John and Lurch Wheel Their Way Through America

John and Lurch Wheel Their Way Through America So, a little late to the party as usual, but welcome to John and Lurch Wheel Their Way Through America home page. Well, you get the pitcher.

As some may know, but most won't, I bought a camper van on March 3rd in Duncan, B.C. now affectionately known as Lurch, and have decided to hit the road for a 3 month trek across America that began on March 16th. However this is just not any vacation as the plan entails visiting famous musical landmarks, venues, and concerts including live performances by pop culture icons, past and present, in va

rious cities and towns in America, and perhaps more than a few aspiring musicians, artisans, and creative characters along the way. A musical walkabout if you will, through the back doors, alleys, and ditches of America. Along the way, I will be including some of the amazing scenery, people, and places that make up this giant pot of stew that is America. No Jack Kerouac meanderings, but merely a small town Canadian boys perspective on what happens after taking a wrong turn on the way to the local store to buy a jug of milk.

After a stop overnight in Houston, I finally made it to New Orleans on May the 2nd. The Big Easy, NOLA, N'awlins, the ci...
06/17/2015

After a stop overnight in Houston, I finally made it to New Orleans on May the 2nd. The Big Easy, NOLA, N'awlins, the city that care forgot, call it what you will, it really is a place like no other as I was to find out. Upon arriving, the RV park that I had intended on staying in New Orleans Treme neighborhood was full, so I parked in a parking lot right around the corner for the night and hiked down St. Louis Street to Bourbon Street. It was a Saturday night and the street was packed with walking traffic. On each side of Bourbon Street one can find any manner of establishment from bars, restaurants, gift shops, voodoo stores, fortune tellers, food carts, and gentleman's clubs. It really is tourist central, and the party never seems to stop, as people pour in and out of open doorways with cocktails in their hands and no specific destination. The architecture all along the street, and really throughout the whole French Quarter, is amazing. Nearly two century old Creole townhouses line many of the streets with their cast iron balconies and colorful painted walls. Years of cultural diversity are in evidence everywhere with dashes of Spanish, French, African, Greek, and Caribbean styles all mixed together into one big pot of gumbo. It's through this culture of ethnicities shared, that the very foundation of Jazz was built here in New Orleans, and there is Jazz played everywhere still. However as I was to find out after a couple of days there, one must get beyond Bourbon Street to find the real musical heartbeat of the Crescent City. Don't get me wrong, Bourbon Street is oh so fun, and part of the New Orleans experience, but there is much more to discover beyond its confines. The street is like a Venus Flytrap though, and I was sucked in before learning this rookie mistake. Nevertheless, I did make it to the Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street just outside the quarter, for a set by the Davis Rogan Band on Saturday night. I had a day pass to Heritage and Jazz festival, so on Sunday I visited the fairgrounds and was treated to an incredible day of sun, sights, and sounds including a performance by Lenny Kravitz and Trombone Shorty. After the final performance of the day (and the 2 week festival), throngs of party refugees continued the festivities on the streets surrounding the grounds, not content for things to end. It was at Jazz Fest that I was introduced to two lovely ladies, Connie and Tara, who I met up with later in the French Quarter for some great conversation and traditional Louisiana cuisine at the Oceana Grill. Following the emotional hangover in the wake of the world famous Jazzfest, the next few days were spent exploring the French Quarter more thoroughly. I discovering all sorts of incredible architecture and art, stopped to listen to street bands, and met some of the colorful characters that reside there. During Cinco De Mayo on the 5th while having something to eat at the Italian Barrel off Decatur, I met Michael Scott, a percussionist from London, and struck up an immediate friendship. Michael is just the kindest person and shares my musical fanaticism, so once we started talking music across tables, even the waiter couldn't get a word in...... It was through this new found friendship that Michael offered me his ticket for the Boz Scaggs show the following night at the Baton Rouge River Center, as he wasn't feeling up to going. So the next day I travelled to Baton Rouge, saw Boz (and Rayland Baxter, a fantastic new singer/songwriter), who put on great show, and travelled back to New Orleans the following day where I stayed until the 9th. After leaving New Orleans, I stopped back in Baton Rouge for two more days while I had Lurch in at the mechanics.......again, and then headed West on my way back to Austin, "the live music capitol of the world", staying the night of the 11th in Beaumont, Texas.

06/17/2015

Beards 'N Beck Tour, April 30, 2015, The beards do a bit of improvising with their rendition of Jesus Just Left Chicago.

