On the Road with Bobby Meader (part 1)

On the Road is a feature on Punks in Vegas where Vegas musicians give us an inside look into touring life. Today’s entry comes from Vegas folk musician Bobby Meader Music, who is currently in the midst of a fall tour. Here’s Bobby:

8/28/14 – Las Vegas, NV – The Artistic Armory – Tour kickoff show. Great turnout because it was also Alex and His Meal Ticket’s EP release show! All of our friends came out to support. My friend Joshua Greenway’s first full band show for his band Alexander’s Architects was this night too, super rad. Lawn Mower Death Riders and Shayna Rain and the Gents killed it as usual. The show went dope just as those Artistic Armory shows always do. Dustin, Kara and the Armory staff are the shit. I think Alex went and got that mega burrito he was talking about getting to celebrate his release, then we all met up at Charlie’s Bar across the street for the cheapest drinks on the planet. The bartender threw the drink on her that he was making our friend’s girlfriends and then she picked up a random drink and threw it back at him. And then that’s all I remember.

8/29/14 – St. George, UT – Jazzy’s Rock and Roll Grill – First time playing St. George, though I’ve driven past it a million times on tours through Utah to get to Salt Lake, so I basically had no expectations of what the turnout was going to be like. To my surprise it was an awesome fucking show. The show ran really smooth and the venue didn’t ask for a door split and they gave me 50% off my meal. That’s always rad. I got a big ass BLT sandwich for like 3 dollars, haha. Something that definitely caught my eye about this show was how attentive the crowd was and how long their attention span was. Most crowds go in and out during the bands set up/tear down time to smoke or hang outside. But these kids didn’t seem to even think that was an option. They were in it to win it with this show. Gotta love when that happens. Some of the kids there ended up telling me that there’s shows in Cedar City so I can hit that city next time. I keep notes in my phone of these occurrences so I don’t forget. I stayed with one of the cooks that night, we drank a 6 pack of Natty Light and went to bed.

8/30/14 – Cortez, CO – San Juan Coffee Company – I have some great friends in this town (or in nearby towns), and Sumner Peterson and Drew Woolsey of the band Comeback threw me a show at San Juan Coffee Shop. Rad spot, and it was their first show there because they just opened. It was a bit of an older parent type crowd. I got the feeling not everyone identified with my lyrics and stuff. Maybe because of the cursing or something. But who cares. People bought shit and I had a great time. The green tea I had must have had more caffeine than any other drink I’ve ever had. I remember shaking. I stayed over at Sumner’s house and him and his girlfriend took me down to the river for pizza the next morning. And we listened to records the night before, I forgot to say. Good records. Manchester Orchestra, Death Cab, the new Turnover record, etc.

8/31/14 – Shiprock, NM – MOD – They don’t believe in addresses here on the Navajo Indian Reservation. I’m actually being serious. It’s a whole different vibe. Lots of stray dogs. Nicest people ever. So when you get into town you have to call your friend at the venue (Anthony) and have him direct you over the phone. Show went great. Lots of kids were there just to see me and were singing along to my songs. That’s probably the best feeling in the world. Well I suppose eating sushi and snowboarding is more fun, but I dunno maybe not. And someone gave me a ukulele stand, haha. So sick. It folds up super small too so I can get it easily into my merch bin.

9/1/14 – Albuquerque, NM – House Show – (Tony’s House) – Tony Rivali is an awesome dude in a super sick math rock band from ABQ named CRTTRZ. They play all around ABQ but it was labor day today and no venue would book us. SO, it was our genius idea to grill hot dogs and have a house show BBQ! I must have met 100 people. Great night. I ate hot dogs for breakfast lunch and dinner that night and the roommates made me craft Gin cocktails. Oh man.

9/2/14 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater – My friend Ryan set up this show and the next show (I was in the Junction for 2 days) pretty last minute with only two weeks notice. The Mesa Theater show was super awesome. Free beer and a nice crowd! I got a tour of the whole theater. That place definitely has some history. I had a great time.

