The Johnstown Adventure

Recently, The FLB booked a weekend (Sat and Sun) of gigs in Johnstown, PA, which is Ken's hometown. We played at Tulune's South Side Saloon Saturday night and then at the Roxbury Bandshell Sunday evening. The Bandshell gig was part of a summer concert series aimed to help raise money to preserve the Roxbury Bandshell, a wonderful structure that the city apparently thinks would make an excellent parking lot.

About a week before the Johnstown roadtrip, we were lucky enough to acquire an official FLB tour van (thanks in full to the enormous time and generosity of the two folks that gave me life, Fred and Sheryl Long). The roadtrip was to be our maiden voyage.

SATURDAY

Now, I have very limited experience in driving large vans. Other than a few short trips driving the Key 103 event van, I have mostly driven the Blue Dragon since I was 15. Needless to say, the guys were a little nervous as I took the helm of our rock ship. The trip to Johnstown was pretty smooth, except for a close call with the South Side Saloon's awning. The big antenna was the only thing that hit, but I was told that I was damn lucky I didn't take the whole thing out. Hey, close only counts...

Once we set everything up for the show at Tulune's, we drove to where we were staying that night at Ken's best friend Chris' and his girlfriend Cheri's house. Chris and Cheri were the most wonderful, friendly hosts and really made us feel right at home. After a quick clean up and a change of clothes, we were off to the gig.

The South Side Saloon gig went extremely well. A lot of Ken's friends and family were there and the performance went well. Everyone was very receptive, friendly, and complimentary. A great start to the weekend.

BREAKDOWN AND PERSEVERANCE

Unfortunately, this is where things took a little bit of a turn. After the show was over and we loaded all our gear into the van, we set off for a late night eating spot that Ken had been raving about called Coney Island. Ken decided to drive since he knew exactly where the place was, and after a couple of miles noticed all the lights in/on the van going dim. Shortly after mentioning his observation, the van just quit right at a red light. We got out and pushed it to a curb, put it in park, and starting trying to figure out how to recover from our apparently lightning-quick demise. It was around this time that Ken felt the need to tell us that we hadn't broken down in the best neighborhood. If anything could test the dynamics of a band and its members, it's braking down at 3 AM in a bad neighborhood in a strange town...

The good news is that we passed the test, thanks to the help of our host Chris and some of Ken's other friends. At first things were a little tricky because Ken didn't have his cell phone with him and consequently we couldn't call anyone we knew was still up/around. Finally, I decided to call the Coney Island restaurant using 411 and ask for Chris, because we knew he had gone ahead of us and was probably already at the restaurant. We were in luck. I talked to Chris at the restaurant and he and a couple others soon came to our aid.

Narrowing the van's concussion down to either an alternator problem or a dead battery from using the lights during load-out, we first just tried to charge the battery using jumpers. That was unsuccessful, so we decided we had to leave the van and try to have it fixed tomorrow. Determined to make Coney Island before it closed at 4AM, Chris came and picked us up in his jeep. Five guys crammed in a jeep on a mission...

We made it to the joint with 20 min to spare, but still got some static from the owner for being "late." I ordered the famed "Sundowner," a hamburger with a fried egg on top, just to say I had tasted it. It wasn't bad at all, but God knows how long it's going to stay in my digestive system. Chris also had a mix up with a couple of his hot dogs (the lady made them, Chris paid for them, and then she apparently got confused and threw them out). It was a somewhat bizarre first experience at Coney Island...

We went back to Chris and Cheri's, stayed up and talked for a little while, and then chose our sleeping quarters: Chris on a couch downstairs, Ken in a guest room, and Randy and I in the attic. I usually don't sleep the greatest in places other than my own bed, but this was an exception. I slept great and Ken had to rustle Randy and I up the next morning.

SUNDAY

Cheri made us a wonderful breakfast of homemade scones (from scratch!) and we talked and mapped out our van game plan. Eventually Ken and I set out with Chris to try to charge the battery again and hopefully get the van to the bandshell where we were playing that evening. We were able to bring the van back to life and drive it to the bandshell. There we hooked the battery up to a charger and let it charge the rest of our time in Johnstown.

The Bandshell gig had good weather and began with an acoustic set by our overnight host and MC, Chris Verbano. We played for an hour after Chris. The sound situation was a little hard, considering we were playing in a stone bandshell and the sound guy used a limited set up. However, we still had some good performances and everyone seemed to appreciate it. The event as a whole had a very receptive attendance from the community.

Throughout the weekend, I often reflected on how great it was to be able to come to this strange town and share music and conversation with new people. It was very comforting to have such kind and accommodating hosts--people who let absolute strangers in their homes and treated them like they were royalty. It was also very inspiring to see the community come together to support live music and the bandshell. Maybe there's hope for this art after all.


OUR ADVENTURE HOME

After the bandshell performance, we decided we'd better leave ASAP in case we had van trouble on the way home. It's better to break down at 9:30PM than at 1:30AM. We weren't sure how long the charged battery would last, so we headed for a WALMART on the outskirts of town to buy a backup battery, a tool kit, and some flash lights, and to get some dinner. Either it was "Hot Night" at WALMART or there's something in the Johnstown water. I had never seen so many attractive women in a WALMART before--walking everywhere and it seemed at least one or two in every aisle, shopping, stocking shelves, moms getting groceries, everywhere. It was all very distracting.

After WALMART, we embarked for home, hoping for the best. Ken drove, since he knew the way better (and consequently, better places to pull over should the ship go down). We did well and made it to Clear Spring, MD when the lights started to get really dim. The battery had been draining slowly but surely since we left Johnstown. We got off at the Clear Spring exit and pulled into the gas station right as the van cut off. Man. We gassed up and switched out the batteries, and we were able to make it home from there. What a journey.


CONCLUSION

My dad (who is a genius when it comes to cars, and many other things for that matter) checked out the van the next day and sure enough, the alternator was weak and not charging right. He and mom had taken the van for a spin several times before our trip and everything seemed to be in working order. So, for whatever reason the alternator decided to bail during our trip. I'm convinced it was because we hadn't given the van a name. It's back luck to have a ship without a name.

Despite some technical adversities, the trip was a lot of fun and went very well. It was just great being able to hang out and travel together "as a band." Huge thanks to Chris and Cheri for their generous hospitality and all of Ken's family, friends, and community members for their support. We'll be back in December...