The First Road Trip
Today was a long day. I got up at 8:30, and was supposed to be at Dave & Arleen's house by 9:30 in order to leave for Yorkton. I arrived at their house, and rang the doorbell. Thirty seconds passed and Dave answered the door in his housecoat. It seemed that either their alarm failed, or they slept through it. That error put us behind schedule by at least an hour.
It was closer to noon that we managed to hit the road, and the weather was absolutely miserable. It was cold and raining. I curled up in the back seat of their Suburban, hoping to catch a few z's. It was damn cold in the back of that vehicle, and I was wishing I brought a parka instead of a leather jacket. Dave spent most of the time driving, and flipping through radio stations. It seems that the only thing that is on the radio is related to the shooting in Taber yesterday. It makes me wonder if I want to become a teacher after all. Maybe being a rock star is safer in this day and age.
We kept driving, and I kept sleeping. The sun finally decided to peek out of the clouds by Moose Jaw, and the rest of the day ended up nice. Driving across the prairies was beginning to become a major pain in the rear. This was a seven-hour trip, not including fuel stops or "pit-stops".
I think we got into Yorkton by 7:30 that night, which didn't allow us a lot of time to set up our equipment and eat. We moved into the bar swiftly, and set up our equipment in a mad rush. We didn't have time to sound check at all. At least, to make things a little more convenient, we have been given hotel rooms upstairs.
We are staying at the City Limits Inn -- I have no idea why they call it that since the hotel is situated in the middle of downtown. This place sets a new standard in low for quality. This makes the Royal Hotel look quite lavish (see previous post). If you ever travel to Yorkton, I strongly recommend that you not stay here. This bar somewhat looks like the watering holes you see in movies (Police Academy's Blue Oyster comes to mind). Scummy. The rooms aren't any better either. Searching my room found the Gideon Bible absent, there were cracks in the wall, stained carpet that was 30 or 40 years old, and the bed seemed like it would collapse upon you like an Iron Maiden if you dared try and lay on it. The only redemption this room had was a plaque with John 3:16 written on it. However, I could almost imagine the immense amount of sin that has been committed inside these four walls. How do I miss my university dormitory. At least there I felt like I was at home. [ed. note: During this tour, we returned to Yorkton numerous times, and I was given the same hotel room each time. Strange as it sounds, that room grew on me, and I began to call it my home away from home. There were some things, like certain smells, the graffiti on the paintings hung on the walls, or sounds like the dripping of the faucet that I found comforting. It may have been a dump, but the familiarity of having the same room was comforting.]
Yorkton seems like a fairly small city [City of Yorkton website states 16,747 residents]. It doesn't seem like there is much to do in this town either. When we moved our equipment into the bar, the patrons were so drunk they could barely speak to us. I couldn't understand a word they were saying.
Before we began playing, we managed to grab some food. I abandoned Dave and Arleen and let them have dinner themselves. I walked across the street to Dairy Queen for a greaseball burger. The counter girl that helped me was especially cute... "Laura" was her name. I may just have to return here tomorrow and "introduce-myself-and-my-occupation" to her. I'd love to ask her out on a date, but then why should I? I am in this town for two more nights, and I have no idea if I will return.
We began playing at 9:30, and the bar was fairly empty, so we ran through the seven new songs Dave and Arleen learned this week. The band learned two Shania Twain songs: "That Don't Impress Me" was one of them, I cannot recall the other at this time. They also learned that new Cher song "Believe", that new Blondie tune "Maria", and the Santana classics "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways". I have my work cut out for me, again. The first set sounded really shaky. Arleen and I couldn't seem to get things together. I had big trouble finding the groove tonight for some reason. Maybe it's because of the new songs, but more likely because we are playing a lot of country music in this establishment.
We had a few dancers, and the response from the crowd was generally warm -- from those who were listening. The other patrons were there (of course) for one reason: cheap alcohol.
Over the course of the evening, the band tried playing a few songs with me on back-up vocals. Dave cancelled that idea pretty quick. He claimed learning vocals in a rehearsal situation would be a better idea. I suppose I agree with him, but at least he let me sing The Tragically Hip's New Orleans is Sinking, which went over quite well with the crowd.
As the night progressed, we managed to fall into the groove. There were still screw-ups, but I imagine I will go downstairs tomorrow afternoon and iron some things out for myself. The crowd changed swiftly in this bar, and as the night went on, more people occupied the dance floor, and more cheered. We got one encore tonight; those I always enjoy. We decided to kick their asses by playing Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water. That gave them enough to chew on for the rest of the evening.
After we cleaned up the stage and shut off the PA and stage lights, Dave, myself, and Fluffy (Dave and Arleen's dog) went for a walk to the 7-Eleven for some munchies and other necessities. It was a nice, warm night, and a good way to unwind from this long day. Twenty hours ago, I got up; I guess I should be exhausted. My headache has returned, but so far it is tolerable. Maybe I'll take some ibuprofen to knock me out tonight. I think I got the headache from sleeping in an uncomfortable position in the back of the truck. Sleeping in this bed with the springs poking through probably won't help either. It's well after 4:00 in the morning, and it's about time to get some rest.
