Week 3 Days 2, 3, and 4 Writing takes time! Cooking takes more.

I am starting to realize why I enjoy blogging about this is because I feel it's original and unique. The difficulty in writing about this is that there is a great deal of repetition in what goes on from the day to day on the road and I don't want to just tell you same things over and over. That's where I feel the road is sometimes over glorified in stories (the off the wall legendary tales of mischief and debauchery are on the 20,000 plus seating tours due to more time to get in trouble then non-stop working), but this is not that kind of tour. Everyone on this tour is a family working closely together from sun up to sun down with even tighter sleeping quarters when we are not working. Sure we throw down a good drink or two to celebrate the days hard work and the accomplishment of another job well done. In the end we are all busting are humps making everything the best we can. All of us wake up everyday and put our best foot forward, and if we didn't this tour wouldn't mean as much to me as it has grown to. Sure the hardest thing about the job is being away from the ones you love and what you call home, but if we weren't doing what we wanted to do then we wouldn't be doing this.

Rusty and I are in full groove with the eat and greets and have continued to cook the after show meals ranging from chicken and dumplings to Turkey Chili. All take three to four hours of cooking and spicing while cleaning up and putting everything away from the eat and greets, so when we finish up the last meal we are done around 10:30. From that point we get a quick shower lock everything down have a couple drinks then pass out and do it all over again in the next city. That's why I am not going to obsess over the day to day details of each show from my perspective. I welcome and encourage all comments any one would like to offer, or if you have any questions about a particular day or venue and ill be more then happy to reply.

Day 2 - In short Knoxville went well but there was a bit of an echo during the show due to the fact it was in an indoor ice rink. My day would have been easy except for stocking the bus because none of them were next to each other altogether spread out over half a mile walk. The help was great and fast, but the traffic of the Tennesee/Georgia game left Rusty arriving at 3:30 when service starts at 5 but we managed to get everything done right on time with 0 seconds to spare.

Day 3 - Charleston, SC waking up to yet again another venue that didn't know we needed two helpers for the day and our trailer was a quarter mile from the buses and venue, so i ran a good few miles that day. The staff pulled through and actually got three people for us so it all ran smooth as could be after that. Ate Sticky Fingers for catering that night cause Charleston is the home of that fine BBQ establishment.

Day 4 - Portsmouth VA Easiest day ever!!! Got there tents and buffet area was fully setup and the help worked fast and had good knife skills. And I have to give mad props to the area super-intendent, she was 4'10" if an inch, but this old gal spit fire. We ask for something she'd holler on the radio and five dudes would pull up in a cart out of nowhere within two minutes. Plus she was just an absolute trip.

Photos From Austin City Limits and Merriweather

Week 2 Day 2 AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

(Please disregard the site's posting dates (they don't line up), as mentioned earlier internet doesn't always work so well.)

Well I've been waiting for this day since I found out we were going. Austin City Limits has been hosting some of the best artists from all genres for over twenty years. Most of you may remember seeing Austin City Limits on PBS. I consider it's show the original "unplugged" (although not all are acoustic), but needless to say I think today will be a real treat. Some of the bands I am looking most forward to watching are Flogging Molly, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead, Mos Def, Dave Matthews closing the day on the Livestrong Stage. And who can forget the half mile row of some of austins finest festival cuisine, with everything from gator on a stick to some of the hottest foods you can think of.

We were told we that we'd be parking at a Wal-mart then getting a shuttle to the venue, instead we find ourselves parked under an overpass a half mile away. Oh and big surprise, the rain has followed us to Texas (ironically they are having a drought for the season, go figure). Not having to cook today, means nothing is gonna ruin this day. After devouring a jalapeño burger i make my way backstage of the Flogging Molly concert and had the good fortune of meeting some of the band before their set. Let me tell you, these guys are all a class act. Sure they might be crazy Irish folks, but how can you not love a band that all drink a guiness on stage during their first song. From that point the rain starts to let loose, yet this crowd is not going anywhere packing the fronts of every stage and even having their own mud people, who just dont give a dang about the weather and just want a hell of a time. Trail of the Dead played well but I can't really say much about them cause i was enjoying people watching the large crowds entirely too much. Mos Def Killed it and even rocked the drums for a few songs. This being the twelfth time I've seen Dave Matthews, they have never disappointed. Well now that i am soggy and muddy time to call it a night and try to wake up and make some great food for the Oklahoma City show. Good night my friends, and as always thanks for your time in reading my exploits and experiences from the road as a traveling Chef.

Week 2 Day 1 Everything is bigger in Texas!

(Notice: Wireless internet does not work everywhere on the road, I write about everyday but sometimes can't post right away)

Day 1 of week 2

So after a solid half day drive on the bus we arrive in Dallas. I'm starting to get used to the fact that most all I am going to see of some cities are behind amphitheaters. Dallas is no different. Indoor venue at the Nokia Theatre, which the Zac Brown Band crew, Sonia Leigh, and Nic Cowan, and the one and only and Levi Lowery, all appreciate the change. Finding comfort in not having to be in this infinite rain that keeps following us from city to city. So we finally started to switch up our side dishes, and start using only local produce to decide what we pair with our permanent menu of the pork and beef tenderloin. Which I am extremely happy cause it's adding that level of appreciation and knowledge of local farming. Rusty has been teaching me a great deal of new things to add to my growing repituor of bad ass food. We still have killed every eat and greet thus far, and the food that has been catered for us continues to make me feel that much better about our own product. In other words, our food is so much better than we've had catered for us, and we've only been doing this for two weeks now. No real funny stories to tell except some jerk had the gumption to steal a handle of Grey Goose from our after show drinking table. Which pissed everybody off, but was then followed by all night song writing and jam sessions on our bus. Zac Brown hopped on our bus again because the man loves music and loves playing and this bus is chalk full of talented pickers and singers. This is quite the treat for the non musically gifted to hear beautiful music everynight in the smallest possible setting.