Strike Three

I woke up sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon, feeling a little groggy, which was likely due to last nights' festivities. I went downstairs to the restaurant, and found myself having breakfast with Dave and Arleen. As the afternoon wore on, I ended up walking to Radio Shack looking for cable adapters. I managed to find what I needed, and I was soon back at the Classic Rock Bar to implement my new purchase.

There was a fellow at the bar who didn't look a day over 19 took a liking to me; he watched us play the other night. First impressions told me he was a massive geek, but it turned out that he was a little bit on the "slow" side. I didn't tell him to get lost, but I did have some work on my drums I needed to do, which required that I be free from distractions.

It wasn't long until I met "Gary". He offered to buy me a beer, so soon I was sitting at the 51 year-old's table with a few of his inebriated buddies. A couple hours and a few beers later, I felt like I should leave the table, since Gary, being as drunk as he was, was really starting to get on my nerves. I excused myself, and left to find dinner.

This happened to be the first inclination that perhaps I didn't want to stay in Neepawa for the week. Honestly, I only wanted to stay in this town to see what I could make out of the Roxy Roller situation.

After a hamburger and a few hours of relaxation, it was showtime. I was still drained from last night's party. I wanted to perform, but I had no energy to do so. I began to feel burned-out, and the bar wasn't very busy, which made it even more difficult to get the adrenaline going. It seemed that the crowd wasn't very perceptive to us being there either. I was gulping down many glasses of cola in order to keep myself awake.

The first set came and went. Gary was still there, drunk like there was no tomorrow (and I'll bet that he'll be wishing exactly that tomorrow morning). Was he ever obnoxious. The bar wasn't very busy, and there was no sign of anyone under the age of 25.

Amidst my apparent lack of energy, the band ended up playing quite well. Dave spoke to the management about the possibility of us playing next week. He returned saying: "We're packing up; we're going home". He explained that the bar only wanted us to play Friday and Saturday next week, and it didn't pay for us to make the long trip for that kind of money. Instead, the band took a "rain check", and we would play here again in the future.

We finished our third and final set of the night by 1:00. This show was a far cry from the previous two nights. We began to pack our equipment until the unexpected happened. At exactly 1:30 AM, the bar became swamped with people aged 18-25, all drunk and attractive. Karen and Roxy were not there. I was somewhat disappointed, but I expected as much. The dance floor was packed, which made it extremely difficult for us to move our equipment. Instead, our cases became coasters for everyone's drinks. By this time, I was really looking forward to leaving this town. I had quite enough of the place by this time.

It was about 3:00 in the morning by the time we had everything packed up and loaded into the trailer. Only one thing remained: all our articles upstairs. The three of us agreed to get out of town as soon as possible, so by 3:30 we were on our way home. We stopped in Brandon at 4:00, grabbed some food, and into the blackness we sped. I think I managed to keep my eyes open for 45 minutes, but as the sun began to rise, I finally ran out of steam.

I stirred slightly as we reached Regina at 7:00 AM. We stopped briefly, but I stayed comfortably curled up in the back seat. We hit the road shortly thereafter.

The next thing I knew, Dave pulled into a 7-11, and walked inside. I stirred, and got out of the vehicle to stretch. I had the feeling we were in Swift Current. Dave walked out of the store, stood beside me, and looked at me. He resembled the living dead. "You look pretty wasted," I said to him. "I'm just baffed," he replied. I was feeling rather awake, so I took the wheel, while Dave layed down and took a power nap. I thought I was well-rested, but 30 minutes later I was fighting to keep my eyelids from closing. I may have dozed a couple of times -- just for a few seconds, only to scare myself awake. The adrenaline would pump fiercely for a minute or two, and then I'd feel exhausted again.

I have no idea how Dave can play all evening and drive all night. We made a gas stop at the hamlet of Walsh. Dave felt better, and he took the wheel for the last leg of the trip. We made it home by 12:30, and I was spending Mother's Day with my mother by 1:00. A hot bath and a long nap completed the weekend.

Roxy Roller

I slept in until 2:00 pm CST, and after a quick shower, I went down to the restaurant for some "free" breakfast. It seems that Dave had forgotten to mention to me that one meal per day is paid for by the bar.

The afternoon was fairly uneventful, though I walked down the street to Radio Shack to pick up some cable adapters, spent some time reading, and took a nap.

I woke up a few hours later, and walked down the street for some pizza, I warmed up my cold muscles, and soon I found myself playing the first set of the evening. The band was tight, and I think it was the best we had ever played to date.

