Weather is here, winds are slight, guess the promised strong winds are still yet to arrive. Maybe late today, the seas and winds will be up. But it's the Caribbean, they'll probably arrive late. Nothing starts on time here anyhow.

Like the Music Fest, they lay out this elaborate schedule, then they throw the clocks away. The main attraction is put on late, say 10pm, but rarely gets going before 2am, kind of frustrating. Of course each band starts later and later, for some reason they think it fashionable to be late, but it's unprofessional. In certain circles, you would be banned. Try playing a gig an hour or two late in Vegas, you'll be run out of town.

Years back, a friend of mine was lucky enough to finally achieve status quo and be offered a month long gig in Las Vegas. His band pooled every cent they could, pawned and sold everything they didn't need, begged, borrowed, stole, you name it, to buy the band a bus. They loaded up the bus with their clothes, and their equipment, and headed cross country for what they thought would be their limelight, the gig that would launch them, put them on the map, get them in the recording studios and so on.

They planned to take turns driving and sleeping on the bus. Occasionally they would stop at a rest area and let the bus engine take a break. They had no money for hotels, and they mostly made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to save money. But it was worth it, as soon they would be living in a nice hotel, playing a steady gig for a solid month and it came with perks, like free buffets and discounted drinks. Late at night, the pools and Jacuzzi's are often full of the musicians and showgirls, a fun late night, wind down party.

I know because once while in Las Vegas, I had grown tired of gambling (imagine that!) and it was 3am and I was wide awake. I put on my bathing suit, tossed on the hotel robe and headed 34 floors down, for the outdoor Jacuzzi. I was all alone. Every few minutes, I had to hop out and push the button to make the Jacuzzi run again, it had this annoyingly short timer on it and you couldn't reach it from the tub.

About the 4th time out to hit the timer, I had just settled back down, when this backdoor burst open and about two dozen drop dead gorgeous bodies came out in teeny tiny G-strings and the women in itsy bitsy tops. Most crowded into the Jacuzzi with me and a few dove into the pool and swam. I found out they had just completed the last show for the night and wanted to work off their aches in the water.

They were as surprised to find me alone in the Jacuzzi, as I was to meet them at this odd hour. Most people are either in bed or gambling at that hour, not sitting in the dark in a Jacuzzi. A half hour later, and several bands showed up, they too having finished their last gig for th enight, and were headed for the water. My room overlooked the pool, and it sat empty all day, but late at night, in the wee hours, it came alive.

Well, back to the band bus...

Right in the middle of the desert, hundreds of miles from nowhere, the old bus caught on fire in the middle of the night, and the band barely escaped with their lives. So there stood the band next to the ruins of their bus, even the tires had melted from the extreme heat, all their instruments and sound equipment just burnt to a crisp and reduced to unrecognizable rubble. Their clothes gone, the cooler of food destroyed, even the peanut butter jar was shattered and black.

It was hours before a car came along, going the wrong way (east) and offered a ride, but he only had room for ONE. So that is how the band split up. They each caught a ride one by one every few hours, some heading west, others heading back east. My friend tells me he was the last to leave, has never seen any of the guys since, has no idea whatever happened to them. But that was the end of that band.


written by Miss Mermaid