Ever wonder what it would be like to tour the world for free? Stopping in major cities every day, seeing the sights, crashing in hotels and playing concerts seems like a fantastic job and for the most part it is. I can think of a million reasons why music is the best career on Earth, but none of those hold a candle to being on the road with your best friends. However, sometimes things go wrong and when you're hundreds or thousands of miles away from home, and when they do the term "shit out of luck" is by far the best explanation I could give! Bands that travel in vans expect that at some point it's going to break down at least once while on tour. Funny how on our very first tour we didn't even make it to the first show before an accident occurred, sending us to hell and back again.

We got the green light to hit the road with Drowning Pool 2 years ago. It would be the first time in our 4 years as band that we would go on an actual tour. I remember the first time we met our managers Eric Lawrence and Rob Lanni, and they gave us a some words to live by long before we would actually understand what they meant. "Canada is like boot camp!" they said, "If you make it through a Canadian tour you are ready for anything!". What they were getting at was that the drives between cities can feel like an eternity and the weather conditions are perhaps some of the worst you can imagine. Playing in front of 25 people after 13 hours of driving can be a major heartbreaker and believe me, for rock bands this happens all the time. Not to mention that anyone crazy enough to attempt a winter tour across Canada in van has a death wish!

Anyway, we were not going to let any of these factors beat us. Lets consult the checklist: Summer tour- check. Big van in good condition if not perfect- check. Trailer-check. Shows with a band that can draw crowds-check. Six drivers, food, hotels booked, money and GPS-check. All was ready to go.

Joe has rule and this is never to be broken. No one under any circumstance backs up the van and trailer except him. I like that rule and I abide by it. After all, Joe could back the thing through a virgins legs and she would never notice. He has many talents and guitar is only one of them. But for some reason our most trusted friend and a man that I could write a book about, decided that this rule did not apply to him. We call him Kawi and he is strange guy.

Kawi has been our buddy for almost the entirety of our career. He started by filming shows and doing merch, and eventually began loading gear and now has stage tech duties. He seems to live in a universe far from the one we all do, but Kawi is always there to help us through anything. It was somewhere in Northern Ontario when the rest of us were asleep that he decided to turn the van around for a gas stop he missed. While backing up, Kawi managed to jack knife the van and trailer to the point the rear frame on the van broke off. Not only once, but twice. He must not of heard the smash the first time, but either way the damage was spectacular. We didn't notice at first the extent of the accident which could of been much worse considering we drove 6 more hours to Thunder Bay with the rear frame practically dragging on the ground. When we did realize what had actually taken place, the tour became less of an adventure and more of a catastrophe.

However, luck was somewhat on our side. Our tour manager had a friend in Thunder Bay and he let us leave our now useless trailer in his driveway. The idea was far from convenient though. Now we had to fit all our gear in the van and get rid of everything else. No more bed in the back, no food, no pillows, no blankets, no extra anything. Just our gear needed to perform, six guys and five seats. One guy had to sit on the floor between the door, the gear and the seat. Considering the first show was in Calgary and we were still in Ontario, that "Boot camp" drive was looking a hell of a lot longer than we were expecting. To say that it was extremely painful would not do the drive justice. It was fucking hell. In fact the shitty motels we stayed in were all I could think about between drives.

We made it though. And we could report back that not only did we complete boot camp, but that we were ready to tour Alaska if need be! Well… as long as no one but Joe backs up the van and trailer.

Ballz