Well, the drive to New York last Friday was quite an eventful journey. There were many obstacles a long the way, but we made it! We made it.
It all began at 2 PM when we filled our gas tank with $88 worth of bad gas from the BP station located on 14th & Euclid in Washington, DC (buyers beware!!) After doing so we proceeded to New York, but we were forced to constantly hug the shoulder as the van stalled every time we dipped below 30-mph. Once we reached White Marsh it had become so bad that we had to call AAA. We sat patiently awaiting AAA's arrival, for an hour, only to be still patiently awaiting. Finally we decided our course of action. We will reverse the van as far back as it can go, accelerate until we reach 60 mph, then gun it across three lanes where we would exit at White Marsh Mall and hop on Pulaski Highway to stop at a service station to get the gas siphoned and refill the tank with fresh gas.
Once we reached the gas station, mind you it is now 5 PM, we had them siphon the bad gas out so we could put new, clean fresh, Shell gas in our van. We explained the urgency of this matter so they began working right away. While, again, patiently waiting for work to be complete, we decided to take part in the gambling available to us in the gas station store. We played several games of KENO & Horse Racing, hoping to make enough money to cover the cost of the work being done. Unfortunately, this was not the case, Matty made $14 on KENO, not nearly enough to cover the $150 dig to our pockets.
The time is now 7:02 PM and load-in is 8. The van is fully siphoned and the finding was that our gas tank contained more water than gas. WTF?! So, after all the gas was removed, we filled the tank, another $88, hoped back in and hauled ass! We were then making great time. In fact, time was being chiseled off from the expected time of arrival generated by/on our GPS. Then we hit traffic on the NJ Turnpike. This changed everything. We began breaking down, AGAIN! The most stressful thing about this time was, a) it was now too late for AAA to take us somewhere to get repairs b) we were in a road-work zone so there were no shoulders & c) we were just 35 minutes away from the venue. To ensure our arrival, Matty had drive in the traffic jam with one foot constantly pressing the gas and the other holding the break. This allowed the engine to constantly get gas, while at a dead stop. This worked for about 4 miles before we were completely broken down, once again. Baffled, we pulled into the emergency pull-off area and began brainstorming. Conclusion: Call AAA and have them tow us the rest of the way. We have a 100 mile tow limit/day. The venue was close enough we could make it in time. Just when we called AAA, a cop pulls up behind us. Get ready for it, things are about to get crazy.
After about 5 minutes, the cop approaches the van. We explain the situation and he replies, "Ok, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to put my lights on, you all pull out, and I'll follow behind you until you reach a speed that will keep you from breaking down." Such a rad cop, he followed us nearly the entire rest of our time on the TurnPike. We then hopped off the NJTP and onto the BQE. Again, we were faced with traffic and break downs. We broke down 10 more times on the BQE. We finally exited into Brooklyn where we, AGAIN, broke down. Every time we made a turn, the van broke down. Finally we make it to Bruar Falls, the van breaks down right in front, and we coast into an open parking spot. We rushed our load-in and were able to play just over a 20 minute set.
Now, we made mention of this being the last Tennis System show on the East Coast, but after a shit-show such as that, we feel incomplete and unfinished. So there is a slight possibility we will set up a show in Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Virginia. Not positive just yet, but keep your eyes peeled.
Without further ado, here is the amazing video our dear friend Scuba Rob pieced together after being trapped with us for the 9 hour drive to New York.
Enjoy!
Tennis System
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