Rusty's Road Stories

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Apple pickin

We now find ourselves on a double decker tour bus we are sharing with the Thees Uhlmann band. It’s a little cramped with 18 beds and 17 people all together, but it is still quite a luxury for a new band like us.

Getting here was another story.

We were on our way to join up with the bus in Erlangen when a massive four-semi collision caused the Autobahn to be closed in both directions. I’ve never seen a traffic jam like that before. Picture gridlock traffic on the No. 1 highway from Winnipeg all the way to Steinbach. We tried, unsuccessfully at first, to take some side roads through some small villages. It was beautiful, but we were getting nowhere and lost. Suddenly, we spotted the most picture perfect apple tree on the side of a great sprawling meadow. Realizing we still had time on our side, we stopped and each picked fresh apples. Delicious, and something so simple I realized I’d never done  before. Neat experience.

We are about halfway through this tour now and it’s going great. The shows have all been very well attended and equally well received. Everyone in the crew gets along swimmingly and we’re all a big happy family. I was thinking about that on our night off in Freiburg. Touring in a band is an interesting and unique life of extremes. You meet people, tour with them for a month and become great friends. Then you never see them again. You sit around all day trying to find something to do in the vicinity of the venue — and then you have the most exhilerating, adrenaline filled, satisfying 60-minute show. You find yourself in the most beautiful places in the world, but still missing Winnipeg. It can be a little dizzying, but one thing I do know is that I’m a pretty friggin’ lucky guy. I tour with the greatest people — and, at home, I recently got engaged to an amazing woman who’s patient enough to be (or not to be) with me for long periods at a time. 

Reading is a new wonder for me, too. I find books to be a great relaxer. I hadn't read many books up until a few years ago, and now I go through one or two per tour. I also like to contact the authors when I’ve finished just to give them my appreciation. It’s amazing what a single email can accomplish. Yann Martel, the author of Life of Pi, came to our show in Saskatoon after I emailed him back in the spring. He signed my book, and we gave him CDs and shirts. I’ve just finished reading Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. It’s a great non-fiction read about how difficult space travel can be. I sent her an email and now she’s coming to the Pixies show next month in California to sign my book.  Heck, a single email is how I got to have my own Rusty’s Choice Heinz Ketchup.

Speaking of which, tonight we’re in Frankfurt, the tastiest sounding city in the world. Next to maybe Hamburg. Mmmm Haaamburrrg.