July 26, 200718 yr Here there Soobie Lovers! I am taking my '95 Outback on it's first road trip! I play in a Bar-B-Core Band called SAUCE! We're located in Metro-Detroit. http://www.myspace.com/saucewillrise We're playing a show/Big BBQ Party in Nashville this weekend. The ORIGINAL plan was to pile us, and another local band, MacAurthur Street Mafia, http://www.myspace.com/macstreetmafia into 2 vans, and convoy down there together. Fun! Projected Gas price, $800+!!! So it was decided to CRAM 8 (Smelly!) musicians, their gear(Band & Camping) into 1 van. Projected gas price $350(One van gets better MPG than the other...) The thought of spending 8 hours crammed into a van, driving across 4 states in the middle of the summer with No Air Conditioning did not apeal to me. So, the drummer (Serious Defect) and I decided to pile our gear into "Soobie", and split the cost of gas, which is projected to be about $100. (400 miles each way, 800 miles; at 25 MPG = 32 Gallons@$3/Gal = $96) We'll be enjoying Front Seat Comfort, Air Conditioning, Premium Strereo, and only 2 Smelly musicians! Hmmm...Now that I think about it, we're the only 2 that have college educations... I'll get some Good Pics of "Soobie" in the Smokey Mts, and other points of interest. Anyone in the Nashville area that wants to come to the party, PM me, and I'll give you details. Fat Tony
July 26, 200718 yr Sounds like fun Tony! You'll have to let me know when you are playing close to home so I can check you guys out. I will be at Hoodstock 2007 this weekend. Our annual end of July party at Mt.Elliott and Ferry in what used to be the ghetto but is now a remarkably vacant neighborhood..... the only "loyale" driving bass player left in detroit, Doug
July 26, 200718 yr more than likely your pass right by my house, i-75 , i'll be gone saturday and sunday , but if something happans friday and your close by , i;ll try and help, i can pm you my #
July 26, 200718 yr Author more than likely your pass right by my house, i-75 , i'll be gone saturday and sunday , but if something happans friday and your close by , i;ll try and help, i can pm you my # Yep, we're heading Right down I-75 at Mach .1!!! (75 MPH) Thanks for the Support, Fat Tony
July 30, 200718 yr Author Home! What a trip! Drove 549 miles straight down to what looked like a scene to a sequel of Deliverence. Deep South, very Country, and Hot & Sticky. Took just over 8 hours, but with the time change, barely 7 hours! Before the road trip I had a Kick-@$$ stereo & radar detector installed. Needed them anyways. I traveled with my drummer, Serious Defect. Between him and I, and my gear, lets see what the weight was in the car. Me - 220 Him - 325(+) Amp - 125 etc - 125 ----------- 795 lbs Okay, car was LOADED! Ran without air on the way down there, and averaged 26 MPG@85 MPH. When we got there I shut off the car, and the ABS HCU was making a terrible noise, like it was a compressor trying to fill its tank. I pulled both fuses marked ABS under the dash, but it kept running. SD unhooked a connector, and it shut off. We hooked it back up, and all was well. I know the ABS works, cuz I almost rear-ended a Hum-Vee that had stopped going down a hill on a dirt road. Soobie didn't want to want to come to a complete stop, thought she was sliding I suppose... Where we went is a BIG FIELD outside of Nashville. They throw a HUGE party the last Saturday of the month for 9 of the 12 months out of the year. It is 8' - 10' high weeds with a LARGE area carved out for the stage & bar, and several Camping Areas carved out for guests. It is a Private party, opened bar, security is TIGHT, and run by "Mike", a UFC trainer who specializes in Gracie Jiu Jitsui & the Militech Fighting System. He is also the "Sound Guy". Super cool, and not an ego maniac. (It was his Hum-Vee I almost bumped) Anyways, the party ROCKED! It starts off with a Sing-A-Long, and "The Punch of the Month". This months song was done to the tune of Bob Segar's Turn the Page, but it was about a pervert picking up under-age kids on the internet called "She's Underage". I guess this was a Shot at one of the locals, who was dating someone a bit younger than she had claimed to be. http://www.amiright.com/parody/misc/bobseger1.shtml The Punch was Blue, and Very Strong. It was called Windex...After the sing-a-long and Punch chugging, the bar opened, and the 1st band setup. they played from 9 - 10, and the bon-fire started somewhere in between. We went on after that, and we were plagued with a Drunk singer, technical difficulties, and a generator that wasn't quite up to our electrical demands! Oh well, driving 500+ miles to play a Less Than Stellar show isn't the end of the world! We wraped it up, I ordered 2 Corona's, 2 shots of Quervo, and chased my evening dose of Tylenol #3 down! There was a Mosh-Pit MP3 track running until 3am, at which time the party winds down to the camp-site level. I crawled into my tent, plopped on the air mattres, and listened to several people Dry-Heaving next camp over. I dozed off around 4...And was UP at 6:30am!!! Internal clock and all that...But I was okay. Not drunk, hung over, and not "Hurting" in general. I re-kindled the Bon-Fire in the main pit, and soon several others wandered over, and we sat and looked at the fire, and shared stories about the night before. It seems they liked the bands, although they weren't sure what the 2nd band (mine) was trying to do, it was at least loud & fast! They didn't know I was in the band So semi-good reviews from a subjective critic. Made the trip seem somewhat worthwhile! At 7:30 SD & I broke camp, and were on the road at 8. First order of business, BREAKFAST!!! Just as we crossed the Tenn - KY border we found a Denny's full of Good Ol' Boys. I (unintentionally) parked so they could see the license plate, and I heard several comments about a "God D@#%ed Michigan Car". Okay! Eat, Pay, DRIVE FAST!!! Maybe I shoulda pointed out I'm from SOUTHERN California. Or not... Drive home was WITH AC blazing, mostly to keep the stench of SD down. MPG dropped to 23, and I noticed that the car was dropping down to 3rd on the hills alot with the Cruise Control set at 80. No biggie. Got home in just over 8 hours, but with the time change, over 9!! Total cost of gas was $121.50, average MPG righ around 25. No tickets, no close calls, The ABS incident was the closest thing to an equipment failure, and surprisingly enough No Hang Over!!! Musta been the Tylenol #3. I declare Soobies 1st road trip of 1100 miles a qualified success! Fat Tony - World Traveler
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now