06/10/2015

Beards 'N Beck Tour April 30, 2015. Jeff does a rendition of The Beatles song A Day In The Life

I blew in to Austin following the night spent on the side of the road just outside Sweetwater Texas about an hour before...
06/10/2015

I blew in to Austin following the night spent on the side of the road just outside Sweetwater Texas about an hour before Jeff Beck and ZZ Top were to perform at Cedar Park Center. I had missed some amazing shows playing in Austin earlier that week as I had been doddling along at John speed, but was determined to see ZZ Top playing on their native soil. If that wasn't enough, they were going to be sharing the bill with none other than Jeff Beck, a legend in his own right. I was pumped. My goal all the way from California, well Canada really, was to make it to the New Orleans Jazz Festival, or at least a part of it, but I was not going to miss this show to try to get there sooner. I had seen ZZ Top perform in Canada on two other occasions through the years, but had never seen Jeff Beck play, and he took to the stage after an inspired opening acoustic set by Tyler Bryant. Jeff's mastery of the guitar has always been a thing of wonder, and this show was no exception. It really is uncanny how effortless he makes it all look as he wrings out notes that soar like an eagle and resolve in a car crash, usually in the same song. The subtleties and phrasing of his style are like no other, as he has always challenged the boundaries of conventional playing to create something so singularly his, yet so enticing. It was a treat to hear. After his set, while outside before ZZ Top came on, I met Will and Jacques, two Austin residents that after learning I was from Canada offered me a beer. I've tried different craft beers throughout my travels in the US, but nothing prepared me for the Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA. The cans about the size of a quart jar and at 9.75%, a guy might as well be chugging a bottle of Jack......They even have a scull on the can, perhaps as a warning. Needless to say, by the time ZZ Top came on I was relatively shipwrecked. The Texas trio put on a great show though (or maybe I just thought it was great due to my state), as they rolled out hit after hit from their back catalog, and even let rip on Jimi Hendrix's Foxey Lady. These guys have to be one of the coolest bands ever and anytime I've seen them it's always a fun show. The crowd were on their feet for the entirety, which is a testament to their Texas roots. Like Billy Gibbons said during the show "We've been coming around here for four decades now, the same three chords, from the same three guys". Humble as he is though, nobody really plays those same three chords quite like ZZ Top do and their brand of boogie and blues will never go out of style. They even brought Jeff Beck back out on stage for their encore that included the cover of sixteen tons. I had only had a taste of Texas, but I left the show that night knowing I wanted more. I still had to make it to New Orleans as the jazz festival was ending in a few days, but I knew I'd be back. I stayed in Cedar Park that night, and drove to Houston the following day.

On April 29th, the day after arriving in Gallup, and on the advice of Diane who I met in Winslow, I decided to go check ...
06/03/2015

On April 29th, the day after arriving in Gallup, and on the advice of Diane who I met in Winslow, I decided to go check out yet another stop on the Historic Route 66. The El Rancho hotel, which is now considered a national historic site was constructed in 1936 and hosted many of the Hollywood elite due to its rustic charm and proximity to New Mexico landscapes. Its ties to the golden age of movie making are in full display as each room in the hotel has a placard at the top of the door to indicate which star stayed in what room, as well as the many signed publicity photos that adorn the walls of the upper balcony. Literally a who's who of Hollywood's past had stayed here while making movies in the area including John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Kirk Douglas, Rita Hayworth, Jane Fonda, and Humphrey Bogart, among many others. If walls could talk, I'm sure they would have some stories to tell at the El Rancho! It really was quite the place. That afternoon I carried on through New Mexico heading East through Albuquerque and decided I would go looking for the "Musical Highway". I had read a New York newspaper article about a stretch of highway near Santa Fe that when driven over would play "America The Beautiful". Intrigued by this little tidbit, I followed the directions given in the article to try to find this musical attraction. My first mistake was trusting that a reporter from a New York rag would actually report the correct location for this stretch of road in New Mexico. The second mistake was assuming my GPS would work in the badlands of New Mexico. My third mistake was driving down a remote highway without air conditioning and nothing to drink on a sweltering day in New Mexico....... Heading North was not really on the agenda, as I had intended on making it to Austin, Texas the following day for the ZZ Top/Jeff Beck concert, but I just couldn't resist finding this little known attraction. So following this reporters ambiguous directions, I detoured North at Cedar Crest and drove and drove and drove, following a road that had more turns than a Gregorian knot. Eventually, I ended up in the little town of Madrid at the "No Pity Café" where I asked some people if they knew where the "Musical Highway" actually was. Of course nobody knew, except some guy that overheard the conversation who said "Oh, I think that's back by Cedar Crest"........... some thirty miles from where I had just come from. So, I turned around and drove thirty miles back to Cedar Crest and after searching for the better part of the day, finally found the "Musical Highway". So how does the "Musical Highway" work, you might ask. Well, it's a 1300 foot section of highway with rumble strips near the shoulder of the road, placed at just the right intervals, so that if you maintain an exact speed of 45 MPH, you can distinctly hear the song "America The Beautiful". Like a vinyl record, it only goes one direction though, and apparently if you drive down it backwards it actually plays "Children Of The Damned" by Iron Maiden...... just kidding. Anyway, when I finally got turned around with camera in one hand and steering wheel in the other, I realized Lurch just couldn't get up to speed fast enough (due to a small hill just before the rumble strips), and with his less than optimal steering capabilities, our first pass was a failure. So we turned around again, got more of a run the second time, but I just couldn't keep the tires on those damn narrow rumble strips with a camera in my hand, as disgruntled 9 to 5ers trying to get home from work kept passing me. Two more passes ensued, without much improvement and after reviewing the film footage my attempts sounded more like "God Save The Queen" than "America The Beautiful"........ Laughing hysterically at this exercise in futility, nearly dark outside, and still a long way from Austin, I gave up and headed East. I drove through the rest of New Mexico that night, turning off the I-40 at Santa Rosa, and heading Southeast through Fort Sumner and Clovis, into Lubbock Texas and finally settled for the night at a roadside turnout at Sweetwater near Abilene at 4:00 AM. I was determined to make the ZZ Top/Jeff Beck show in Austin the following day........and I did.

