I'll start at the beginning and when I get to the end...I'll stop.

Jan. 26: Day 1, Week 1

Jerm and I headed out a few hours later than we had planned.  It was after
5 when we finally hit the road to New Orleans. We had been warned about the bad ice storm coming thru, but we thought we could make it and, honestly, I don't think we understood just how bad it was going to
be.

We made it all the way to Sikeston (a 2 hour drive that took us 4 in the elements) before we hit some black ice.  I was behind the wheel when the car started sliding. I let off the gas, didn't break, and tried to steer us out of it until we stared heading for the guard rail. I don't know what I did, but we ended up in the grassy
median... backwards.  The right tail end hit the fence dividing the highway and that's where we stopped.  I was able to drive the car onto the shoulder where we called AAA to have it towed. 

From the looks of it, it was just a flat front tire and a broken rear bumper.
Whew!  It was also at night and we would have to wait til the next day to
get it fixed.  So, after waiting over an hour on the side of the highway
for the tow truck, we finally pulled in to The Days Inn where we'd have to wait
til morning to see just how bad the damage was.  At least we had a warm
room and cable...it could always be worse, right?  Right.  Which
brings us to...

Day 2

The next morning I woke to Jeremy telling me that the electricity had gone out
for about 3 hours overnight, but it was back on now.

We called the mechanic shop who said the car was ready to go.  I made sure
to ask if there was any damage done to the underneath of the car or the rear
end.  The lady on the other line said that yes, there were some "bent
parts" and they recommended I not drive it and maybe I should call my
insurance company.  Well, there's an idea.

My insurance company took my car to one of their certified shops to have a look.  In the meantime, I went next door to the gas station to get some beer.  We
weren't going anywhere for a little while. 

We had just gotten back to the room, took off our coats, sat down and then….the power went out.  Not only did the power go out, it stayed out for the next 2 days!  We were sleeping in our clothes (the same clothes, mind you) and wearing our coats inside the room. 

At first, I was ready for the challenge…I’m always up for an adventure, but when I woke up on the third day with my hair plastered to my head because it hadn’t been washed in 3 days, I was ready to go. 

Of course we would’ve gotten a rental car or something, but there was no electricity for miles…which also meant the shop that had my car couldn’t work on it either.  Our only way out was to call in a rescue party.

Day 4

On Thursday morning my Mom and Dad came to save us.  Free at last! 
We spent the night in St. Louis and by Friday afternoon we were back on the road in Jeremy’s Dad’s car, heading back to New
Orleans.

New Orleans

Of course I avoided driving like the plague on the way to New Orleans, but by the last couple of hours Jerm was pretty tired so I drove us into town.

We had missed our gig on Wednesday, but were able to pick up another one on Saturday. 

What can I say about New Orleans?  We love it.  It’s a second home to us and after the start to our trip I needed a place like Nawlins to soothe me.

And soothe me she did.

Our friend Andy gave us the idea one night to go to Harrah’s.  Apparently if you play penny slots between this time and that, you get free drinks. 
So, we thought we’d try.  However, penny slots are boring so, while we waited for a waitress we played a couple 25cent and $1 slots.  We won a few bucks
and finally stopped by a Haywire machine to wait for a waitress.  While we waited we won $300!  Hell yeah!

I put $200 away and we partied on the last $100.  Jerm won a bit at roulette and craps and we cashed out.

As we left we headed down Bourbon St.  It was a cold Monday night and I have never seen Bourbon so empty.  It was kind of eerie.  While we were eating a terrible hot dog from a street vendor, Jeremy says he feels like going to a strip club.  In all our trips to New Orleans, that’s one thing we’ve never done. I was
still high from our win and pretty much down for whatever so I said sure.

I won’t go into details, but I will say if you’re ever on Bourbon and you want to go to a titty bar, Hustler Club is the way to go.  Very talented ladies there.   

After a wonderful 5 days in New Orleans we got back in the car and headed to Memphis for the International Blues Competition. This was the second time we’ve gone to compete but the last time we were in the Band competition, this year we went as a duo.

We didn’t make it to the finals, but we met some guys who were volunteering, The Jefferson County Green Band, who we ended up jamming with almost every night til 5am. We even picked up a gig on Saturday at the bar we competed at, Wet Willies.

We invited Kristine Jackson and her friend Rob Musik to jam with us and along the way some of the other musicians we met came to jam too.  There were even a couple Memphis Legends who sat in, Vince Johnson on harp and a killer bass player who’s name escapes me right now.  It was a phenomenal
jam that we have on video, we’re just waiting to get it up….look for that
coming soon.

