A Man, A Jeep, No Real Plan

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Escape from Florida

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Florida is not the worst state in the country, but one can only handle the perpetual warm weather and daily rainstorms for so long. 112 days were more than enough for me. The last time I wrote was Miami, sense then I have been to Jacksonville, Pensacola, Orlando, Duluth Georgia, Atlanta Georgia, Birmingham Alabama, Huntsville Alabama, and am currently sitting on the bus on a day stop in St. Louis Missouri. Upon arrival in GA I stepped off the bus and felt something I’ve not felt since I was in the mountains on my road trip. It was cold; I could see my breath and feel the grass crinkle under my feet as I walked. After months or seemingly eternal summer I felt a tinge of being home in Indiana.

My final weeks in Florida were not bad by any means. I visited The Moran Theatre in Jacksonville and went on a scavenger hunt of old wall tags. I have played this theatre at least times before.

One of the best parts about touring over and over again is walking into a venue and knowing that you’ve been there before. You know the lay of the land, the names of some of your locals, and the entire stay is like catching up with old friends you haven’t seen in years.

Halloween was celebrated in Pensacola. A few of my tour-mates knew the individual who was hosting a party at the Pensacola Opera. We arrive about a half hour late, and if I said we brought the party, I would not be lying. It was a night of drinking, dancing, and having lots and lots of people lifting my kilt to see if I was wearing it “properly”, they were not disappointed.

The above view was the last thing I saw in Florida. As I was walking to the bus to make a mad dash for the border and the Florida skies decided to give me a suitable goodbye.

Duluth was fairly uneventful, but I had some visitors in Atlanta. Caitlyn and Grant came down to Atlanta. I am not going to lie, I was more than a little nervous about sharing a hotel room with a toddler, but by the end of the stay I think Caitlyn was the only one pondering the wisdom of allow Grant and I to team up for a few days. We spent time crawling around tunnels at the Georgia Aquarium, which was a serious overload for both Grant and I. I think we may have stressed Caitlyn out a bit with our antics as well. The heated pool was another winner with all parties concerned, although that may have to do with the fact that it was warmer than some hot tubs I’ve been in. We also spent time venturing out to meet up with friends I have in the area. I don’t think any of the waiters are going to forget Grant’s accuracy with a chicken nugget any time soon. Over all it was a fantastic visit!

After Atlanta my tour headed to Birmingham, Alabama for a 4am load in with a 2pm show. My Phone failed to do the time change so I walked into the venue at 2:15 thinking it was 3:15… Add in a local smashing their hand on the trucks and a serious catering snafu… It was a rough day to say the least, but the crew killed it. Loaded in in under 6 hours and out in 2.5 hours. That’s a far cry better than the 10+ hour load ins and 5+ hour load outs we had a month ago. We also put up our first wall tag. That’ll be my 4th in Birmingham, unfortunately I didn’t get photos of the rest of them.

We stuck around Birmingham for a few extra days to celebrate Thanksgiving. So we had a massive company meal at Texas de Brazil. No big surprise I ended up on the end of the table with the rest of the old men. 😉

My latest stop was Huntsville, Alabama. Not a whole lot of excitement here, but we did manage to put up another tag (bringing my total to 3 in this venue). As I am going around finding the wall tags a little bit of me is wondering if anyone has ever tried to catalogue the works of art that tours leave behind as they travel the country. I’m going to ponder this one a bit more, but It could be an interesting project.

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On Tour again.

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It has been a long time since I last posted, but I haven’t been nearly as mobile as I’d like. There are a lot of reasons for this… but the biggest one is simple.

I spent 84 days in Palmetto, FL in this building. FES is an amazing complex of shops, offices, and rehearsal spaces. It literally houses every phase from concept to test audiences for the largest privately owned entertainment company in the world. While I was in the building we had several projects through.

Everything from decade old shows that needed a little love and a refurb period, to new projects like Trolls The Experience, Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party and of course Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic. All of this magic is conceived, built and cared for out of this facility. Which means a large majority of what I was seeing on a daily basis is proprietary and not stuff I can tell you about.

The show that I spent the most time with other than my own was Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party. I wasn’t directly involved with it, but I did have my desk in their rehearsal space for almost a month. This show is amazing. They have aerial routines, tumbling, pyro, hover boards, Disney Characters, and of course amazing ice skating. Once it was open I went to Orlando for their opening and managed to capture just a bit of the magic from my seat.

Of course I didn’t spend all of my time in the studio. I also spent 84 nights at the same hotel. I often would set up camp by the pool and do paperwork.

I also spent quite a few nights hanging out with fellow Feld employees by this very pool.

I think one of the best parts about the hotel was Greta. Greta was one of the nigh-time desk staff and she was the gatekeeper to all of the shenanigans that happened in the hotel. Thank god she was more amused by our antics than she was the children’s sports teams that came through. There was the baseball tournament where the kids dented cars in the parking lot with a football. There was the hockey kids who set up hockey goals in the hallways and played at all hours of the night, the figure skaters squealing as the run up and down the hallway… and of course the drunk parents who came along with all of these groups.