I made my way to the Grand Canyon's South rim following the night spent in Williams, and was blown away by the sheer siz...
05/29/2015

I made my way to the Grand Canyon's South rim following the night spent in Williams, and was blown away by the sheer size and magnitude of it. After years of erosion, one can just barely see the Colorado river wind its way through the bed of the canyon. Pictures can't really do it justice and it was impressive to say the least. Afterwards, I headed back South to the interstate, and then East towards New Mexico. However, before getting to New Mexico, I had to take another detour on the famous Route 66 at Winslow, Arizona. Somewhere along the way, someone had told me that in Winslow there was a landmark to the Eagles song "Take It Easy". They weren't really clear on exactly what was there, just that there was something there. If you'll recall, the lyrics to the song go something like this: "Well I'm a standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona, and such a fine site to see, it's a girl my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me". Well, what rock and roll trip across America would be complete without a stop here, I thought. So, Lurch and I wheeled our way into Winslow to check it out. Not really knowing where to go, I just followed the main drag through town and sure enough found the "standin' on the corner" statue and painted wall in the heart of downtown Winslow. If that wasn't enough the flatbed Ford was there to, but unfortunately the girl didn't slow down to take a look at me........in fact she sped up...... What was uncanny about the whole situation, and like a scene out of the Twilight Zone, was as I pulled up and parked to take a look at the statue, the actual song "Take It Easy", was playing on the outside speakers from the gift shop next door. I was sure they just had the song on rotation, but after spending about an hour visiting with the owner of the gift shop later on, she assured me that she just happened to be playing that CD right before I arrived. Talk about synchronicity! Diane was the shop owners name, I believe, and we had a great conversation about Route 66, and she gave me some pointers on some of the other sights and towns that I should check out along the way. So enamoured had I become about this legendary stretch of road and its history, that I bought 5 books from her that detailed the history and highlights of this highway! She even had a Route 66 guitar that had been signed by no other than Loretta Lynn, that I tuned up and played a few bars on. If your reading this Diane, please let me buy that guitar, I promise I'll look after it!!! Anyway, without a doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit in Winslow with Diane and will be back through one day. As a matter of fact, if I wasn't so preoccupied with seeing other parts of America, I would do a trip that followed nothing but Route 66 (or what's left of it) all the way. As Diane closed the shop for the night, and we said our goodbyes, I couldn't help but think that although the US Interstates have made it more convenient to get around, something has been lost. Route 66 was not just a road, it was a state of mind that embodied the freedom and optimism that America values were built on. These whimsical and distinctive little shops, motels, gas stations, and roadside attractions along this byway, were once thriving businesses that personalized their communities and championed free enterprise before a faceless corporate behemoth rose up and replaced them with the facile and generic....... How sad that the corporate model always aims for the lowest common denominator. It's the same in Canada to. That said, it's nice to see a resurgence of interest in this highway and it's many attractions. After leaving Winslow, I headed East to Gallup, New Mexico where I stayed that night.

After the hoopla that is Vegas, and with Lurch all patched up, on April 27th I made my way towards the Grand Canyon. Oft...
05/28/2015

