I purport the following to be an accurate accounting of a band, in multiple connotations of the word, playing two gigs in a week apart. All of the participants are receiving Social Security checks (on the dole so to speak.) No names are mentioned except mine.
It was in planning for months. Somehow through persistence and top-notch management skills our ragtag band, the one I told you about last month, secured two gigs in August.
We were the opening act at the GOF On Friday August 12 and the headliner at the International Jug Band Festival in Sutter Creek on Saturday August 20.
Turning down a number of other dates in August (if you believe that contact me off line for a significant money making opportunity) we focused the tour on these two gigs. The logistics of pulling this together was huge. There is 175 miles between these two venues and only 8 days to get to accomplish this huge feat.
The travel schedule for the band was daunting. We had travel from Lawrence, KS, Salinas, Concord, Oakland and San Jose just to get the band together let alone travel 175 miles in 8 days.
Having seen first hand Rhonda Vincent’s Martha White Express, I figured we needed something along those lines to handle our tour. We stumbled on a unique opportunity. We were able to rent a repurposed honey wagon to move us across the state. It was fairly reasonable and it needed to be as we had already spent all our sponsorship money on a couple of six packs (and a bottle of tequila for me).
Converting the honey wagon truck into our tour vehicle took a long time. It smelled pretty bad but then again so did the band so we rolled with it. (If you don’t believe this see the picture on my Facebook page.)
The tour logistics began on Monday picking up our singer and mando player from the airport. Rehearsals followed each day. Because the rest of the band is scattered throughout the nine Bay Area counties and Monterey County, we adopted a 50% quorum for rehearsals or otherwise we wouldn’t have had any.
It’s a good thing we’re highly trained amateurs because we never had a rehearsal with the whole band before or during the tour but by my accounting that was okay because we played a gig 7 months ago so our material was obviously tight.
On Friday afternoon of the first week of the tour we rolled into the San Benito County Historical Park to play the opening set at GOF. Actually, it turned out it was the first set ever in this venue and on the newly constructed stage. I was worried we would be over prepared for this set with our rigorous rehearsal schedule but we actually played a pretty good set that seemed to be well received.
Also we were able to pick up an extra hundred bucks after we unloaded our gear at the GOF and re-re-purposed our truck to its original function and cleaned out some facilities.
After the show, the repacking of our gear was challenging to say the least. I felt bad for the roadies……wait! we are the roadies damnit.
The hundred bucks turned out to be handy, as we needed it to get to Sutter Creek, which was now only a week away.
The band continued its rigorous rehearsal schedule in the week between shows. One of the rehearsals even had 5 of the 8 band members present.
Not wanting to run up the miles on our rented tour bus (or should I say tour wagon), I started using my own two vehicles to move my bass around until I had major mechanical failures that prevented me from opening my doors to put my bass in. Every time I tried to open a door on either vehicle parts flew all over the place and I had to climb in windows and over seats to get doors open. Generally speaking I’m a little large for climbing in windows and my bass certainly is.
The week between gigs went by fairly quickly. The plan was to roll in the tour wagon for about 60 miles a day and then rest a day until we got to Sutter Creek. We finished our beer and tequila on the first day and had to survive on Dr. Pepper the rest of the time.
Pulling into Sutter Creek on Saturday morning we were greeted by festival crowd. A few folks mistook us as a service based on our tour vehicle but although we could have used the money, we had to pass as our equipment smelled bad enough already.
Our set that day was very good. The audience was very enthusiastic and the band rocked and most of all had fun.
As I usually am, I am very aware of reader fatigue at this point, so I’ll spare you the details of our return trip and the return of the wagon although the car wash episode is pretty funny.
The band dispersed to their perspective counties including Lawrence, KS. I’ve begun working on next year’s tour already needing to find a new sponsor, as AARP wasn’t happy with some or our choices in spending their money.
Thanks for bearing with me on this journey. I needed to get this down on paper before my memory fades…….again.
Next month I should be sane again.
Dave