The local television station came by and recorded our performance. The television staff were really personable as well. They asked us if we would like to be interviewed after the show. The band was receptive to the idea, so we agreed to the interview. I haven't been interviewed since my tenure in the Anglers (1993-1994), so I was pretty excited about the situation.

We played our second set of the night, and the music felt really good. I jumped off the stage to get myself a beverage, and two young ladies pulled me off the stage and "told" me to dance with them. The blonde's name was Karen, and her friend was introduced to me as "Roxy Roller" - likely a nickname coined after the Sweeney Todd song. They were both very friendly people, but I think I would consider Roxy as wife material. I found her very attractive. My rock-star ego was beginning to surface, as I was positive that both of them wanted a piece of me, but I learned some time later that they didn't even know I was in the band! I danced and flirted with Roxy and Karen for the rest of the break, and then time came for us to play our final set of the night.

By this time, the bar was packed, and the crowd response to our music got louder and more supportive with each passing song. Some of the crowd began dancing on the stage, right in front of us! The atmosphere was becoming very intense. It wasn't until our third last song that Karen and Roxy noticed me behind the drums -- I might as well have been a Beatle. They screamed "MC! Oh, my god! You're in the band!" and nearly fainted. I was convinced that I was going to have my way with either one of them this evening.

We finished playing for the night, and I was immediately pulled from the stage to the dance floor by Roxy and Karen. We danced for the remainder of the night, and I began drinking some liquid courage hoping that I might make something out of the rest of the evening. I put down three beers in 90 minutes, and I was looking for more, even though bar sales were suspended. It was difficult to tell whether the two girls wanted anything else to happen over the course of the evening, but nothing further happened in that department -- and don't tell me I didn't try. All the patrons were kicked out of the bar, but Roxy and Karen promised that they would be back the next night. I sure hope they do, as I couldn't keep my eyes off Roxy.

The bar closed, and the band found ourselves conducting our interview with the television staff. The interview only took about 5 minutes, but it was nonetheless exciting. After the interview, I found myself drinking with the bar staff until 4:30 in the morning. It was a great ending to a successful night, though I admit, if the conditions were different, the night could have ended a lot better.

While having drinks with Donald (the bar manager) this evening, it was brought to my attention that we might be playing here again next weekend. If that's the case, I might just ask Dave and Arleen if I could stay here over the course of the week. I have only been here two days, but I love this town. The people here are so laid-back and friendly, and the bar staff are great as well. I am thinking that I really don't want to spend 20 hours in a vehicle only to return here next Wednesday and do this all over again. We will know by tomorrow night if we are playing here again next week, or if we are going home.

A Narrow Escape From Death and Other Trivialities

I am still not used to the time change. In fact, I didn't notice it until I got up this afternoon, when my clock read 12:45 MST, and I was in CST. I got up, showered and went downstairs to the bar to see if I could find some breakfast. I was offered a beer instead. I gracefully declined, and ended up in the adjoining restaurant. Dave walked in while I was finishing my meal, and shortly thereafter, I was working.

It was damn cold and windy in Neepawa this afternoon. Dave and I moved in all the equipment, and started assembling the PA. It happened to be that Dave forgot some cables in the trailer, and sent me outside to retrieve them. In hindsight, he should have went out to get them instead. The wind was howling, it was bitterly cold, and the case was so heavy that I had trouble lifting it back into the trailer (copper wire is not light). I climbed into the trailer. While I was lugging the brute into the front end of the trailer, a huge gust of wind came, and blew closed the door. With a pile of other equipment sitting at the opposite end of the trailer, the trailer tipped along the axle, and the door was effectively pinned shut against the asphalt. It was pitch black inside, and I was trapped. My mind started racing, and I began to think that Dave & Arleen wouldn't discover my whereabouts until Saturday evening, a decaying body trapped in their own trailer. After a few moments, I managed to tip the trailer in the opposite direction and free myself. I was not happy about the situation, to say the least.

The events of the rest of the day were not too eventful, so I will fast-forward to the moment we hit the stage at 9:30. The place was deserted, but not for terribly long.

Even though the rooms in this hotel are acceptable, the bar is in rough shape. It is difficult to describe this place, but there is a lot of concrete visible, including much of the floor. The Men's room is lit only by blacklights -- contrary to the rest of the bar. It might be more fun to party in there rather than the rest of the bar.

The first set was relatively boring. By the second set, the clientele in the bar quadrupled, and they were very enthusiastic about our performance. By the second set, the band was playing very well, almost like we hadn't taken a few days off. The owner of the bar approached us and spoke to us for some time during one of our breaks. I was making friends with a few other bar patrons, so I didn't get to hear much of the conversation, but I did manage to catch the owner tell Dave & Arleen "Every time I hear you guys, you keep getting better and better"! I figured that was quite a compliment, since the last time this gentleman heard the band was when Dave & Arleen performed on the main stage at Minnedosa's Classic Rock Weekend last summer. If we continue playing like we have been, it is likely that we will be playing at Minnedosa on the August Long Weekend again this year.

