Two Cow Garage Tour Diary: Part II

AUG 4th- JACKSON, MS
Earlier in July we received an invitation to take a guided tour of Ardent Studios in Memphis, and then a guided tour of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, by the founder of Ardent, John Fry. We of course took them up on this and had an amazing afternoon with Mr. Fry hearing some pretty crazy stories. They were also re-mastering “I Am The Cosmos” while we were there and the master tapes were just sitting in a chair, which was awesome/funny. All in all one of the best side trips we’ve ever done. If you’re ever in Memphis check out the Stax Museum, it’s worth it.

After our nice afternoon we headed out for a relatively leisurely drive to Jackson, Mississippi. Everyone is in good spirits. We’ve decided that East Bound and Down is the funniest thing of the year. The previous night Mike Hale introduced us to the miracle of physics that is spinning beer. Where was Don Herbert for this bit of practical science?

The speed limit is 70. I’m cruising at about 75 laughing at someone or something. Then the trailer breaks in half. Yep. Breaks. In. Half. The van becomes almost impossible to drive. Sparks are flying down the highway. We manage to pull over on the side of the road. The chassis of the trailer was rusted through and the tongue and body are now at a ninety degree angle. But everyone is safe. No one is hurt. That’s the important thing.

The promoter of the show is an old friend, so we load what we can into our van and he drives the 60 or so miles up to get the rest of our stuff. We make the show.

AUG 5th – NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL
Mike, Austin, and Micah all wake up (or don’t go to sleep) and head to the U-Haul place before it opens. I wake up as they arrive and after a quick load we hit the road for the race to Florida. We were going to drive all night after the Jackson show (it’s 12 or so hours to New Smyrna Beach), but every U-haul was closed so we had to wait until morning. Mike Hale does all but a few hours of the driving. The show is supposed to start at ten with Mike going first. We arrive at ten exactly. Mike grabs his guitar and goes straight up to play. Later we eat at Denny’s in Daytona Beach with some crazy drunk girl trying to get all of us to dance with her. In Denny’s. Also Denny’s has started sponsoring bands. I think I had the My Chemical Romance Omelet or something along those lines.

AUG 6th – ORLANDO
Yes, the devil’s in Orlando. He’s got a place in Orlando. Good show. Ninja Gun (another Suburban Home band) is playing at a club a few blocks over and we hang with them most of the night. Everyone is still pretty tired from the all-day drive.

AUG 7th – GAINESVILLE
A lot of fun, and Micah, Andy and I went for a late night swim at the Motel 6.

AUG 8th – ATLANTA
Micah and I woke up early and took the van to Firestone, where we dropped $350 on two new front tires. Running late is a general theme. Trying to wrangle six people is difficult. Atlanta was a blur. We were late for load-in because of the tires. Andy had a friend pass and he found out about 5 minutes before we played. He soldiered through it like a pro.