My part of the world has always had a bit of a reputation on the gig circuit for being a discerning , thus a very hard audience to please , which tends to make our touring musician friends work a little bit harder , and those in the know do realise if you put effort in to your show and win us over , you have fans for life.
Going back maybe 10 or so years , there seemed to be a lack of suitable musical venues in my area , as places either closed or stopped putting on bands for some unknown reason , hence it was either travel or don’t see any bands !!!
So it was me on tour – never mind the flippin’bands :)
This took me to places on my Harley I never knew existed -
Like a pub in the middle of an industrial unit which looked like a war zone.
A venue under a railway bridge - next to an urban farm and the local chop shops
( chop shops are illegal places where stolen cats are taken ) .
I’ve ridden past areas where chemical works light up the entire night sky to obscure working men’s clubs in seaside venues , and of course a mock gothic theatre lost in a maze of back alleys - to name but a few………………. .
I always , half expected there to be an empty space where my Harley was parked when I came out of these places, but it wasn’t touched – not even once .
Well except for the time I parked it in an empty space under a tree , and came back and the bike was literally covered in bird cr*p ……… purple bird cr*p ………!!!
This was bad enough , but as the birds had been eating - purple acidic berries, which was so corrosive , I had to polish out the purple marks on my bikes alloy with a mechanical polisher !!!
The thing is - common sense has prevailed at last , and we have at last several venues catering for different sized bands , so tonight - its retro time - yet again with 80’s trash rockers from L.A. – Love / Hate , for me :)
Talking of L.A., - it seems my part of the world seems to be turning in to it , what with the story of two guys driving along shooting at each other in their cars , and one car ended up- upside down with the windscreen blown out by a shotgun !!!
Hmmmm……… maybe the red and blue bandannas are essential wear tonight , and possibly an AK47 …………….just in case :)
