STATE COLLEGE, PA-- It's not that Doug Palmer doesn't have a desire to drink, but you won't find him at the G-man this weekend, or any weekend this summer. For that matter, you won't find him at any area bar this summer. The reason is that Doug is saving his money for the rumored Hootie and the Blowfish Summer of 2001 Super Tour.

“What’s not to like about a man who lists lasagna has a favorite food?” Palmer asks about his idol Darius Rucker, AKA Hootie, picture above.

             According to some inside information from the Hootie newsgroup, there is a fifty-fifty chance that Hootie will be touring the region this summer. Although this report is still unsubstantiated and has not been confirmed on the official Hootie and the Blowfish website, Doug is trying to amass money just in case his "dream comes true" and Hootie does play in the area this summer.

             Since the release of Cracked Rear View in 1994, Doug has been a huge fan of the band.

             "I remember back in 1994, when tickets were going for $75 to $100 a pop and I didn’t have enough money to purchase one,” states Doug. "I can only imagine how much a good seat will cost these days, maybe two or three hundred. You can bet your Fairweather Johnson that I’m not going home empty handed this time.”

             A self-proclaimed die-hard Blowfish fan since 1994, Doug has remained a true fan up to the band’s current release; Scattered, Smothered and Covered; which has yet to crack the Billboard Top 1000.

             “It’s only a matter of time,” believes Palmer. “You have to have faith in a band as wonderful as these guys.”

             To date, Doug has collected $70 dollars in his Hootie Concert Fund. Currently, he is thinking about getting a second job to make sure he doesn’t miss the tour.