Four am. The Alarm!!! I really didn't want to hear that go off this morning, since I went to bed at 1. Six egg whites and 2 bagels and my extra strong iced tea and I'm off to CJ and Gary's house to catch the 4 hour ride to LaGrange, Kentucky for our first prison gig. The four of us: CJ ,Gary, myself and Marcy (who is our main band supporter, we couldn't do a lot of stuff without her)  piled into the pickup truck like a sardine can to head over to the gas station and get a can of fix a flat. It worked. Yea! Road tr-i-i-p.  We met up with our bandmate Mike McIllwain at Franklin, Kentucky, so I could ride with him and spread out. Hmm, putting a Marshall stack and head and 2 guitars in a Mini Cooper…just call me the contortionist.  Those Coopers cruise at a easy 100 mph and ya can't even tell it. Sure glad all those cops had people already pulled over.

The arrival! I really thought this was a minimum security place, but after driving along side the rows and rows of razor wire the more it made me think, “What are we getting into?!”  I sho’ don't wanna see maximum.  Security checks and gate openings and closings were exactly like the movies. Clank! Slam! Clank! No cameras or phones. It would've been great to document this whole day.

CJ, our bandleader, was pulling the U-Haul trailer through those gates. The guards were betting he couldn't do it. Ha!!! One try and he got through the maze of 90 degree turns. It was truly amazing to watch. There was a strange eerie quietness throughout the complex. All the buildings are painted white inside and out. Each building is identified with big numbers and letters. We drive 100 yards down to the gym. Again that eerie quietness, nothing but radio chatter from guards in the towers with more razor wire around everything. I kept thinking, "Brubaker".

We loaded into the gym and start setting up. We set up some more and a little more and we keep plugging things together. The inmates were let in while we were still setting up and we got our mic check in. There were a few hoops and hollers from the guys as they rustled around for a good place to sit.

We started our set with “La Grange” from ZZ Top...what else could it be?! We continue to rock out on some classic tunes. They ate it up. We did too. The applause was astounding. While we played, they really didn't scream or yell or anything...they just stared with wide eyes and big smiles and some singing along. We could see a few feet a patting and some thumbs in the air. Come to find out they were under order not to get out of hand. So they could only let it out during the applause. Walter Jowers also threw in, "Jail House Rock" and "I Fought the Law," just to make to make them feel at home.

The Toluenes - Jamon and Dan part of the Outfit played with us and went through their original set to a loud thundering applause. Out of the straight 1 1/2 hours of  tunes we played, "Simple Man" and "Can't Ya See"  had the biggest yells from those 120 inmates. We had 4 Skynyrd songs picked for them and they loved it. They loved Bad Company and the Doobies tunes also. I must say that after we had to stop at 3:20  and they were marched out for head count, that's when it hit me that this was not just a gig. This was a show.This was something special. It was a concert. This was 10 times better than being in a bar with a bunch of drunks who will never remember who you were the next day. These guys will remember what we did for them and there's a reason why. They worked and made things for their arts and crafts fair to get money, so they could have entertainment. Well, they got it brother!!!! We kicked ass!! We gave them a show.

I will say that this was one of the all time top music experiences of this bass players life, and life changing, as well.   

As we loaded up the U-Haul trailer and said our goodbyes and thanks to Karen [Rec. Director Karen Heath] (who said she loved the show), CJ proceeded to navigate back through the gates like the pro he is. The thought hit me, I'm sure it did everyone else also, that we get to leave this place and go down the street to Cracker Barrel for supper while these gates slam… locking those guys in there. I know that you will say that they belong in there. Well yeah, probably so. Those tv shows will not give you the feeling of what its like to go in there, though. It's totally different to be there. There is a vibe when you get in there. We were given a real life perspective that day.

Riding down the freeway, watching the sun set over those beautiful Kentucky farmland hills with grazing cattle, ya gotta say to yourself, “Thank you, Lord, it sure is good to be free.”