Real Life Can Get Real Funny
(originally published on June 9th, 2019)
Here’s a story from the front lines of fly-date touring last week. Taking place over a sleepless 36 hours, it involves six airports, four flight changes, two cancelled flights, and one decaf caramel macchiato. Traveling is an exciting part of my life and work, but it can get hairy really, really fast.
The United States has been experiencing dramatic springtime storms. A relentless surge in tornado activity led up to May 28, the day Rocky Block and I were supposed to fly to New York City to play The Today Show with our friend and boss, Caylee Hammack.
Caylee and the rest of her team were already in Manhattan working promo. Rocky and I had a Southwest flight from BNA (Nashville International Airport) to LGA (LaGuardia), set to depart around 4:50pm. Our flight was delayed by the time we got to our gate. Air Traffic Control delegated a ground stop on all flights into the NYC area due to weather. After receiving an update from the gate agent that our flight would indeed depart, a woman nearby exclaimed, “Cancelled!”
Rocky and I ran to the gate agent. Second in line. There was one seat left on a nonstop from BNA to EWR (Newark), and another option into PHL (Philadelphia) via ATL (Atlanta). I booked myself onto that EWR flight, and Rocky booked onto PHL.
I entered into a conference call with Braden, Taylor, and Tyler, our tour manager, Caylee’s manager, and her travel agent, respectively. There’s a delayed Delta flight into LGA. They felt we should try for that one. It departed soon, so Rocky and I grabbed our things and rushed across the terminal to the Delta gate.
By the time we got to that gate, the team had decided that the Southwest flight to PHL was the better option. Rocky and I turned around and briskly made our way to that Southwest gate. I had that gate agent rebook my ticket, and she informed me that my bags would not make it to Philadelphia. Rocky and I set our bags down and took a deep breath. We had about 10 minutes until boarding.
Things were oddly quiet at the gate. After a quick check, I realized that there had been a gate change. “Rocky, look alive. We gotta roll!”
We made our flight to Atlanta.
After arriving in Atlanta, I checked my Southwest app. After NYC, I was scheduled to fly from LGA to HOU (Houston), and that flight was gone. I called Southwest customer service, and they informed me that a gate agent would have to reinstate that leg. It had been deleted accidentally when they switched me from EWR to PHL. Working with a gate agent, I was informed that I had to call Southwest customer service. Dang…no time for that. We are boarding.
Braden was on the case. After and hour and a half on the phone, he had reinstated my flight, this time routing me from EWR (Where my bags would end up that night) to HOU via MDW (Chicago - Midway). What a legend.
After a relaxing flight to PHL, we obtained Rocky’s bags. This included the bass drum resonant head with Caylee’s logo on it. Crucial! Taylor and Megan, part of Caylee’s radio team, had rented a Highlander and driven from New York to PHL to pick us up. Finally in place with our team, we began the final leg of our journey to NYC around midnight.
For The Today Show and other morning TV promo gigs, the call time is early. Like…3am early. Our vehicle pulled up to the hotel around 2:45am, the time Braden had set for lobby call. So JUST in the nick of time. We loaded up with the band into our shuttle and made our way to Rockefeller Center.
Backline set, monitors up. I had to set up my computer with a new audio interface since my bags didn’t make it. MainStage is so convenient, but reworking audio drivers at 3am after not sleeping is a bit of a chore. It all worked out, after a brief fight with Apple’s antiquated Audio MIDI Setup.
The other thing about these early promo gigs is that after the early soundcheck, you have a good amount of downtime to marinate in your anticipation of playing one song in front of cameras, piped out live onto nationally broadcast network television program. So, to battle that looming feeling, I took a nice hour and a half walk through central park. It was beautiful! So many bikers, runners, and dogs.
“Caylee band to positions! You are going to hit after we slime Keenan and Kel!”
On the way back from the gig, I check the status of my flight to MDW/HOU. First leg is cancelled. Braden and I run upstairs and get on the phone. They’ve got a flight: LGA-HOU via BNA.
The plan: I’m going to head to EWR to return the rental Highlander (the one from last night), snatch one of my two bags (Rocky is going to handle my playback/Mainstage interface pelican), and take a Lyft to LGA. This worked out surprisingly well, save for one very confused Lyft driver. Sorry, Juan.
In LGA, I take a moment to relax at a restaurant. $10 to add chicken to the salad? Hell no. I’ll go with the Warm Farro Bowl. It’s fine.
I’m boarded on the flight to Nashville, and we are on the taxiway when air traffic control issues a ground stop for all departing flights due to weather in the area. As Corey, Caylee’s photographer, pointed out, I’d much rather be on the ground and safe than taking a chance on the unfriendly skies.
We sit for about two hours, slowly inching up to the runway as other aircraft give up their positions. Just when things are looking completely hopeless, the steward comes on over the intercom. “Well, the pilot says we are going to take a shot at it. We’ve got the company on the phone with air traffic control and we’re gonna try and slip out of here.”
SLIP OUT?!
Slip out is exactly what we did. Engines to full, V1, Vr, Vlof, V2. It was a bumpy ride all the way to Nashville, but commercial aircraft pilots are very good at their jobs. We land in Nashville, about 15 minutes after my connection to HOU has departed.
There’s a later flight to Houston that night. I’m booked and things are looking good. I stop at Starbucks for a decaf caramel cloud macchiato. I briefly feared for my sleep state if the barista had accidentally pulled normal espresso, but his competence shone through in the soothing sugar-bomb I slurped up at the gate. If you asked me two years ago what my drink of choice would be, it definitely would not have been that. There’s something absolutely perfect about it right now, though.
This flight is not even half full, and I stretch out across a whole row. The pilot informs us that we will be treated to a lightning show in the distance off the right side of the aircraft. It is truly spectacular. Flying is one of the coolest ways to get around, for sure.
After landing safely in Houston, I find that my bag has not made it. Of course. Southwest offers me a travel voucher for my troubles and informs me that the bag will arrive on the first flight tomorrow morning. I take the airport shuttle to my hotel and pass out. Natalie Stovall and James are on their way in the sprinter, and will arrive at 1:15p later that day. We’ve got two dates opening for Jamey Johnson. I’m writing this on the way to the second. Tomorrow morning, I take the first flight from DFW (Dallas) to PVD (Providence) via BWI (Baltimore). I pray that it goes off without a hitch.
I have a lot of travel tips to offer from the past five years I’ve spent doing this, and that list is constantly developing, especially after an adventure like this. I’ll compile them in a later post. Here are three things that were huge helps to me:
No alcohol. A beer or bourbon would have been nice at several different points, but when the hell would I have sobered up. There are better ways to relax.
Decaf espresso has the complete opposite effect of normal espresso. It has to be one of the most soothing beverages out there.
The genuine folks at Southwest Airlines are there to help. They are the best at what they do for good reason.
Current listening:
