Thursday, June 03, 2004
Philosophical Question #1: If a band plays in the desert and there is no one there to hear, does it make a sound?
We pulled out of Flagstaff, AZ and enjoyed the increased fuel efficiency of a mostly downhill run to the desert floor. Once there, the temperature started to climb and we began to nervously watch the temperature gauge push toward the red zone. We crossed the Colorado River, once again, at Bullhead City, AZ and moved into the Joshua Trees and steep passes of the basin and range of lower Nevada. I remembered seeing a thermometer in a drawer of the kitchen and pulled it out to see just how dang hot it was. Within a minute or so, the temperature read 107 degrees. Just outside of Searchlight, Nevada, the temperature gauge on The Chief got so hot that Ike had to quickly turn on the heater to temporarily cool the engine. Now imagine this folks: you are in the desert in Nevada, the temperature inside your vehicle is 107 and climbing. Now you turn on the HEAT! We stopped at a Searchlight, Nevada truckstop/casino and put in some gas and let The Chief cool for a few minutes before descending into the basin and on into Whiskey Pete's Casino in Primm, Nevada. Our hosts were very welcoming and quickly we were set up and sound checking in a cool and comfortable showroom with killer sound. The soundman, Strobe, was a true pro and he made us feel like we were playing Carnegie Hall. The promoter was a little pessimistic regarding our chances for a crowd since it's hard to get acoustic music fans from Las Vegas to make the 40 minute drive to Primm with gas prices so high. We hoped for the best and even did a quick two songs in the lounge to try to drum up some extra ticket sales. Despite our best efforts, the 200+ showroom held a crowd of exactly 5 people. But boy did they enjoy our show. We took advantage of the great sound and tried to have a good time in the air conditioning. After packing up, we met our friend, April, (who had driven 5 hours from Escalante, Utah to hang out with us). Betse hustled us up some free buffet action by hypnotizing the pit boss with a Wilders flyer in hand and a big smile. The promoter had arranged for two hotel rooms and we got a good night's sleep outside of our hot metal home.
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I'm pretty sure that you guys made a racket whether anybody was there to hear or not. Always have when I'be been there at least.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the old 'Bago is gonna need the radiator rodded out. That will only cost about $100, but it will probably take two men and a boy a day and a half to get it out of the vehicle. I once had a 1957 plymouth that I took the back seat out of and used as a cheap pickup truck when I was too poor to buy a real one. (Still am, but that's another story.) It started to run hot and I didn't want to spend money on it. Had another radiator from some other car, so I just duct-taped it flat on the roof then got some longer heater hoses and ran the heater water up there. It did the job. Surely there's someplace on that rig where you can hang a radiator. I assume you have laready taken a garden hose and sprayed some water throuth you radiator from back to front to wash out the grasshoppers, dirt, and misc. debris? You can do that at a truck wash with higher pressure water, but you have to be careful not to get the engine too wet or it may have set a while before it starts.
Maybe better to emulate the other desert critters and sleep days, travel nights until you get back to KC where some of us real mechanics can tear into it, I mean fix it.
You all need to aclimate to the heat anyway, cause all the shade trees blew away and tickfest is gonna be really hot unless we rig a tent or something.
Hi Wilder people. It's me, Mark, Ike's friend from college. I first watched you at the gig in Liberty and hung out with Ike and Nate after... then I went to the thing at... um... rivermarketbarbequeplace...
ReplyDeleteAnywho... I was gonna say you guys should call in to Cartalk on NPR... but apparently you have a mechanic responding to your posts... so who needs Cartalk?
I would like to second the motion that you drive at night when possible in the dessert. When I drove to L.A. for my first attempt at having a real life, my friend in Las Vegas refused to let me leave during daylight hours. Then again, he thought I was a vampire.
I kid.
Well, I'm sorry to hear about the small crowd, but I did laugh heartily at your upbeat telling of the tale. I envy the good attitude.
I look forward to seeing you guys perform when you get back to the good old K C of Mo. I'm wearing that "Spring A Leak" CD out, I think. But I sure can lip-sync to it! Oh, and I found a place online that is selling the one that has "Rabbit Up A..." stump of some sort or the other. I'll be buying it when I've paid my bills.
I'm very excited about discovering your blog tonight! I'll be coming back to check for updates regularly!
Baked Wilders does not sound like a brand new phenomenon. At least you are learning what the Wino (I mean the Rv not one of y'all) will do and what it won't.
ReplyDeleteApril, a hotel room and a buffet surely make up for an empty room to play in.