"So, What Is Your Day Like When You're On The Road?"

That's what someone asked me today while I was out shopping. So I figured I might as well give you a blow-by-blow description of what a show day is like for me. Here it is, warts and all:

11:30am

It may seem late to you, but getting up at that hour is actually kinda early by my standards - hell, it's early by the standards of just about any working musician. The room at Boomtown's South Tower isn't exactly five-star luxury, but it's more than sufficient for my needs, and a damn sight better than my pop-up trailer (see previous post). A mini-fridge in my room is an added bonus, as it keeps my half-rack of Coke and stuff for snacks and sandwiches cold. A recent addition to Boomtown's roster of restaurants is a pan-Asian noodle shop that served a pretty good take on Korean short ribs, though I'm a bit disappointed that it's only open on weekdays - tomorrow would be a good day for a steaming bowl of pho. But I can make soups and sandwiches with what I have, so no big deal.

1:30pm

After dragging my ass out of bed, checking my Facebook, showering, and making myself a bowl of rice and pork with Super Lunch Jar TAKERU!!!!!, I grabbed my laptop and headed into town to see a computer tech Mikey recommended me to about what I could do to upgrade Beelzebubba (my new old laptop). The verdict: Nada. It can't be upgraded to a newer Version of Windows, and why bother searching for a larger internal hard-drive when I can just get an external one cheaper? While I wasn't terribly happy to hear that, at least they didn't try to blow smoke up my ass. They told me that Beelzebubba should work just fine for the foreseeable future.

From there, I went to the Legends supermall in Sparks to pick up a few things at Leather Works, and within fifteen minutes I had acquired a nice leather attache case for Beelzebubba, and two new heavy-duty duffel bags that I use for my drum rack and stands for a little under US$65. After that, I rolled over to a nearby Big Lots! to get a mouse for Beelzebubba, and some stationery and pens for the case. Some batteries and a half-rack of Coke picked up at Walmart, and my expedition was complete.

5:30pm

It's ninety minutes before showtime, so I'd better start getting ready. Iron out a shirt and pants, shave and lacquer my hair back into a ponytail with enough hair goop to glue a small child to a wall.

6:30pm

Finish preparing, get dressed and grab my big ol' mug. I need to stay hydrated while under hot stage lights, but I need to sleep sometime, so my last caffeinated beverage was finished off a few minutes ago, and the mug is full of ice water. Time to hit the stage soon, and I'll update things on my breaks, and again after the show is over.

12:15am - Post-gig

We had a good show, insofar as the four of us on stage. Beyond that? I don't think I actually saw more than six or seven people sit down and listen to us. Which wasn't terribly surprising to me. Y'see, Boomtown is in Verdi, about ten miles west of downtown Reno, forty or so from Carson City, and our regular audience is probably not all that inclined to drive out to see us every night. Which means we pretty much have to start from scratch and build an audience. And this time of year that means skiers. And with this incredibly mild winter so far, many of the Tahoe Basin's ski areas are still closed, with only the largest and wealthiest resorts (as in, 'those who have their own snow-making equipment') open at all. But regardless, a lot of families were checking in tonight, as the registration desk is all of about fifty feet from my throne. It wasn't an unpleasant night, but we could've used our regular crowd to come support us.

But now that the night is over, it means that there's just one night left before I can put this trip to bed and head home for a few weeks' worth of well-earned rest and relaxation.