Post by philly on Jun 30, 2014 16:03:12 GMT -5
www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/low-down-barry-bales-happy-anniversary-baby
The Low Down With Barry Bales: Happy Anniversary, Baby
June 27th, 2014 / By Barry Bales
On June 9th, I celebrated my 24th year as a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station. And, since that was my first truly full-time, professional job, it also marked my 24th year in the music business. Wow. Where does the time go? Looking back over those 24 years, it's pretty amazing the things I've gotten to do and the people I've gotten to work with. Some great. Some funny. Some, a little of both.
When I first joined the band, it was just the five of us — Alison Krauss, Alison Brown, Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey and myself — traveling around in Fred Krauss's old Chevy van. And it wasn't even a 15 passenger with lots of room and seats for everybody. It had two captains chairs up front, two bench seats and a little bit of cargo space in the back. We pretty much lived on the road, so the cargo area was always completely full of instruments, suitcases and merch. And a lot of the time, that included my gigantic bass flight case, because we were constantly having to park at an airport and fly somewhere. I'd have to go back and look at my old date book to be certain, but seems like we were on the road well over 300 days that first year. An only-slightly atypical example of how we worked was, one particular week, I remember playing a bunch of dates in New England, including Portland, Maine on a Friday night. After the show, we drove to Logan airport in Boston to catch an early-morning flight to San Francisco. Upon arrival at SFO, we rented a van and drove three and a half hours to the Strawberry Festival at Yosemite. After the show that night, we drove back to SFO for an hour or two of sleep. Then another early morning flight back to Boston on Sunday, where we got our van and hightailed it to our afternoon set at the Delaware Valley Festival in New Jersey. We generally slept on our rare days off. I don't remember where we had been playing but we had a day off in New York City one time and we all slept for well over 18 hours without moving.
Even though I had toured some with previous bands, I hadn't done it at this level and to this degree. I was mighty green. Straight out of a pretty sheltered life in East Tennessee. Four months after joining the band, we went to Japan. In hindsight, it was a pretty great trip that I would love the chance to do again. We went to play the Country Gold Festival in Kumamoto. One of the other acts on the trip was Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers. Even though you only play once, the festival brings everybody over for a week, with the balance of the time involved in sightseeing and guided trips. Upon arriving, we were all taken to a big ceremonial traditional Japanese meal. The kind where you take your shoes off and sit cross-legged at the little table. I made it through that one OK, but the rest of the time, I took my meals at the neighborhood McDonald's. Since then, I've learned to love Japanese food, including sushi, and wish I could have a culinary "do over." But the funny thing I remember — no matter when I went in that McDonald's, I always saw Roy Huskey in there eating a Big Mac.
I remember the first time we ever leased a bus. In hindsight, it was a rolling trash can. Simply awful. But we might as well have been on a private jet. To be able to lay down in a bunk and go to sleep while somebody else drove — what a beautiful, beautiful luxury. We left Nashville headed for our first show in Boston. By the time we got to Virginia, it started snowing. Half way up the Valley, we were pushing snow with the front bumper. Luckily, it was a triple-bill with Northern Lights and the Seldom Scene. We pulled over and made some calls (long before cell phones) to say we were just going to make it — would somebody else go on early and cover for us? Both acts graciously agreed and we rolled in just in time to walk straight on stage and play. We had a different bus driver another time that was hearing voices in the squelch of the C.B. He thought "they" were after him, so he would go past each exit we needed and take the next one, in order to double back and throw "them" off. By God's grace we made it back to Nashville. The bus company called a few days later to see if we knew where he — and the bus — was. They still hadn't heard from him.
In sitting here writing this, I'm trying to think back for some highlights to include, but there are so many that I'm just overwhelmed. The things that I, personally, and we, as a band, have gotten to do are simply mind-blowing to me. On paper, it's not possible. We have been blessed to a level that I can't fathom.
So many times, I've looked back on different experiences and wished that smartphones would have been around so I could have captured some of that stuff. But then again, I might have been too busy trying to capture the moment, rather than just living the moment.
