Karen Lee Batten – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the country artist, Karen Lee Batten, shares one of her stories from being on the road. You can check out the story, after the break.

One of the very best things about the music industry is that no two days are the same… ever! There is always a good time just around the corner. Sometimes it’s made for you and sometimes you just have to make it yourself. Either way, there are good memories waiting to happen.

For 5 years now, I have been part of the Williams Lake Stampede in my native Canadian province of British Columbia. During my second year, we had left our home base in the Lower Mainland and were on the way to Williams Lake, driving through some small towns on the way, including a spot called Boston Bar.

My players that year (Kirby Barber, Eric Reed, and Shawn Brown) were with me, when we came upon a super elaborate, wildly entertaining small-town garage sale! Kirby and I said, “Stop the bus,”, and against the wishes of our other bandmates, the ladies won!

Out we came and we immediately spotted the guy overseeing the sale approaching us in an “FBI” T-shirt, which had “Female Body Inspector” written on the back, to go with pajama pants. Not scared, we started hunting for what we refused to call junk. And then, there she was, all alone, just glowing in the corner… BB the Sheep. Who was BB the Sheep, you ask?

Well, after a hard bargain with Mr. FBI, we were proud owners of small porcelain white and black sheep, and it proved to be the best $5 we ever spent. From this moment on, the adventures of “BB the Sheep” began.

BB – who was named after Boston Bar – became a fixture at the Williams Lake Stampede, getting pictures taken with board members and even the WLS President himself. She was with us at warm-ups, rehearsals, and was even my sidekick while I did the anthems for the Stampede. But her favourite pastime was spent partying on the Let’ R Buck Stage performing right along with the bands. She did tend to drink a lot so that was a tad annoying, and BB’s tendency to get into trouble led to her “arrest” and being thrown in the back of a cop car. Thankfully this cop was pretty understanding, so BB was released after a quick pic with the Williams Lake RCMP.

You know, life in the music industry isn’t always about what you do, it’s about who you are doing it with. I have never laughed so hard over some of the dumb stuff I have done with my band. Some I can share…. and some I can’t… and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Even though BB the Sheep sadly broke in 2019 (RIP), I know there will be many more adventures to come. After all, a new one is just a yard sale away.

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