The Cowboy Junkies play Des Moines Thursday

Q: You've played Des Moines before. Do you have any memories from here?

A: It's been a very long time since we've been to Des Moines. Way too many shows and cities have taken place so my memory of the city is all but faded. Which is kind of a good thing, because I get to experience it almost as new —one of the benefits of getting older. Although I do remember that the Hoyt Sherman Place was a very cool venue.

Q: What, if anywhere, will you visit while in the metro?

A: If we had a day off I would seek out a local brew pub and probably a used book store and vinyl shop and definitely a local cafe.

Q: Name one Iowan you want to see at your Des Moines concert and why?

A: We have a very good friend of the band (we know him as Skippy —way too long an explanation as to why we call him that) who is a chef and who used to live in the Detroit area.

• Over the years he would set up a vey elaborate "sausage stand" outside of our gig when we traveled through his area and he would feed us and our crew and anyone else that happened to be hanging about.
• I have kept in touch with him over the years so that we can continue to whine about our sports teams (Leafs and Blue Jays for me, Rangers and Yankees for him).

Q: What's the most memorable thing you've done to promote an album?

A: We once played in an actual, functioning bull-fighting ring in Spain as our introduction to BMG European label heads and marketing departments who were about to release The Trinity Session.

• We were swarmed by flies during the performance and a lot of the audience, who had been in corporate meetings all day, fell asleep during the show.
• Although, Gene Simmons, who was representing BMG Israel, was sitting in the front row and he dug it.

If you go: The concert starts at 7:30pm.

• Tickets: $40-$75