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.