I started it in the "right" key - the only one of us to do so. So in a heirarchical kind of a way, I was the one who was wrong!
Today at sound check, Sting says to Dom, "What key do you think we should do Driven To Tears"? Meaning the new one, or go back to the old one, if in actuality the old one was what seemed more natural.
We agreed to stay with the new key, A minor.
"One, two, three, four".......and the same clanging sound as last night.
Sting and Dom fell about laughing. They had agreed to play it in E minor while I wasn't!
"Okay, here we go...." and the same again.
"You're doing it fuckin' wrong", Dom quotes a line from the infamous and classic Troggs tape - a studio argument caught on tape many years ago and a real life pre-cursor to the fabled Spinal Tap movie.

However, it's all part of the British way, and I must say it's a sort of homecoming to spend time around a lot of British folk once again, after many years. A lot of familiarity and common ground for me. Oh, and no one is immune from the wind-up!

Shane.

It's Monday - it must be Spokane!

Good morning, afternoon, evening to you all - wherever in the world you are.
Here is my virgin blog!

Growing up in England, the name Joe Bloggs was a catch-all synonym equivalent to John Doe or John Q. Public, though with a more working-class connotation.
It's interesting what associations words or names have with each of us, subjectively and privately.

So in this blog I will try and give you some of my internal thoughts and impressions.

I understand that many of you are eager for more information regarding the work I am doing, and I am grateful and appreciative for that.

After a month of band rehearsals and about six months of personal preparation we are now out performing on Sting's Broken Music Tour.

From London to Italy to Los Angeles with a sneak preview and now on to the road!

A couple of nights ago, April Fool's Day to be exact, we debuted in San Jose to a noisy, beautifully boistrous crowd.
We made our fair share of mistakes, which is only normal at the beginning of a tour and we were transported by the energy of the crowd.
I was able to identify personal "flashpoints" for myself in the show - places where I need to be aware of something happening and to know to expect that occurence in future.

You can rehearse till you're blue in the face but until you're out there for real, you're never going to "know" what it really is.
Now I do.

And that body memory served me well last night in Eugene. The information of San Jose was processed and acted upon and we had a really good show once again, though more relaxed and with fewer mistakes.

Sting is making this an intensely pleasurable experience. He is relaxed and supportive - nurturing and kind.

You would be surprised how low-key things are backstage before the show. This is true on other big tours also.
While I am aware of the nightly anticipation out in the arena, our pre-show time is soothing and restful.
No big rah-rahing going on.
Yes, you want to focus and prepare your energy to meet that of the audience you are about to entertain, but there can be an almost meditative quality to the hour or more prior to the show.

And then - POW! You're shot out of the cannon and launched on that night's journey.

We travel today to Spokane for tonight's "journey". We are a happy, confident bunch.

As Dominic said to Josh and me after the show last night, "I think we might really have something here."

So endeth Monday morning's (Joe) blog.