5/24/08 - Najee in Lexington, KY

It's been a good while since I've posted a "roadie" related blog and last weekend's gig was just the spark I needed to reignite myself. My ongoing quest for my latest tour led me to lunch with an old friend and fellow roadie who has worked on some of the biggest tours in the last few years. Directly resulting from that lunch wasn't a tour, but a one off gig with Pyramid Productions mixing monitors for Najee.

Since the show was in Lexington, KY which is 2 1/2 hours from home a hotel stay was required. Now allow me a few words about the Microtel Inn. The Microtel Inn was the smallest room I have EVER stayed in. My daughter's bedroom is bigger. The room was 10x10 square with a bathroom off to the side. A queen sized bed took up most of the floor space and a desk occupied the rest. The shower worked (to my surprise) however the standard toiletries that come with every hotel room didn't make it. I'm not a rock star and don't require 5 star service AND... I booked my own hotel (with considerable attention given to production budget) so I can't complain too much, but never again will I stay in such a tiny little shit room. Life's too short to stay in cheap hotels.

Roadies are a unique group of people that are either privileged or cursed (depending on your outlook and the gig at hand) to work with a completely new group of strangers, called stagehands, every day. Lexington was no exception and today I was privileged rather than cursed. Andrew and company were a spectacular group and deserve to be recognized.

Roadies like me sometimes get geeky. We don't get geeky about the musos we work with; we get geeky about gear. When setting up the gear I noticed something peculiar. The monitor console, a yamaha M7CL, had that "new car" scent wafting off of it's case. Opening the console I noticed it was a virgin. NEVER BEFORE OPENED. I was it's first.

Notice the plastic film still on the screen!

In case you were wondering what my view of the show looked like:

I made some great new friends, both of the musical and technical kind and the season is just getting started. There should be more roadie blogs coming soon.

Fun and Success in Motown

Moe BEATs and I headed up to Detroit, MI (Detroit Rock City, Motown, The Motor City, or Shittown depending on your background) yesterday. At the request of Thunder Audio (after I sent several unsolicited emails with a friendly letter and a resume) I made the 3 hour trip to meet and interview with them and discuss the possibility of gigging with them in the future.

The meeting lasted all of 5 minutes at the end of which I was offered a chance to join up with them by contracting my audio services. Thunder is one of the largest production companies around, once they see what I can do at a festival, touring is not far off.

After a 5 minute meeting and a 40 minute shop tour it was off to meet a friend of Moe's, have some lunch and head home. Lunch in the 'hood, in Detroit, is a fucking adventure!

My Dayton, OH friends are oblivious to the 'hood. Oh they think they've seen it, they might even think they live in it, but they are really clueless. The area we were in seemed to thrive on only 4 legitimate markets:

1. Liquor Stores
2. Gun Stores
3. Churches
4. Check Cashing

Most of the time these establishments will be occupying one of each corner of an intersection with boarded up buildings surrounding them. Any businesses that are still open not only have bars on the windows but 10' fences with razor wire on the rooftops to keep potential robbers from breaking in from above. My guess is that the unseen markets of Drugs, Whores, and Fencing Stolen Goods are the dominant economic forces around there.

My lack of ebony was becoming VERY apparent as we drove deeper into the 'hood. Just when I was about to speak up we arrived at our destination. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I think I was on a very short list of white people that had ever eaten there.

The faire was "Soul". A Soul Food buffet with nothing left out. Every drop of every succulent dish was guaranteed to give you an immediate nap and eventual heart attack and the meals are priced according to weight. I loaded up my plate with meatloaf, ribs, greens, corn bread, bbq pork and chicken, green beans and peas and headed to the register. $10 for what seemed like 2 lbs of food. I don't know if it was a good bargain or not, but I was full and sleepy after eating and ready for the long drive back to the safety of boring ol' Dayton, OH.

So I got a gig, filled my gut, and met some new people. not a bad way to spend a Monday.