I get asked all the time… "how do you stand being on the road so much?" Well, the answer is, as I have said in earlier articles, good people and great places; and of course, the music. There have been some crazy things to happen, and looking back, they now appear rather humorous. After over 20 years of having done this, any of the bad experiences now are chalked up to just that… experience. In the title track of my latest CD, "The Business Of The Blues", I sing of arriving to the club, only to find the salad bar in use on the stage, along with the afternoon drinkers, who are worth a story of their own. They don't usually make it to our show, and the ones that do don't usually last very long. There are the usual motel/hotel check-in nightmares, and of course, the usual incompetent, unprofessional, and occasionally rude restaurant service. Again, we just have to laugh, because it all happens all too often. You folks that travel in your profession probably have your own road war stories, and I'm sure you can relate. I have to say also, that all of our experiences aren't bad, but most of our good and bad experiences together make great stories. My travel days now are, thankfully, quite tame.
Just a week ago, we were driving through an Upstate New York and Pennsylvania snowstorm. It made me think about the truck I used to travel in back in 1981. I remember traveling in a blinding snowstorm near Charlotte, NC, and our windshield motor had recently burned up... which meant we had no wipers. So, we took a long extension cord, ran it out both side windows, around the front of the windshield, and tied it to the wipers. Then, the guy riding shotgun had to push and pull the cord sideways in and out of the windows so the wipers would operate. It looked a person sitting down and doing the twist. It was quite bizarre, but everytime an 18 wheeler would pass us, the windshield would be absolutely covered with snow. These were trying times, but fortunately, I can now laugh about them. There's more to come later.
Please remember that our 2nd Annual Kennesaw Depot Blues Concert will take place this year on Saturday August 5th. We're looking forward to a big time this year. Please remember, my 3 CD's, "Hurricane Blues," "Live From The Eye Of The Storm," and "The Business Of The Blues" are all available at Wherehouse Music, Best Buy, and on the internet at CD Now, and Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding them, you can also e-mail me at hurricane@popstar.com. Until next time.
Roger "Hurricane" Wilson
WEB: http://www.trci.com/hurricane/
This review is copyright © 2000 by Roger "Hurricane" Wilson, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.
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