Back from a 3 wk tour with the BUS (long post)

[prevost82]

I just got back from a 3-week tour with a Jamaica Reggie artist (Mystic Bowie)
I was asked to put a pick-up band together (4 pc) to support the tour and new CD release. I also was in charge of being tour manager, music director and driving the bus.

We had 2 rehearsals and started the tour with a film crew of 3, in tow with another vehicle, filming all the shows for a music video that will be released this spring.

The first 4 gigs we played large venues at different ski hills that were around 100 to 200 km apart and had temps down around –21C and the bus preformed great, ran the generator 24 hrs a day ... nice and toasty inside with the Hydro-Hot, no airline freeze ups (brake system) ... all was good. All the shows were a sell-out and those in attendance loved the new material ... sold around 500 CD's at the 4 venues.

The next 4 gigs were in the Okanagan Valley with temps down around –12C. These venues were smaller (80 to 125 seat).

The first gig on this leg, we were playing at a restaurant / live music venue. The place was packed and we were rocking it out, when in the middle of a song Keith Emerson's (Emerson Lake and Palmer) hand appear from behind me and starts playing my upper keyboard (synth) ... he starts doing his Prog Rock thing over a reggie groove that we have going on and I start comp'ing chords on the Hammond B3 to what Keith was doing and the crowd went wild. I kind'a knew Keith might show up as I was playing with him at the next gig.

The second night was in Kelowna at the Grand Hotel ballroom (500 seat) and I was playing with a 4 different bands that night, so I had my work cut out for me. I started with supporting (on piano) Tammy Weymouth singing some classic Etta James songs with John Ellis on petal steel (won 4 producer of the year awards this year), Peter August on bass, Scott Gamble on drums and Dan McBride on guitar (session player with: The Guess who, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, to name a few).

Next I was performing with Mystic Bowie and Keith sat in on one of our songs. I then played with the John Lee Sanders Band, New Orleans, funk / blues / gospel, I love playing Johns music. We finish off the night with a performance with Keith Emerson, with me on Hammond, John Lee on piano and vox and Keith on Moog Synth .... We played Lucky Man and Fan Fare for the Common Man and brought the house down. After the show we packed up our gear and headed to an after party at a penthouse in Kelowna for all the musicians and a few guests for an all night jam session ... John Lee and I did a did a wonderful arrangement of Whiter Shade of Pale. 

We had a short drive to Penticton for our next show and played to a pack house again. The next show was in Enderby at a restaurant / live music venue and it was snowing all the way there, which is always fun driving in, but it was uneventful and never broke traction once. Again we played to a pack house, I'd contacted Gary Werschler (a forum member here) but he didn't make the show. ... sorry Gary the Datastorm  doesn't like snow so I could answer you email from the venue.

The next leg of the trip was to Vancouver Island (320 mile + a ferry ride), which meant that we had to be on the road at 7 am, after getting to bed at 3 am. We woke up to more snow and warmed up the bus and headed down the road. All was good until we hit Kelowna and it was a whiteout, so I took my time and head up 97c to the pass (26 miles of 4 to 6 % grade) and the snow slowed down half way to the summit and the road was good. We stopped in Merritt to fuel up and then headed down Hwy 5, over another pass, and it started snow again.

On the Vancouver side of the pass (6% grade) I felt the bus break traction and start to go sideways, so I quickly disengaged the Jakes and let it straighten out then reengaged the Jakes for the remainder of the hill and all was well. This happen a couple more times on other downhill grades and I repeated the same procedure with the same result. Coming into Hope the snow started to get really greasy and I saw a wall of red lights up ahead on a hill. There were about 8 OTH trucks crawling up the hill with no chains on and they starting to spinout or side sideways, so I popped the tag axle for more traction and manage to crawl passed them as they were sliding around ... not fun. Once we got over that hill the road flattened out and we just took our time and headed to Vancouver, around Chilliwack the snow stopped and the road was clear of snow.

We got to the ferry terminal at 5 pm and made it to the venue in Duncan 8pm, we were 2 hrs late, and quickly set-up and started the show ... that was a hard show to get-up for after driving all day. Again we played to a pack house and somehow got the energy level up and had a good show.

Next morning we could take or time as we only had a 1 hr drive to Victoria, but had to go over the Malahat pass, but it was good. We got to the venue around 4 pm and set-up and were ready for a 5 pm sound check. We manage to get a few winks in before the show, again sold-out, and the band was just smokin' and got called back for to encores

Our next stop was at a ski hill mid island (136 miles north) so we were on the road by 9 am and arrived at the venue around 2 pm after stopping for lunch. We got set-up and had a nap before sound-check and had lots of energy for the show, the band is really smokin' and the crowd is loving it, we play an hour longer that we are suppose too ... great night.

The next venue was only a few mile down the ski hill, but it had snowed the night before, so it was a nerve-racking drive, the bus started going sideways a couple of times and I was only doing 30 MPH with the Jakes on low, but we made it down with no problems.

We get to the venue around 2pm and by 3pm it's snowing again and on Van Island, it doesn't snow much on the island and when it does the snow is really greasy and people don't know how to drive in it. We get set-up, do sound check and don't start the show until 10pm, to a half full room, because of the snow. We play until 1:30 get packed up and get to bed around 3:30am and have to get up at 7am ... yuk.
Well the snow stopped sometime during the night and turned to rain, so again took our time and made the 10:30am ferry and back in Merritt at around 5pm. The next day the film crew took footage of the bus driving up to the venue and leaving the venue with 8 girl extra (screaming) and some video taken inside the bus as well as us loading and unloading equip from the bays.

I had a great time on the tour, all the musicians in the band were top-shelf and so it was a blast to play with them. The bus ran like a clock, didn't miss a beat and was a great home away from home for the tour the only think I did was to drained the air tanks as soon as we parked and check the fluids.

Well that my latest bus story ... sorry for the long post.

Ron

[fe2_o3]

   I for one loved your post. With your vivid description, I could see the smiles and the crowd moving in sync, and feel the rhythm of the room. Your story also brought back memories of road trips before buses. Back when we traveled in cars filled with guitars and michs. and towed a trailer full of amps, keyboards, and drums. Crowded and quiet, one would drive while others slept. Then we would trade off. I often wished I could have used a bus, but they were way to spendy. We liked eating.
  Enough of that. I'm glad your tour was a success and your coach ran so well. This was a testament to hard work and talent...Cable

[PCC]

I used to drive those very roads and took those ferriues ride more often than I might have liked. I know that the scenery is spectacular, and driving those roads with a purpose, they just fly by.

You took me back decades with your narrative.

Did you get as far north as Comox/Courtenay?

Congrats on a great and successful tour.

Shows to go what doing the job right always pays off !!

[Hi yo silver]

Wow, what a post!  Thanks, Ron.  Great story..proves you're just as talented at driving that bus as you are at making music.  I'm worn out just from reading about that trip! LOL  You gotta love these buses.  Mine is looking a little sad today with 14 inches of snow on the roof.  I should be in FL or TX!

Dennis (In the Blue Ridge mtns. of VA)

[bobofthenorth]

I heard Ron play that keyboard at Whispering Pines last summer and I've driven all the passes he wrote about.  I'm glad I don't have to drive them at this time of year but sorry that I didn't get to hear him play.  Good story Ron - hope to see you again next summer.

[prevost82]

Thanks guys ..

Keith ... yea we were at Mnt Washington and at the MEX in Comox/Courtenay on the last 2 shows.

Bob .. yea we'll try and hook-up next summer.

Ron