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At Home, 10:30 am

Posted by Mark David Manders Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:30:00 GMT

I don’t really know where to begin explaining the last road trip. It was a four-day run that began Thursday in San Angelo and ended yesterday in Plano. There were several bizarre events including Grant getting cold-cocked, the entire band suffering from dehydration, and Russ getting an ambulance ride to the hospital. I’ll do my best to recall everything, or at least the highlights.

We got an early start Thursday for San Angelo, leaving around 10:30 in the morning. I was fairly confident that the suburban would not break down, having replaced the fuel filter, installed new shocks, and balanced the tires the week before.

We arrived at Blaine’s Pub around 4:30 and unloaded. Grant set up our product and then left on foot to see Mary Anne down at Ashley’s Barber Shop. The sound man showed up an hour later and we were done with sound check by 6:00. We then drove over to the HoJo to check in.

Lafon, Grant, and Cody then went to Hidalgo’s Mexican restaurant to grab a bite to eat. I stayed at the hotel with Russ and relaxed. They returned around 8:00 with a jalapeno burger for me which I devoured immediately.

I thought we were supposed to begin our show at 9:00, so we left a half an hour early and headed up to the bar. I was pleasantly surprised to see Drew Kennedy there when we walked in. Drew opened up for us and we didn’t actually take the stage until a little after ten.

For those of you who have ever been to Blaine’s Pub or know Blaine Martin, you’ll be interested to find that Blaine has actually sold the bar. I didn’t get a chance to meet the new owners, but Scooter and the rest of the staff are still there. Blaine was on vacation Thursday, so I didn’t get to speak with him. It felt strange knowing that the bar ownership had changed hands though.

We had a packed house Thursday night. As usual, it was hotter than hell on stage and I tried to drink as much water as possible in between the beers and occasional tequila shots that made their way to us. (The heat factor will be a reoccurring theme in my story today.)

Scotty was kind enough to turn on the Mavericks game during our first set, but some time in the third period a drunk guy fell down underneath the overhead TV unplugging it. From what I heard it was best that we didn’t have the distraction of the game because the Mavericks took a drumming that night.

I guess we played until 1:30 or later before calling it a night. Then it was back to the hotel where I got a quick shower before going to sleep. There was supposed to be an after party Thursday night, but apparently it didn’t develop. That was fine with me. I have had too many of those four or five-day runs where I wore myself out on the first night and had to suffer through the rest of the trip.

Friday morning I had an appointment to get my hair cut over at Mary Anne’s. Russ went with me and the rest of the band went to lunch with Anna and Nelda from Blaine’s Pub. I had a great time at Mary Anne’s, as usual. We had a few beers and our traditional tequila shot before Grant picked us up after lunch.

We drove up to Blaine’s and broke down our equipment, had a few beers with the early afternoon crowd, and then hit the road for Jud, Texas, which is located north of Abilene. I fell asleep on the way and by the time I woke up we were in Rule, a small town outside of Jud.

Have you ever had one of those trips where someone else is driving and you wake up not really knowing where you are? That’s how I felt Friday afternoon. We haven’t had a map in the suburban for over six months, so I had no way of judging our exact location. I saw what looked to be the cap rock over to our west, but I wasn’t exactly sure how close to Lubbock we were. One thing I knew was we were a long way from Abilene.

We pulled into Jud Fest down some dirt road and followed the signs to the ranch house. Now I had never been to Jud Fest, but from what I gather it has been going on for quite a few years. It is basically a huge ranch party where people from the neighboring towns show up and listen to music for two nights. Darin Epley, a fraternity brother of mine from Tech, and his brother, Carey, put on the event, and it draws quite a few people.

Darin met us at the gate and showed us where to park the trailer. We unloaded and then I got the tour of the property. Jack Morrow, another fraternity brother of mine, showed up and drove us in his truck to check out Jud. The town consists of one beer store, a graveyard, and one abandoned house which they say is haunted. We stopped by the house and checked it out and I have to say that it did have a creepy vibe inside.

Our next stop was the beer store which is owned by the Epley family. We grabbed some beer and then Darin decided to take us down to the river. Their property straddles the headwaters of the Brazos and, as the sun began to set, we made our way through the mesquite brush in Jack’s truck. We drove as far as possible and then made the rest of the journey on foot. A storm was coming in from the west and we saw a spectacular light show from the banks of the river.

Afterwards we returned to the festival site and I grabbed a quick bite to eat before meeting up with the band behind the stage. Darin was concerned about the storm to our west, but the stage was covered, so we crossed our fingers and went about our business with sound check.

To be honest with you, I really don’t know what time we started our show that night. I was busy meeting new people and I didn’t pay any attention to the clock. There was a huge crowd though, and they were rowdy. About ten feet in front of the stage a keg was set up and all night long people took turns doing keg stands. Then, toward the end of our show a girl jumped up on stage and tried pouring moonshine down our throats in the middle of a song. When you have a guitar in your hand it is almost impossible to avoid inhaling some of the alcohol, especially when the girl has a hold of your neck. The moonshine, well, what didn’t wind up on my shirt, tasted like gasoline and burned going down. She forced at least one drink on everyone in the band, but we continued playing.

While this was going on Grant ran into a little trouble of his own. Darin had asked him to move his merchandise booth from one side of the stage to the other. I still haven’t figured out why, but while carrying a box of T-shirts someone cold-cocked Grant on the chin and disappeared into the darkness. Grant took it standing up, but he wasn’t a happy camper.

We finished playing sometime late in the night. The storm from the west passed by without a single drop of rain, sparing the crowd from what would have been a mud bath. Russ and I decided to have a beer in the ranch bar located just to the side of the stage. Grant, Lafon, and Cody said they were going to head back to Rule and check into the hotel. Grant was in no mood to hang around after the shot he took to the face. I told him I understood and that Russ and I would catch a ride with one of my Pike buddies and meet them later.

