The Urban Renewal Project – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, R.W. Enoch of the soul band, The Urban Renewal Project, talks about some of their crazy moments from touring. You can check out the feature, after the break.

Our craziest tour story happened while we were on the road in Nevada this past summer. We had just finished a show at the Jazz & Beyond Music Festival in Carson City, which was the last night of a short tour up and down the coast, so we packed up and set off into the night for Los Angeles. This trip was on a bit of a shoestring budget, like so many are, so we had piled the entire fifteen-piece band and all of our gear into three vehicles, one of which belonged to our trombone player Matt.

Just as we got out of Carson City, two Nevada highway patrolmen on motorbikes pulled Matt’s car over for driving 70 MPH in a 45 zone. An unfortunate situation for sure, but this routine inconvenience was about to be exacerbated by our trumpet player Mike in the backseat, who had been quietly partaking in some medically prescribed, post-performance cannabis.

As Matt rolled down the window, a pungent cloud of marijuana smoke billowed out of the car and into the officer’s nostrils. He immediately inquired about the Schedule I controlled substance, to which Mike replied that he had a prescription but had left the documentation back in California. The skeptical cop asked Matt to step out of the car, called for backup, and began processing his arrest for transporting drugs across state lines. Fortunately, a sober and smooth talking Matt was able to level with Mr. Policeman, and over the course of 15 minutes, bathed in the late-night glow of police lights on the side of a desert highway, Matt talked the officer down to issuing only a speeding ticket.

Another prison term in federal lock-up successfully avoided, and another tour in the books for URP!

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