The Honey Diaries
Thursday, July 10, 2008 – Providence, Rhode Island – Chan’s
Today was one wild ride!!! I don’t think we can take a whole tour of such excitement so we’re hoping, from here on out, to take it down a notch or two. Our day began by waking up at 3am to head to Dave’s house (Dave Kida, our drummer) which is about 20 minutes from the Los Angeles Airport, LAX. He let us park our car there to save some money. He had ordered a cab, and at precisely 5:15am an old 80’s Chevy van pulls up, painted the bright yellow color of the Yellow Cab Service. A stocky man jumps out, moving extremely fast, who looks like an ex-boxer complete with the lumpy nose from more than one lost fight. He’s a man of few words but definitely a man on a mission. After backing out of Dave’s dead-end street and coming extremely close to hitting the neighbor’s car, he guns the old van onto the main thoroughfare, and we begin the wildest nightmare cab ride of our lives. When moving forward the gas pedal is always pushed down as far as it will go and, after a light would force him to stop, I don’t think John Force from NHRA fame could have beat him off the line. He enters the freeway at traffic jam time by shooting completely across the freeway, from the slow lane to the carpool lane, without ever slowing down or making way for other cars. They had no choice but to make way for us. At this point we stop laughing and know we are going to wreck sooner or later. Our crazy Armenian cabby then starts jerking his head back and forth, like a fighter does in the corner of the ring, and then takes a few rapid slugs from his coffee mug, while at the same time he’s playing with his cab computer. He couldn’t seem to stay in one lane and got so close to the center cements freeway divider that Rod leaned over the front seat to ask him if he was ok. Rod told him we were getting worried since he couldn’t seem to stay in the lane. He said not to worry, he would get us there, and then proceeded to take the overpass curve at about 65mph, almost flipping the top-heavy old van. I strapped on my seatbelt and we all three hung on for dear life. He entered the terminal area at about 65mph, which is 4 lanes completely packed with buses, cars, and cabs, all changing lanes at the same time. I guess he was thinking that his honking would certainly clear a path for us. As he skids up to the Continental Airlines curb he’s forced to stop short of his mark by a big bus that’s parked in the 2nd lane over but the side storage doors are open and there’s no way he can get by. He screeches to a halt, throws open his door and jumps out screaming at the bus driver, something about a personal insult and his inferior driving and parking skills. We couldn’t get out of that van soon enough. The 20 minute drive took about 8 minutes but we all agreed it was the longest 8 minutes of our lives. And for that we paid $50.00.
Henry (Carvajal), our guitarist, and Dave went on a different plane than Rod and I. We all left at the same time but we connected in Cleveland, while Henry and Dave connected in Newark. I can hear the gasps of you veteran flyers at the mere mention of Newark. It’s just how we had to do it as there weren’t enough seats on either flight for all 4 of us. Both of our flights left Los Angeles on time but as Rod and I were sitting on the 2nd plane in Cleveland heading for Providence, Rhode Island, the captain came on the microphone saying there was a small problem with a part, and they were trying to replace it. The next announcement was that there was no replacement part at the entire airport and the mechanic would try to repair the problem. The next announcement was that we all had to go back into the terminal and we would eventually go to another gate and take a different airplane. This put us behind about an hour and we were so happy and relieved to finally arrive in Providence at about 6:15pm. Jim, our road manager, had been waiting at the airport an hour for us. He had driven all of our equipment out leaving California about 4 days earlier. Keep in mind that our first show at Chan’s started at 8pm.
Meanwhile, Dave and Henry have been delayed terribly at Newark and are now on the tarmac with 25 planes ahead of them preparing for takeoff. They won’t arrive until 8:30pm at the earliest. So we make the decision to have Jim drive us the 30 minutes to the hotel so Rod and I can get ready and go over to the club as soon as possible. It took Jim 2 hours to make two complete round trips to the airport and finally, at 9:30pm, the band was all together and getting ready to play.
