Updates

I’ll start this entry where the last one left off.  We were waiting for the van to be fixed so we could get back out on the road and play some music.  Here’s how it all went down.  Kevin finally got the van out of the shop late Wednesday afternoon, so the guys loaded up and headed to my house that evening to come pick me up.  They got to my place about 11pm.  The plan from there was this: if we drove overnight from my place, picked up the trailer that was being fixed in Rice Lake, WI in the early morning, and continued driving the entire next day, we might just be able to make it all the way to Williston for Thursday night’s show.  So I got in the van and we headed out.  We did make it to Rice Lake the next morning to pick up the trailer.  The problem we faced then was that the GPS was telling us that from that point, we would just barely make it in time for the gig.  That wasn’t including set up time, or stopping for bathroom or food breaks, or to fill up with diesel.  So if we drove straight through without stopping for fuel, food, or for the restroom, and we didn’t set up our gear when we arrived, we would have made it in time.  Oh, and if there was no traffic.  Don’t forget the traffic.  Obviously we knew we weren’t going to make it.  Plus, on top of that, the light indicator on the dash came back on letting us know that the van was having the same problem that literally just got fixed the day before.  I think Kevin’s head was about ready to explode he was so mad.  Knowing we weren’t going to make the show anyway, we decided that getting the van fixed (actually fixed this time) needed to be the priority.  So we found a place near Minneapolis that could get us in that morning and check it out.  Two hours later we were at a repair shop outside of St. Paul.  At this point we were thinking/hoping that they could get the van in quickly, make an assessment, fix the problem, and we would be back on the road by early to mid-afternoon.  We were wrong.  You know, I could get into the specifics about what was wrong with the van and all that, but let’s be honest here; I don’t know crap about automobiles or automotive repair, and I’d be willing to bet 99% of you reading this don’t actually care what was specifically wrong with the van.  The point is this: we already missed 2 shows to get the problem fixed, which we were learning did not actually happen.  So we were taking another full day (and missing yet another show) to hopefully get it all taken care of so we wouldn’t just break down on the interstate somewhere.   Back to the story: we were hoping for a quick fix and to get back on our way, but that definitely didn’t happen.  We ended up being there for about 9 hours.  From 10:30am until about 7:30pm.  Oh, and this place was out in the middle of nowhere.  The only thing remotely close was a gas station and a Subway about half a mile down the road.  (I bet you can guess what we all had for lunch).  After sitting there all day, they finally fixed the problem (for real fixed it) and we were on our way.  Our revised plan was now this: drive to Bismarck, stop for the night and get a few hours of sleep, then travel the remaining four hours to Williston the next morning so we could finally make it to a show.  And that’s what happened.  We made it to Bismarck around 3:30am, slept for a few hours, and then on Friday drove the rest of the way to Williston.  So after three missed shows and countless hours of repair work done to the van we were FINALLY going to get to play some music. 

Like I usually do, I just read that paragraph back to myself to see if it made sense.  I was kind of all over the place with that description of events, so I’ll summarize those two days here:

Kevin picked up the van Wednesday afternoon / Band leaves Lexington, KY about 6pm Wed. evening / Band gets to my house to pick me up about 11pm Wed. night / we drive throughout the night / pick up the trailer in Rice Lake, WI about 8am Thurs. morning / get to dealership outside Minneapolis 10:30am Thurs. morning / leave dealership at 7:30pm Thurs. night / drive 8 hours to Bismarck / arrive in Bismarck at 3:30am Friday morning / sleep for a few hours / make it to Williston about 4pm Friday afternoon. 

Whew.  To say it was a rough couple days for us would be a complete understatement.  When we finally made it we were all exhausted and pretty frustrated.  But we did make it. 

For all the trouble we had last week with the van and traveling, we were all looking forward to getting back on stage and just being able to play some music.  That first show back on stage after that whole mess was probably one of the most fun shows I’ve played in a long time. Having such a rough week made being back on stage even more sweet for me.  Just being able to sing and play the guitar again, ah, felt so good.  I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire night.  It was such a fun show for us.  It also helped tremendously that we had a packed house and the crowd was ready to party.  They were happy that we were there; we were excited to play; it was perfect.  It really reminded me of way back when I first started playing in bands and actually doing shows, when the whole experience of being on stage was new and fresh - that feeling of pure excitement.  I’m having trouble explaining it now.  The best example of the feeling I had getting back on stage is this: picture your last vacation to a tropical location - the anticipation before the trip, driving or flying there, checking into the hotel.  Now think about how you felt when you finally got to the beach and were laying on a towel in the sand under the sun listening to the waves and smelling the ocean.  The feeling that in that moment everything was perfect and you were right where you were meant to be.  That’s how it felt to finally be back on stage after all the issues we had getting there.

