Bikini Trill – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the indie pop band, Bikini Trill, shares one of their stories from being on the road. You can check out the story, after the break.

Nah, Pull Over!

Somehow, someway, we had managed to weasel our way onto the last three shows of Coast Modern’s North American tour. It was basically our first major gig- a 3-day stint that included San Diego, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. We piled into the Honda Odyssey and began the 363-mile trek through the desert from the House Of Blues, San Diego to Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, Arizona. We knew at some point we would hit an Agricultural Checkpoint at the border between Cali and Arizona and thought it may be best to take the longer route down i-8 to avoid any such confrontation (I mean we’re all pretty heavy smokers).

So we’re cruisin’ down i-8, passing sand dune after sand dune, blaring King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard’s ‘Rattlesnake’, and blazing Cali’s finest… and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, we start to see signs; “Border Checkpoint- Be Prepared To Stop”. We start to trip out a little bit- THIS CHECKPOINT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE and wasn’t listed on any of the online checkpoint databases (yeah, we checked lol). Regardless of California’s state laws about cannabis, Uncle Sam still ain’t havin’ it – so we really didn’t know what to expect.

We approach the checkpoint slowly, windows half rolled down, trying to air out the van as best we can before coming face to face with some federal officer and his k-9 companion. Roach is driving. We stop… the officer leans over towards the van and in true stoner fashion (sunglasses still on) Roach says to the officer, “Wassup, We Good?” The officer lowers his sunglasses, leans in closer and says, “Nah, Pull Over!”

We’re all freakin out at this point- 1.) We have weed on us 2.) We can’t be late to this show! We don’t want to disappoint everyone coming out and definitely don’t want to make a bad impression on the other bands and 3.) TONY HAS TO PEE

We pull over and they pull us all out of the van and sit us under the hot desert sun (it was definitely over 100 degrees). We watch them toss the van and pull out all of our luggage, gear, and personal effects. Meanwhile, we’re watching them wave everyone else thru the checkpoint. Of course, they find all the weed and confiscate 2 of our favorite rolling trays (shout out Wiz Khalifa and RAW).

We sat in the desert for what seemed like hours, watching them run the dog around the van and listening to them explain the difference between federal and state law. We thought for sure we were going to jail and wouldn’t be able to make the show, but in the end- they let us go… and Tony even got to pee in the jail cell (check that one off the bucket list). We finally made it to Crescent Ballroom- we were late, but we were there and we were ready to play!

Moral of the story- don’t take i-8.

Keep up with the band on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Upcoming Tour Dates
6.21 Palm Springs, CA- Soundsplash at Hotel Zoso

w/ 311, Dirty Heads, The Interrupters
7.2 Huber Heights, OH- Rose Music Center at The Heights
7.3 Mount Pleasant, MI- Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort
7.5 Clarkston, MI- DTE Energy Music Theatre
7.6 Tinley Park, IL- Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
7.7 Duluth, MN- Bayfront Festival Park
7.9 Morrison, CO- Red Rocks Amphitheater
7.10 Bonner Springs, KS- Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
7.12 Noblesville, IN- Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
7.13 Burgettstown, PA- Key Bank Pavilion
7.14 Hartford, CT- XFINITY Theatre
7.18 Mansfield, MA- Xfinity Center
7.20 Buffalo, NY- Darien Center
7.23 Gilford, NH- Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
7.24 Holmdel, NJ- PNC Bank Arts Center
7.26 Wantagh, NY- Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
7.27 Columbia, MD- Merriweather Post Pavilion
7.28 Raleigh, NC- Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
7.30 Atlanta, GA- State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
7.31 Charleston, SC- Volvo Car Stadium
8.2 West Palm Beach, FL- Coral Sky Amphitheater
8.3 Tampa, FL- MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater
8.4 Jacksonville, FL- Daily’s Place Amphitheatre
8.6 Houston, TX- White Oak Music Hall Lawn
8.7 Austin, TX- Austin360 Amphitheatre
8.8 Dallas, TX- The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
8.10 Phoenix, AZ- Ak-Chin Pavilion
8.11 Chula Vista, CA- North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
8.14 Avila Beach, CA- Avila Beach Resort
8.16 Sacramento, CA- Pappa Murphy’s Park
8.17 Portland, OR- Veterans Memorial Coliseum
8.18 Auburn, WA- White River Amphitheatre
8.20 Salt Lake City, UT- USANA Amphitheatre