So after making a sharp exit from the Cheyenne Saloon we head for the bunks (those of us that are a drunken mess anyway) just as Skeet is starting the long drive to Flagstaff Arizona. For anyone that cares to look at a map of the USA - the drive from Vegas to Flagstaff may not look that far - but on our bus with a top speed of about 55mph and NO SPEEDO it is a loooooong journey.
When I rise from my bunk after about 3.5 hours sleep it is damn cold and I am hungry, hungover and in need of about 24 hours more sleep - but to miss the journey would be such a waste. Playing the gigs is the ultimate high of a tour, if it wasn't then why be in a band? BUT sitting up front on a silver eagle coach watching endless desert roll by and giving each other the looks that say "how f**kin great is this?" brings a smile to my face about every 20 minutes. I'm trying to take loads of photos so I can share it with people when we get back, but this feeling is something that you just can't describe, it is something the 5 of us in the band will talk about for years to come. This is what we all have been waiting for our whole lives - and it is 100 times better than we thought it would be.
We stop at a couple of truck stops. Just these things alone could have a whole blog. We are in the middle of the desert - what you'd describe as 'hick country' with big hairy truckers in lumberjack shirts and big mean looking boots. These guys have probably been in their trucks for days, sex starved, hungrier than us and with some pent up aggression to release and the look on their faces when 10 guys in tight jeans and aviator shades waltz into the shop is a little unnerving for us all - are they gonna kill us or rape us? We try our best not to hang around too long to find out. The bus is in need of work though. We ask a few questions, get a rough diagnosis, but no work can be done so we need to push on.
One funny moment at one of these truck stops is when Johnny walks up behind a group of truckers who are discussing the beating they gave a petty thief earlier that day. Something comes into Johnny's head that inspires him to shout "whoa guys, it's a Sunday - the day of peace love and God, what's up?" - we leave swiftly after.
I can't even remember what really happened next - more road, more desert and more smiles. We can't really see an end in sight, we don't know what we're gonna do when we get to where we are going - but one thing you learn quickly on tour is that you are a gang - and this gang is gonna survive regardless of circumstance - we're only 4 days into the tour so here's hoping anyway.
Rob & Billy are over an hour ahead of us and have arrived in Flagstaff. They have found an RV site/Campsite and it has wireless internet access, hot showers and maybe some power for the bus. We are also now about 2 ft deep in snow all around us and in a different time zone - it's crazy.
We arrive and we get some power to the bus. We hook up with Rob and Billy and all jump in the 12 seater minibus and head off to Walmart to pick up some supplies, then to an 'authentic Irish bar' that the TM guys have been to before. There's an American Football game going on - and it's a playoff semi-final. People go mental when their teams are doing something good - we have no f**king idea what is going on. We all order big plates of food and basically leave half of it cause we are so tired and strung out ;-)
Back to the bus and I manage to get some internet stuff done on the blog at Dan and Bills hut. When I get back to the bus I realise I could've done the whole thing anyway - I just didn't have the wireless switch on - oh well you live and learn. Back on the bus Ash, Dan & Freddie are absolutely passed out in the bunks. All of the TM guys are working - sending out press packs for both bands to all of the promoters and local radio stations in the Texas cities we are playing. I've said it once and I'll say it again - these guys have a work ethic that is amazing. There is a reason that these guys can get 1.1million plays on their myspace page, a reason why they can go on endless tours, a reason that they can send a myspace bulletin asking for donations to help get the bus fixed (resulting in a couple of HUNDRED dollars being transferred into their account from fans within a couple of hours) - it's because they want it! They work through the night to make things happen and it is inspirational.
It at least inspires Scott and I to spend the next 2 hours writing on the blog and getting photos on to the page - which is a long process. It's already proving worthwhile. We have made more fans and contacts in the past few days that in the past few months in England - but we're gonna work our asses off when we get back to change that. This tour is the new motivational pill we all needed. Time for bed. Tomorrow we need to try and get to Albuquerque - which is an 8 hour drive at best. More desert, more snow, more junk food - and I can't wait. At this point although you may not want to know this, I have not had a number two for 24 hours. I need to. BADLY. When you get the chance to use a toilet you have to take it - and if you don't then you could be the first to do a 'bus bomb'. Imagine you have nowhere to go to the toilet, you aren't allowed to use the toilet on the bus to do so, and it is a life or death. What do you do? You get a carrier bag, you put it in the toilet with the handles over the edge - and you do what you have to do. Then what do you do? You tie the bag and drop that bomb on the desert road. I don't want to be the first to necessitate the bus bomb. I am praying.
I have also completely lost my voice. It is getting worse, so I am thankful that there is no gig for a few days. I need to recover. Excessive drinking and smoking might not be the answer... who knows?
Marty:Riot
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