Traveling to the US, we wanted to stop in certain major centres. LA was definitely one of those, but unfortunately, we would only have 24 hours there. That’s the tough thing about being on the road, and occasionally having to rush to a show (we had one booked in Mt Shasta the next day).
photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
We headed down to Santa Monica Beach so we could check out the waterfront, and get some sweet jump photos on the beach and under the pier. While we were there, we stumbled upon a film set. LA is obviously home to Hollywood, but they were shooting a pilot for a new TV series called Family Album. We chatted with some of the extras for a bit, and they said that it’s not a bad living for a while. Only time will tell if the pilot gets picked up or not. Watch for it!
photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
We met up with Andy, a friend of a friend from Sudbury, ON, who is living in LA as a web designer. He took us out for a night of vegan food, followed by punk rock bowling, where I actually ended with a score higher than most of the other bowlers. And they’re in a league!
photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
(I’m also wondering if it’s the same Punk Rock bowling league that Fat Mike from NOFX started quite some time ago).
We had seen photos of Antelope canyon through a friend, so we had to make sure that we stopped there. After that we managed to catch the Grand Canyon just before the sun disappeared.
This entry is going to be mostly photos, since they can do most of the talking.
Don’t forget, these and more can be found on Shannon Lepere’s Flickr page.
Waking up in Albuquerque, we knew we had to hit the road fairly quick. We left the hotel and motored on down to Flagstaff, taking a few moments here and there to take some photos and videos. Part of the appeal of this part of the trip was to explore a little bit of the old Route 66.
Remnants of Route 66 - photos by Jean-Paul De Roover + Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
We managed to find pieces of it littering the desert here and there, and even went on some off-road adventures looking for more, particularly parts that we could drive on. It took us a little while, and we definitely wound up under the existing interstate, almost stuck in a very small tunnel, but we got onto a stretch of Route 66 that was nice and weathered. With grass tufts growing out of it and a chunk broken off falling into an abyss, we drove over it (I’d say illegally, but there were no signs saying no…), and then carried on our way.
photos by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
We made a detour to check out some ice caves, which took us longer than expected because of the damn Garmin again. When we got there, it was a little less exciting than we imagined, but still pretty neat. We climbed down to a small cave that we might be able to actually explore, but sadly we had to observe it from the railing.
photos by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
We eventually got to Flagstaff, where we signed up for an open mic. After I got off stage, I had an interesting meeting with Vaughn. Vaughn came up and introduced himself as an assistant of a well known producer. Who? He didn’t say. Regardless, our interaction went like this as I was packing up my equipment.
Vaughn: “Hey, your set started off pretty weak, but it got pretty good by the end”
Me: “Thanks man, sweet!”
V: “I’m a producer and I think we should make a deal.”
M: “You’re a producer?”
V: “Well, I assist a producer.”
M: “Right on, cool.”
V: “I want you to talk to him. I’ll get him on the phone right now, just come with me outside and we’ll call him”
**No way was I going outside with this guy**
M: “Aw, I would, maybe after I’m done packing stuff up?”
V: “No man, this is a one-time deal.”
M: “Ok, well then you should grab my card so we can get in touch after.”
V: “No man, I don’t do email.”
—
**He leaves, talks to Shannon, then comes back a few minutes later. Not only did he not do email, but he also questioned if the number on my business card was ‘actually my number’, and if I was lying to him**
—
V: “Man, you missed your shot, I had him on the phone and everything, but you didn’t’ come outside”
M: “Aw, too bad. We’ll work something out next time instead.”
V: “I’ll try get him on the phone again now.”
M: “Ok, sweet.”
**Holds phone up to his ear**
V: “Hey, yeah it’s me again. Yeah, he’s standing in front of me. I don’t know. He’s scared or something. Here I’ll put him on the phone. [to me] Here he is again…”
**As he hands me the phone he exclaims**
V: “Aw, he hung up! You weren’t fast enough, you missed it.”
**This is extra funny because he held up the phone to me, and it showed an incoming call list with only two numbers, and they hadn’t been for a few days**
—
Looks like I missed my big break eh? Too bad, Vaughn could’ve made me huge!
