They say it’s wise to plan for the worst and hope for the best. That’s a rule I’ve tried to follow in general, but sometimes it’s just plain impossible to anticipate complications that may arise. For that very reason I often jokingly tempt fate and ask aloud, “What could go wrong?” Well, once again my question was answered.
We were fortunate enough to line-up a concert in Three Forks, MT following a high school rodeo in April. We had talked about doing the show solo, or as a trio, but I got to wondering what Chris LeDoux would do…. so we decided to bring the whole band. Not long after, I found out that Doug would not be able to make the show to play steel. No big deal. I was able to get a hold of an extremely skilled mandolin player, Tom, from Bozeman to fill in. Problem solved.
On the day of the show we left home in plenty of time and headed to Three Forks via Idaho. Ben and Brian carpooled and headed straight north because they live on the other side of the mountain. So, the race was on and we could easily determine the leader via text messages. Well… we got there first! Shortly after arriving at the concert for a mic check, Ben and Brian arrived at the Livingston hospital to get Brian’s head checked. That’s right, Brian got a real bad head ache that turned for the worst. Ben described the symptoms on the phone, which sounded very ‘stroke like,’ to me. After spending about 4 days in two different Montana hospitals and ringing up some serious hospital bills I’m sure, the verdict was that Brian simply had the worst migraine headache on record.
Meanwhile, back in Three Forks, MT…. without a drummer or lead guitar player, the semi-outdoor concert was under way. With the temperature in the low 40s to upper 30s F, our fingers were frigid and the audience was sparse, though the snow from the night before had already melted. We played until dark and the rodeo cattle vocalized their appreciation after each song. Having spent a lot of time working with Brenn Hill in the last year as he co-produced my latest record, he has become a mentor of mine- and in the back of my mind I could hear the very words I knew he would say to me in this situation, with a smile- “Welcome to the music business!”
Well, we got it done and everyone that was present seemed satisfied. I arrived home Sunday night and Monday morning I tore my knee out, but I had surgery on Thursday and I’m in the fast lane to recovery. Some bronc’s are just like that I guess- they fight in the chutes and give you all kinds of hell. Sometimes things are just going to be a little bit sideways before you even leave the chutes. That’s when you just gotta cowboy up and nod your head anyway.
