Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind...

Signs
And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you
woah!
Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

Just got an urgent (okay, whimsical) call from Johnny Gumbo posing the question: Who sang the song Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, was it Buffalo Springfield? I knew it wasn't Buffalo Springfield and I was pretty sure it was one of those one-hit-wonder bands, but I couldn't remember who. So, where does one go for such important information? The internets, of course, that's why Al Gore invented them!

Here's the song, by answer here

Johnny Gumbo Party Band on tour...

Johnny Gumbo captured during a break between sets in Colorado. Gumbo says that he's excited about his band's new album, which is getting rave reviews in obscure, pointless music blogs like the following:

Musicblogs-R-Us- After playing endless shows in the scumy coffee houses of Whocaresville, Washington in the 1960's, The Johnny Gumbo Party Band found themselves at the top of the the folk scene in 1969 with their debut album, This Thang Too Spicy For Ya?. The band's latest album, Western Horizons, hijacks Gumbo's poignant vocals with delicate finger-picked guitar to evoke simply stunning compositions. With standout tracks like "Accidents, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention," and "Intersections are for stopping??" dominating radio airwaves far and wide, The Johnny Gumbo Party Band is an essential addition to any music lover's library

First Ike, now Hattie...

Eulogy to Hattie from Johnny Gumbo:

Hattie, the vagabond parakeet and traveling companion to jgumbo, cashed in her chips on Saturday after a long and memorable life filled with travel and song. Most renowned for her long distant jaunts starting with her trip from her birthplace, Dayton, OH, in 1999 by car to Southington, CT, and, most recently, cross country over 3000 miles from CT to Spokane, WA, in the passenger seat of a rental truck, Miss Hattie was loved and admired by all who knew her. She could break out in song at any time and loved the back and forth banter of a good conversation. Her favorite singing companions were Willie Nelson (loved "On the Road Again") and Jimmy Buffett (favorite - "Why don't we get drunk and screw"). Farewell, Miss Hattie. May your days be filled with free flight. We will miss you. - JG

Gumbo Across America....a man and his shit arrive home

The very latest in reality programming - Johnny Gumbo, friend/ festival co-ordinator/ Ph.D./ Rotarian/ Nascar aficionado/ snakecharmer/ philosopher/ rogue, is leaving Connecticut and is making his way to the Great Northwest in a sleek rented UHaul. Stay tuned for reports EXCLUSIVELY on johnnykmusic....

Final episode- Well, I've been travelin' down the road, just to loosen my load:
With trumpets blaring and the streets lined with curious onlookers, the mighty trio of jg, Hattie and Flat Stanleyette rolled into Spokane late Sunday afternoon welcomed by a smiling and happy "JD" (jg's dad). The trip through western MT and the panhandle of ID crossed mountain passes and high river gorges with rain and snow testing the driving skill of jg, affectionately known to his trucker buddies on the CB as "rental guy".

The seven day trip 'cross country covered 3,070 miles through 11 states and took in some spectacular and lesser known sights (see previous episodes) that usually don't get mentioned in the flashy travel journals. Leave it to jg and his crew to go the unorthodox route. jg even picked up a possible job opportunity next summer coordinating the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge just outside Missoula, MT. They say you can really have a ball there.

Some observations along the way:

trains don't have cabooses anymore,

when you're older, you take advantage of stopping at most rest stops,

parakeets and paper stick figures make great traveling companions and don't cost much to entertain,

Cheyenne is the largest city in WY and has only 10,000 more people than Southington,

when you drive 'cross country, you don't get jet lag,

once you get past IL, there are more pick-ups on the road than SUV's,

rental trucks use a lot of gas,

it's pretty lonely driving when you can't pick up an FM or AM radio station, and

never, ever minimize the importance of having good friends.

The trio hopes you enjoyed following along on this trip. Thanks to jk for hosting the blog and adding some flair. And if you ever get out to the great Northwest, be sure to let us know. "We'll keep the light on for ya."

