HBRSB Winter Ski Tour

by Justin "Lightweight" Davis and Erik Yates erikyates@care2.com

[Note: This month, we have a pair of guest writers with a story about a Roadtrip by the Hot Buttered Rum String Band. The writers are also members of the band, which gives an interesting twist to this story. The text in italics below was written by Erik, the non-italicized text is by Justin.

If you are interested in contributing a Roadtrip story, please let me know before you take your trip, to give me time to get you on the schedule. Also, if you are in a band, and would like to either submit a story about a trip or part of a tour, or if you would like to work with someone to prepare a story that includes the band's perspective, let me know. Even if you just have questions about what is involved, feel free to email me at ira@jambands.com. And, I'd love any feedback on this or past Roadtrips! Thanks, Ira]

On January 12th, 2001, the Hot Buttered Rum String Band piled into a white Chevy Astro and headed off towards the Continental Divide to bring some High Altitude Bluegrass to the Rockies. In tow were the following personnel:

Bryan Horne: ­ Double bassist and falsetto singer extraordinaire. Zac Matthews: ­ Mandolinist and resident technology guru. Nathaniel Hemingway Keefe: ­ Guitarist. Songwriter. Lover. Erik Yates: ­ Flutist, clarinetist, accordionist and champion of other various unsung instruments. Justin "Lightweight" Davis: ­ The band scribe and spiritual counselor.

Justin's journal gives us some poetic snapshots of the road:

For me, an honorary member of the band, (a writer with very little musical ability,) the opportunity to travel the western part of the United States to various mountain/ski towns (Truckee, Aspen, Vail, Keystone...) satisfies a driving romantic need I¹ve had to travel with a band and experience the road from a band's perspective, in a band's schedule. It's fun jamming around to bars, setting up the stuff, checking out the crowd, drinking drinks, and talking about it afterwards. I ache to get up on stage with an instrument in hand, but for now, this is my riff.

We started out rough . . .

Day 1: (Friday 1/12) ­ Truckee, CA Arriving in Truckee a couple hours before the gig, fired up. The mountains the altitude cold air in pink lungs. The name of the place was the Pastime Club. The pastime this club refers to is drinking, in heavy, sloppy amounts. There were plenty of men there. Some women too, but primarily men. The Pastime Club is no tourist bar, there is not a lot of North Face fleece here. There is a lot of good honest leather, though. Some good thick handlebar mustaches, too, dipped in whiskey.

The show went as well as it could as we fumbled with the sound board from onstage, did our best to satisfy requests for Sex Pistols classics and sought to find our groove for the tour. We drove on to Reno that night looking forward to fairer pastures in Salt Lake and Denver . . .

Day 6: (Wednesday 1/17) - Aspen, CO

We hung out most of the late afternoon in our hotel, taking care of business. I ran for a while with Bryan and Erik, then by myself. Followed a beautiful creek on a hard-packed cross-country ski trail. 10 miles of release. The flavor of endorphins. The show was at a restaurant/bar called Hannibal Brown's. A nice place with good food, a nice bar, and a friendly bar owner (there are so few). After a wonderful meal and a fairly smooth sound check, it was on.

The boys played to a small but respectful and appreciative crowd of people. The kind of folks who are going to tell their friends about the band and bring them to the next show. We got paid, and drank too many drinks. Good tequila, good good tequila. We had a $100 bar tab, and we handled it. Took care of it. A short walk back to the hotel and to bed. Until next time . . .

Next time came soon enough, at Quixote's in East Denver . . .

Day 8: (Friday 1/19) ­ Denver, CO

The name of the club was Quixote's, a Grateful Dead bar. What makes a Grateful Dead bar? A place where smoking is allowed. The many faces of Jerry Garcia, glowing. Bootleg Dead only. A fireplace in the middle of it all.

The band had the privilege to open a show for Tony Furtado and his band, fantastic musicians with a strong local and regional following, so when it rolled around to 9:30, Quixote's was rocking. Girls with skirts danced to Green Drop, boys with smokes danced with them. For the first time in the tour perhaps, the boys got the glory they deserved. The crowd they deserved, drunk but dancing.

The band played for 30 minutes or so, a nice warm-up for the next nights gig at the same venue, which would have many of the same face in the crowd. Tony Furtado and his crew played a couple of long, deep sets late into the night. The dancing was furious, and the boys relished the chance to have some beer and _listen_ to some music for a change. Sweet.

Things got sweeter from there, including a jam with Yonder Mountain String Band's Jeff Austin in Boulder, some down home acoustic sets in Vail, and a warm homecoming gig in Truckee, packed with friends and fans up from the Bay Area. For all the guts and gory details, check our site, HotButteredRum.net. Happy buttering, all, and we'll see ya next show . . .