Tuesday marked our first show in New Mexico as we decended on the Jam Spot in Albuquerque. We always appreciate getting to do our thing on a nice size stage.
We may have found out why Buggs Bunny never took the left turn at Albuquerque when on our way to Tuscon Arizona our bus suddenly lost power and stranded us on the side of the road 6 miles from the state line. We tried everything we could to still make the gig but it just wasn’t in the cards. We had to tow the bus 20 miles back to the town of Lordsburg where we had found a mechanics shop to help us out. We spent a cold, and honestly boring as all hell, night parked outside the shop and waited for daylight so we could get fixed and on our way.
We never take cancelling a gig lightly, and it was only we had exhausted all other options that we made the tough call. We promise to make it up to Tucson in the future and we wont take 3 years to do it!
We found out two things come morning: one, that our starter was kinda screwed. Two, our starter is a rare part. Luckily there was a guy in town that rebuilds starters. The mechanics got us going and we didnt dare turn off the bus until we reached El Paso and were confident in our parking spot.
El Paso was fun and considering it was Halloween and there is always a million things happening we had a decent turn out. It was our first time in town but we had a repeat face who saw us 3 years ago in Detroit. We really enjoyed the venue and the crowd and we will be coming back through town!
We were not as stoked when, after the show, our bus wouldn’t start again. Chris and I spent the night under the bus abd on the phone as we consulted with his dad on a way to get us in motion. After working our way through the early hours of the morning and taking a trip to a mostly conviently located O’Reilly’s Auto Parts we were greeted with the warm throated roar of triumph as the bus’ diesel engine came to life! After a gleeful little jig and a back slapping embrace we got the hell out of dodge. The bus wasn’t 100% fixed but gawddangit it had 6 wheels and it rolled!
We hit the road with just enough time to make it our next gig in San Antonio. What can I say about San Antonio other than hot damn we felt the love! And the heat! The outside temperature was more or less what we would be used to at home but inside the venue was a total hotbox. It was hot, greasy and loud and we loved every second of it! San Antonio is definitely a stand out show and other cities are going to have to work hard to compete. The venue was cool as hell too, with the whole area having a vibe I haven’t seen matched by many other places. We will return!
We took it as a good sign that our gerry-rigged ignition method continued to work even if we still had issues with a couple other onboard electrical systems. We also had a lot of hope as we were meeting up with a mechanic friend before our gig in Lawton, OK. Those of you who have followed along on previous tours and read along with the blogs will recognize our buddy Matt as one of the crazy bastards who rode from Juneau Alaska to see us in Whitehorse. On top of that he also flew down to see us in Salt Lake City 3 years ago. We called him when we broke down just to get an opinion and were stoked to hear that he had just moved to Tyler Texas and was planning on seeing us in Lawton. We talked it over and he is officially our number 1 US fan if not world wide!
Thanks for saving our asses! #WrenchForGlory
We cannot express enough how much gratitude we have for Matt as he really saved our asses. He came out early with a couple tools and went through all of our issues and by the time he was finished we were more than good to go! I won’t go into detail what all of the issues were but let’s just say there were some slight safety concerns that thankfully aren’t there anymore! Can’t wait to see you again Matt! You will always be welcome at our shows!
The gig in Lawton was a blast and with a fully operational bus it was time to get moving back on to Houston, Tx. We are returning to the Acacia bar. We have fond memories from the last time we were here and we are excited to play again!
Keep the Faith,
Leighton Holmes
(Bass Guitar)