Life on Saraya's Tour
Bus
This stuff is from GregBus
Former Tour bus Driver for Saraya
Talk about a Dream Job!
Some
background on me -
I
drove rock n roll tour buses for approximately 12 years (1989 - 2000).
I
worked extensively for Michael Bolton and to a slightly lesser extent,
Dolly Parton.
Also
worked for such notables as -
Bad
Company, Huey Lewis, James Taylor, The Band, KD Lang, Cheap Trick, David
Byrne, Santana, Robert Cray, The Four Tops, Harry Belafonte, Tom Tom Club,
Deborah Harry, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, The Pixies, The Irish Tenors.
I
once drove Frank Sinatra's managers between two gigs in the Midwest.
It
should be noted that working for some of these artists sometimes consisted
of tours lasting only several weeks or months.
My
experience with Saraya, though early in my career, was the most notable
to me, personally, along with working for Miss Dolly.
A
note about the Sam Goody appearance pictures on your website -
In
the third picture (sign3.jpg) - I believe the person wearing the black
vest standing behind Chuck, is Walter. He was the band's stage manager/roadie
during the summer of 1989.
Some
memories of my travels with Saraya -
The
band members were very protective of Sandi. She didn't venture anywhere
without at least one of them, or someone from the crew going along with
her.
Sandi
once told me she liked washing her clothes at laundromats on days off.
She
loved the smell of laundry soap and clean clothes, she said, and, it probably
gave her a sense of normalcy, too.
Everyone
in the band had a great sense of humor. They were all upbeat, quick
witted and enjoyed the bus touring life.
The
movies "Slapshot" and "Spinal Tap" were bus favorites with the guys, along
with video taped performances of Andrew Dice Clay (remember, this was 1989).
There was also an amateur satirical comedy tape called "Red's Tube Bar".
People from metro NJ & NYC probably know what I'm referring to.
Quoted excerpts from that tape found their way into our everyday conversations.
A
very fond memory -
December
1989 - Saraya had just started opening for Bad English and we were doing
a show in downtown Easton, Pa, at the State Theater. It was late
afternoon, Bad English had just finished their soundcheck and they were
being interviewed and photographed in an area of the theatre that was near
the stage. I was watching from the house mix area as Saraya walked
on stage for their soundcheck and cranked up "Get U Ready", which was one
of their usual soundcheck songs. They sounded really hot that day,
and they just nailed it.
I
remember the scene like it was yesterday. All the members of Bad
English - Rock Legends, mind you - Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon, John Waite,
Ricky Philips, Deen Castronovo stopped what they were doing, turned to
the stage and listened appreciatively as Saraya jammed that great song.
For me, it was a special moment, because it was a respected group of Saraya's
peers acknowledging and enjoying their sound.
The
band surprised me one day with a wonderful gift. They had all pitched
in and bought me a black leather jacket, similar to the ones they all owned
(and were wearing on their first album cover). They wanted to toughened
my image, they joked, and teasingly asked if I would smash the sides of
the bus with a sledgehammer, just like Walt the bus driver did, in the
movie "Slapshot". I still have that jacket - and cherish it.
One
day while sitting on the bus at a local NYC gig, Chuck's then wife, "L",
noticed a bag of Oreos next to the driver's seat. When she asked
about them, I remarked that snacking on Oreos helped keep me alert on the
late night drives. A few days later, upon checking into a distant
hotel, the front desk clerk handed me a large package shipped from Long
Island that had arrived ahead of us. It was filled with Oreos!!
Such
was the nature and thougthfulness of the band and their families.
Tim
- For credibility's sake, if you look at the insert of Saraya's second
album, "Blackbird", along with song lyrics and credits, they give "THANX"
to a list of many people.
The
band honored me by including my name in that list - Greg Johnson.
How
many recording artists would give that consideration to their bus driver?
G
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