The Low Down With Barry Bales: Happy Anniversary, Baby
June 27th, 2014 / By Barry Bales
On June 9th, I celebrated my 24th year as a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station. And, since that was my first truly full-time, professional job, it also marked my 24th year in the music business. Wow. Where does the time go? Looking back over those 24 years, it's pretty amazing the things I've gotten to do and the people I've gotten to work with. Some great. Some funny. Some, a little of both.
When I first joined the band, it was just the five of us — Alison Krauss, Alison Brown, Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey and myself — traveling around in Fred Krauss's old Chevy van. And it wasn't even a 15 passenger with lots of room and seats for everybody. It had two captains chairs up front, two bench seats and a little bit of cargo space in the back. We pretty much lived on the road, so the cargo area was always completely full of instruments, suitcases and merch. And a lot of the time, that included my gigantic bass flight case, because we were constantly having to park at an airport and fly somewhere. I'd have to go back and look at my old date book to be certain, but seems like we were on the road well over 300 days that first year. An only-slightly atypical example of how we worked was, one particular week, I remember playing a bunch of dates in New England, including Portland, Maine on a Friday night. After the show, we drove to Logan airport in Boston to catch an early-morning flight to San Francisco. Upon arrival at SFO, we rented a van and drove three and a half hours to the Strawberry Festival at Yosemite. After the show that night, we drove back to SFO for an hour or two of sleep. Then another early morning flight back to Boston on Sunday, where we got our van and hightailed it to our afternoon set at the Delaware Valley Festival in New Jersey. We generally slept on our rare days off. I don't remember where we had been playing but we had a day off in New York City one time and we all slept for well over 18 hours without moving.
Even though I had toured some with previous bands, I hadn't done it at this level and to this degree. I was mighty green. Straight out of a pretty sheltered life in East Tennessee. Four months after joining the band, we went to Japan. In hindsight, it was a pretty great trip that I would love the chance to do again. We went to play the Country Gold Festival in Kumamoto. One of the other acts on the trip was Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers. Even though you only play once, the festival brings everybody over for a week, with the balance of the time involved in sightseeing and guided trips. Upon arriving, we were all taken to a big ceremonial traditional Japanese meal. The kind where you take your shoes off and sit cross-legged at the little table. I made it through that one OK, but the rest of the time, I took my meals at the neighborhood McDonald's. Since then, I've learned to love Japanese food, including sushi, and wish I could have a culinary "do over." But the funny thing I remember — no matter when I went in that McDonald's, I always saw Roy Huskey in there eating a Big Mac.
I remember the first time we ever leased a bus. In hindsight, it was a rolling trash can. Simply awful. But we might as well have been on a private jet. To be able to lay down in a bunk and go to sleep while somebody else drove — what a beautiful, beautiful luxury. We left Nashville headed for our first show in Boston. By the time we got to Virginia, it started snowing. Half way up the Valley, we were pushing snow with the front bumper. Luckily, it was a triple-bill with Northern Lights and the Seldom Scene. We pulled over and made some calls (long before cell phones) to say we were just going to make it — would somebody else go on early and cover for us? Both acts graciously agreed and we rolled in just in time to walk straight on stage and play. We had a different bus driver another time that was hearing voices in the squelch of the C.B. He thought "they" were after him, so he would go past each exit we needed and take the next one, in order to double back and throw "them" off. By God's grace we made it back to Nashville. The bus company called a few days later to see if we knew where he — and the bus — was. They still hadn't heard from him.
In sitting here writing this, I'm trying to think back for some highlights to include, but there are so many that I'm just overwhelmed. The things that I, personally, and we, as a band, have gotten to do are simply mind-blowing to me. On paper, it's not possible. We have been blessed to a level that I can't fathom.
So many times, I've looked back on different experiences and wished that smartphones would have been around so I could have captured some of that stuff. But then again, I might have been too busy trying to capture the moment, rather than just living the moment.