Previously, on Gumbo Across America:

Prologue

Episode #1 Headin' out

Episode #2 Gumbo rolls into Indiana; citizens warned to approach with caution

Episode #3 Just point it west and drive

Episode #4 High plains drifter

Glimpses of Johnny Gumbo on the road


View Larger Map

Gumbo Across America....a man and his shit goin' home

The very latest in reality programming - Johnny Gumbo, friend/ festival co-ordinator/ Ph.D./ Rotarian/ Nascar aficionado/ snakecharmer/ philosopher/ rogue, is leaving Connecticut and is making his way to the Great Northwest in a sleek rented UHaul. Stay tuned for reports EXCLUSIVELY on johnnykmusic....

Episode #4- High Plains Drifter
jg, Hattie and Flat Stanleyette settled into their luxurious room at the Comfort Inn in Livingston, MT, for their last nite on the road. Dinner was one of the best steaks jg's ever had (outside AJ's) at the Montana Rib & Chop House, where all the guys at the bar either had handle-bar mustaches and wore cowboy hats or had full beards and wore cammy baseball hats. The women....well, let's just say they would keep you warm at night.

Traveling across the plains of western NE, eastern WY, and central MT over the past two days, the trio got a full dose of "Big Sky" country. The scenery (some would call it stark desolation) was awe inspiring, going on and on with great horizons, spectacular sunsets and lots and lots of nothingness but sage brush, plains grass, antelope herds, corn fields, slow elk (cattle for you easterners), and small towns with such names as "Big Timber", "Lodge Grass", "Buffalo", "Gothenberg", and "Chugwater". And the sights..."Museum of the Prairie Pioneer", "Great River Bend Archway Monument" (in case you don't want to stop, they built it right over I-80), the "Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles", "Buffalo Bills Ranch site", the "Little Bighorn Battlefield", and "Prairie Dog Town State Park". Thankfully, the speed limit across the plains is 75 so you have to take in the sights quickly. And they did get a chance on Saturday to grab a beer at the Mint (Cowboy) Bar in Sheridan,WY, and see the end of the Ohio State - Michigan game (go Buckeyes).

Sunday will begin the ascent into the Montana Rockies for the final descent into Spokane. The snow covered mountains are now very visible and majestic. Let's hope the trio can negotiate the mountain passes without any problems. But then again, they are without fear. They're "truckers". Catch you on the flip side! (....singin', altogether now, "Six days on the road and we're gonna make it home tonight.")

Previously, on Gumbo Across America:

Prologue

Episode #1 Headin' out

Episode #2 Gumbo rolls into Indiana; citizens warned to approach with caution

Episode #3

Just point it west and drive

Gumbo Across America....a man and his shit goin' home

The very latest in reality programming - Johnny Gumbo, friend/ festival co-ordinator/ Ph.D./ Rotarian/ Nascar aficionado/ snakecharmer/ philosopher/ rogue, is leaving Connecticut and is making his way to the Great Northwest in a sleek rented UHaul. Stay tuned for reports EXCLUSIVELY on johnnykmusic....

Episode #2 - Gumbo rolls into Indiana; citizens warned to approach with caution

jg and his trusty sidekick, Hattie the Parakeet, motored into Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on the second day of their cross country trek. He was stopping off to visit his sister and her family who always welcome him affectionately when he visits, nod their heads, and wonder "What is Crazy Uncle John up to now?".

With a big plate of biscuits and gravy under his belt and Johnny Cash on the CD, jg began his push further into the "Heartland" on Tuesday with high hopes of seeing "what this great land of ours is all about". He was not disappointed. Passing such memorable sights along the way such as the The National Bicycle Museum and the home of Charles Kettering, the inventor of the automobile self-starter, jg only wished he had more time to stop and take it all in. But the life of a cross country trucker is always driven by the clock and sentimentality takes a back seat. Maybe someday.

