Deliverance
Saturday, 28 May 2005
Every year at Memorial Day, BenWahBob takes a trip down to Lesterville, MO to play at a place called Bearcats Getaway. It’s a campground on the Black River with a huge stage where they have bands on the weekends all summer long. BWB plays there every Memorial Day weekend. It’s a blast.
Dawna went with me again this year, and brought along her oldest son Derek and her nephew Austin as well. After packing the equipment and camping gear in my van, it became readily obvious that we would not be fitting four people in there. So, being the trooper that she is, Dawna decided that she would drive, too. We met up with the rest of the band at our usual spot in South STL County and caravanned down the road, stopping in Farmington for out traditional lunch at Dairy Queen.
We stopped again later in Pilot Knob for Mike (our soundman) to refuel. There is a gas station/sporting goods store there that is a convenient place for him to stop for gas. A couple of us decided to go in this time to look around. The sign next to the road says they have over 1900 guns inside...and they weren’t kidding. I’ve been to gun shows that didn’t have this much selection. Bobby and I walked through the place in awe. We went back outside to find some idiot crying about not being able to get his truck and trailer away from the pumps because we had the audacity to park in the marked parking spaces at the end of the lot. He had apparently said to Mike that he couldn’t get out because of these two assholes parked in front of him. Mike said he looked around at our cars and said, “Hey, I know those assholes.” When I came back out to move my van, he didn’t seem to have anything to say to me. Curious...
We arrived at the campground around 13:30, set up our equipment immediately, and tested everything. Mike brings out his monster system for this gig, so sound check is always a good idea. Carlos had brought along the latest/greatest version of the Ampeg SVT6PRO bass amp he’s been developing. He had wanted me to use an 810 cabinet to really push it, but since I don’t have one of those refrigerators, I brought two 410s instead. They have the same speakers as the 810s, so I figured we were OK. About five minutes into the testing, Carlos started cranking in some heavy 30Hz signal on the parametric EQ. There was suddenly a nasty farting/buzzing noise coming from my speakers. After a bit of checking, we determined that one of the speakers had given up the ghost. “Slain By Ampeg!” The old advertising slogan was brought to life once again. So I got to play all night with a buzzing speaker.
The gig went pretty well, as it usually does. Dale lost some words early in the first set, but after that we were off to the races. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The last set was mostly reserved for the Black Sabbath tribute we had been developing over the past month or so. We started out with Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/NIB, slid into I Don’t Know (yes, I know, that’s Ozzy, but what the heck), whipped out Paranoid, and closed it with War Pigs. Needless to say, it was a big hit.
We were suppose to end the night with KISS Rock-N-Roll All Night, or at least that’s what I heard. Suddenly Bobby starts into the drum beat for Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. Huh? Dale started to sing it, then looked at me. Uhhh...OK. I used to sing this with Those1Guys. So that was the end of the night. A bit odd, but an end nonetheless.
The weather held out for us on Sunday this year. It was my third year down there and I hadn’t been able to float the first two years because of inclement weather. This year worked out, though. Most of the rest of the band left before the float for various reasons, but Dawna and I were able to get a few of the BWB guests to stay and float with us. We loaded onto one of the school buses they use to take people to the drop-off point. The driver was just plain crazy. If you’re familiar with the Night Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, then you have some idea of the ride we endured. Even if the float were a disaster, this would have been worth it.
They dropped us off about seven miles up river, gave us our canoes, and off we went. I started out with Austin in my canoe. He’s 11 years old and this was his first float. After some initial mistakes that put us into a few trees and rock outcroppings, he started to get the hang of it. We all pulled over and switched up partners a little way down river, and I ended up with Dawna in my canoe. Sweet! She’s mostly Cherokee, so she was instantly dubbed Little Hiawatha (although I guess Pocahontas would have been more appropriate, but I couldn't get that Bugs Bunny cartoon out of my head). There are so many entertaining and just downright hilarious stories to tell about that trip that it would take volumes to relate them all. Suffice it to say, it was a great day for a float, and we really enjoyed ourselves. The boys had a blast, as did everyone else. We arrived back at the Bearcats beach around 17:00, showered, packed our stuff, and headed back home exhausted.
I spent the rest of my weekend packing and moving...not nearly as entertaining, I assure you.
Next weekend I’ll be playing a private party at a country club near Troy, MO with BWB. I don’t know what kind of stories this will provide, but I’m sure to get something out of it.
