In 2004, we did the craziest tour that we had ever done! It started out all cool...lots of shows, Soulfly headlining and the kids in tow. We some of the kid's friends with us, too.....Bryan, Eddie, and Joey, the boy's nanny. With the band, crew, kids and friends, we needed a giant bus! We found this bus in Sweden. It was the biggest band bus in the world, exquisitely furnished on the inside! A double decker, of course, but it also had 2 bedrooms and living room lounges upstairs.
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| Igor and Max in our bus lounge |
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| Tour dates |
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| Roxanne and Moses |
The upstairs was cut in half with a wall, which divided the upstairs into the family room and the bushwhacker's room. Each had bunks for everyone and a spacious living area with poofy black leather couches and a kickass entertainment area. We really loved that damn bus! By the end of the tour, the bus had so many mechanical failures we were arriving up to 5 hours late for festivals!! But, dear Students, that is another blog...
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| Bryan |
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| Roxanne |
One night in Italy, about 4:30am, I was awaken by a phone call from our friend in America, Tess (RIP) Krimbell. As I chatted away in my bunk, I got up to make sure that the kids had all gotten to their bunks, and not fallen asleep to a video game. Walking to the front of our area, I peaked down the staircase and was shocked to see the door wide open and Bryan's backpack laying near the door, with a hundred dollar bill sticking out of it!!
I walked downstairs, still yapping to Tess, and looked around for Bryan. We were parked at a truckstop in Italy, and as I expected, everyone was snuggled in their bunks. I gasped when I got to the kitchen are. It was the room we kept all of our laptops, phones charging, cameras, etc. It was bare!!! Not a device anywhere!!! Fear washed over me as I realized that we were being robbed. Was whoever behind me, or hiding in a corner? Was I about to be grabbed and silenced? WTF was going on?
I ran upstairs and woke the driver and everyone up. Shock turned into anger. This had never happened before! We contacted the police promptly. They arrived and it seemed that this had been happening in Italy many times. In fact, they said we were "lucky!" they told us that a gang from Northern Africa had been pulling similar heists. They went by the gang name "Amerikans." We were lucky because usually they pumped some narcotic gas into the bus to knock everyone out and many times, the people neared to where the gas came into the bus, died. I guess in that respect, we were blessed! What an experience...one I hope is never repeated!!!
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| Christian |
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| Yuha, getting the f%#@ outa Dodge! |
Class dismissed....