We were so grateful to the audience for their understanding. We were 1 ½ hours late to start and only 6 people had to leave prior to the show. The remaining Flyer fans were a loud and appreciative audience and the band gave 200%, playing for over 2 hours. None of the remaining people left early. It was so good to be back again at Chan’s 3 years after our last show there. We went happily to our hotel with bags full of Chinese food and a sense of relief that we had pulled off a good show in spite of the many obstacles put in front of us in just this one crazy day. Oh, and one last thing, a bed never felt so good!!
Friday, July 11 – Fairfield, Connecticut – FTC Stage One
We all felt much better when we woke up today. From here on out we will be in our 15 passenger van and in charge of our own destiny. We will be on time to the gigs. In fact, we’ll be early!! We have a comfortable setup in our fairly new Ford van. Jim does all the driving and we listen to music, read, or sleep. We’ll stop one time on the trip for a meal, and maybe a pit stop or two if someone needs it, and arrive at the hotel in Fairfield in about 3 hours. Rod and I go to our room and rest while Jim takes all the gear over to the venue. It’s an old theater with a large stage and close up seating in a horseshoe around the stage. It’s what we musicians call a very intimate setting. Sugar Blue was also on the show and he started at 7:30. He has his wife on bass, a very pretty girl from Germany. They put on a great high-energy show as always and from the huge backstage room where we sat we could hear the audience screaming and clapping. It was a lot of fun in the “green room” as we had friends back there, Dave had 3 of his relatives (he grew up in Springfield, MA), and we’re all drinking, laughing, and telling stories!! I love the green room time. All the boring work of getting ready for the gig is behind me and I can hang out with my band mates, who I love, and our friends. It’s like being at a party (with a bottle of Chardonnay just for me) and the best part of going onstage to play is still ahead of me, teasing me with lots more fun to come. I could savor that moment forever. I wish I could bottle it up to have whenever I wanted, but then it wouldn’t be so special, would it? We finally went on at about 9pm and played one long set for about 90 minutes. Sugar Blue and his band had to leave early as they were very tired. They had driven all the way from Chicago to play this date, the first on their tour, and it had taken a long and grueling 14 hours.
The music sounded so good in this old theater. Some venues are better than others and this one made the music sound sweet. And when the music sounds sweet you play differently. We play more subtle with lots of emotion and dynamics. The slow blues brought tears to my eyes. This is the perfect setting for a band like ours. Our old friend, Kent Miller, sat in on harmonica. He’s a great player who never went pro but could have as he’s very talented and knows his way around on the harp. The show ended early, about 11pm. It was a great night. We gathered up our second meal of the day, cold now sitting out in to-go boxes, and headed back to the hotel. It’s not a very fancy hotel but it will do. Tomorrow we leave the hotel at checkout, the ultimate time to leave as we can sleep in late. We’ll travel 3 hours to Worcester, MA. This tour is very nicely set up as the drives are short. Any drive over 6 hours is a tough one when you have to play that night. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s gig as I’m hoping to see our good friends Roger and Joey. I heard that they might be showing up.
Saturday, July 12, 2008 – Worcester, Massachusetts – Gilroy’s
You’ll never guess where I am right now. I’m sitting on the floor in the tiny bathroom of my hotel room with the laptop propped up on the toilet seat (with lid shut, of course). Hey, it’s the only place I can go at 4am where I won’t disturb Rod. And I can’t just go wandering around the hotel or go to the parking lot and sit in the van as you never know where you might come across a serial murderer just looking for an aging piano player to torture and kill. Understandably, it would be revenge for all of the piano lessons his mom made him take, thus being unmercilessly teased and beat up regularly by the popular jock crowd in school. Hey, that would drive anyone to take up serial murdering. I have a lot to tell you as I didn’t write yesterday. You see, it’s now Monday morning. So, let’s go back to Saturday.
