One Helluva Ride - Part Three
After the Josie Music Award show is when things really started to get wild. I am so grateful for our good friends from South Dakota and Josie Music Awards nominees Jessica Loobey, her band, AND her dad who hopped in the bus to make its' first move since getting to Nashville.
Let me back up a touch. On the Sunday morning of the show I was awoken at 6 am to the doorbell of the bus ringing. As I opened my eyes I could see the lights of the Mall Security patrol car flashing outside. I was informed by the security officer/manager that the bus would need to be moved ASAP as there was no overnight parking inside of the mall parking lot. Unfortunately for us (and them) I had never driven the bus nor did I intend to on a Sunday morning in the rain. Besides, it had no where to go but exactly where it already was in Opryland.
Nonetheless we now had a new mission and after some talks with the Gaylord Opryland Resort it was decided that it would be moved to one of their parking lots later in the evening. That is where Jeff Loobey (pictured above) came in to save the day! It was a short ride but a memorable one for everyone. I was happy to have not had to drive it over there myself and Jeff was more than happy to help another South Dakotan get out of a precarious position. Once the bus was moved Jeff and his cohort Brandon Schmidt (drummer for the band and boyfriend of the aforementioned Jessica Loobey) headed back to the Grand Ole Opry House to pick up the gals. My adventure was just beginning.
Still humming from our evening spent at the award show, Boo Boo and I fancied a night cap at a popular spot in the Music Valley called the Nashville Palace and met Josie Music Award winners Rudy Gunn and Will Li. I had interviewed Rudy on the red carpet prior to the award show so we struck up a conversation about the evening and I relayed to them how we had just moved the bus to the parking lot across the street. You can listen to Rudy tell the next part of this story on an episode of The Scene Projects coming soon but I'll give you the short story.
It was a cold, foggy night in Nashville when Rudy, Will, and Dave followed two guys who could have been murderers for all they knew into the mist. What transpired was a night that none of them would ever forget. Songs on a tour bus, the ultimate horn blaring "On The Road Again", and a typical late night spent at a Waffle House in Tennessee.
We talked around the breakfast table about AI and the affect it is having on the music industry, how crazy the weekend had been for everyone, and discussed what the future holds for all of us. We shared stories of our respective homes and how we got to where we are now. Touring across the countries we call home and meeting again in the future. Hands down one of the most incredible and unforgettable evenings of my life. I'm staying in regular contact with the guys and look forward to all the music they will be making and sending our way in the future. We returned to the bus and collapsed shortly after from shear exhaustion. It was a long productive day and one we will not soon forget.
