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A day in the life of a touring musician

Roger Glover, Quebec City, June 4, 2011; Photo © Nick Soveiko CC-BY-NC-SA

In the latest installment of Road Life, Roger Glover shares with us events which happened to him during just one day on the road:

Anyway, we recently flew in for a gig at a spa resort in the countryside where a rock festival is annually held. The three-hour journey by van from Gdansk airport went smoothly enough, at least as far as I was concerned. Of the three vans (and a crew bus), one of the van drivers was an awful driver. When I say he was awful, let me relate how Don Airey and Steve Morse described his driving skills. He would come up behind a car much too fast, slam the brakes on, straining everyone’s seat belts, and wait until he had the opportunity to overtake. Then he’d hesitate too long and one can imagine him talking to himself, saying, “What kind of man are you? Go for it, you can make it.” By the time he had convinced himself that he had enough time to overtake, it was too late. He would pound on the accelerator, shoot forward with a stomach-churning lurch, veer around the other vehicle, scatter the oncoming traffic, and leave the passengers shaken but lucky to be alive. He was promptly ‘let go’ as nobody wanted to drive with him again.

Read more on RogerGlover.com. And once there, be sure to check the updated photo gallery.



10 Comments to “A day in the life of a touring musician”:

  1. 1
    StratKat (a.k.a. 'T') says:

    With thanks to Roger Glover for taking the time to share these experiences. I enjoy these behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

  2. 2
    MrPtheDPfan says:

    I do this kind of work . You have to gain the clients complete confidence within the first ten to fifteen minutes and keep them that way 99 % of the time . I’ve driven limo’s and mini busses . There should never be hard braking .

  3. 3
    marcinn says:

    Thanks for yet another great observation, Roger. That’s Poland daily for me. There were movies about that sort of incompetence, and almost Monty Python-like situations. Great text as per usual. Cheers from Poland.

  4. 4
    james jay says:

    As Donald Trump would say “YOUR FIRED”

  5. 5
    dave_wallis says:

    Hahaha!

  6. 6
    Dawg says:

    MAKES ME FEEL RIGHT AT HOME. I LIVE IN ATLANTA.

  7. 7
    Tracy Heyder (aka Zero the Hero) says:

    Daug@6….

    Been to the Underground Mall in Atlanta….Couldn’t agree with you more.
    Actually when I drove there from Miami to see Purple in I believe 2004.

    DIO openned for them. Great show. Can’t say the same for the Mall….LOL.

    Cheers

  8. 8
    Dan Russell says:

    I rode with this guy in NYC. Bloody idiot!

  9. 9
    John H says:

    Oh god…A friend in Hungary let her other friend drive us…around Budapest- It might be the same guy.!His driving style was the same, brake hard, lurch forward, stab the accellator…violent non smooth inputs on every control in the car, gas brakes, steering wheel. Worst driver ever!

  10. 10
    Sami says:

    Yeah, but you guys haven’t been on a ride when my wife’s at the wheel,

    now that’s something else…last time I even made the classic mistake of criticising her driving,

    should’ve known better at my age but at least I got to live another day, HA 🙂

    Cheers

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