Greta was more of a Dorm Mom than anything else. I saw her chase down kids in the parking lot, confiscate sporting equipment, catch shop lifting kids, scold parents for not watching their kids, and negotiate disorderly drunks to bed. All of this while my merry band sat by the pool cheering for her and heckling those foolish enough to cross Greta. I really wish I had a picture of Greta, next year when I return to Palmetto I am going to have to get one.

Another reason Greta got serious bonus points in my book is because she bothered to get to know us. She knew what shows we all worked on, who had kids, who liked whiskey, who liked wine, who had significant others at home, and most impressively the significant others name and how long till they came to visit. Greta literally had a countdown for me starting at 10 days till Caitlyn came to visit.

That was the other highlight of Palmetto, Caitlyn took a few days off work and came down. It was her first time being around my road family. I had to work almost everyday she was here, so I really wasn’t much good for company, but she got to meet my cast, crew, and staff. I think she started to understand how crazy my life is.

Well friends, after 84 days I moved to Tampa, FL. Our first load in was a bit rough, but we got moved in, set up and opened a show.

Opening night, means an opening night party. So of course Caitlyn came down. She spent most of her visit focused on pool side reading this time around. However when opening night happened not only did she put on a beautiful dress, but she sat through Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic! That’s right, she witnessed the toddler mosh pit and still wanted to go to the hot mess that is an opening night party. I think it is safe to say that she has now fully seen me in my element.

After Tampa we moved to Lakeland, FL for a few days and yesterday we had a one day stop in St. Petersburg.

One day stops are the worst. On a one day stop we start at 4am and then 17 hours later we walk out again. It makes for a very long day and I may have made an error in judgment that resulted in my arm getting smashed in a crate door. The good news is that nothing is broken, the bad news is that my arm was numb and pretty useless for the 2nd half of the day… That being said, things came together beautifully. We made a 1pm meet and greet, had 2 shows, and then loaded out in under 4 hours. For a 3rd stop on a tour, that is freaking impressive. I am legit proud of the crew and how they have come together to achieve this!

So now I am on a bus headed towards Miami. Expect there to be adventures, and expect to hear from me more often now that my show is open. Until next time my friends!

The Whirlwind That is My Life

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Hello all! It’s been a few weeks and for that… I’m not going to apologize. I’ve had a crap ton going on.

I returned to Bloomington and had a week and a half to get my affairs in order to be on tour till May. This included taking possession of my new house, moving out of my condo, getting the condo “renter ready”, starting the renovation of the new house… it was hectic to say the least. Nothing got done, but everything got started and steered in the right direction so other people could finish it after I left.

Some of the highlights of that process included a massive trip to Lowe’s.

A trailer that kept trying to kill me.

 

And addressing my issues with hoarding building materials.

 

Also, of course to add to all of it, Jeff is a dick. Jeff, my trusty steed for my summer adventures, my ride or die partner in crime… blew a head gasket… So Jeff is currently parked on the farm and will be remaining there until I get back to Indiana.

It was an overall adventure and it hurt my soul to leave so soon, but on July 15th I left Bloomington and headed to start my new position at Feld Entertainment as a Production Manager. In all likelihood it’ll be 10 months or more before I’m home again, but that is part of the adventure. My first stop is 84 days straight in Palmetto, FL.

 

That’s right guys, I traded my kilt for slacks and a button up. I am now being paid to be the adult supervision. Apparently the fact that I was on a road trip with no destination during my interview process didn’t tip them off that adulting is not my strong suit.

But don’t worry, they have now figured out that I am descending into the world of being an adult kicking and screaming like the toddler I truly am. I don’t know exactly what tipped them off, but it may have been the fact that I am referring to my cubical as a cell and am refusing to use it, or the fact that I am spending what used to be my smoke breaks wondering around the facility killing zombies… The transition to being an adult may not be going as smooth as some would like. Haha

All of that aside, I really am loving this job. We are currently 2 weeks into the electrics build of my show and all of the other departments will be joining us here at Feld Studios this week. We have 2 weeks of building/training, then we’ll spend a week putting it all together, follow that up with a month of rehearsals and then we open on October 12th in Tampa.

I know that I just glazed over a really long period of time there guys, but I can’t really talk about projects that aren’t open yet. But trust me when I say we’re excited about several of the projects going on around here.

I promise once the show is open and the tour has begun I’ll have more adventures to share with you guys, but until then, why don’t you go have an adventure of your own?

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It’s my Birthday and I leave in a week…

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Well, it’s my birthday. I am on the home stretch of 16 hour days 7 days a week. I won’t have time to do anything until it’s over on the 10th, which yes means I leave on this adventure a week from today, assuming I get my license renewed (it expires today). Oh and I just got the jeep running again last night…

Today I turn 31. I’ve got to tell you, 30 was an interesting year. I mean last year I celebrated my birthday in a hotel parking lot after working a 14 hour over night shift on the new falcons stadium. Basically my father bought me a decent bottle of bourbon and then we, along with a few of my coworkers, drank the bottle while sitting on concrete steps shooting the shit. It was not a bad way to celebrate, but it did set the tone for 30. 30 has basically been all about getting things done. I put a serious dent in my debts, mended some proverbial fences with touring companies, did a short tour, and got double ETCP certified in rigging. Not a lot of socializing or adventures outside of taking care of business. Hell this year I will be celebrating my birthday while working a 16 hour day.