I guess we stayed at the ranch party barn for a couple of hours. Another fraternity brother of mine, Sam Tolliver, showed up in the meantime and we spent a while getting caught up. Sam offered us a ride home and we accepted. We drove back to Rule and found the hotel, but no suburban. The hotel reminded me of the Bates Motel from the movie. I couldn’t get anyone to answer the office door, and my cell phone battery was dead so I had no way of getting a hold of the rest of the band, so we were forced to leave and spend the night at Sam’s house some twenty minutes away.

I woke up Saturday morning on the floor of Sam’s living room after four hours of sleep. He had a softball game to coach and offered us a ride to another hotel where we thought the band might have ended up. I borrowed his phone and called Grant and, sure enough, they had driven to a hotel just fifteen minutes south of Sam’s house.

Sam dropped us off around 9:30 in the morning. I wanted to try and get a little sleep, but Russ beat me to the only available bed and I was forced to lie down on the floor. I couldn’t sleep so I drove into town and bought a pack of smokes and hung out in the suburban listening to the radio. I finally got the guys up around 11:00 and we left for Dallas.

We stopped by a convenience store on our way out of town and I went in to buy a cup of coffee and a map. It was still bothering me that I didn’t know exactly where I was. Grant followed me into the store and went to the cooler to get a bottle of water. On the way he noticed that they sold beer and turned to me and said, “Is it time to invoke the West Texas rule?” I thought to myself, “This is going to be a long day.” The West Texas rule states that it’s OK to drink beer before noon because you’re in the middle of nowhere and the chances of getting in trouble are slim. A put down my coffee and grabbed a six pack.

We drove the back roads toward Mineral Wells where we planned on picking up the interstate. We stopped for lunch at some Mexican restaurant in some town I can’t remember and had a few more beers and some decent food. The service was terrible but we made the best of it. Afterwards, Lafon thought best that he drive and Grant agreed.

I guess it was close to 4:00 when we pulled up in front of my house. The guys went home to freshen up and I took a short nap before we met up again to drive to Dallas.

Our destination Saturday night was the Green Elephant bar in the SMU area of town. We were playing Summer Bash 2006 for a friend of mine named Taylor Fields. They had an outdoor stage set up as well as a small acoustic stage inside the club. We had noticed on our way to the show that the storm that missed us the night before in West Texas was now threatening to hit Dallas. When we arrived Taylor made the decision to move the main stage into the club.

I guess it started raining some time during our first set. Everyone moved into the club and it immediately got hot and humid. There was no air conditioning and no fans on stage, and with all the extra bodies in the club and the hot stage lights shining in our faces, we soon broke out into the sweats. Now I have played on an uncovered, black, flatbed trailer in 105 degrees in the full sunshine before, but I swear it was hotter on that stage in the Green Elephant than any other place I have ever played in my life. I kept calling out for water, but we couldn’t get it fast enough.

After our first set I went to the bar and loaded up on as much water as I could carry. Then I made a trip out to the suburban to change my shirt, which weighed about four pounds. We started the second set and I swear it was even hotter on that stage. I felt sorry for the band, Sabine, who was going on after us. But we made it through the show and hung around for Sabine’s set afterwards.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling the effects of dehydration. I spent the first hour throwing up and the second hour lying in bed with chills. I was supposed to meet my mother, brother, and sister for lunch at noon, but ended up sending Kathryn in my place. Cody had spent the night at our house and he said he wasn’t feeling good either.

Russ was supposed to meet us at two to head down to Love and War in Texas for the Shiner Sunday show. About 2:30 we became concerned because we hadn’t heard from him. I knew he had spent the morning with his son up in Denton, but since he doesn’t have a cell phone I had no idea of where he was.

Cody and I decided to leave, hoping that Russ was already on his way to Love and War. When we got to the bar Kathryn called and said that Russ was in the hospital. She and Kim drove to recover his vehicle that was parked on the side of the road. Apparently Russ suffered from dehydration worse than the rest of us. He was leaving Denton and blacked out. He pulled to the side and a passerby called an ambulance.

Cody, Lafon, and I decided that we would have to continue on as a three-piece that afternoon. It’s not easy to play with drums and no bass player, but believe it or not we pulled it off. The first set was broadcast live on KHYI in Plano from 4:00 to 5:00. We made it until 4:55 when the mobile transmitter blew up.

The weather yesterday was hot and humid. Once again, we didn’t have any ventilation on stage during the first set and I was forced to change shirts again during the break. Fortunately, someone at Love and War brought up two fans for the second set and we cooled off a little.

Our second set was a lot of fun. There were problems with the sound board, and I had tuning problems with my guitars, but once we resolved those issues we had a blast. We played until a little after eight and then hurried home to watch the Mavericks game with our neighbors and friends.

The Mavericks game was a huge disappointment. To be honest with you though, I was too worn out to be upset. I was looking forward to a cold shower and a good night’s sleep. As soon as the game was over I got cleaned up and hit the sack.

So where were my kids yesterday? Normally they would be right in front of the stage any time we play Love and War, especially on Father’s Day. Right now they are in Colorado Springs on vacation with their grandparents. When Kathryn and her dad planned the trip they overlooked the fact that the kids would gone during Father’s Day. They called yesterday evening, but I was already on stage. Kathryn and I are kid less for the rest of the week and a house that is normally bustling with activity during the summer is quiet and lonely.

SIDE NOTE: I talked with Russ last night and he is doing fine. He was released from the hospital yesterday evening.