Hi friends,
I'm back in New York. The last 10 weeks have just flashed by! So many incredible experiences. After the entire summer on the road, it feels sort of strange to be back here. Looking forward to connecting with my friends to bring me back home. Anyway, there's at least 2 blogs worth of experiences that I still haven't gotten to. So, if you're interested, check it out...
Monday, August 3rd - Shreveport, Louisiana and the first stop on the return leg of the tour. Have 6 weeks gone by this fast? Apparently they have. Unlike the first half of the tour which was mostly booked in advance, with the exception of a couple of shows, the return trip is almost all gigs booked while on the road with very short notice. This gig is at the Naked Bean Cafe. I booked this gig while in Austin. Pam Hairston, who runs the place with her husband, Dwayne, offered me the gig just a week prior. Turns out this gig was to be more like an audtion so they could hear/see what I do for future bookings, as it was a Monday night and not many customers were in there. So I played for Pam and Dwayne and perhaps 6 patrons. Pam is a talented singer in her own right and came up to jam with me on "Me and Bobby McGee." We had a lot of fun and once again I've made some new friends. And once again, just as I did in Johnson City, TN over a month ago, I slept in the cafe. There's a loft on the upper level of the cafe where they let me crash on an inflatable mattress. They locked up behind me and the Naked Bean Cafe was my house for the night. I'm touched by the generosity and hospitality of everyone I'm meeting on this tour. I woke up in the cafe to the sounds of Andrew Bird on the CD player. I went downstairs, had my morning coffee on the house and spent some time with Shea, the barista, and a few locals who came in and out throughout the day. My next gig, the Wildman Steve Radio Show in Alabama was 2 days away, so I opened up my laptop and my road atlas to find an open mic on the way. So, my next stop was Jackson, Mississippi, halfway between Shreveport and Auburn, Alabama. I found a cafe in Jackson and said my goodbyes to the good folks at the Naked Bean.
Tuesday, August 4th - Blowout!!! I never did make it to that open mic in Jackson. On a long, open stretch of highway, miles from nowhere in the middle of Louisiana, I heard a loud noise and felt the car shudder. I shouted "WHOA!!!" and gripped the wheel to keep control of the vehicle. I thought I ran something over. I pulled over to the shoulder and found that the entire tread of one of my rear tires peeled off and took off my bumper, leaving it hanging precariously from the rear of the car. Wow! what a rush! The good thing was that it wasn't a true blowout. The tread came off but the tire was still full and solid with air, so I was able to drive VERY SLOWLY to the next exit. Took me about 40 minutes. I found myself strangely calm and not in fear or worry at all. I just chalked it up as another adventure on this journey that for the last 6 weeks has been one adventure after the other. I knew I was going to be all right. So I pulled off at the next exit and into a gas station. They only pumped gas. No repairs. I started asking around. The staff, the customers, nobody knew where I could get a tire fixed at 8pm. Everything in this little town was closed. One of the guys I asked said he'd help me change my tire. He did, and I was back on the road in just minutes. I thanked him and said "my name is Randy from New York City". He said "I'm Fred from Louisiana." We shook hands and I was off, but not out of the woods yet. My spare tire was a donut, and you can't drive too fast or far on one. They're just a tool to temporarily get you moving until you can replace it with a proper tire. After another hour of driving I found a rest stop with a 24 hour truck shop. But they said they were only equipped to fix trucks. However they suggested going over the border into Mississippi, only a half hour way, buying a tire in Wal Mart and bringing it back to them to mount. Okay, Wal Mart here I come. I've never shopped at Wal Mart. Always avoided it. Those gigantic mega stores like Wal Mart and Target always make me feel uneasy. But I was happy to go there tonight! I crossed the Mississippi River into Mississippi, found the Wal Mart and bought the tire I needed. At that point I didn't want to drive back into Louisiana. I wanted to keep moving forward. I called roadside assistance. I told the operator that I not only needed a tire changed, but it had to be mounted, which I expected could be a problem for a simple roadside assistance repair. She said it wasn't a problem and sent someone. I was dubious.
