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Off on Another West Texas Run

Posted by Mark David Manders Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:15:00 GMT

Well, it happened again. I got too busy and missed another week of “News from the Road”. Sometimes there’s just not enough time in the day to sit back and reflect on the events of the previous weekend. To be honest with you, if I didn’t have my trusty digital camera I would have a hard time remembering what we did each week.

So here’s what I can remember from the road trip before this last weekend. We played Love in War in Texas on a cold Friday, the Wolf Mardi Gras on an even colder Saturday evening, and Gilley’s later that same night. After returning from a chilly New Orleans the day before, last thing I wanted to do was see more cold weather when I got home. Anyway, we survived, well everyone except for Russ who had a few balance issues after the Gilley’s gig. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

OK, on to this last weekend. We left Thursday afternoon for San Angelo and the weather was finally warm. Mike Boyd, guitar player from Vince Vance and the Valliants, joined us on the three-day run to give us that twin guitar sound. I’m not sure if he knew exactly what he was getting into, but he had played Blaine’s Pub before and I think he had an idea of what to expect.

We arrived in Angelo around five o’clock for sound check. At seven, BJ, a Pike from ASU, picked Lafon and I up and took us over to campus where we played a memorial service for two fraternity members who had been killed in a car wreck back in January. It was a somber experience, but I was impressed by the fact that every fraternity and sorority on campus was represented. We played for about an hour and then BJ took us back to the hotel to get ready for the show that night.

The rodeo was going on in Angelo last weekend, so we knew that at least one night we’d get the rowdy crowd. Thursday was actually not too bad. In fact, it was a little slow compared to a normal night at Blaine’s. I guess everyone was worn out from the rodeo because I heard that most of the bars in town were dead. For the first time in years I could actually make it from the stage to the bathroom during our break without getting lost in a sea of people.

Friday was a busy day. Kathryn and I got up around ten and went down to the YMCA and worked out. Afterwards we stopped by Armento’s for lunch. Then I was off to Ashley’s Barber Shop for my haircut appointment with Mary Anne. I took Mike with me and we met up with Barry and Dee at the barber shop around two. My buddy, Mike Minton, showed up a little later and we had a few shots with Mary Anne before her next appointment.

After my haircut I headed back to the HoJo to see if anyone wanted to go by the Pi Kappa Alpha lodge with me for a beer. Russ and Kathryn agreed and we loaded up into Barry and Dee’s urban assault vehicle, leaving the suburban for the rest of the band to go get something to eat.

Russ and I hadn’t been back to the Pike lodge since we had played there back in ’94, but it still looked the same. (Well, they did patch the holes in the sheetrock in the bathroom since the last time we were there.) We met with all the actives as well as a few pledges who were freshly pinned the week before. I had a little fun with them teaching them all the words I could remember to the song, “Fifty Naked Thetas” and they in turn taught me a few new songs. Of course, none of the lyrics to any of the songs can be repeated here.

After a few beers we took off for the rodeo where we met up with Fred, Ruben, and all the volunteers working the hospitality area. They treated us to catfish and hush puppies, as well as a few interesting drinks. I knew it was getting late, so we said goodbye and returned to the hotel so I could squeeze in a little nap before the show that evening.

You know, you would think that when a band has two shows in the same town they would have a considerable amount of down-time to relax, but such is not the case in San Angelo. I think playing the actual show is much easier than trying to get around and see all our friends. Needless to say, I had no problem falling asleep once we returned to the Howard Johnson’s. I think I managed to get in a solid hour of shut-eye before the band woke me up.

Blaine’s was packed on Friday night; it was one-in, one-out by ten o’clock and didn’t let up until the bar closed. There were people dancing on the tables and a line out the door that stretched down the street. Everyone got along and to my knowledge no fights broke out.

We got back to the hotel late that night and I had planned on sleeping late the next morning before our drive to Haskell. However, around nine-thirty Mike Minton showed up with Tammy and got Kathryn and I up for breakfast. We ate down at the hotel restaurant where the normally mean waitress was actually fairly cordial that day. I had the rib eye and eggs special and it was unbelievable.

After breakfast we walked outside to say goodbye to Mike and Tammy and noticed that a dust storm was coming in. Tammy said, “Oh great, it looks like Midland is blowing into town!” Now I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a West Texas dust storm, but they can be brutal.

Kathryn and I had problems getting the band up Saturday morning so we decided to go to Blaine’s for a drink while they shook out the cobwebs. Barry and Dee met us there and pretty soon the regulars came in. Kathryn took the trailer back to the hotel around one and picked up the band and they joined us for a few drinks before we left for Haskell.

We decided to take a little detour to Lowake (pronounced Low-way-kee) to have a steak at the famous Lowake Steakhouse. The drive was difficult, forty mile-an-hour winds with gusts up to sixty and almost no visibility. We made it to the steakhouse around three-thirty and enjoyed an incredible dinner before heading north to Haskell. Barry later told me that along the way there were times when the suburban actually vanished from view ahead of him into a haze of dust.

We made it to Haskell a little after seven Saturday evening. We were scheduled to begin the show at eight, but Cary Epley, who booked us for the party, said to take our time loading in.

The party was held at the Haskell Civic Center and we played on the auditorium stage to a crowd of locals, many of whom we had met last year when we played Judfest. The get-together was actually a thirtieth birthday party for twin girls and before the night was over they joined us on stage. They attempted to play my guitar and Bret’s drums. It was pretty, but it was very entertaining.

We had planned on playing until midnight Saturday, but the party kept going. Six and a half hours after we began, we finally called it a night. We spent the next hour trying to find the cabins they had put us up in and finally, around four, we succeeded in locating our accommodations.

Sunday morning came early. I knew we had to check out before noon and, believe it or not, we actually did get on the road around twelve-thirty. We followed Barry and Dee east down Highway 380 toward Denton and stopped in Newcastle for lunch at a place called the Hole in the Wall.

I knew we were in for a treat as we walked across the parking lot. The roof of the restaurant had a single exhaust vent coming out the top and both sides were stained with grease. There was actually a gutter below the grease flow that directed the oily substance into a downspout and which emptied into a plastic bucket on the ground beside the building.

The Hole in the Wall was crowded when we entered. On the wall were hundreds of photos of dead animals- deer, hogs, turkey, etc. I ran into a friend from San Angelo who had just come from hog hunting the night before and he suggested trying the “Hog Burger”, so I decided to take his advice. Lafon and Barry did the same.

I have never seen a burger that big in my life! It had two half-pound hamburger patties with a slab of ham in between and bacon on top. It was all I could do to eat half of it. Even the regular hamburgers were so large that no one finished their meal. Not only was the food great, the owner and wait staff were friendly and the meal was affordable, very affordable. After lunch we hit the road for Dallas, vowing that we would return to the Hole in the Wall any time we were in the area.

It was about a three-hour trip from Newcastle to the metroplex. Somewhere west of Denton I hit a brick wall (not literally). My eyes grew heavy and I realized that it was going to take all I had to make it home without falling asleep. We made it home, but man, was I exhausted. I’ve got tonight off, but tomorrow Mark and I leave for College Station for an acoustic show. No rest for the weary!