Page 74 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2014

Curves on The road can be

the Blues full of all different
kinds of curves
Photo by
David Shankbone

Highway

By John ‘Blueshammer’ Hammer
We all have stories when it comes to traveling to blues shows.
‘Getting there’ is most always an adventure, and a major part of
the live music experience.
I asked a few of our artist friends for their most memorable
road story or unique venue, while routing to the main fest gig.
Some stories are pretty funny, some heartfelt and touching; all
were unforgettable. Our first artist here was beginning to wonder
if kidnapping was a local custom:
“We did this tour in Europe in 1994 for about three-and-a-half
weeks. Our European tour driver, who didn’t speak much English,
took us on a highway that hadn’t been completely built yet. We
were driving for what seemed like forever. Eventually we noticed
that there weren’t any other vehicles on the highway. Finally the
road just stopped! We had to turn around and go all the way
back and get on a road that actually went to our destination.
Eventually we got to the show in the nick of time. It was a long,
strange day that was more than a bit unnerving!”
– Smokin’ Joe Kubek
Sometimes the challenges of winter driving in the northern
states can be daunting. This next band demonstrated that
perseverance, slow and steady, wins the race to show time:
“Let’s face it – the end goal is the gig, right? But you gotta
get there. We left Nashville in plenty of time to arrive and rest in
Smokin’ Joe Kubek, his wife and tour driver on a long, strange ride in Germany Detroit, Michigan before setting up for sound check.
Photo courtesy Smokin’ Joe Kubek Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. By the time we

72 Blues Festival Guide 2014