Well, Clark...

It might be a good to time to put on a pot of coffee and cancel all of your appointments for the day.  You're going to need the time to finish this one.  See, I started this blog with the intention of updating it every two days.  That has proved to be more than challenging over the past days.  Well, that's really an understatement.

An understatement!!

I am fully aware of what life can look like at the start of a trip.  We've all been there.  Family vacations start with disaster, sometimes with a lack of enthusiasm, and tours are no different.  It can take a show or two to get some kinks worked out while everyone is trying to establish some sort of routine.  This tour has taken this natural occurrence to a new level.

In a nutshell,

we made it to the first show with no troubles.  There were a few technical issues during sound check and the show itself, but the performance went well.  I felt great!  Everyone showed up on time to the bus at 6am the next morning.  Then we broke down at lunch time.  Luckily for us we got stranded at Cracker Barrel!  With no hope of getting our bus/RV fixed we rented an SUV and a truck (only options available), loaded what we could, and sped off to Phoenix.  We arrived 30 minutes before doors opened, quickly loaded in our gear, and sped off to Starbucks for wi-fi and Radio Shack for some last minute fixes.

Thinking we had made some pretty awesome lemonade from our lemons, we walked on stage with the idea that we would things were looking up.  We were wrong.  My in-ear monitor pack (how I hear on stage) went out during the first verse of the first song.  I could not hear the entire show, and had to play the show to music in my head.  I should remind you that this was the second show I have ever played with this band.  It was time for bed.  This day needed so badly to be over.

Feeling refreshed from our good night's sleep, we pulled into Las Vegas with plenty of time to spare.  We kept a relaxed pace during load-in and sound check, and everything worked normally.  Just after sound check we received a call letting us know that our bus would be waiting for us in the parking lot when the show was over.  Everything was beginning to come together! Then...

From this...

...to this.  Crazy day.

During dinner, just before the show, we received another phone call informing us that our bus was on fire.  The fire extinguishers were no match.  All that is left are ashes and a charred frame.  Some band members lost most of their entire wardrobe,  most merchandise was burned, guitars and drums were burned or damaged by the smoke, and we were heart broken.  I honestly thought I would be on a plane home within 12 hours.  I was wrong again.

I am still in disbelief when I think of all the support that has poured in.  Complete strangers handing us cash and/or checks, local families offering baby supplies for Ryan and Jenny's baby (guitars/keys player is married to the lead singer), and the show promoter upgraded us to individual suites at our hotel.  That's right children,
I had curtains that opened with the touch of a button!!

Now I'm sitting in Paso Robles, CA next to an open window while I type this.  It has been a long, strange week and this afternoon has been a welcome break.  It's a little hard to see in the pictures, but this town square looks like it could have been the set for Back to the Future (part 1 of course).

Thanks for hanging in there!!  Things seemed to have settled, and it's my hope that regular updates will be possible.  Now that you know the saga, soon I will fill the gaps with lessons learned.  Rather than posting pics with each post, I have created a photo album on Mobile Me.

Tour Pics

In closing, it's a tough moment to realize you have been living your life parallel to Clark W. Griswold.