The Outer Vibe – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the indie band, The Outer Vibe, talk about some of their crazy moments from touring. You can check out the feature, after the break.

We’re a band that actually loves to live together out of a van, and we’ve certainly had our fair share of no sleep, tires blowing, groupies wanting to take advantage of us, etc.

There was the first time we played in Fayetteville, AR and needed to find a place to sleep. We decided to stay with a girl and her friends who seemed harmless and normal. The night began cordial (“Do you guys want some wine? I made some pasta if you’re hungry” etc.) and quickly escalated to her literally going down the line and demanding, “so which one of you is going to sleep with me tonight?” She was persistent as hell and went as far as to follow Sean (lead vocals) into the bathroom when he was brushing his teeth. She didn’t handle the rejection well, eventually telling us “You guys are the nerdiest band I’ve ever met!”

There was the time we needed a place to park our van and trailer during a festival week in Texas. We were staying with our friend Lauren, who lived in an apartment complex with strict parking rules, so parking in their lot was not an option.

How did we solve this problem? Lauren joined the church next door and then asked permission for us to park there during the week. It was a brilliant idea. Our van and trailer were safe, they were totally cool about it all, it was free, and Lauren just shrugged and said, “I don’t mind joining a church.” And not only did she join a church, but she willingly let us fill up her 1-bedroom apartment for several days with suitcases and air beds. We slept in the living room, the kitchen, and outside on the little deck. We have the coolest friends ever.

Speaking of cramming into tight spaces… this is a regular thing for us, because, at this stage of our career, we are too cheap to buy hotel rooms, so we rely on the kindness of friends and acquaintances who are willing to let a band into their home. Usually, it’s pretty easy to find someone who will let us stay, and we always have a lot more fun staying with people than sleeping in a hotel. (Hotels are all the same… families and cultures are all beautiful and different.)

Not too long ago, we played in Bend, OR and stayed afterward with a new friend we made at the show. She also had a 1-bedroom apartment that we filled to the brim, so Wonder (bass) opted to set up his hammock on the deck. We all settled in, and as we started to fall asleep…

“CRASH!”

We all jumped and yelled, terrified and startled by the loud noise that shook the building. Meanwhile, coming from the porch outside was an angry stream of four-letter words. Guess whose hammock broke? And guess who had a big bruise on their butt the next day?

But the story that takes the cake is the time we were playing in a bar in Grand Haven, Michigan, and a few older women who frequent clubs in order to score with much younger men were in the audience and on the prowl. (This is one of those bars where they have to shovel the piles of broken glass off the floor at the end of the night because things get a little rowdy.) During our set break, the older women who frequent clubs in order to score with much younger men tried to drop subtle hints, saying things like “I want your membrane to touch my membrane” and “my husband and baby are gone and I have the house to myself.” (WTF? Seriously?) We started playing again, and they decided to take a more aggressive approach; they flashed us, and then proceeded to pull their boobs out and lactate all over us.

Yes, you read that right. We got lactated on. The cymbals were splattered, poor Wonder’s glasses were splattered, and needless to say, the older women who frequent clubs in order to score with much younger men did not win over the band that night.

We’re still waiting for the experience that tops that one. It’s only a matter of time.

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