A Month In Texas

     We had already driven the route from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada to Abilene, Texas, USA. It normally takes approximately 30hours to drive one way non-stop. This time around, we had arrived near our destination in the very early morning. We decided to take a rest at a truck stop to wait out the time for a while. Nothing keeps you more on edge than sitting at one of these areas with dim light, having a van packed with our equipment and the fact that we were so far from home didn't help. It’s an entirely different way of life than what we were used to.

       A few hours later, we decided to get back on the road to our hosts house in Abilene. We had stopped at a Love’s Truck Stop to freshen up. You go in and make a reservation for a time slot of 15 minutes or so in one of the bathroom/shower stalls. We all managed to get a time slot in the same time frame so that was nice. Once finished there, we kept on going.

       Finally arriving at our hosts house, we were greeted with the utmost respect and love, it was a welcoming and comforting thing after a long drive. We quickly felt right at home and had our fill of a Texas sized brunch. The food was great! After having a cig, and coffees, we were able to set out somewhat of a schedule for the week ahead. We had a list of people that our hosts had known from the years past that they had wanted us to meet. People who were somehow connected to the music scene. We had met a talented woman who was also a radio personality for a local rock station. She had interviewed us on her show, and then set up a spot for us to play a set at an event called Abilene Art Walk. It was an interesting experience as we weren’t expecting such an eventful time. People loved the fact that we made the trip from Canada by van. It was also great to see all of the exhibits and different talents.

      Our hosts were a big part of the motorcycle scene. We had been invited to hang out with the club and set up on the stage they had under a tin roof. Now, being from the colder north, we aren’t used to needing to watch where we walk. We were told to mind the bushes and areas where things like the Black Widow spider or rattlesnake may hide. We had already seen a Black Widow on the previous trip…. Also on the previous trip, we went through what they called a test, drinking Jager bombs(shot glass of Jagermeister dropped into a glass of redbull) and downing beers and shots of whiskey like they were going out of style. We were considered special guests. I had already been exposed to the bike scene early on in life, so I knew what was expected. Later on that day, we were expected to play a set of our own tunes to the excited and anxious members of the club. A few of them got on their bikes and revved like no tomorrow to test if we would be heard with the party noise. I think we passed…

       Back to the second trip story. We had gone to a club off of a road that seemed to lead out into the fields. It was called The Backroom. It was a separate room from the actual club itself, big enough to hold a decent sized party/gig. After setting up, we were able to relax a bit more, again having drinks offered up before our time slot. We had been chatting with our hosts and the manager or owner of this particular place when some man started talking to us in French. Surprised us. He said “You 3 sound like you would be from Quebec!” We said yes, and he went on to say that he had relatives that had connections with the Molson family and that he had moved to Texas from Quebec many years before. It was nice to see a fellow citizen such a long way from our province. Later on, we played our regular set and had the same reaction, applause and thanks from the eager crowd.

       After a few days of site seeing and visiting more members of the musical community in Abilene, we were invited to stay with another band in Fort Worth. It’s approximately 1hour 30minutes from Abilene (I don’t really remember). Once we got to the band leaders house, we were offered more food. More drinks. Pretty much anything we wanted. “Make yourself at home and whatever we have is yours” type of thing. Very common in Texas. A gig was set up at a place called The Rail Club. It was a very well set up place. One main stage, good bar, and green rooms on a higher level overlooking the stage area. They called that the VIP. One of the other bands that played that night had been offered to stay at the same house. Myself and our lead singer/guitarist eventually opted to sleep in the van that night. We didn’t care about the noise or the partying, we just needed a rest.

       We had spent a few days in the Fort Worth area. Then we were invited to stay with another family who had some pretty big ties to music. They lived in a very wealthy area outside of Dallas somewhere that I cannot remember the name of. Our host there had been working with a producer in Dallas who had been given the job to record us. Very well produced and mixed recordings. They treated us to a night out in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas. Lots of clubs where bigger, more known bands are known to play. That was fun. We also spent a few days with a bass player we had met who had played with the band we spent time with in Fort Worth. He is a great guy, all about helping others and being nice.

       A week or so passed before we had been added to a list of bands to play in Houston. We made the trip to Houston. By this time, we were getting very tired. It was just a little bit of what big bands playing every night or every other night must experience. We spent a day hanging out in Houston. Not going far from our hosts place there. The next night, which happened to be the final night before we were to head back to Canada, we had gone to the Acadia Bar and Grill. After we unloaded and placed our equipment next to the stage, we were sat down at a table. The waitress came around, announcing that half-pitchers of beer were half off the normal price that night. We had said that we wouldn’t be drinking very much that night considering that we had a 30hour drive ahead of us the next day. Well, that didn’t work out…. Before we even had a chance to get one down, we had another pitcher in front of us. We managed to get through our time slot without any trouble and were able to to pack up around 1:30am or so. We headed to a McDonald’s that our GPS had lead us to, and walked in. Little did we know, we had ventured into an area that wasn’t the nicest of places. We had found out later that that particular area was heavily populated by gangs. We went back to the hosts house, she was about to pass out, but still offering up more booze. I had decided to go find a place to curl up for a few hours, thank God!

       I woke up, sun barely even showing itself yet, head pounding, needing a coffee very badly, and my buddy just about feeling the same way, put me in charge of first driving shift. We had left at quite an early time. I don’t remember even getting to say goodbye to our host.

      It’s a trip I will never forget. Our initial hosts in Abilene are now gone. But, they will always have a spot in my life.

Copy this link for Highway Overdrive @ Acadia in Houston, Texas. 

https://youtu.be/punyU3g_P1I