So I spoke too soon when I said we had the whole bus fixed. The day after our Houston show we were just about the hit the road when the bus wouldn’t start again! We knew for sure that it was starter related and the bypass we rigged up didn’t work this time which told us that it wasn’t an issue with the ignition sequence. In other words, not electrical. Chris climbed under the bus and used the ol’ smack it with a hammer trick and the bus fired up. Once we got it running we didn’t stop until we hit a starter and alternator shop. After talking to them we confirmed that they had a new starter for us and that the one we had rebuilt was toast. According to them, these starters aren’t really rebuild-able and it was only a matter of time until we had an issue with it. Needless to say we bought a new starter and seeing as we are now experts on the removal and installation of these things so we were back to operational in no time. Fingers crossed we should have no more issues.
We have crossed a lot of ground since the last blog post and while normally I like to say something about each city but this time I’m going to give a greatest hits. If I leave any one or anything out I apologize, this is just going to be quick sketch of the stuff that really jumps out.
Megan has turned us on to Planet Fitness as they offer a free one day trial admission giving us access to the full use of their facilities, including showers. This has really come in handy a couple times and we plan on taking full advantage in the future.
This tour brought us to Atlanta for the first time and it was a show we were all looking forward to. The venue was really cool and the owner was dope. Its not as often as we would like that a venue has parking set aside for bands. We would love to see this more as its one of the biggest headaches we face on the road is where to park our beast. The crowd showed us a lot of love and we really dug the vibe of the surrounding area.
Our rip up to Raleigh was also much anticipated as we had an absolute blast last time. The stage at the Maywood was bigger but the crowd was just as hyped and we loved the chance to reunite with our brothers in Knightmare! We have already started talking about our return and spending more time exploring other cities in NC.
The Maywood. Raleigh, NC
Flash forward a little bit to the drive from Charleston WV to Clifton NJ. The ETA on our GPS showed that it was going to be a tight drive and with the interview schedule we have for this tour it meant that the two Chrises took part in an interview while they drove and Megan and I tried to catch up on some sleep. To make things even more intense the GPS led us to the wrong address and we made the mad dash to the venue just in time. We have always been the kind of band that shows up hours early to gigs so we felt the rush. Overall it was a fun gig and the stage had ample space to run around on. Sundays can be hit or miss so we truly appreciate everyone who came out.
We thankfully had the next day off to rest and recuperate from the number of long drives we had in the days previous. The temperature dropped as we hit Philadelphia and we were treated to snow Tuesday morning. Our show last night at the Tusk was well worth carrying our gear up the venues stairs and we appreciated the generosity of those in attendance. It was great to meet the guys from Brave Words and we can’t wait to see the pictures they took of our set. We were also floored by the generosity one person in particular who took us out for pizza and cheesesteak after the show. We had been itching to try some authentic Philly cheesesteak and appreciated having a local show us around!
Tonight we will ripping it up at Blackthorn 51 in Queens, NY! Come rock with us New York!
Keep the Faith,
Leighton Holmes
(Bass Guitar)
Comments