Nov 3-5 Our GA run and where it all begins.

Hello all you Big Love Bussin' Daddios!

UPCOMING SHOWS
11.10.11 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
11.11.11 - Murphy's Saloon (Boone, NC)
11.12.11 - Casbah (Durham, NC)


This week's edition of Thrown Under the Love Bus is a good example of why we do this, as we had an amazing experience in Macon, GA at the Allman Bros Museum, which is aptly named "The Big House."

Thursday, November 3rd

First we had to make our way to the famous Statesboro, GA for our first time, and it was a loooong van ride, almost 8 hours.   Along the way we passed through a sleepy little SC town called North.   As we were getting close I realized where I had heard of this town before, and I'll bet if you've ever heard of it then it came from the same source--a fantastic Bill Cosby clip.   Here you go, enjoy.

If you've lived in the South long enough, you've realized that SC is that "special state" that you feel an older brother-like sense of obligation to watch over, yet you consistently shake your head in amazement about.   Oh SC, it's a good thing you're cute.

It's Contest Time!!

People wonder what we talk about for such long van rides, so I'll recap one conversation that kept us busy for over an hour.   We figured out that the five of us are completely split down the middle regarding whether or not this is an awesome idea.  I told them that it is a dream of mine to take a motocross bike through the gates of The Masters Golf Course in Augusta, GA and run the entire 18 holes on the bike, launching over greens and sand-traps while avoiding their security force. I want to see if I can get through the entire course without being caught,  and make it out of the club while filming it with a hi-def helmet-camera and then upload it to YouTube.    So out of the 5 of us (no Cass on this trip) we had two people for this idea, one indifferent, and two against.   The first person that properly guesses where everyone stands and posts in a comment below the travel blog link on our FB page gets 2 free passes to the show of their choice, plus a t-shirt and cd.     You obviously know where I stand on the issue.

Friday, November 4th

We woke up and realized that we were going to be passing through Macon, GA, the home of "The Big House," the Allman Bros museum, and a house that they all lived in at an early point of their career.  This was the point when they were playing music all the time and were so broke that people had to give them food...sound familiar?     I took quite a few pictures:

The Wookie finally gets to walk in the front door!!

Big Daddy at the Big House

 

The following picture shows the one item that might have made the biggest emotional impact on us.  It is a handwritten note by Duane Allman stating his new year's resolution on January 1, 1969.  This can quite possibly become the BDL mission statement from here on out.  

It reads, "This year I will be more thoughtful of my fellow man, exert more effort in each of my endeavors professionally as well as personally. Take love wherever I find it, and offer it to everyone who will take it. In this coming year I will seek knowledge from those wiser than me and try to teach those who wish to learn from me. I love being alive and I will be the best man I possibly can."  Wow!

 

Any true Allman Bros fan knows the legend of the Rose Hill Cemetery that is located near their house.    The guys would walk to this cemetery to get away from everything and had a special "hangout" spot that they felt comfortable.  There was one grave at this spot that somehow affected them, Elizabeth Reed, which their iconic instrumental, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," was named after.   This is one of the oldest cemeteries we've ever seen, and most of the graves were from the turn of the century.   Duane and Berry Oakley were buried beside each other here.  

Duane on the left and Berry on the right

You can see how old this cemetery is!

Elizabeth Reed's grave

The Brothers -Fillmore East - 09/23/1970 - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

Here is their "hangout" spot.  It overlooks the river that is right beside the cemetery.  

We then went to the cafe where the guys would go eat, the H and H Restaurant, and it's described as "Authentic Macon Soul Food."  The two ladies that run this restaurant to this day, Mama Louise and Juanita,  used to feel sorry for the guys because they were so poor that they couldn't afford food, so they would feed them late when the restaurant was closing down.  The Bros have remained faithful to Mama Louise and Juanita to this day and still fly them up to NY to cook for them when they play their epic 15 night runs at the Beacon Theater. 

We met Mama Louise and and Juanita, gave them a CD and asked to get a picture with them, which they were happy to do.   Now I have no idea how this happened, and we've laughed about it since then, but somehow Juanita ran to get into the picture and bent over so she didn't block anyone else and the following took place.   We left, got into the van, and pulled up the picture and laughed about it for an hour!  Those ladies are crazy!

Saturday, November 5th

We made our way through some beautiful mountains and colorful leaves from Atlanta to Asheville, and pulled up to meet the BDL "fan of the week."   Jenny de Guzman saw us play in Nashville, TN at the great Music City Roots show when she was visiting from Sacramento, CA.   She bought a CD, kept up with us online, and pledged to our Kickstarter campaign.   Knowing that we wouldn't be making our way to CA for a year or two she decided that since she had some extra airline points she would come to NC and see us!  She flew into Asheville and spent 2 days exploring the town and then met up with us Sat evening.   Our fans never cease to amaze us, and this is just another example.

 Here are some great pix from our fearless photographer Jenny Viars!!

Thanks for keeping up with us!
Brian and BDL
Lonesome Banjo Chronicles


SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

11.10.11 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
11.11.11 - Murphy's Saloon (Boone, NC)
11.12.11 - Casbah (Durham, NC)
11.17.11 - Local 506 (Chapel Hill, NC)
11.18.11 - The Fat Frogg Bar & Grill (Elon, NC)
11.19.11 - Clementine Cafe (Harrisonburg, VA)
11.23.11 - The Camel (Richmond, VA)
11.25.11 - Silver Dollar Music Park (Glad Valley, NC)
11.26.11 - Outer Banks Brewing Station (Kill Devil Hills, NC)
11.27.11 - Goombay's Grill & Raw Bar (Kill Devil Hills, NC)
12.01.11 - Martin's Downtown (Roanoke, VA)
12.02.11 - Machiavelli's (Bristol, TN)
12.03.11 - The Grey Eagle (Asheville, NC)