Please, Can We Have Our Generator Back?

Greetings once again from the road, y’all! We’re currently in Hickory, NC, hanging at an RV park. I know it’s been a while since I did an update. We’ve been pretty busy, running from one show to another, and catching some studio time in between shows. So let me catch you up to date.

Today, we’re playing the Catawba Fair, just outside Hickory. As soon as we’re done with the show, we pack it all back up in the bus and head back up to PA. If all goes as planned we’ll have the generator reinstalled and we can live off our own power. Boy, will that be nice! We’ve all laughed at the fact that we’re looking at living in truck stops again as a step up! It’s not that all of the RV parks have been tough, but many of them have been. It’s also important to remember that there are a LOT more truck stops than there are RV parks, and they’re mostly on our route, rather than being as much as an hour out of the way. So say a prayer if you’re so inclined, OK?

The RV park we’re in right now – Lake Hickory RV Resort – is a gorgeous place. It’s right on a fairly large lake; there’s a bathroom close at hand, and the shower rooms are clean! It’s also got 50-Amp power, which is a real help. In the places that only have 30-Amp service we have to be very careful of what we power up so that we don’t blow breakers. That means we can’t run both AC units if we’re running much of anything else… like the coffee pot or microwave. Makes for a challenge, I can tell you.

Last night we went to Brenda’s Bar & Grill for food and relaxation. Actually, only four of us went – Ryan, Jared, Mickey and me – while others took off for other activities. Brett’s fiancé came down from Nashville to spend the night and catch the show today; the girls went and had an all-day girl-fest, which I’m sure was something they really enjoyed. Being the only two women in a bus full of testosterone has to be a pain in the neck, you know?

Anyhoo… Ryan introduced us to 3-ball and 5-ball pool. None of the rest of us had every played before, but they’re easy games to pick up. You set the 3 object balls, and each player breaks, then shoots until they’ve pocketed all the balls. Whoever has the low score wins that round. The first person to win 3 rounds wins the game. To my – and everyone else’s – surprise, I won, and took the $20 pot!

Later, Ryan and I played 5-ball – it’s the same rules as 3-ball, just more object balls to pocket. Again, I was dumbfounded that I won in three rounds straight. It’s fair to say, however, that Ryan was handicapped by a very sore right elbow and shoulder.

About that shoulder – Ryan threw that arm out up in Wisconsin at the Rockin’ E Jamboree. That’s an all-week Elvis tribute competition; we didn’t compete, we were a feature act to close the show after the finals. The show was a slam-dunk win, and the band played better than we ever have. The boss was very, very pleased, and it appears that the gig led to more work in the future. I’ll say more about that when the papers are signed, and not until then.

We’ve done one show since the injury and Ryan, like the trooper he is, made it through with flying colors. I’ve got to say, Ryan doesn’t let anything stop him from getting the job done. Whether on-stage, driving, or doing the million things necessary to keeping the tour going, Ryan just puts his head down and gets the job done. It’s one of the main reasons I work so hard to help out. I mean, think about it: it’s really hard to lay back and do nothing when the boss is the first one to pitch in, and the last one to stop working.

I’ve got to be honest: it’s hard to remember what shows we’ve done since my last entry. When you’re on a bus, constantly running from one gig to another, they all start to run together a bit. So, I know we did two gigs in Wisconsin, and several in Pennsylvania, but I’m not sure which fairs. When I get home and can sort things out a bit I’ll remember which was which.

I do, however, remember that the last gig we did was for the GDS Fair in PA. The reason I remember this one so clearly is the hang afterwards, which was at The Hotel – a really cool restaurant and bar. Mike, the owner, was kind enough to keep the kitchen open late so we could have real food. And, boy, what a menu! The only negative was that the cook who has the recipe for the Melt Your Face wings (or whatever they call them) was not in the house. A couple of the other cooks told me about it, and I immediately ran to get Mickey. One close patron said he tried ONE BITE, and darn near threw up. I chuckled, told him I knew how he felt, and then said, “my money’s on Mickey, and I’ll take any bet you care to throw down.” It was a sucker bet. Mickey can slurp molten lava without batting an eyelash.

