code / design - Leslie Grove
photography - Cary Whitley
DBT and Me - 03/30/2008
Most of you out there know now that I have taken the merchandise manager's position for my friends, the Drive By Truckers. Many might wonder what it's like out there on the road with one of America's best rock bands. This year I plan on writing about my road experiences to demystify what actually happens on the road. we all have a good time, but the sex, drugs and rock and roll myth can be debunked right now. Everybody's got families and wives and some of us have children, and mainly we just want to get the job done, meet some of the locals, and have a couple of drinks before bed. That being said I have met some very cool people, and had some serious fun. Not maybe what you would think , but fun nonetheless.
This year kicked off with three shows in Athens in January. The shows were really cool, the first being an airing of all the songs off their new CD, Brighter Than Creation's Dark. I met many people from other places like Saskatchewan. Notable Superfans (Superfans are the category of DBT followers that travel from show to show, buy all the merchandise they can and generally are a large part of what keeps this DBT boat afloat.) that showed were the Reverend Todd (from Ohio), Michael Doherty from NYC, my good friend Lara from TN, and too many others for me to remember. Doherty is one of the coolest guys in the DBT Superfan stable. He actually bought me dinner at Bisset's during the three day run. I didn't really get to hang out much because I sold a ton of the new CD, and a great gig poster. The CD wasn't supposed to be released until later in the month, but we got special permission to sell it at the shows. All three shows sold out, and I had a great time with my buddy Lara, Doherty, and other local friends of mine.
In February the tour proper kicked off. We left on the first leg on the 6th, and made our way in the bus across the country to our first show in Anaheim, CA. We took off around 12 noon or 1 and made it all the way to Roland, OK before stopping for the night. We got up and looked around for something edible and had a hard time with that, considering that the only thing around was an Arby's. I was worried about food poisoning, but got indigestion instead.
Took off again on the 7th and made it to Albuquerque, where we stopped for the night because one the wheel on the equipment trailer fell off, which damaged the axle, and forced us to sit in Albuquerque for the evening. We had a great view of the town from the truck stop we stayed, and ventured out a bit in the desert as well, but not too far because it was pretty damn cold there
We went into town, where we found out the only thin you can really find there is silver jewelry, turquoise, and pottery. If you were needing those items, it would be a stroke of luck to be stuck there. After some bad mexican food (in Albuquerque!), we found a great candy store called the Candy Lady and hauled ass back to the Flying J and spend the evening making up songs about everyone on the bus for a mythical podcast that we were planning on putting on the web, but thankfully the next morning we realized how goofy the whole thing was. Fun though.
We started driving on the 9th for LA and pretty much drove all the way there from Albuquerque in one day (or so I remember). As I write this it's almost April, and I've seen almost the whole country in the meantime, and some details have been forgotten.
The second day in Anaheim, we waited for Patterson to show. He went to the Grammy's, because the Bettye Lavette CD he co-produced and played on with the rest of the band (DBT) was nominated for Best Blues record of the year. They got beaten by Eric Clapton (When's the last time he's really done anything interesting?)and JJ Cale (who I can't fault for his win). We went to Disneyland for awhile before realizing that the place was really only interesting to those who haven't hit puberty yet. It was awful, single mothers slumping dejectedly on benches,while their hellion offspring ran wild. After riding a couple of rides and walking around we beat a hasty retreat to the hotel bar.
On the 11th it was time for the first show, and got my first glimpse of the opening band the Felice Brothers, who were really great, and turned out to be really cool guys to boot. I had as much fun watching them as I did DBT for the near-month we toured with them. The House Of Blues really wasn't a very good venue, and the show as a relatively short one, because Patterson wasn't feeling very well. You wouldn't have known it from the show he put on. I ended up with a backache because the club was on the second floor, and the elevator was broke, and their crappy crew didn't lift a finger to help me load heavy tubs full of t-shirts up two flights of stairs, and didn't really help out on the way out, either.
The next morning we did a radio show somewhere in Hollywood, and made our way on to the Avalon Theatre there. Nixon did hid "Checkers" speech there, and the place had a lot of history as well.