We played our final set of the evening, and although we did not get an encore, we were well-received. We turned off our equipment and relaxed. Dave & Arleen went upstairs to watch a movie; I stayed in the bar to finish my drink. I soon found myself sitting with a few people who really enjoyed our music, and it ended up that they bought me beers. "Malcolm" (one of the guys I met) was a kind, laid-back person who ended up living in one of the hotel rooms down the hall from me. The bar closed, and Malcolm bought some off-sales, and we continued drinking in my hotel room. Some girls showed up, but it soon apparently became clear what they wanted to do for the rest of the evening - get high. I asked them to not commit such acts in my room, and they were respectful of my request. They left, smoked some dope, and returned for a few minutes. By this time, I had lost my second wind, and I decided to go to sleep. They kindly left to find some other excitement in this small town. Apparently, they all work at this hotel, so I expect I may see them again in the upcoming days.

So as I was in my room, getting ready for sleep when I hear some racket from the staff downstairs. For some unknown reason, I decided to see what was happening. It turned out I met the bar manager "Donald". He didn't look a day over 25, and he was a very kind to me. I spoke with him for about ten minutes. He claimed that tomorrow night was going to be crazy at the bar. He seemed to take a liking to me as he suggested that we would end up drinking until 6:00 in the morning tomorrow. This sounded like a good idea at the time, though I do not like being hung over. Amidst my current drunkenness, I an wondering how I am going to feel in the morning. I really don't want to feel pain tomorrow.

3 Provinces in Ten Hours

I woke up this morning feeling terrible. It could have been the unpasteurized beer that I drank last night, or the tuna casserole I ate, but something made me quite ill. I spent fifteen minutes in the bathroom, and crawled out feeling a little bit better. I managed to take a nap for another three hours until I had to teach one of my pupils, who happens to be Dave and Arleen's youngest son.

The ZanZee band didn't manage to hit the road until 5:00 in the afternoon. We thought it would be better to drive all night, sleep in, and set our equipment up the next day. This way, we wouldn't be as rushed as we were last week.

I slept in the Suburban until we hit Moose Jaw. We arrived at Regina at 10:00 pm, went to Subway for dinner, and then went to Arleens' sisters' house to pick up the trailer full of band equipment we left there on Sunday. We were back on the road by 11:00 pm.

The second half of the trip felt a lot longer than the first half. In fact, as the night went on, Dave and I got increasingly delirious. We had the radio playing full-blast, singing along to countless Classic Rock songs. By the time we arrived at Brandon, Manitoba, Dave was telling me incredible stories about their experience last year at Minnedosa's Classic Rock Weekend. It appeared that they had the time of their lives at last years' festival.

It was about 10 after 4 in the morning by the time we arrived in Neepawa, Manitoba. We are staying at the Hamilton Hotel, and the "Classic Rock Bar" is located on the main floor. The one thing that makes this show so important, is that the gentleman who owns this bar is also the gentleman who puts on the Classic Rock Festival in Minnedosa each year. It is imperative that we play our best the next three nights.

This hotel is a definite improvement over the City Limits Inn, though I wouldn't give this place more than 1.5 stars. My room has two double-beds, and a huge bathroom; I have more room than I will need. I am confident that I will not have to put a chair under my door to prevent my room from being invaded.

[Ed. note: Last fall, ZanZee hired me to play a weekend gig in Regina. Our hotel was the Plains Hotel; a real dump, located in the middle of downtown. It was about 3:30 am, after our Friday night performance, and I was in my room, getting ready for a good nights' rest. To my surprise, I heard a key insert into the lock in my door, and in walked a very drunk male, toting a case of beer in hand. He immediately saw me in all my glory, and he freaked. I am sure I soiled myself at the same time. The gentleman allowed me to get myself decent, at which time, he called the front desk and tore a strip off the receptionist. It seems that the receptionist double-booked the room I was staying in. The intruder ended up getting his own room after he and I ended up having a good laugh over a beer. Ever since then, I have been a little cautious about my hotel accommodations. Do you blame me?]

Dave has been talking to an Agent in Las Vegas. It sounds quite possible that we might be playing on a cruise ship this fall. Those gigs range from six weeks to six months. After hearing some stories about Dave & Arleens' first experience at sea, I found myself very excited about the possibility. I want to go right now.

Well, it's about time for bed. A very busy day awaits me.