There was one moment of "high anxiety" on the day's trip. Uncharacteristically, jg found himself on a lone stretch of US 30 in western Ohio with a gas gauge approaching empty. He and Hattie (pictured at right) had been immersed in listening to a local CW radio station and had failed to perform the mandatory instrument cross check that all professional drivers do automatically. With no fuel stops in sight on the highway, he was forced to take a side road off the beaten path and ended up at a Marathon gas station (one of only two in town) in Van Wert, OH. The locals took him in, as well as his $100 gas bill, wished him well and sent him on his way.

jg and Hattie will stay in Ft. Wayne for a day, happily indulge his neice and nephew, and then head out on Thursday for a two day trip across the great abyss of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska on the way to visit an aunt and uncle in Cheyenne, WY (yes, there are real cowboys there, and the sheep are really scared). 'Til then...."On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again....

Previously, on Gumbo Across America:

Prologue

Episode #1 -

Gumbo Across America....a man and his shit goin' home

The very latest in reality programming - Johnny Gumbo, friend/ festival co-ordinator/ Ph.D./ Rotarian/ Nascar aficionado/ snakecharmer/ philosopher/ rogue, is leaving Connecticut and is making his way to the Great Northwest in a sleek rented UHaul. Stay tuned for reports EXCLUSIVELY on johnnykmusic....

Episode #1 - After somewhat of a late start Monday morning, jg transgressed (not to be confused with transgendered- not that there's anything wrong with that) CT, NY, and all of PA without incident before settling in for the nite at a little roadside motel, aptly named the "Sleep Inn", outside the Tire Capital of the World, Akron, OH. He and his trucker buddies traded leads with their convoy stopping only once for gas ("Yes sir, that's right. $84 for a fill-up) and needed only 2 meals (breakfast: short stack, 2 scrambled, side sausage, OJ & coffee; dinner: chicken-fried steak with gravy, mashed pots, deep fried okra and cornbread). His traveling companion, Hattie the Parakeet, provided some harmony when jg would burst out in song to one of the several CD's played along the way (The Best of the Eagles, Vol. I, getting a double play) and seemed only slightly dazed at the end of the day's ride. Can she go the distance?

All in all a good start. And thanks to his packing buddies, Steve "Gotta stop for a smoke" Parsons, Ronnie "Let's pack it this way" Klein and Johnny "Just get it in the truck, gotta a Browns' game to go to" Kennedy, the load stayed put. One down, six to go. - Prologue

Gumbo in the great northwest???....

"I'm a-goin' home to Washington," Johnny Gumbo drawls as he strolls through downtown Southington one last time. "After all these years, I'm sick of the shit around here. Jesus, you can't even find a decent damn restaurant around," he growls, waving disgustedly at a noted Center Street eatery he is rumored to have frequented. "And then," he fumes, "if you ask a friend to freeload a truck for a mere six months or so, and who hasn't, he gives you a piece of CRAP! And they can stick that stupid Apple Harvest Festival up their ass, 'cause they ain't gonna have Johnny Gumbo to push around anymore. So, I've finally made up my mind. I'm goin' out West, where men are men and sheep are scared." Gumbo says that he's excited about his band's (The Johnny Gumbo Party Band) new album, which is getting rave reviews in obscure, pointless music blogs like the following:

Musicblogs-R-Us- After playing endless shows in the scumy coffee houses of Whocaresville, Washington in the 1960's, The Johnny Gumbo Party Band found themselves at the top of the the folk scene in 1969 with their debut album, This Thang Too Spicy For Ya?. The band's latest album, Western Horizons, hijacks Gumbo's poignant vocals with delicate finger-picked guitar to evoke simply stunning compositions. With standout tracks like "Accidents, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention," and "Intersections are overrated" dominating radio airwaves far and wide, The Johnny Gumbo Party Band is an essential addition to any music lover's library.