Winter of '91 was a very exciting time for the band. They had spent a full year touring, and were a well-oiled musical machine. On November 14th and 15th they recorded two consecutive nights at The Beat Kitchen. The 102 songs were the source for their Cheap Beer Night album released the following year. At the same time, Bad Is Beautiful was being released in America and Europe, after a year of delays. In Chicago, WXRT had added "One Perfect Moment" to its playlist, and the band was rising quickly to the top of the local talent pool. In Europe, "Promises in the Dark" was rushing up the charts, and a tour was scheduled opening for Dutch legends Golden Earring. So it was that on New Year's Eve the band played a marathon show at the Clearwater Saloon, and boarded a plane a few hours later to fly to Europe.

For tour diary of that first European tour, read the liner notes from The Two-Meter Sessions.

In the six week period following the first European tour, the band's schedule was intense. Sold out shows two or three nights a week in town, interviews, and preparations for their first West Coast tour. WXRT was playing "One Perfect Moment" non-stop, and the BE's were on top of the heap. On tour, the motorhome, affectionately known to the band as "The Rig," collapsed in Texas in the first leg of the tour. The guys rented a mini-van and pushed on (Terry traveled 4,000 miles lying on his side on top of the gear in the back).

Click on any chapter heading below for a chronological history!