Please Help Us Get Back On The Road

GiveSendGo Link -> https://www.givesendgo.com/GHP7A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qYAgbECxLs

Explanation of our Fundraising Campaign:

Dear friends, music fans and good people out there. I am a blues musician and songwriter who has been performing and touring for years. Over time I have released over 35 recordings, won 10 blues awards, and have written an autobiography. The goal of this campaign is to replace our old broken down tour bus with another vehicle that will get us back on the road with our animals. We plan to scale way down and buy one of the most cost effective RV's out there- a renovated Cruise America RV, for under $40,000. The model we want starts at $33,850, to which tax and two comprehensive warranties have been added, for a grand total of $40,132.62. The dealership is holding it for us pending the outcome of this campaign. We feel this vehicle will serve our needs well and allow us to get back out there. We are reaching out because we have been off the road for quite some time and as such do not have the money needed. As many of my fellow musicians have probably noticed, regardless of whatever level of accomplishments we may have achieved, most of our income comes from touring. After shut downs and cancelled shows during the Pandemic, living without tour money (ie: without an income), became a way of life. While never rich, we used to balance things pretty well and pay our way as we went down the road. After shutdowns we remembered what being broke was like. At this same time, our home on wheels/tour bus, which transported us and our furry friends to the shows, gave out spectacularly. With 340,000 original miles, it has been sitting in a state of disrepair in our back yard after being towed home from a rest area. It doesn’t start, and has so many issues it needs what is called a complete remodeling, and would have to be towed to a remote repair shop for this kind of overhaul- so that will have to wait for a future time, if and when we could even find a way to address it. Adding to this collapse, my former record label suddenly sold out to a catalog only concern- thus, no more projects, a depressing situation for a musician.

Today, with good advice and TLC from some wonderful friends, I have connected with a new label, a new booking agent, and now we just have to worry about how we are going to get to the shows. 

Why we travel in a motor home. 

First I have to address: is it an indulgence? After many years of paying dues in a Pinto station wagon and eating nothing but fast food, it eventually became about survival. So the short answer is two-fold: unhealthy lifestyle created by road food, and lengthy separation from our beloved furry friends. The longer answer involves extended cramped travel conditions, endless loading in and out of all manner of hotels, total lack of access to healthy food, lack of exercise, gas station bathrooms, and extreme exhaustion. Been there, done that. I eventually had to face the fact that it was destroying my health. I remember saying, "This is killing me." I knew I had to make a change. Thus, when I got my first little "class C" cab-over RV, it changed everything. I thought I’d regret it, but never did. Living on the road as much as I have, an RV allows you to take the necessities with you- a refrigerator, stove, your closet, bed, bathroom- this was not an indulgence, it was about survival. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, after paying plenty of dues, an RV was finally a way to manage the rigors of the road by having home come along with us.

The other reason for us to travel in an RV is that it allows us to take our animals with us. We are animal lovers and have rescued stray and needy dogs and cats for years. At one point we had five dogs on board, plus cats. Leaving them in kennels or even with pet sitters was always heartbreaking (for us and for them too). I never wanted my animals to live "the kennel life." With the RV we take them with us, and they love it as much as we do. They are family! Over the years there were occasions when we had to leave them behind. Several of my animals died while I was touring. Despite being in the best of care, there are many things that can and do happen, and nothing hurts more than knowing they left this world when I was not there to comfort them. I will never get over the sorrow and remorse that I experienced as a result, that lasts to this day.

Our goal:

To sum this up, one night on the road I had a vivid dream that it was time to buy an RV. I sat bolt upright in the middle of the night and said “I dreamed that we got an RV!” We were in Detroit, Michigan at the time. That very day, we went out, looked around, and purchased a cheap class C cab-over, and never regretted it. Over time I have had four different motor homes for touring. Each one was purchased new and driven until it couldn’t roll anymore. There have been a lot of miles, and a lot of shows. Today, in a stroke of irony, we have decided that instead of trying to raise the money to remodel our big old rolling home, we would come full circle and buy another much more affordable class C cab-over. We need to scale down in size, to a remodeled, used Cruise America RV. Yes, they’re heavily used- but- they get maintained after each rental- revamped, repainted, repaired, tweaked and lubed, and you can get them for under $40,000. To get another like the one we have today is prohibitive. So we think a used Class C cab-over will suit our current situation. We found one with a reasonable floor plan that would allow us to travel with our dogs and Jack the Cat. This is our goal, to raise what we need to buy and roll. We have tour dates starting in early August, and hope we can pick up this vehicle in time to travel together. We are now being booked to California and back. We hope you are able to donate something- whatever you choose, whatever is affordable- or maybe you are someone who is able to make a larger donation. Either way, large, or small donations, we hope to raise $40,000 as quickly as possible so we can come to a “town near you!” We love you, love the fans, love doing shows, and deeply desire to get back on the road. There’s a song written by Buddy Guy on my new cd that says it all. The cd is due out August 22nd, it's on M.C. Records, and is called Heavy On The Blues. I think it's one of my best, so please keep an eye out for it. So if you can, we hope you will consider helping to make this goal a reality. The animals thank you as much as we do. We lost our dear Bela in the spring, and now Gibby is also elderly and having a number of health issues. He’s having trouble with his hind legs. It would be unthinkable to leave him behind, or Taylor, or Jack, who is absolutely bonded to us and the dogs.