The above project is what I have been working such insane hours on for the last month. This thing is massive, and in 2 days we are going to premiere it off the beaten path here in Bloomington. Once we have our one and only performance we’ll spend a few days packing it up and send it off to the Kennedy Center in D.C., where it’ll enjoy a 6 week run before heading to LA for a few months, then Toronto, and finally Broadway.

But nothing past the 9th is my problem at this point. On the 9th we’ll finish loading it onto the trucks and say goodbye and I’ll get to sleep in for the first time since mid April. I will be spending Sunday the 10th preparing the jeep with all of its new sensors, freshly cleaned grounds and new ball joints for the trip. This thing is gonna happen folks! On the 11th I will be driving the fully loaded beast to the BMV and as soon as I have my new license in hand… West, I am heading westward!

The exact route is not set in stone, the timeline is still fluid, but the above map is what I think the trip is going to look like. I am still trying to complete things off the scavenger hunt, but I may not be making it to the East Coast on this one. The reason I won’t be is simply time…

I am only going to have a month to play and after that I will be returning to Bloomington to see to my adult responsibility… Because I am now 31, and bills must be paid, jobs must be done…. oh and I am moving into a 5 bed, 3 bath monstrosity that also has a home gym, greenhouse, 25′ vaulted ceilings in one of the two living rooms (yes I am building an indoor rock wall), kitchen, dining room giant fenced in yard, and a 1,000 square foot garage… Excessive? Probably, but I am 31, single, and it’s too late for reason to prevail. I am dubbing the house, The DeLong Cultural Center.

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Well, that happened…

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Well after the Jeff (the jeep) crapped out on me I had no choice but to wake my father. Not only did he answer his phone at 3:30 in the morning, he more than graciously picked me up off the side of the road and drove me the rest of the way to the airport. Going above and beyond on the subject of being an awesome father, he then went back to the jeep and waited for AAA to arrive instead of going back to bed. Granted he did have to send me a photo of my beloved road companion on the back of a flatbed… but I think I can overlook that when I am choosing his retirement home in a few years.

So, I missed my intended flight, but through some cross airline finagling I managed to make it to Boston in time for some visiting with Steve and his wife Anne over a boozy brunch before the wedding.

The wedding ceremony it’s self was short sweet and had one very confused senior citizen literally walk through the middle of it. I mean I suppose that’s what you get when you have an outdoor ceremony in a municipal garden, but I failed to keep a straight face. I mean she literally walked across the front, slowing as she walked to gaze at the crowd as the bride was getting lined up to walk down the aisle. I don’t know if she never comprehended what was going on or if she just didn’t care, but she finished her leisurely stroll right as everyone stood for the bride to walk down the aisle. It was pretty priceless.

Post ceremony was cocktail hour ensued as the families went to do photos. It was at this moment that the fact that I knew no one other than the family of the groom became painfully clear… cue awkwardness as I enjoyed my beverage on the outskirts of the crowd.

Dinner rolled around and somehow I managed to be at the table of awesomeness, or at least that’s what I am choosing to call a table that was clearly populated with the more colorful characters at the wedding. I mean between my sleep deprived uncensored state, a leather vest clad kilt wearing rocker and his wife, team stoner mullet (two of them and their dates)… and of course the chaperones Steve and Anne. We had a blast. Team mullet smuggled in some home made wine and we all regaled each other with stories of the bride and grooms less proud moments.

After dinner was the dancing. I am not a dancer, well sober I am not a dancer at least. So as the band began to muster the crowd to the floor, I sat back and enjoyed people watching with my beverage.

As the evening progressed and my sobriety declined I ventured out on the dance floor… with tunes like “Shut Up and Dance”, “Rolling on the River”, and “Black Betty”… I danced my face off. I also think I may have become BFFs with several of the grooms aunts. Might not have been my target demographic, but at least there are some ladies out there that appreciate my drunken wit and tactless observations.

Post reception I went to the after party at the bar with the bride groom and all of the under 40 crowd. Unfortunately I had to stop drinking early in this event (work the next day) but I stayed till the bitter end. When last call rolled around I headed to the airport.

I was supposed to be at work at 8am on Sunday. However due to more airline shenanigans I didn’t make it till 11am.

I finally slept for the first time since Thursday night after work on Sunday.

Memorial Day… Memorial Day was spent working on Jeff. As of writing this, he is still unwell, but here is what I know. It is not a the fuel pump. It’s not the ignition coil. It’s not a grounding issue (I disconnected and cleaned all 23 grounds on this fucking thing). When I let the engine cool to ambient temp, it’ll start. It’ll come up to temp and do fine, until suddenly the engine just stops working (about 18 minutes after starting). This is a bad sensor of some kind somewhere, and when I find it I am mounting this thing on the front as a hood ornament…