Other than that, however, the night was a blast. Mike gave us all T-shirts and we took pictures in front of the main sign. We got to hang with a big handful of PA fans, including all the regulars. I also met Sue. I can pretty much guarantee that Sue will never forget me. She may also never talk to me again. See, she got a soda that must have used up the very last of the syrup in the can, as it was extremely weak. In fact, it looked like weak tea in the glass. Sitting in the very next booth, I overheard her say, “this tastes like Weasel Pee!!” [Actually, Weasel **ss, but this is a family blog, you know? But it was all adults in the house, so here choice of verbiage is certainly acceptable. Anyhoo...] The two fans sitting in the booth with me laughed along with me. I couldn’t help it; I just had to turn and ask, “exactly when was the last time you tasted that particular concoction, cause I so seldom see it on a menu?”

Sue burst out laughing, and it the game was afoot. I kept going, and she kept laughing harder and harder. It got to the point she was crying and holding her sides, and trying really hard to not see me, much less hear me. After several minutes, I said to my booth-mates, “watch this; I won’t even say a word.”

I turned around and just looked at her, and she lost it. Then I’d occasionally turn around and throw out random phrases – peanut butter; hammer and tongs; banana split; you name it. Every time, Sue lost it even more. It was great!!

Back in my youth, we called this behavior a “laughing bummer.” You get to a point that you can’t stop. Your sides hurt, you can barely breathe, and anything the “comedian” does will set you off. It’s funny as all get-out for the watchers, but sometimes not so much for the laugher. So I eventually sort of “ignored” her for about a half hour so she could get out of it, and get back to normal. Once she had come to her senses, I apologized for being so hard on her, and told her I hoped she’d speak to me the next time she saw me. She was a very good sport about it all, and promised that she’d never think of a soda in the same way again. Well… neither will I, Sue. Neither will I.

Right now our focus is getting the generator back, and preparing for a show with Doug Brewin – a great Alan Jackson tribute that works through American Icon, the same management company that oversees Ryan’s work. We also want to get back to the studio to finish recording the songs for the upcoming CD. As I said before, Richard Rupert is a great engineer, and his studio is as comfortable to work in as my own living room.

Right now, I need to close this out and get ready to do a waste dump. Not the most enjoyable job on the bus, but we have to do it about once a week or so, or we’ll have to deal with waste overflow – and yo DON’T want to deal with that, I can promise you.

When that’s done, I’ll run back down to the office and upload this update. I already added a lot of videos to the Videos page, but you’ll have to look through the various galleries to see which ones are new. Here’s a list of the clips I added, or at least most of them.

Tour Rig, Take 2 – this one is a quick run-through of the gear I’m using on the tour. No sound samples, as I taped it after load-in, and didn’t want to make the security folks wait any more than was absolutely necessary.

Lane on Duck – While at an RV park in Pennsylvania, we met a family of ducks that were very tame. So tame, in fact, that they came right up to us to be fed. It took a while to get the black one to take a chip out of my hand, but he finally did. I caught just a few minutes on tape.

Texas Mouthwash – Mickey Springston, our Musical Director and guitarist, is a SERIOUS heat freak. This guy can devour a dozen of the hottest wings on earth in less than six minutes, all without batting an eyelash. It’s insane! In this video we discuss heat in general, and Tobbasco Sauce in particular.

Triple Atomic Wing Challenge. This one is of me winning the challenge by eating a six-pack of Triple Atomic Wings. While I used some speed gimmicks to keep the video short, there are NO edits, so it’s proof that I really did what I say I did. And yes, I got the T-shirt!

Live Music – there are four concert videos from the West End Fair, second night. In addition to the Elvis tribute, we also do occasional shows that are a mixed bag of oldies, classic rock and soul, and country. These four videos are taken from that show, each one featuring a different vocalist. One piece of advice – save Suspicious Minds for dessert. You’ll be glad you did! You’ll find this one down in Fun Stuff, as that’s what it is… pure, unadulterated fun!

OK. Really. I’m done. I’ll see you next time around. Until then, stay cool, and…

Keep Thumpin’!

Lane on Bass