Diablos Tour part III - Into the Mountains

Now we drive.
As I said before, this is one crazy country we live in, and I'll be damned if we're not in loco-central between Kentucky and Tennessee. I don't think the existing jokes can be topped, so I'll refrain. The point I want to make, however, is that despite the fact that we're blue-state socialists in the eyes of most of the folks down here, and we in turn, resent the hell out of of most of em for electing a dumb-ass failed oilman to lead the world, we can stiull come together around music and forget for a while (or a couple hours at least) the stuff that keeps us at odds. We can play some tunes, scratch them just below the surface, and reveal everyone's basic humanity. OK, I'm getting a little hot-winded, but you get my point. Still, I can't help think of all the insane characters we've met on tour who, if they saw us without instruments, would probably kick the living shit out of us.
It just so happens that we met another such character at The Preservation Pub in Knoxville, TN. Knoxville is mostly a down-on-it's-luck mountain town, with a large college and legendary musical legacy. Which means people here are generally spoiled as far as hearing some damn fine artists on a regular basis. It also means that crazies from all over the Appalachians flock here to oggle transplanted co-eds, hock their banjos, and drink their faces off. It's a pretty good combination while you are on stage. It's once you are off and you have to mingle...

Take our friend here. I forget his name because I was drunk. My bad. But he puts together a party every August in the wilds of West Virginia where 200 of his best friends all get together, bury a "few" kegs, smoke up, shoot some guns and then go white water rafting. The best part is that we are now officially invited to play it next year. Hot damn! Sounds like fun. And certain death. I will be referring this gig to our good frineds The Drunk Stuntmen who are much braver than we are...
But he was very nice and liked our music. Which puts him 2 points ahead of most of 'em. This picture was taken after he talked ot Damon for roughly 90 minutes about his Chattanooga bounty hunting business.
After ranting like that, the funny part is that for our Knoxville show, I wish we'd had 30 more people just like him in the room! We went on too early and there weren't too many folks out yet. but we also met a fellow New England traveller who happened to see our name in the paper while he was in town and came out to see us - he had one of our CDs in his car for travelling music - how friggin cool! He too was touring the states - headed all the way out West. Man, is he gonna be sick of that CD...
The band after us was likely the best other band we played with this tour: The Whiskey Scars from right down the road. And true to form, they were just some kids who like to hang out at The Preservation Pub and decided it needed a house band. Their sweet and scruffy rock tasted awfully nice with beer. They were also incredibly nice and their guitar player Matt actually hooked us up the next day with some excellent contacts at WDVX, the great Knoxville radio station. Thanks Matt. Good luck with everything and I hope the Scars are still rockin' the next time we come through. I'll give this gig a 6.8 out of 10.


The Whiskey Scars

Now we head back to our super-sketchy hotel that should have been free given it's in one of the scariest neighborhoods I've ever slept in. No, actually, they should have paid us. I do eventually get to sleep (must be the half a case of beer) and am nervously dreaming when my phone rings. It's 4am and it's Josh. "We're lost." He and Travis got lost on the way back from the Pub?! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That's what I'm thinking even though somehow I know I will pay for it. But there's no way I can help them. So off to sleep for me. So sorry.
They do get back eventually and I I pay thricely. First, my karma gets a kick upside the head when some coked up mutha decides he's got a beef with someone in our room and starts WAILING on the door and window at 4:30. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. I'm so scared I almost pee. Then I jump out of bed. Then I go peek out the window and he's staring right at me. I'm waiting for the shot. He looks surprised and stumbles away. holy god.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. Now it's 6:30 and the sun is coming up. what's this dude's problem? Now I'm just annoyed and hungover. No one else wakes up. Why am I the sensitive sleeper?!?!? I get out of bed again, look out the window and he's already gone down the block. I guess he was just getting another shot in. Or Josh and Travis paid him.
I pay for the 3rd time the next day when I'm ready to roll at about 10 and I have to wait in Scaryville until Josh can pry his ass out of bed at noon-thirty. I'll try to be a little more sympathetic next time he gets lost in Knoxville at 4am.
After checking out, we head downtown to grab some coffee and check out Blue Plate Special, the WDVX radio show that's taped live at their Knoxville studio. Matthew from The Whiskey Scars happens to be there and introduces us to some station folk who give us a tour. I don't think i'll ever get used to southern hospitality. If this were Cambridge and we were from Tennessee, the band we played with the night before would pretend they didn't know us and the station manager would kick us out on the street - after berating us! We catch half a set from the day's band and hit the road for a long stretch up to Harrisonburg, VA.

"The Red Wild Flowers Float on the Grass..."
I-81 through Virginia has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate east of the Mississippi. the Blue Ridge Mountains, the rolling farms, the 200 speed traps...ok, not 200, but we count over 30 cops in 3 hours of driving. With such a healthy fine base, you'd think Virginia would be the wealthiest state in the union.
We get to Harrisonburg, check into the hotel and head down to the bar to check it out. Tonight we're at Finnegan's Cove, a college bar without a website or in-house sound system. I'm always skeptical of venue's who haven't taken the time to either buy a PA system for their entertainment or enter the 21st century by promoting themselves online. My hunches are validated by the "marquee" in front of the venue (see left). What is it with Los Diablos and seafood on this tour?!?!?
This is gonna be a long night. Not only do we play from 10pm - 2am, but the bar is full of 21 year old Britney Spears lookalikes. They're gonna love us. It's hard to describe what it's like when 80% of the people in a bar ignore you when you are playing - especially when that amounts to about 75 people. To our credit, we win over the other 25% and get some dancers, sell some CDs and get slapped on the back in the urinals (always a sign you've impressed the local frat boys -can't they wait until you're done pissing?!). So the night ends up a 6.5 out of 10.
We used to kill all over this state: Richmond, Charlottesville, Arlington, Williamsburg; and we've been reduced to this kind of gig. I'm feeling a little bummed about this one.