I got thinking back on my fond early days of axum, and thought I'd add reflection on my first road trip too. It was actually my second axum show - March 20, 2002. I was working full time and sitting in my office on a wednesday afternoon, talking on IM to Ang - the one who got me hooked. The boys were playing in philly that night, and I had never been to philly. I walked across the hall and asked my boss if I could take the morning off the next day so I could drive to philly and back that night. She let me, and even let me leave an hour early that day! Nothing like six hours in the car for a band you hardly know. But it was really that trip that secured my devotion.
We got out of town about half an hour before Don, Croyle, and Chris who were driving down with ALL the equipment in Don's Jeep Grand Cherokee Sport. They were meeting up with Tim in philly since he'd been at his parents house. Ang and I got lost on the Blue Route and ended up arriving at the club with a list of quotes that live on to this day (Wait for Green!) and only about five minutes before the rest of the band. We were greeted by Tim who was NOT impressed with the fact that I had learned the words to Heresay on the way down - he told me to learn a song with more than five words and we'd talk.
The bar was a place called "the fire" and it looked like a frat basement with comforters on the wall for sound insulation or something crazy like that. It was shady, but the show was good, even if there weren't many people there and Ang and I were way overdressed. Getting ready to leave, we saw how PACKED Don's jeep was, and offered a ride to anyone that wanted my back seat. Chris decided an entire back seat in a Honda Civic was better than cuddling with a bass drum. We started to chatting and he was passed out within an hour of the drive. But he was a sweetheart and all the boys were awesome that night, and I knew I had to start making axum a regular part of my going out. Now, two years later, you'll still see me rocking out at every axum show I can get to. And the road trips are the best memories ever!
