Snowstorms, parades, and 3lb hamburgers

Our tour this time started in Frederick, MD. Who would think there would be such a nice little music venue in the town we used to call “Fredneck” growing up as Marylanders. We had a great time playing at Café Nola, and even got to participate in an after hours bar top dance party!

The next day we drove to Norfolk, VA to play. It was really cold and there was an impending snow storm, so we weren’t sure if anyone would turn out. We were pleasantly surprised by a big crowd that night. It might be a small beach town, but we always do well there for some reason. There are videos from that night here –> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwS_5hmgnIs

It wasn’t until the next day that we got slammed with snow. The Virginia folk had bought up all the bread and tp, and we got out of town in the morning and drove 8 hours in the snow until we got to Charlotte. It didn’t really matter how long it took, because our gig was cancelled anyway. We were supposed to play a showcase concert called the Tosco Music Party in front of over a thousand people. After the venue closed, we were moved to a smaller venue called the Evening Muse. We played a short set for about 25 people. Kind of a bummer. But the good news is we got to go sledding after the show. Yeehaw!

On Monday, we made $80 at our gig in Charleston. I don’t usually like to talk about money but this is how it is sometimes. We drove three hours, slept on my cousin’s floor and couch, and played a gig on a Monday night. It’ll keep ya humble.

Do you ever wonder what musicians do on their time off during tour in Savannah? In the case of our bass player, you enter a hamburger-eating contest. The deal is they serve up a triple burger, complete with three one-pound chunks of beef, and the accompanying buns, as well as a pound of French fries. You buy this food for $25, unless, of course, you finish all the food in under 40 minutes. God bless America. Let’s just say there are only a few folks who can pull this off, and Ben won’t be eating a hamburger any time soon. And after watching that, neither will I.

Friday night we got added on a bill at Skipper’s Smokehouse, opening for a Nashville guy named Todd Snider. Thanks to local radio station WNMF for sponsoring the show and getting us on that night.

After playing wedding in Jacksonville, we drove about 7 hours to Mobile, Alabama for Superbowl Sunday. It was pretty cool being in Callaghans – a small neighborhood bar – when the New Orleans Saints clinched the win. Mobile is also in the middle of Mardi Gras. Most people think New Orleans is crazy, but there’s plenty of partying going on in Mobile as well. They have big parades twice a day for three weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, you can drink booze on the streets as long as it’s in plastic, and bars can stay open 24 hours. We went to a parade on Sunday night. Our drummer Matt got nailed in the face with a moon pie someone threw to him off of one of the floats. “I thought you were looking”…

The next day we started to get word of a crazy blizzard due to hit the mid-atlantic. On Tuesday we drove 15 hours from Mobile to Harrisonburg, VA, in hope of getting a head start on the storm. We left again at 8am and drove through some amazingly hazardous highway conditions in PA. Cars and huge trucks were crashed and stranded and scattered all around the highway. We were running out of gas as we searched for an exit that was clear enough for us to escape the highway mess. Finally, we reached an exit, which thankfully had an open truck stop. Thank you Loves. You have really good beef jerky. We think you should start selling beer and whiskey for emergency situations. The highway closed and we spent 5 hours hangin’ with the truckers. Then we found a nearby hotel and waded in thigh-deep snow with our luggage to get to our rooms.

So much for winter tour! We are happy to be back in Brooklyn safely…until next time…

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