9/3/14 – Grand Junction, CO – Sabrosa – This place had .50 cent tacos! Really nice sound guy. Me and Ryan drank several Sessions and had a real chill time. I stayed with him both nights.

9/4/14 – Denver, CO – One of my favorite cities. I got to hang out with one of my best friends Joe Ziegler (Leftmore) at his birthday show! He booked this show and the Colorado Springs show as “birthday shows”. Both were great turnouts. I stayed with one of my old friends Erika who moved to Denver from Las Vegas several years ago. Even before I was touring. She helped me make my shoes not smell so bad. And she gave me a bunch of baby powder and snacks and cooked for me for two days straight. And I got to sleep in an actual bed. I love Denver. Colorado is definitely my favorite state.

9/5/14 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep – Legendary venue, been there forever. Stoked I got to play it. Great sound there, holy shit! All of Joe’s Colorado Springs buddies came out to hang too, which was really cool.

9/6/14 – Lander, WY – The Union Bar – We usually play shows at The Doghouse here in Lander, but this time it was closed :/. It’s literally my favorite venue. It’s a separate house that the owner built for his 8 basset hounds. He turned it into a bar! There’s a stripper pole and everything. Our Wyoming buddies know how to party, haha. The show was still a lot of fun over at The Union Bar. The bar is actually located in Hudson, which is about 7 miles from Lander. Joe played this show with me as well.

9/7/14 – Casper, WY – House show. My friend Joe Eason set up this house show for us again! It was me and Joe’s last night touring together. The turnout was dope and people bought lots of the new merch I had printed. I had a day off the next day in Casper so me and Joe could go fishing. He and our friend Casey took me to Lake Alcova. We didn’t catch shit, but we drank a few beers, they showed me the dam, and then we left. They stopped to shoot guns on the way home, but I didn’t partake. I’ve never shot a gun before.

9/9/14 – Laramie, WY – Crowbar and Grill – The owner of this bar was so dope. He fed me and gave me free drinks all night. The bartender was super nice. The girls that opened up the show were really nice. Laramie has a completely different style vibe than the rest of Wyoming. It’s a total college town there. And the Cowboy games are taken very seriously, haha. Holy shit. Same out in Nebraska and most of the Midwest, too, but still. I stayed with the homie Markus who put the show on . From Indian Lakes was playing a show in Laramie tonight at a different venue. I was bummed I couldn’t get to see that. I swear, that’s the worst fucking part about touring. It’s the fact that sometimes bands I like are all on tour together and I can’t go because I have a show myself, haha. Like Mixtapes was playing in Chicago the same night as I was. And the Citizen, You Blew It!, Hostage Calm tour is playing in St. Louis the same night as me. That really pisses me off. OH well.

9/10/14 – Sidney, NE – The Legion Park Shelter House – VERY small town. VERY nice people, holy shit. Ben’s wife cooked breakfast the next morning for me and everything! Everything is very green there and I got a tour of Cabela’s Sporting Goods store. It’s so big.

9/12/14 –  Kearney, NE – Gillies Bar – Super rad place. Super rad owner. I have a great friend named Nathan Richardson down there and I stayed with him for 2 days because the North Platte show canceled because there was no PA. Nathan is who prints my t-shirts too, (RELENTLESSSCREENPRINTING.COM – SHOUT OUT) so I got 25 of the beard design prints printed because I sold out of medium. So that was convenient. NO SHIPPING. Haha.

9/13/14 – Grand Island, NE – Wave Pizza Company – OH man this was a super fun day/night. A friend back home, Dustin, set me up with his childhood friend named Brent who owns 4 different bars out in Grand Island. He took me on a tour of each venue. We had two drinks at each venue for free and then he fed me three meals a day at any venue I wanted. It was incredible. I just wish I knew more about sports to keep up with their college football banter. Also, they basically explained to me exactly how to raise, feed and sell cows as if I wanted to start my own business. It’s very flat out there too.

9/14/14 – Lincoln, NE – Meadowlark Coffee – Had a great time staying with my friend Aaron. I walked in the house and a Conor Oberst record was playing. It’s like totally cliche but they’re big fans out there. (Conor being from Omaha and all). We played Super Mario Bros on first generation Nintendo and had a blast all night. Haven’t played Mario in the last 15 years. Still such a great game.