Just 20 minutes later Robert shows up, an African-American southern gentleman, perhaps in his early 60s, very friendly and very professional. As I suspected, he didn't have the equipment to mount a tire. But then, going far beyond what his job calls for, he said "follow me, I know someone who could help. Now we're going to be driving for a while into the backwoods, but don't worry, it's fine." I appreciated his words, but I wasn't worried at all. In fact I was relishing this experience. This was all part of the adventure. After a half hour drive through some remote, unlit country roads we came to an open tire shop. It was 11:30 at night, nothing all around but trees and the tree frogs in them, the very air enveloped in their nightly mating songs, and... a tire place! It was a ramshackle set up with tires of all sizes everywhere! The main structure looked like what used to be a small house. Tires were strewn about the grounds all around the house, and piled up in front. This was tire heaven! I was incredulous. Does a place like this really exist? I met Dave and Tyrone; two very friendly, professional, no-nonsense guys who mounted and replaced my tire in just minutes. When I went to pay them the thirty bucks it cost for this miracle tire replacement job, I found I had spent most of my cash buying the new tire. "Do you take a card"? I asked. "No" said Dave, "just cash". Then Robert says "no problem, Randy, I'll just pay them and you can follow me to an ATM and pay me back." What??? Southern hospitality. He totally trusted me just as I had trusted him. We had a karmic circle going and I was giddy! I followed Robert to an ATM. I gave him 50 bucks for his awesomeness. He then asked if I had a place to stay. I said no and he grabbed a yellow pages from the passenger seat of his truck and proceeded to call motels to find me a good rate for the night. You can't make this stuff up! Robert is one the many supergood people I've met on this tour. I am eternally grateful for his humanity. I'll never forget this night. I'm so glad the open mic didn't pan out. :)
Wednesday, August 5th - On my way to Auburn, Alabama to do a radio interview and performance on the Wildman Steve Radio show. All of a sudden (isn't that how these things always happen?) I see the lights flashing in my rearview mirror. I instinctively looked down at my speedometer. Shit! Speeding! It's so hard not to on the open road. I pull over and there I am face to face with a Mississippi highway patrolman. He asked me to get out of the car and searched me! That's never happened to me before for speeding. At most they give you the drunk test. But a search? This guy was serious. He asks for my license, tells me to stand by the rear of the vehicle and not to move while he goes into his car to run my license. He honks his horn and it makes me jump. Apparently, I moved. He comes out after what felt like 20 minutes (it was probably just 5) and tells me my license is suspended and my registration expired. I had no idea why. He starts grilling me. "Ever been arrested"? "Any outstanding moving violations"? "Any outstanding child support or alimony"? No to all the above. "What's all the stuff in the car"? I told him I was just a musician on tour just trying to get to my next destination. All the stuff is my life packed into the car, as I'm on the road for the whole summer. As for the license, I have no idea why it's suspended. He's not buying it. Maybe it's because my registration is expired. I've been on the road so long, I neglected to renew my registration. At this point he asks if he's going to find anything in my car he doesn't want to find, like drugs or weapons. No again. Y'all know me, folks. Straight as an arrow. He asks me more questions as another patrol car pulls up. Apparently he called for backup while he was running my license.
So now the other cop is asking me questions. All the same ones the first guy asked. No to all the above. The first guy asks about the drugs and weapons again. "No". He asks what they should do with me. As with the tire situation the night before, I was strangely calm and not afraid. Not that ego driven, "I ain't skeered" kind of fearlessness, which really is fear, but just calm and with an intuitive feeling that all was going to be well. I said that I'd be happy to follow them to the station and I could register the car online there if they'd let me. He asked if he could search the vehicle. I said he could. Meanwhile the other guy is grilling me. The first guy picks up one of my CDs and says "is that you"? Yes. "Is that what's in these boxes"? Yes. He walks over to me, hands me my license and says "slow down and be careful out there." Unlicensed driver, unregistered vehicle and speeding. They could have taken me away and had my car towed. But they let me go without even a ticket for speeding. Just a friendly warning. Once again I found myself swimming in incredulity. I thought for sure I'd be following them back to headquarters, and I was totally ready for it. I thanked him and asked him if he likes rock and roll. He said yes and I handed him a CD. Wow.
I believe in a higher power and I believe it's been with me this whole tour. Thank you, God (what I choose to call it. Not some human-like, male figure who watches over us all and judges us, but an energy field that IS the entire universe and everything in it, and that we are a part of, and that we can utilize). Amen! Hosanna! Blessed be! Nam myoho renge kyo! Om! May the force be with you! Hallelujah! Mississippi, goddamn!
Next stop, Auburn Alabama and the Wildman Steve Radio show. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? By the way, I did get to register my car.
I should have the rest of the tour covered in just 2 more blogs.
Love,
Randy :)