It was very painful for us to head south again when we were so close to home but, here we were, on Route 95 heading to DC for the final two shows of the tour. We had already done this drive during the first week, and learned an important lesson about traveling in an RV: They don’t let vehicles with propane tanks in the Fort McHenry Tunnel. (Did you know that? We did not) This had come as a complete surprise the first time and caused a panicked, last-minute re-routing when we figured out that the warning signs were talking about us. But now we were pros and made the turnoff onto the 895 Bypass without a second thought.
We had been in touch with our CBS/Epic/Sony label rep, Jeanine (I actually can’t remember her name but she looked like a gal I knew with that name so…) and arranged to meet at the hotel. She was new to the company but totally on top of her game. She had personally concocted a contest called ‘Impossible Things Before Breakfast’, where fans at records stores in the DC/Baltimore area could write down an impossible thing that one could do before breakfast and enter to win a prize package that included records, swag, and a gift certificate for breakfast somewhere local. It was corny but, hey, at least she was trying! It gave us the impression that there was still hope. J. kept us busy that day driving us around to records stores and radio stations before the gig and we didn’t complain at all because she had let us know early on that she was taking us to an Orioles game the next day at Memorial Stadium. She had obviously done her research on the (3/4s, anyway) band.
The show at the 930 Club with the Aquanettas opening went alright, I’m sure. We could play the set in our sleep at this point, after 6 weeks of cranking it out. I was having the most fun with the cover songs at that point, since I had vocal parts in ‘RitFW,’ ‘Handle with Care,’ and ‘Jet.’ I knew my time was running out and so I really bit into ‘Easter Eve’, realizing that the words that I thought I was writing for someone else were really for me: “Don’t forget your name, remember why you came, don’t be afraid to leave….”
Tomorrow: Oh, Baltimore! The last show of the tour!
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