It was closer to noon that we managed to hit the road, and the weather was absolutely miserable. It was cold and raining. I curled up in the back seat of their Suburban, hoping to catch a few z's. It was damn cold in the back of that vehicle, and I was wishing I brought a parka instead of a leather jacket. Dave spent most of the time driving, and flipping through radio stations. It seems that the only thing that is on the radio is related to the shooting in Taber yesterday. It makes me wonder if I want to become a teacher after all. Maybe being a rock star is safer in this day and age.
We kept driving, and I kept sleeping. The sun finally decided to peek out of the clouds by Moose Jaw, and the rest of the day ended up nice. Driving across the prairies was beginning to become a major pain in the rear. This was a seven-hour trip, not including fuel stops or "pit-stops".
I think we got into Yorkton by 7:30 that night, which didn't allow us a lot of time to set up our equipment and eat. We moved into the bar swiftly, and set up our equipment in a mad rush. We didn't have time to sound check at all. At least, to make things a little more convenient, we have been given hotel rooms upstairs.
We are staying at the City Limits Inn -- I have no idea why they call it that since the hotel is situated in the middle of downtown. This place sets a new standard in low for quality. This makes the Royal Hotel look quite lavish (see previous post). If you ever travel to Yorkton, I strongly recommend that you not stay here. This bar somewhat looks like the watering holes you see in movies (Police Academy's Blue Oyster comes to mind). Scummy. The rooms aren't any better either. Searching my room found the Gideon Bible absent, there were cracks in the wall, stained carpet that was 30 or 40 years old, and the bed seemed like it would collapse upon you like an Iron Maiden if you dared try and lay on it. The only redemption this room had was a plaque with John 3:16 written on it. However, I could almost imagine the immense amount of sin that has been committed inside these four walls. How do I miss my university dormitory. At least there I felt like I was at home. [ed. note: During this tour, we returned to Yorkton numerous times, and I was given the same hotel room each time. Strange as it sounds, that room grew on me, and I began to call it my home away from home. There were some things, like certain smells, the graffiti on the paintings hung on the walls, or sounds like the dripping of the faucet that I found comforting. It may have been a dump, but the familiarity of having the same room was comforting.]
Yorkton seems like a fairly small city [City of Yorkton website states 16,747 residents]. It doesn't seem like there is much to do in this town either. When we moved our equipment into the bar, the patrons were so drunk they could barely speak to us. I couldn't understand a word they were saying.
Before we began playing, we managed to grab some food. I abandoned Dave and Arleen and let them have dinner themselves. I walked across the street to Dairy Queen for a greaseball burger. The counter girl that helped me was especially cute... "Laura" was her name. I may just have to return here tomorrow and "introduce-myself-and-my-occupation" to her. I'd love to ask her out on a date, but then why should I? I am in this town for two more nights, and I have no idea if I will return.
We began playing at 9:30, and the bar was fairly empty, so we ran through the seven new songs Dave and Arleen learned this week. The band learned two Shania Twain songs: "That Don't Impress Me" was one of them, I cannot recall the other at this time. They also learned that new Cher song "Believe", that new Blondie tune "Maria", and the Santana classics "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways". I have my work cut out for me, again. The first set sounded really shaky. Arleen and I couldn't seem to get things together. I had big trouble finding the groove tonight for some reason. Maybe it's because of the new songs, but more likely because we are playing a lot of country music in this establishment.
We had a few dancers, and the response from the crowd was generally warm -- from those who were listening. The other patrons were there (of course) for one reason: cheap alcohol.
Over the course of the evening, the band tried playing a few songs with me on back-up vocals. Dave cancelled that idea pretty quick. He claimed learning vocals in a rehearsal situation would be a better idea. I suppose I agree with him, but at least he let me sing The Tragically Hip's New Orleans is Sinking, which went over quite well with the crowd.
As the night progressed, we managed to fall into the groove. There were still screw-ups, but I imagine I will go downstairs tomorrow afternoon and iron some things out for myself. The crowd changed swiftly in this bar, and as the night went on, more people occupied the dance floor, and more cheered. We got one encore tonight; those I always enjoy. We decided to kick their asses by playing Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water. That gave them enough to chew on for the rest of the evening.
After we cleaned up the stage and shut off the PA and stage lights, Dave, myself, and Fluffy (Dave and Arleen's dog) went for a walk to the 7-Eleven for some munchies and other necessities. It was a nice, warm night, and a good way to unwind from this long day. Twenty hours ago, I got up; I guess I should be exhausted. My headache has returned, but so far it is tolerable. Maybe I'll take some ibuprofen to knock me out tonight. I think I got the headache from sleeping in an uncomfortable position in the back of the truck. Sleeping in this bed with the springs poking through probably won't help either. It's well after 4:00 in the morning, and it's about time to get some rest.
posted by MC at 21:27
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