Chicago Disaster/Stuck in Parma

We headed out to play the Elbo room in Chicago. Our new band van was finally ready to go, and the trip promised to be a comfortable, relaxing journey. The first hour and a half of the journey went smoothly; everyone was happily enjoying movies and Nintendo in the back. And then we reached: PARMA, MI. As if by some force, as soon as we entered Parma territory, the van started to get a little rocky and proceeded to die going 70 in the middle of the highway. The battery light was on, so we figured it to be an easy fix. We had it towed into a Parma mechanic, and headed out to find some food (not an easy venture in what we saw of this little town.) We had lost some time on our schedule, but we remained optimistic. This was until we returned to the mechanic who informed us that our engine had completely seized and the van would be undriveable without a new one. This was not the news we were hoping for. We scrambled around and debated throwing in the towel and calling the venue. But, once again, our personal heroes, Keith and Diane Robinson came to save us with a slew of trucks that we were able to pack into in order to get to Chicago. Because of them, we made it to the Elbo room on time (unshowered as we were), had a great show (the staff at The Elbo room are some of the nicest we've met), hung out on an art loft rooftop, met with some great people, and ended the night at a hip hop dance party in the tonic room. Thanks to our buddy Chris Fortuna for letting us crash at his place, and thanks to everyone who came out. All in all it was a great time, but it never would have been possible without Keith and Diane; thank you so much for your help and support!!




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