Well if some of you don ’ t know , I have a daughter named Hailey ; She is 14 now ( 13 at the time ). She and her friend Savannah went around hustling money by washing cars , planting flowers , doing peoples laundry , and whatever else they could do to raise money , so dear old dad didn ’ t have to bail on the road . The little sweethearts raised $ 150 in one day so we could make it . Bad part was , that ’ s how much it cost in gas round trip . So we all jump in the truck . The kids had saved the day and we were stoked .
I had talked to the owner of the bar that morning when we were about to leave confirming pay , and times , and accommodations ; all which were promised and agreed upon before we ever left and had been for a month . We make it to Clayton and we are loving it . We had the girls with us , the dog , no worries and it was summer and we were on one of the most beautiful lakes I had ever seen in person tucked back in the mountains . At the venue they were getting ready for the show . Big outside stage , lots of folks , and I was very excited . Another good friend of mine Heath , from the band Willie Stradlin out of Fort Smith , Arkansas was there as well and we were playing our sets together . So the night went on and as everyone played their sets , and the people kept on partying as usual . After our set we stayed and watched all the other bands that played . By this point my fiancé , my daughter , her friend , and our dog were all asleep in the truck . It was about 1:30 in the morning .
When it came time to pay out , I was pulled to the side and handed $ 45 out of the 250 promised and agreed upon , and was told sorry , I know its a long drive but that ’ s all he could do . Of course I was not happy . My daughter had worked her butt off trying to get me there and I had already spent twice that In gas getting there . So I of course told him I didn ’ t except that answer . He knew I was mad , but like all drunk people do , he thought I wanted to fight because I had put my back pack in my truck while we were walking to go find me some money . He walked me through the bar , around the building in the back where the stage was and everyone was at . He proceeded to tell me after giving me a fraction of what was owed that if I tried anything else he would split my head . Mind you he is 150 pounds soaking wet . His entourage of goons then surrounded me . As I told them what I wanted to say to them , I prayed I wasn ’ t about to get stomped in the ground and left in the woods in the mountains . I made my way back to the truck as he still tried to follow me with all my family asleep in the truck . I made my point , needless to say there by the truck where we were alone and got in and left . As if that wasn ’ t bad enough , when we got back to the campsite there was about 30 people skinny dipping at our site because they heard we were there and wanted an after party . This was not what I wanted to see when I got back . After an hour of threatening lives and both me and my fiancé on a rampage they left . So now that I thought the weekend couldn ’ t get any worse . We all get in the tent and try to go to sleep .
While I was laying there starring at the stars , I felt something bite my leg ; Again and again and again . I get my flashlight out and our tent was infested with fire ants . I jumped up and put my pants on and was headed outside when I realized my pants were infested as well .
My daughter got up in the commotion and held the flashlight for me so I could kill the ants . The sun was coming up by this point so after we counted 35 ant bites on my legs alone , Me and my daughter slept in the truck . When I finally woke up about 2 hours later , the sun was up , My daughters friend was asleep on the picnic table , and the only one in the tent was my fiancé and the dog . They never got bit one time . There has never been another crazy filled trip all at once like this . We loaded up , went back to Burleson . Called it quits on Clayton and the east side for a while .
This stuff happens all the time and causes artists and bands to really get discouraged about it . Just always remember , this business is brutal and some people are really shady . But if you just keep your head up , keep pushing back and stand your ground for what you love , the good times will out weigh the bad 10 times full . Good luck . Stay away from KB ’ s unless ya like to fight . Actually they closed down now . Go figure .
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