Of summer, smart phones, and savy schemes

Summertime is upon us! Being in a band requires long hours on the road, especially during the summer months. Thanks to modern technology, we're able to stay connected, surf the web and play Words with Friends (Jordana is the champion at this), but back in the day bands had to get creative to keep busy. We were lucky enough to see Garnet Rogers play at the Ark in Ann Arbor recently, and he told us a story about being young and keeping busy while on the road:

 One day Garnet's brother, Stan, (the Stan Rogers), was busy interviewing at a radio station. Since the studio was small, the rest of the band waited outside in the car. This was during the age where there was no iThis, or iThat, only the local radio station. They waited for hours, and hours. To prevent the insanity that ensues from such boredom they created a game which they called, "guess what hit you". One member of the band was blindfolded with a pillow case taken from one of their hotels, and the player was hit on the head by any object within the van. If the player guessed correctly, he became the hitter, and if he guessed incorrectly, he was hit again. One day Garnet and his bandmates were playing this game, and one of the guys was hit. BAM! "What was that, a wrench?!" cried out of the bandmates. "Nope", and a large WHAM came again. "Man! Was that a guitar case?!" asked the poor, bludgeoned fellow. "Nope!", and he was promptly hit with a resounding WHACK. The blindfold came off, and he saw that he had been hit with an iron car jack! We at Harpeth Rising choose alternative methods of keeping busy, ones that will hopefully stave off brain damage. 

Rebecca: our knitting expert. Just like she learned banjo from youtube videos (true fact!), Rebecca is teaching herself how to knit. She's got a small arsenal of adorable nieces to make blankets for, so she's pretty busy cranking out quilt squares, each one more beautiful and less wobbly than the next. Her handiwork is getting so good that we expect we'll be selling HR quilt squares on our website store, so keep an eye out ;)! 

Chris: commandeer, (and sole driver), of Van Go. It's a good thing that Chris loves, and I mean LOVES cars and the road, because he clocks in a lot of hours. He's also the one to sleep in the most, understandably so. While he drives he usually listens to audiobooks on CD, and is currently finishing the Golden Compass series. He also has excellent taste in potato chips (BBQ- sooo good!).  

Jordana: She is the go-to for our agent, Joann Murdock, and our liaison to the outside world. She is usually to be found with her pillow and blanket (that girl knows how to pack!) looking up stats, coordinating and planning for our future concerts, or napping in our illustrious van. 

Maria: Just having gotten an iPhone, she's looking for new ways to use up her data plan, whether it's by learning Italian and Serbian, reading, or watching Netflix. She just bought a book of Intermediate Sudoku puzzles, which she is slowly, and tediously working through.

Additional pursuits include watching movies on our TV! We're currently working our way through the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, which Jordana and Rebecca have seen at least three times each. Extensive knowledge of the Buffy series is a requirement for Harpeth Rising bandmembers, and we're about halfway getting Maria through the series! She has begun to have vampire dreams, so her training is working.  

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What do you like to do on long road trips? Any recommendations on DVD's to watch on the road? Share your tips and tricks in the comment section! If you want to stay connected, click to follow our blog to keep up with our travels. 

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'Till next time!

Harpeth Rising