Life on the road in the music business is mythologised as one long round of alcohol, groupies, drugs, pranks and freedom. And for megastar bands, there’s probably enough of those distractions to alleviate the boredom of the travelling which takes up so much of the time on a tour. One other advantage that The Rolling Stones/U2/Guns ‘n’ Roses etc also enjoyed is that they were backed by enough money to overcome logistical setbacks and problems without too much difficulty. But for those further down the touring chain, the reality is very different, especially if you’re not travelling by plane, train or in a record-company backed Winnebago. And when things go wrong while you’re out on the road, then your future and your sanity is in the lap of the Gods - or at the very least the mechanics at Firestone. Indianapolis is a tune for every musician who strikes out on their own in a van which has done more miles than it should have, and for whom every penny in the tour kitty has to be used for a specific purpose. At this level, unexpected overheads can be life-changing in the worst way possible.
The problem here stems from a broken fuel pump necessitating an expensive repair job and a prolonged stay in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the only sexual activity that Brian Henneman can access is the tow-truck driver’s story of his arrest for sexual misconduct. Indianapolis serves as a reminder of how easy it was to be mired in boredom if you were stuck somewhere in the pre-Internet age. Phone calls had to be rationed to save money for instance, meaning that Henneman had to go 10 days before speaking to his girlfriend, doubtless while waiting for money to be sent through via Western Union. I’m guessing that a lack of available disposable income, after saving up for the repairs on their van, is why Henneman and friends find themselves stuck in a bar which has John Cougar playing on rotation on the jukebox. The only thing sustaining Henneman from killing himself or his bandmates is the thought of the road out of Indianapolis and how the sight of it will inspire him to greater musical heights in the future.
Henneman based the story of Indianapolis around a real life incident which befell him and members of the alt-country band, Uncle Tupelo, whose songwriters Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, both play on the recording; Farrar provides the blistering harmonica solo. Henneman recorded it for a one-off single release after his previous band, Chicken Truck had dissolved. The record attracted enough attention for Henneman to win a new record contract, which he used to invite some of his colleagues in Chicken Truck to form a new band with him, The Bottle Rockets, which would last up to 2021. On their 1997 album, 24 Hours a Day, The Bottle Rockets would record a new version of Indianapolis.
Peel really liked Indianapolis, and was sure that Andy Kershaw would like it as well. However, the copy that Peel had got for him was faulty, so he ended up playing the second purchase of the record that he had made for Kershaw, on this programme.
Video courtesy of John Coulter.
No comments:
Post a Comment