The show was good with P. Hood on the mend, and I met a cutie named Lisa that hung around the merch booth for most of the show. I met the comedian Matt Besser, who turned out to be a nice guy, and saw Lucinda Williams there as well.
The next day we found ourselves in San Francisco, playing at a nice place called the Mezzanine. We were near Minna St., which was cool because I remember sending money there in the 80's to Ralph Records. I couldn't remember the exact address, but it was cool to be on the same street that once housed the Cryptic Corporation! I got to guest on the encore during the show. Patterson poured at least three shots of Jack down my throat as we played, and I don't really recall all that much of the rest of the evening....I do remember the next morning getting up and hitting the famous City Lights bookstore, epicenter of the Beat Generation, situated near streets named after Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlenghetti and Kenneth Patchen.
After spending too much money there, we went and found a great Italian deli, run the old-fashioned (read:right)way.
We left for Portland, OR early the next morning. I met my old Athens friend Brian Head and his wife Sarah, before the show, and repaired to a bar called The Republic (I think). It featured old alcoholics and people generally on the last train ride before Skid Row. I loved the place. Portland has the distinction of being the most courteous city I've ever been to that had any great population. I began feeling sorta crappy during the show, and my health fairly declined after that day. I never was SICK during the trip, but I had a persistent cough that never really went away. I had shouted myself hoarse by then also, and never really regained the full range of my voice until well into March. I'd feel a little better then I would have to shout over the band to sell merch, or better yet, shout out "LOTSA PEOPLE WHO DIED, DIED!" over and over on stage. That WAS fun, but it didn't really help my throat at all. I'll take it in trade, though, given the vast amount of side benefits I reap by appearing on stage with the guys, as well as the fun of just getting on stage in front of people and playing.
The next two days found us in Seattle, WA. I woke up under that big needle building (in the bus, guys, not literally!)and we went to the Showbox for two rollicking days of fun and cavortment. We went down to that market on the docks and had a look around. I found yet another bookstore and bought a Ramones bio (which didn't turn to be that well written, but it was OK), and II found a cool pair of earrings for my friend Angela. The second night we were there I got to guest on the encore, but felt that I played like an idiot.
The following day we were off and took the ferry across Puget Sound to Bellingham Island (I think). That was nice, being out on the bay and looking back to the Seattle skyline to see Mount Rainier looming over the top, literally dwarfing some of man's greatest building innovations in it's majesty. That night, we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, and went back to the bus to prepare for our departure to Boise, ID.
During our trip to Boise, we were all asleep,but our driver John told us we came really close to being hit by a meteor (!) on the way. We thought he'd logged too many miles in too short a time, but looked it up on the internet later and saw that meteors were indeed dropping out of the skies onto the Pacific Northwest.
Boise wasn't all that incredible a place but the people at the venue (The Big Easy) were nice, and the evening passed quickly. After the show we left for Salt Lake City almost immediately and were treated to the sight of the Rockies bathed in full-moon splendor. We turned out all the lights in the back lounge of the bus and passed many miles watching out the windows at this wondrous sight before drifting off to bed.
Salt Lake City was a strange town, although the fans at the show were great. One of them, a girl named Eleanor, who I had met at the Athens shows in January , kept a steady supply of beers on my merch table. Bless you Eleanor, and I hope to see you soon, darlin'!
I awoke the next morning to Matt, our esteemed tour manager and soundman extraordinaire, telling me, "Get up, we're almost to Woody Creek!" Woody Creek, for those of you who don't know, was the Colorado home of noted humorist and political writer Hunter S. Thompson. We passed through W.C. and continued to Aspen, situated high amongst the Rockies. The town was beautiful, and I can see why people want to live here, although after walking around the town and looking at the prices on everything from candy to haute couture, I can see why "everyone" doesn't live here.
The venue we played, The Belly Up, was small, but comfy and I played yet another encore. When we left the club, we were treated to the sight of a few inches of snow which had fallen during the evening. Not the easiest thing to load out in snow, and this seemed to start a repeating pattern for the rest of our trip.
