Interesting Run-In With The Inhabitants Of A Tour Bus.....

Charlottesville, having not one, but two concert arenas, is now beginning to attract some pretty big names in entertainment. Jay-Z, Elton John, George Jones, Rascall Flatts, and Eric Clapton have all played shows in Charlottesville in the past 18 months.

A tour bus showed up in town this past Thursday. Not an uncommon sighting in this day and age. The name "Kid Rock" was on the side of this one, with a huge Jim Beam logo. A very nice airbrushed graphic reading "American Bad-Ass" across the nose. It quite obviously was THE tour bus that carried the entertainer himself. It was parked at this particular time on West Main Street, in the midtown area.

Several local cab drivers, including myself, use the parking lot across the street as a standby point, so naturally we looked at the bus from time to time. However, being an aspiring musician myself, I understand the extreme pressure of being in the public eye non-stop as an entertainer, so none of us approached the bus.

I left to pick up a customer, and when I got back, the bus had moved across the street into the parking lot, with two men standing outside it. They seemed to be trying to find a way around a bridge that the bus was too tall for.

After being told the bus was simply for advertising purposes, (yeah, right) I offered to help with re-routing them, which was met with some disdain and general attitude of "we don't need your help." Okay. Whatever. Five minutes later, the same guy asks two of us to pick up some people from a restaurant for them. Sure, no problem there.

Finding out that these people were indeed with the tour, I let them listen to one of my own songs, which they liked. I told them that if they could help with exposure or getting signed, the cab ride was on me. Yes, I know that it might have been all bullshit, but what's five dollars compared to a chance at getting discovered? They insisted on paying me anyway, however.

After they left the cab to go to the bus, however, the same guy that asked us to go pick these people up steps up and gets in my face, accusing me of double-billing them by charging a credit card and then taking cash. I don't even TAKE credit cards, so I simply told him that A) I didn't take credit cards, B) I didn't do business that way, C) if he had a problem with me, he didn't need to get in my face, D) he was outnumbered five-to-one, and didn't even have a reason to get in my face in the first place, and E) I tried to comp the ride and they insisted on paying.

I have one thing to say. If everyone in the entertainment business is THAT much of an asshole, I guess I should be glad I haven't made it yet!

The Origins Of "Cheese Wagon"....

It hadn't really occurred to me, but some might be wondering just how I came to be in possession of a bus. It's really quite simple. It's part of a barter deal I made in 2006 to pay for my studio time in recording my debut musical effort. Quite simply, I bought it to house computer equipment and surveillance cameras monitoring property belonging to the studio owner and that of his family. Basically, an hour of my time monitoring the video is an hour of studio time.

The studio owner didn't want to go through all the hassle of getting a building permit for a shed to house this equipment, for many reasons. It was just easier to house it in a vehicle. And safer for the equipment, as it has turned out. I thought this was a joke at first, but the surveillance has actually led to a few arrests and at least one conviction.

I didn't really plan on getting this big of a vehicle. Vans were fairly expensive, and I was actually looking for one of the van-based buses, such as a Ford E350 van-based bus. However, when I went to Fishersville to answer an ad for a "1989 Ford Bus", I had no idea how big it was. Stepping around the corner to look at it, I was greeted by a 35-foot yellow monster. But the price was right, and so I bought it.

Fittingly, I dubbed it "Cheese Wagon". Fast forwarding to 2009, it looks as though I may be converting this thing into a motorhome. I have finally come to terms that I need to make some changes in my life, and one of them is to start actually living my life instead of wasting it away with all work and no play.