As I told you, we left the hotel at checkout. We should have eaten before we left as there was a really cool diner next door to the hotel. But we said the famous last words, “Let’s just get some miles behind us and stop down the road.” Well, in New England, eating establishments aren’t lined up neatly at the freeway exits like they are everywhere else in the States. There’s just a little white sign with 3 simple black drawings, in case you can’t read English, of a gas pump, a knife and fork, and a twin bed. These pictures could mean lots of things to different people, but New England city planners felt they would be adequate to describe what awaits you should you take that exit and drive a few miles either east or west. Being musicians on a tight schedule, we prefer to see the actual fast-food building before pulling off the freeway.
Well, it never happened and 3 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Worcester, MA. We were excited because it was a Courtyard by Marriott and we love the unusual occurrence of the club, or festival, putting us up in a nice hotel. Jim and the guys were heading over to the club to set up so Rod and I headed out on foot in old downtown Worcester (pronounced Woooostah). It was a Saturday but we had to walk for miles to find someplace open that served food. We didn’t see one fast food restaurant in the whole area. But we found an old (hey, everything is old in Worcester) Irish bar with a small menu, but by this point we were desperate. So feeling much better after a sandwich, we found our way back to the hotel for a couple of hours of rest in that nice big soft bed.
Gilrein’s had new owners and was completely remodeled and looked great. I had a feeling it was going to be a good sounding room and that we were going to have a great night. There was a blues duo playing when we walked in and the seats were mostly filled. It’s a small club that probably holds about 125 people. Everyone was so nice and came up to welcome us to town. There were old fans and new ones and, at last, Joey (we look like sisters) and Roger arrived. Now I knew it was going to be a great night. By now all the seats were filled and even the bar side had people standing, ready to watch. We played two sets, the first being a long set of 90 minutes at least, and from the first song the crowd was with us. They were listening to every note and, together, we were all in “Blues Heaven”. It was, musically, a perfect night spent with old friends. The owner and his wife were really sweet and took great care of us. They invited us to come back any time.
Later, at about 2am, sitting up in bed propped up against soft pillows, watching an old movie (we bring along a portable DVD player and movies from home), eating potato skins dunked in lots of sour cream and picking the kalamata olives out of the salad (god, I love olives!), I was in “Honey Heaven”. Ahhhh, sweet dreams.
Sunday, July 13, Rockland, Maine – North Atlantic Blues Festival
Until the alarm clock rang at 6:33am!! Yikes. Only 3 hours of sleep. But we have over 200 miles to travel and must get to the hotel by 11:30 since we play early today, at 3pm. That’s why I couldn’t write my diaries today. All I could do was fade in and out of sleep and starvation. I didn’t even have the energy to read a book which is one of my most favorite things to do, other than gardening, which is my number one most favorite thing to do. But all I could do was remain in a semi-coma until 3 hours later we stopped for a delicious meal of Egg McMuffins and orange juice. Nothing but the best when you’re a rock star!!
We arrived right on schedule at the (ultra-sleazy) Tradewinds Hotel in Rockland. Jim has this uncanny knack for figuring out our arrival times to the minute. A great and necessary talent for a road manager. There was only one room ready as it was still early, and I got it since it takes me 1 ½ hours to get ready. You didn’t think this beauty comes naturally, did you? No, it does not. It’s very expensive and takes exactly 1 ½ hours to create. The hotel was packed and buzzing with musicians and fans alike. The festival site was right across the street on the water and we could already hear the music, even inside of our room. It always gets the butterflies of excitement going inside of me when I hear the bands playing loudly from the big festival stage, and see all the people milling around half-dressed in their summer outfits, with big smiles on their faces knowing they’re about to have the time of their life. If you’ve never been to a Blues festival, you have to go at least once. The energy in the air is palpable; you can see it and feel it all around you. It’s a musical experience you’ll never ever forget.
Precisely at 1:30, we made the short drive just across the street and parked right next to the stage. Best seat in the house. We like to go at least an hour early, sometimes more to a festival, so that we can hear the other bands play and catch up on the news with our musician friends. Festivals are the only places we get to see each other and compare funny road stories. No-one understands the life of a blues musician like another blues musician.