It got really awkward after that because the bar started asking if I was ok, if he was bothering me, which he wasn’t really. He was just trying to pretend and impress somebody. He was aboriginal though, and the staff at the bar was about to kick him out for bothering the clientele, so I had to step in and get them to leave him be. Racial profiling towards aboriginals in the far south, felt somewhat similar to many parts of Canada. Besides some of the other local performers, there was also another touring act from NY called Click Clack Boom. Their high energy rock and rock made themselves a bunch of fans that evening, and they were definitely on top of their marketing.
That night we ended up staying with some nice people that let us crash in their living room beside their fireplace, which was perfect, because it started to snow that night. What the hell?! Are we not in Arizona? Apparently Flagstaff had the 2nd highest amount of snow in the US besides Anchorage, Alaska. Shannon was bitter because we were supposed to enjoying the sun and desert, and then I became extra bitter and sore the next day when I slipped on some icy steps and landed on my wrist, twisting it quite badly (I thought I even broke it).
One of the few places I HAD to go on this odyssey was Roswell. Having seen far too many X-Files, it would’ve been a waste not to go there! Right? Right?!
First off, we hauled our asses all the way from Plano just to get there. And for what? We wanted to see the crash site, the themed restaurants, anything alien themed!
Abduction! - photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
When we arrived, it was after 5pm so everything was closed. No museum or other tours for us. Also, the ‘crash site’ is located on private property so we couldn’t even check that out (although nobody else can, as they only allow people there once or twice a year during festivals). In the X-Files, there’s a diner called the Flying Saucer that Mulder visits in Roswell, however, there are no longer any themed eateries at all, as they’ve all gone under. THAT, and the actual Hilltop Cafe where they shot the scene is in fact in Langley, BC. Damn!
We managed to find one trinket store open late, so we got some answers, and a few tacky gifts. I bought myself a really nice polo shirt with Roswell embroidered on the left breast (with a silhouette of a spaceship behind it).
There weren’t really any opportunities for photos either. There was supposed to be a large model flying saucer somewhere near the highway, but nobody seemed to know anything about it. This meant that the only one we found was attached to the closed museum. I did my best to stage my own abduction though!
HIghway driving - photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
That night we drove to Albuquerque to sleep, which was also disappointing, not because we had a ton of expectations, but because it was very normal. There are certain mentions of that city that gave us the impression that it must have a lot of character. Not so much.
When we finally left Austin, we didn’t even go very far as we were headed to Plano, but wow, it certainly took us a while.
How long is a while you may ask?
What should’ve been a casual 3 hour drive ended up taking 7 and a bit. We were seriously wondering whether we were going to actually see Shannon’s extended family that day or not, as traffic was at a standstill for a really long time. Shannon’s bladder was becoming a cause for concern until we saw the reason for the hold up, and her pains seemed minuscule in comparison. A transport had ended up scraping itself against the freeway side wall, obliterating half the cargo container, and then smashed into the wall head on, if not maybe into another vehicle as well. To put it into perspective visually, front was crushed so badly that the drivers’ seat was now vertical and where the drivers side window should have been. Puts the reality of cross country driving in check.
Playing a baby grand in Plano, TX
We finally arrived in Plano to stay with Shannon’s uncle and family. We knew the place was going to be big, but we didn’t think that it’d be so big that the router barely carried the wifi to half the house. That, and they also had a ‘media centre‘ on the 2nd floor, which was actually bigger than most of Shannon’s apartment. Inside was a giant TV, all the gaming consoles you could think of, an enormous bean bag chair, 3 movie theater ready laz-e-boys, and finally, the piece de resistance; a massage chair.
Was it really a massage chair though? It mostly felt like a boxer was attacking your tailbone, while your feet were stuck in blood pressure cuffs, as this guy pinched the skin around your spine and twisted it.
Obviously we took turns of close to 30 minutes each in it.
I ended up missing some of the bands that I really wanted to see because I got heatstroke, and also because they were free shows and just way over capacity. This included …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Owen Pallett, This Will Destroy You and the Strokes.
Other highlights:
– Lots of free food at most of the venues
– Swimming in a natural pool
– Breakfast Tacos
– Walking down South Congress St
– Shannon enjoying a cupcake from a streamline vendor
– And finally, me making a deal with Death
Handshake with Death - photo by Shannon Lepere (www.shannonlepere.com)