After the hoopla that is Vegas, and with Lurch all patched up, on April 27th I made my way towards the Grand Canyon. Often I try to avoid these tourist traps, but having never seen it before, I couldn't go through Arizona without stopping. On my way there while passing through Kingman Arizona, a road sign caught my eye. A historic Route 66 sign to be exact. I had always pondered the mythology surrounding the "mother road", and wondered if it even still existed. I knew (from the song) that it weaved from Chicago to LA, more than 2000 miles all the way, and that it was one of the first highways to traverse the country, but that's about all I knew. What I really wanted to know was what kind of kicks I would find on Route 66. So with visions of giant donut shops and '59 Cadillac's dancing in my head, I took a hard right at the exit and left the interstate to find out. My excitement soon dissipated though, as I stopped for gas in Kingman and asked the young female attendant what I would find up the road. She replied, "well there's some caverns, and that big plastic dinosaur is still there I think....oh and there's a petting zoo". Puzzled, somewhat disappointed, but undeterred, I decided to soldier on anyway. Besides, it was great to be off the interstate for awhile. It was a beautiful sunny day and as I drove admiring the Arizona scenery, looking for plastic dinosaurs, I soon came upon the Hackberry General Store. What a fascinating place this turned out to be, with its retro charm, and museum of nostalgia. Everything from vintage vehicles, gas pumps, and road signs, adorned the outside, while the inside was filled with memorabilia, an old jukebox and mock diner, signed photos, and other artifacts of a bygone era. The attention to detail was mesmerizing. I must have spent an hour perusing everything there was to see, and there was plenty. Maybe there was something to this Route 66 after all. I stopped for gas in Truxton, passed Peach Springs, saw the Grand Canyon Caverns, was amused by the Burma Shave signs, and stopped in the town of Seligman. Yet another gem of what was to become my love affair with all things Route 66. I never did make it to the Grand Canyon that day, but settled for the night in the town of Williams, just south of the canyon, on Route 66 of course. There I stopped at Twisters 50's Soda Fountain where I met the lovely Dayna Armijo, and then later on that night met some of the locals over a drink at the world famous Sultana bar, which is the oldest bar in all of Arizona.

05/28/2015

One more from the Zappa Plays Zappa show on April 25th where the band is joined by young prodigy Rachel Flowers on the song Montana. Not only does she match Dweezil lick for lick, but she does it without being able to see. Truly inspirational.

05/22/2015

Sinister Footwear at the Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, April 25th

Vegas!
05/14/2015

Vegas!

05/14/2015

Vegas Baby! Well not quite as I had to cross the Mojave Desert first, and Lurch was just not in the mood for the long hot trek. This wasn't the first time he had acted up either. Less than a week into this trip, his power converters, ballast resistor failed. This time though, he had developed what could only be referred to as a shake, rattle, and roll. So much so that I thought the eggs in the fridge would be scrambled, much like my brain before I ever made it to Vegas. Driving through the Mojave, with the threat of breaking down at any minute, all I could think about was how I was going to end up like Wile E Coyote crawling across the desert looking for water, seeing an oasis, but finding out it was a mirage. Somehow though, we made it to Vegas and I parked Lurch at New York, New York and met up with my good friend Jaymack and some of his family for a birthday celebration. What can one say about Vegas that hasn't already been said........or done! Like a playground for giants, everything is just larger than life, including the price. So this time, along with the obligatory smash up, I decided to see a few shows, go hiking in Red Rock Canyon, take a stroll down Freemont Street, and generally try to stay away from gambling..........like that worked. Had just a bang up time though, hanging out with my friend Jay and his cousins for the first 3 days, Vicki who I went hiking, and saw the Beatles Cirque Du Soleil with, and then going to the Zappa Plays Zappa concert, a tribute to Frank's "One Size Fits All". There were many high points, not least of which, looking down on Vegas from the top of Red Rock Canyon, thank you Vicki. The Beatles Cirque Du Soleil show was a complete trip, more like a dreamscape really. Amazing how they choreograph those shows. Celebrating Jay's birthday was great fun to. During all this merriment though, I was attempting to get Lurch fixed. Two dealerships later, I discovered Don's Driveline in North Las Vegas, and not a moment too soon either, as another few days there, I probably would have been broke. Like the seasoned gambler says "That's the way it goes, first your money, then your clothes". Anyway, I ended up stranded for a few extra days there while getting Lurch fixed (such problems to have ; ) which could have been much worse had I not ended up in the penthouse suite of Planet Hollywood...... The front desk guy must have felt particularity generous that day when I asked for a room with a view after moving from New York New York. "Just a small upgrade from a standard room" he told me. "Twenty bucks more a night", and I said "sure, why not". I asked to be high up, but little did I know that he set me up in the penthouse suite, until I got up there. If I ever meet that guy again, I'm going to buy him a drink! The Dweezil Zappa show was just fantastic to. He may be paying homage to his father's music, but he is a star in his own right. The band, who were joined by a young blind girl prodigy by the name of Rachel Flowers, put on a virtuosic performance rife with all the dynamics, humor, and killer licks that make his shows so enjoyable. After the show there was a reception where I got to converse with Dweezil and the rest of the band, and he was gracious enough to sign my Frank shirt. I met so many great people that night, not to mention during all my time in Vegas. Beth StClair, you come to mind and we must hang out again. I arrived in Vegas April 20th and left the 26th with my head a little heavier and my wallet a little lighter, but what a time!

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Duncan, BC
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