1985
we were out on the side of the building. we had finished sound check and would be
getting fed soon. gavin was smoking a cigarette. when he was about halfway
through with it he rolled the lit end back and forth on the wall until the ember was
off. then he put the half cigarette back in the box
i’d never seen anyone do that before. it struck me as something a hobo would do.
then i realized we had a lot in common with hobos
going from town to town, waiting behind a bar for a meal, staying at cheap
motels or sleeping on someone’s floor if they offered
while on the road we were paid per diems. our daily stipend was $10 when things
were going well, $5 when money got tight. so we learned to get by on $5 a day.
if we had a show that night we would be fed dinner, so we could spend more on
breakfast and lunch. the guys who smoked had an added expense
the vast majority of meals were eaten at fast food places along the highway.
i remember one day when every meal stop was mcdonald’s
by dinner i was so sick of it i couldn’t eat there again
so i bought some fig newtons at the gas station
that was the only other place open