Another update from last week: having a smart phone is awesome!  Several times this past week I have been able to take high resolution pictures of us performing, and then post those pictures on our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages while at the show.  Immediate updates for our fans out there; so cool.  For instance, last night I took a picture of Kevin and Steve at the show, and during the break posted the picture on both social media sites. I know this is nothing new for the rest of you out there, but this is brand new technology for me still; and I am loving it.  The whole typing by sliding your finger across the screen is definitely taking some getting used to though.  On a personal note, I can also finally play Chess on my phone.  Of all the apps out there, one of the first (and only so far) apps I uploaded was Chess.  I have played more Chess in the past week than I have in the previous 5 years; and for those of you that know how much of a dork I really am, you know that being able to play Chess on my phone is pretty exciting for me.  But that is beside the point here.  Finally having the smart phone means being able to give you more access to what is going on with our band – and that’s what we are actually trying to accomplish; to make sure we keep you involved with what we are up to. 

Here’s a thought: since the possibilities are pretty much endless of what we can provide and how much you can be involved with what we’re up to, what would you like to see?  What do you want to know more about?  Or see more of?  Or become more involved in with us?  EMAIL me and let me know.  As you’ve read so far in past posts, I have really listened to people’s suggestions on here; answered pretty much any question, discussed what people have wanted to hear about, even posted lyrics to all the songs off our latest album.  Even this entire blog was started b/c it was suggested by several of our fans.  We would really like to keep all that going, and take it even further.  Your input really does make a difference for us; I appreciate reading your comments or questions about our lives on the road.  So please keep sending them in.  Let me know what you would find interesting to hear more about, and chances are I’ll write about it.  As you can tell from past posts, there’s not too much I won’t open up about and discuss. 

Oh, quick update for you.  I told you several weeks ago about Josh getting a custom bass guitar from Bergstok Guitars, and that they were making a custom electric guitar for Kevin too.  Well, they finally finished it and it has been delivered.  They named it the “Kevin Rawlings Edition Bergstok Guitar”.  Custom Built to all his specifications, it is set up just how Kevin wants a guitar set up.   So now both Josh and Kevin have custom instruments built for them and named after them.  Very cool stuff.  Half of our band has custom built instruments from Bergstok Guitars. 

Lastly this week, I thought I’d talk about being able to exercise while traveling; or the difficulties of.  Wait, have I wrote about this before?  I don’t think so; but honestly, these entries are all starting to run together for me.  Anyway, most of the guys in this band enjoy physical activity.  I used to be a gym rat, and would love to be able to go to a fitness center every day.  The problem we run into is actually having the time to get a good workout in.  Like I’ve discussed before in a previous entry, if it’s a travel day or if we have to set up for the show, our entire day is pretty much shot.  Getting those days where we can actually get into a gym is few and far between.  The other problem is that a day pass for most fitness centers is just too expensive.  I went to a place the other day that wanted $10 for a day pass.  No way.  Hell, now Planet Fitness offers the same price per month.  I should just become a member there; except that there is not a Planet Fitness in every town we go to; so I’d still have to pay the day pass fee at other places.  Sometimes we can find fitness centers that have cheaper day pass rates.  Then it is definitely worth going.  Even better than that, we have started finding rec centers in some towns.  I love these.  For one thing, they’re usually cheap.  Secondly, it is not just tread mills and weights.  Most of them have other amenities.  My favorite is when we find a place with basketball courts.  But we’ve also found one that had racquetball courts – that was a great find for us.  I used to play racquetball all the time in college; it was great to be able to play again; even for one day.  By the way, watching Josh play racquetball for the first time was hilarious.  We even found a place in Nebraska not too long ago that had an indoor track.  I was a sprinter for the track team in college, so for me that was awesome.  Getting back on an actual track just felt natural for me; except I was in a lot better shape then.  But I’m getting way off the subject here.  I’m just saying that I really wish we had more time for exercise.  Getting to go to the gym is a treat; and if the place has more than just weights and cardio, even better for us.  We are always looking for good places to work out when we are in different cities.  So if you know of a good place in your town where we can go (preferably for little or no cost), please let us know.  We’d love to check it out (if there’s time). 

Alright, we are pulling into the next town, so I better wrap this up.  We are getting ready to go check into the hotel and then go set up for tonight’s show, so I will post this entry this evening after set up (and hopefully a workout if there’s time).  As always, be sure to check us out online at www.themichaeldband.com for upcoming tour dates, etc.  If for some crazy reason you don’t have our latest album “Back In Town” yet, stop what you’re doing right now and go get it on I-TUNES.

Another quick side thought here: what’s your favorite song of ours?  Off of either album.  EMAIL me and let me know which of our songs you like the most, and Why.  Don’t forget to include ‘why’ it is your favorite.  I’ll post some of the responses in next week’s entry. 

Oh, and don’t forget to ‘like’ us on FACEBOOK and ‘follow’ us on TWITTER.  And did you share our pages with your friends like I asked you to last week?  I hope so.  Your support is what drives and motivates this band. 

Thanks for reading.  Hope you enjoyed.  Be safe out there.