So, it was our last night in Memphis and we partied like Rock Stars.  Big beers, cartwheels down Beale St. and other things I can’t mention here, but yeah, Rock Star Weekend, definitely.

And then we drove home.

The End

P.S.  I’m still
waiting for my car.  I just got a call from the insurance guy who said tomorrow it’ll be ready, maybe.  So cross yer fingers cause we leave Monday morning for Colorado! 

There’s never a dull moment when you’re living the dream.

Bottoms Up!

Hey Folks....
First off, we'd like to tip our hats to the 44th President Of The United States of America...Barak Obama...and to all Americans who helped make it happen.  Yes We Did!

THE BUBG IN ST. LOUIS THIS WEEKEND
Friday, Jan. 23 @ The Shanti (soulard) 9p  with Adam Andrews!
Sat., Jan. 24 @ Pop's Blue Moon (the hill) 9p

NEXT WEEK IN NEW ORLEANS:
Wed. Jan. 28 @ The Blue Nile (Frenchman st.) 9p
Sat. Jan. 31 @ The Apple Barrel (Frenchman st.) 4p

FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY AT THE IBC in MEMPHIS:
February 4-7 - Beale Street, Memphis
We are happy to be representing the Lake of the Ozarks Blues Society in this year's International Blues Competition.  Several years ago we competed in the 'band' category, but this year we'll be the duo...rock'n'rollin'! Show times and locations won't be published until that weekend...
but we'll blast the info as we get it.

AND IF YOU'RE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE:
2/13 Riddles (STL) with matt murdick & sandy weltman
2/15 MARDI GRAS DOG PARADE DAY @ the Shanti (STL) 8p
2/17 BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups (STL) 10p
2/18 Broadway Oyster Bar (STL) 9p
2/19 MARDI GRAS CRAWFISH BOIL @ The Shanti (STL) 9p
2/20 MARDI GRAS PARTY @ Venice Cafe (STL) 9p
2/24 FAT TUESDAY @ Cala Inn (Dillon, CO) 9p
2/26 Motherload Cafe (Breckinridge, CO) 9p
2/27 South Park Saloon (Alma, CO) 9p
2/28 Bobby's (Leadville, CO) 9p

Happy 4th of July everyone! We are writing to you from Shelton, WA where we play tonight in the beautiful Starlight Lounge at the Little Creek Casino.

We left St. Louis last thursday evening, drove thru Kansas at night in a lightening storm (which is really the only way to drive thru Kansas) and made it to Fairplay, CO friday morning around 9:30 where we spent the weekend playing the South Park Music Tour and meeting some great folks.

We left Fairplay at 1pm and drove all day and all night and all the next day to Shelton, getting in around 10 pm. What a drive.

We've dubbed this the Lax Tour cuz we didn't have a whole lot of dates booked when we left, but it's all coming together out here and, thankfully, since we're not completly booked, we have time to chill and take in the scenerey.  Ahh, the road is hard.

We'll be back in the Lou the first week of August, so we'll see y'all when we get back. And, if you're in the Seattle, Yachats, CO Springs or Alma area, come out and say hi. It's always a party.

Bottoms Up!

For the second year in a row The BUBG has been voted the Best Blues Band in the RFT Reader's Poll. As if that weren't enough, we received the most votes out of any other band in any other genre.  WOW!

We are grateful to everyone who voted, came to our shows and all the outstanding musicians we get to play with on a weekly basis.  This august will be our 7th year as a band, er...uh...Gang, and we couldn't have done it without all of you.

Thank you all! So much!

Bottoms Up!

What else can I say, but thanx?  Our 6 year anniversary party on friday was AWESOME!  Thank you so much to everyone who came out to show their love.  My only regret is that we didn't get to spend much time with all of you.  There were some people I didn't get to talk to at all, but I guess that's the life of a rock star.

I hope all of you had as much fun as we did.  I'm sure the boys will agree with me when I say that this was the best and biggest crowd we've ever had for one of our anniversary parties and we won't forget it.

But, the fun's not over.  You know what they say, 'When God closes one party he starts another'...or something like that.  And that brings us to TOCO.

This saturday is the 6th annual TOCO festival at the YMCA Outdoor Center in Belleville and if the last 5 TOCO's are any indication, this years gonna kick ass!

Tickets are $25 at the door, or you can get them in advance from us (availible at any show) and all the proceeds go to the Make A Wish Foundation.  There will be camping, vendors, art and it's all family friendly.  So grab the kiddie and make the short drive to Belleville, you'll be glad to did. 

Thanx again and Bottoms Up!

Kari