Just got back from a weekend, mini-tour thing this morning.

[Beef]

Played three shows in three different cities over the weekend. Three very different venues. Interesting experience. I always feel mixed about these things. On the one hand it's a good time playing shows, meeting people, etc. On the other hand it can be a pain in the ass with all the driving, logistics, etc. And honestly I think I'm a bit of a home-body at heart. As far as money we about broke even so that's about as good as one could want for folks in our situation. All in all a good time but every time we do this I keep saying it'll be my last.

[Beef]

So anyone else? Experiences? No short weekend jaunts or "real tours?"

[VTM]

I did an extended mini tour of the Dakotas from 2005 to 2009. First off, Sioux Falls, SD in July 2005. That was a good start, but I needed a break. Next stop was Grafton, ND in the spring of 2007. It took almost two years to recover from that one also. Finished off in Aberdeen, SD in February of 2009.

[Ruiner]

Haven't toured in many moons but i definitely had a love/hate relationship with it but at the end of the day I wouldn't have had it any other way. Great memories and experiences.

Don't know if you saw the TALES FROM THE ROAD thread i put up a while back but if not, here's a story for ya:

First national tour my band went on was 2 months long. (We didn't know what the hell we were doing or getting ourselves into by going that long). I had a job as a mortgage broker and wasn't going to go as everyone else had jobs that allowed them to take the time off. The day they were going to leave i walked into the office, sat in front of my desk and starred at a blank computer screen for 10 minutes, got up, went into my bosses office and said "hey man, i quit, gonna go on tour with my band". Jumped in my car and raced to them packing up the van minutes from leaving, packed a bag and hopped in. Excitement was at an all time high, adrenaline rushing.

Our first stop was in El Paso. On the way there the transmission fell out of our newly acquired van in Fort Stockton, Tx (tiny town in the middle of nowhere). They had to order the parts so we were stuck in a Motel 6 for 5 days and used almost all the funds we had to get it fixed. We became local celebrities at the only bar in town and spent our days in the pool. It gets fixed and we move on.

Now we've missed 5 days worth of shows and have to get all the way to Phoenix, AZ. After a very long drive we are finally 2 exits away from what will now be our first gig after almost 7 days on the road (or stuck on the road). We're driving under an underpass with a wall to the right of us and all of a sudden i hear "BANG BANG BANG". For some reason my first thought is some kids are throwing beer bottles at our van. I open the blinds in the back windows and see a guy hanging half out of the passenger side door, pointing a gun at us and shooting bullet holes into the front of our van!!! A freak out ensues... we dial 911 and our singer cries like a bitch "help us, help us.. we're getting shot at!". There's another car in front of us slamming on their brakes cornering us in while the other car is to the left of us and a wall to the right. For what seemed like eternity, but was actually less than a minute, we kept speeding up and slowing down forcing the guy in front to keep moving. We get to an exit and the truck in front of us turns sideways and blocks the road. Our drummer yells "What should I do!?!?". Everyone screams in unison "RAM HIM!!!". He speeds up and rams the truck's driver side pinning the shooter in the car. The shooter is stunned for a moment, gets pissed, climbs out of his window onto our hood, pointing the gun through the window, opens the driver side door and pistol whips our drummer in the face. Another guy opens up the back door pointing a gun at us and we hold our hands up and say "take it!". Just as we're about to lose everything we have (and possibly our lives), one of them yells something in spanish about cars coming and they run back to their vehicles and take off.... we're safe.

Startled and freaked out, the cops show up. We figure these people saw us at Wendy's where we had stopped minutes before, saw the equipment in the van or just wanted the van to steal and drive illegals and/or drugs over the border. The cops tell us "Welcome to Phoenix, this happens all the time" and laugh. We skip that gig and go to the most lit up and big hotel we could find. We made a group decision that if all this has happened before our show we can take it as a sign to go back home or say we've definitely gone through the worst and it can only be uphill from here. We decide to head on and spend the next 2 months playing all over the country and having one of the best times of my life.

[Beef]

Ruiner, holy shit man, that sounds insane.

I did an extended mini tour of the Dakotas from 2005 to 2009. First off, Sioux Falls, SD in July 2005. That was a good start, but I needed a break. Next stop was Grafton, ND in the spring of 2007. It took almost two years to recover from that one also. Finished off in Aberdeen, SD in February of 2009.

Sounds pretty intense, I'm glad you recovered.

[Schweezly]

I've done my share. It can be a pain in the ass, but it's fun in the end.

Now I'm 30 though and less motivated to play shitty shows out of town.

[VTM]

Ruiner, holy shit man, that sounds insane.

I did an extended mini tour of the Dakotas from 2005 to 2009. First off, Sioux Falls, SD in July 2005. That was a good start, but I needed a break. Next stop was Grafton, ND in the spring of 2007. It took almost two years to recover from that one also. Finished off in Aberdeen, SD in February of 2009.

Sounds pretty intense, I'm glad you recovered.

Damn right! And I didn't even include the hometown shows!