On the Road

On the Road
by Sir Thomas Whizboy

As anyone who has experienced it can tell you, life on the road with a band isn’t all sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Having spent the better part of 7 years in Beat Soup, I can certainly relate to the trials and hardships that go hand in hand with the glories. In those 7 years, Beat Soup has been on a virtually non-stop tour that has taken us from the Northern tip of Cambridge all the way down to Brighton and as far west as Acton (you can’t really go east from Boston – you’d end up in the ocean). Oh the stories I could tell! Sometimes I wonder if there are any roads left on this great blue marble which we haven’t traveled on. But I digress. I decided during one leg of our tour to keep a diary in the hopes that I could give you, our loyal fans, some insight into the life of a ‘Souper’. And so I present to you my diaries from the June 1999 leg of our tour – a particularly grueling month that saw us play no fewer than 4 shows! So settle back and enjoy!

6/5/99: First gig ever at Great Scott’s in the emerald city (Allston). It is with mixed emotions that I pack up my gig back and kiss my wife goodbye. The excitement of the road beckons, but I know full well that it’s going to be several hours before I see her again. The tour starts off on a wrong note: I’ve been on the road for a full 5 minutes when I realize that I’ve forgotten my guitar. When you are on the road and these things happen, there are no ‘easy solutions’. Thinking quickly, I decide to do a U-turn and go back to my house. I get the guitar, but now I’m 10 critical minutes behind schedule. Beat Soup’s reputation is built around promptness – I have to hustle. We all meet at our rehearsal space where we grab our PA, and then all 7 of us drive over together. Some even share a car ride – this is what they mean when they say that being on the road develops camaraderie. The 5 minute trip from the rehearsal space to the club goes by quicker than expected. Allston is beautiful in June (although there is a somewhat pervasive and yet unidentifiable smell). The gig is a success! Roughly 100 people cram into the club to see us. We put on a very energetic show that leaves the patrons sweaty and gasping for air. No time to rest on our laurels though – there’s another show in less than a week, and I’ve got at least 45 minutes of driving ahead of me before I can experience the joy of my own bed…

6/10/99: Benefit show tonight for the Cam Neely Foundation…I hope I can sneak out of work a bit early. This tour is already starting to wear me down. I didn’t make it home from Great Scott’s until close to 2 AM on Saturday, and that really wreaked havoc on my sleep cycle – I was still feeling it when I got in to the office on Monday morning! 4:30 already? Boy – the day flies by when you spend most of your time writing and replying to emails from band mates. The benefit is at the Northeast Brewing company; the twisted tour road will now be depositing us at a completely different section of Allston from where we were on Saturday (I know in my head that it is only a half a mile away, but when you’re on the road for as long as we’ve been on the road, a half mile can seem like 5). It’s a work day, so there’s no time for us to meet at the rehearsal space and caravan over together – we agree to meet at the club. This show is not as energetic as the other night. Maybe the strain of the tour is starting to show. We struggle through it, but we are tired (and most of us have to work the next day). Bed will feel good tonight, but in my heart I know that my sleep cycle is going to be disturbed again. We’ve got to recapture the energy and we don’t have much time to do it – the next show is coming right up in a week.

6/17/99: The dog days of the tour – the end is in sight, though. Tonight, it’s the Rack. We’re really covering some country now! We’re moving from Allston all the way in to the Faneuil Hall section of Downtown Boston. I need to get out of work at least an hour early today if I want to beat the rush hour traffic. The Rack is like a friendly face to us – our tour makes frequent stops here. Arriving at the Rack is always special – the staff there is very friendly – I’ll admit that I’ve caught myself staring into their luscious, big, round, welcoming eyes, wishing I were home. This show ends up being better than usual. At one point during the first set, I could swear I caught one of the hundreds of people that swarm the billiards area actually looking at us! He looked away quickly and went on talking with his buddies, but I’m pretty sure that for that one moment he was actually aware that there was a band playing, and that that band was US!!! The show ends at 10 PM, and if I hurry home I might not take another hit to my sleep cycle. One more to go!

6/26/99: In hindsight, it’s hard to believe that this is the end. Fittingly, this leg of the tour will end in Lower Allston at the Common Ground. Our weary faces betray a certain ‘happiness’ at this being the last stop. We love what we do, and we wouldn’t give it up for anything, but sometimes you have to get away – collect yourself. I catch myself looking beyond this show. In the past I’ve tried to seek out complete and utter seclusion – to find a place where I could go where no one would know me, no one would see me, no one would even pay attention to me. But seeing as we just played at the Rack last week, I’m not sure it would be appropriate. Maybe I’ll just go play golf. Anyway, as show time approaches I retreat within myself. Then I get bored and I go get a beer. As I drink more and more, I begin to appreciate all of my bandmates – we would never have attained this level of achievement without the "special skills" of each and every one of those bastards. There’s Johnny with that thing he does with the banging , and Karl with that thingy that he does – don’t forget Dave – he’s pretty good on that thing. Hey – who do you have to blow around here to get another beer, anyway? Where was I? Yeah – so anyway, this "band" thing is fun. It’s a lot easier when you stop wondering what it would be like to be in a good band. It takes the pressure off – god almighty…audition after audition after audition…"What the fuck are you talking about, ‘chord change’? Hey – mind if I grab one of your beers, dude?". Well – it’s showtime. Hey – no problem…it’s not like I’m trying to finish my goddamn beer here or anything! Wouldn’t want to go on 5 minutes late in freakin’ Allston – my career might be ruined!

So, there you have it…a month on the road with Beat Soup. Coming soon; my studio diaries!

-- Sir Thomas Whizboy