9/15/14 – Omaha, NE – My Omaha show initially canceled so I was supposed to be off that day, but my friend Vlad added me to a rock/metal show at The Hideout and that was pretty neat! Totally better than nothing, and I met some really great people out there that I got to stay with.

9/17/14 – Ames, IA – DG’s Taproom – Such a great and intimate show. It’s a huge college town so lots of kids came down to hang out. They had like 50 tap beers which was totally rad. They had really great sound. Shout out to Nate for the free beer and food and for setting the show up!

9/18/14 – Chicago, IL – House Show – Played an awesome and super intimate house show that was set up by my friend Stufy. Really cool dude and he brought all of his friends out. It was awesome! My friend Austin from Colorado Springs was randomly in town and he came and played a set at the show too! It was awesome! I was definitely stoked to play Chicago. I had never been able to book a show there, it’s a tough market to get into. I had Chicago pizza that wasn’t deep dish so I was bummed but that was still some really good pizza. Me and my friend Joe that I stayed with who just moved to Chicago from Seattle the week before. We went and had sushi that night and it was a BYOB restaurant. I didn’t even know that existed. So once we sat down and read the sign saying you were allowed to bring one six pack per 2 people, Joe ran out the door and across the street to the nearest liquor store and bought a six pack of IPA for us to drink. The server put it on ice too. It was pretty fucking crazy, haha.

9/19/14 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Den – This is totally one of the best shows I’ve ever played. The scene down there is ridiculous. I was talking records outside for hours before the show with all the people that I had met. Grey Gordon helped me set up the show with the dude Robert Lugo that does shows down there. I stayed with Robert too. Super awesome dude. He’s a really good engineer/producer as well. He was showing me some of his work in his home studio after we got burritos after the show. His dog ate my burrito then shit it out all over the floor in a span of about 20 minutes that I was taking a shower. I definitely can’t wait to go back there. Before I got to Fort Wayne, I stopped in Warsaw, IN at my friend Ian’s house. He does Cozy Couch Sessions, much how Punks in Vegas does their stripped down sessions. I filmed one for a new song. It was pretty rad. You can check it out on my Facebook.

9/20/14 – Grand Rapids, MI – Mulligan’s Irish Pub – Chill town. The room where the shows are was separated from the bar area so sometimes that makes it tough to draw a crowd into the venue area to hear the music, but out ended up being a great show. Jesse and the Carolina Catfish had a great draw and their fans liked my music. It was an awesome night. I stayed with Jesse too and then had breakfast the next morning a Grand Coney.

9/21/14 – Lansing, MI – DTG House – SO many cool people here. My friend Ben threw the show for me. It’s his house. The band Cheap Girls is from Lansing, MI and I played a solo set with the singer of that band, Ian Graham. Super cool dude. I had a great time. Sean Bonnette, the singer of the band Andrew Jackson Jihad showed up to the show too! I played with him back in November at Backstage Bar and Billiards. He moved up to Lansing from Phoenix a while back. Hung out with them all night, I lost 3 games of pool with Sean. We had a great time hanging out and then got breakfast the next morning at Flap Jacks Restaurant in Lansing.

9/22/14 – Detroit, MI – White Star Nightclub – Definitely one of the weirdest most interesting shows I’ve ever and probably will ever play. I’m playing with the leaders of Twerk tonight, the Ying Yang Twins. Hahah. I opened up my usual acoustic. A few people dug it. Sold 1 cd. Can’t complain. But man, it’s a blast telling the story, haha. I took funny photos from the DJ booth as if I was a DG to this 500 cap nightclub (total guess right there). I am also eating a pizza at my merch booth as the show continues here as I write this. Nobody seems to care much. There are actually people Twerking. I’m pretty sure my car is being broken into as we speak as well. But I have a place to stay tonight before the Cleveland show tomorrow so I’m stoked on that.

-Bobby Meader

Check back soon for more of Bobby’s tales from the road.

Bobby Meader photo by Emily Matview

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