Every year at Memorial Day, BenWahBob takes a trip down to Lesterville, MO to play at a place called Bearcats Getaway. It’s a campground on the Black River with a huge stage where they have bands on the weekends all summer long. BWB plays there every Memorial Day weekend. It’s a blast.
Dawna went with me again this year, and brought along her oldest son Derek and her nephew Austin as well. After packing the equipment and camping gear in my van, it became readily obvious that we would not be fitting four people in there. So, being the trooper that she is, Dawna decided that she would drive, too. We met up with the rest of the band at our usual spot in South STL County and caravanned down the road, stopping in Farmington for out traditional lunch at Dairy Queen.
We stopped again later in Pilot Knob for Mike (our soundman) to refuel. There is a gas station/sporting goods store there that is a convenient place for him to stop for gas. A couple of us decided to go in this time to look around. The sign next to the road says they have over 1900 guns inside...and they weren’t kidding. I’ve been to gun shows that didn’t have this much selection. Bobby and I walked through the place in awe. We went back outside to find some idiot crying about not being able to get his truck and trailer away from the pumps because we had the audacity to park in the marked parking spaces at the end of the lot. He had apparently said to Mike that he couldn’t get out because of these two assholes parked in front of him. Mike said he looked around at our cars and said, “Hey, I know those assholes.” When I came back out to move my van, he didn’t seem to have anything to say to me. Curious...
We arrived at the campground around 13:30, set up our equipment immediately, and tested everything. Mike brings out his monster system for this gig, so sound check is always a good idea. Carlos had brought along the latest/greatest version of the Ampeg SVT6PRO bass amp he’s been developing. He had wanted me to use an 810 cabinet to really push it, but since I don’t have one of those refrigerators, I brought two 410s instead. They have the same speakers as the 810s, so I figured we were OK. About five minutes into the testing, Carlos started cranking in some heavy 30Hz signal on the parametric EQ. There was suddenly a nasty farting/buzzing noise coming from my speakers. After a bit of checking, we determined that one of the speakers had given up the ghost. “Slain By Ampeg!” The old advertising slogan was brought to life once again. So I got to play all night with a buzzing speaker.
The gig went pretty well, as it usually does. Dale lost some words early in the first set, but after that we were off to the races. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The last set was mostly reserved for the Black Sabbath tribute we had been developing over the past month or so. We started out with Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/NIB, slid into I Don’t Know (yes, I know, that’s Ozzy, but what the heck), whipped out Paranoid, and closed it with War Pigs. Needless to say, it was a big hit.
We were suppose to end the night with KISS Rock-N-Roll All Night, or at least that’s what I heard. Suddenly Bobby starts into the drum beat for Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. Huh? Dale started to sing it, then looked at me. Uhhh...OK. I used to sing this with Those1Guys. So that was the end of the night. A bit odd, but an end nonetheless.
The weather held out for us on Sunday this year. It was my third year down there and I hadn’t been able to float the first two years because of inclement weather. This year worked out, though. Most of the rest of the band left before the float for various reasons, but Dawna and I were able to get a few of the BWB guests to stay and float with us. We loaded onto one of the school buses they use to take people to the drop-off point. The driver was just plain crazy. If you’re familiar with the Night Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, then you have some idea of the ride we endured. Even if the float were a disaster, this would have been worth it.
They dropped us off about seven miles up river, gave us our canoes, and off we went. I started out with Austin in my canoe. He’s 11 years old and this was his first float. After some initial mistakes that put us into a few trees and rock outcroppings, he started to get the hang of it. We all pulled over and switched up partners a little way down river, and I ended up with Dawna in my canoe. Sweet! She’s mostly Cherokee, so she was instantly dubbed Little Hiawatha (although I guess Pocahontas would have been more appropriate, but I couldn't get that Bugs Bunny cartoon out of my head). There are so many entertaining and just downright hilarious stories to tell about that trip that it would take volumes to relate them all. Suffice it to say, it was a great day for a float, and we really enjoyed ourselves. The boys had a blast, as did everyone else. We arrived back at the Bearcats beach around 17:00, showered, packed our stuff, and headed back home exhausted.
I spent the rest of my weekend packing and moving...not nearly as entertaining, I assure you.
Next weekend I’ll be playing a private party at a country club near Troy, MO with BWB. I don’t know what kind of stories this will provide, but I’m sure to get something out of it.
posted by Paul J. Smith | 10:45
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