Weather or Not

[J Wilson]

I got flak from my former band once when we had a gig on an evening when we were in the process of getting a heavy, wet snow. Started out as a hint of freezing rain, which meant NO traction close to the road surface. Gig started at 7 across town at a spot which was up a pretty significant incline - which meant trouble getting up AND down - and by the time I tried to leave my house at 5/5:30, we already had about 4 inches of unplowed snow on the roads. My car was sliding and losing traction on the roads without even touching the brakes - just low gear and engine braking. I got as far as the on-ramp and when I tried to turn.... I couldn't. Managed to turn around safely at a church parking lot down the road and headed right back home, and my bandmates were peeved. The gig paid maybe $100. Not worth wrecking my car or the medical bills if I got in an accident, which definitely almost happened. I learned an important lesson about my bandmates and their 'values' that evening.

THIS.

My feelings exactly. How many gigs am I gonna miss from the hospital ? Five will getcha ten when you finally hear from them, 'Well we HAD TO hire someone who can make the gigs'.

 

[SLO Surfer]

I know this post is about a different part of the country, but when I lived in Reno for 3 years snow just meant life as normal, other than a few 2WD cars getting stuck in the middle of the road, buried under snow, and left there for a few days until the driver could come back and drive it away.

But for musicians, we just gigged. Have a show up in Truckee or down in South Lake Tahoe? We would load up and drive over Donner Pass through a snow storm to get to the gig. And the audience would come out too. I don’t remember a gig ever getting cancelled due to weather in Reno/Tahoe. Sometimes it meant I could get a few good powder runs in at the ski resort before the gig.

 

[Stubb]

We're three days into a blow here in West Michigan. I'm a teacher, and yesterday and today were snow days. I've allegedly got a rehearsal tonight 20 minutes from home, but am happy to play with reasonable people who can handle a cancelled practice for conditions like these. We've never had a gig snowed out, knock wood, but we did have a gig cancelled for wildfire smoke one year. I thought I left that behind when we moved from Montana, but, well, things are changing.

 

[gln1955]

I've been lucky with my current band. We've only had one winter gig cancelled in the past four years. We don't get very much snow here in SW Ohio. Maybe one or two significant (6" or more) storms a year, sometimes none. Ice is more problematic. I grew up near Erie PA, so driving in snow is no issue , but prefer not to do my skating in a car. We've played gigs under Level 1 snow emergencies and people turn out just the same.

 

[ardgedee]

They are constructed with banked turns like a NASCAR track, so you can make your big turn on them at highway speeds without slowing. When those roads are covered with icy rain (not snow) they are instantly impassible, no matter how good a driver you think you are.

Not exclusive to the southern US. The Ohio Turnpike in the eastern part of the state has some high-speed banked turns over terrain and during major snowstorms I've seen drivers struggle trying to find a speed that neither makes them spin out onto the median nor slide into the inside of the turn. Not the most brilliant bit of engineering because major snowstorms are not unusual in that part of the country.

 

[Hasty]

Snow tires and pessimism.

What's a snow tire? As a Texan I've only heard rumors of these mythical unicorns of transportation.

@Pocket Dave remember the dreaded "cobblestone ice" storm of 2013 down here? I heard Pete Delkus say we might see another one with this storm.

For those of you not familiar, it was a nasty ice storm that hit DFW and as the snow/sleet/ice continually melted and refroze it make these nasty solid sheets of ice on all the roads that made the Paris Roubaix race seem like childs play. I remember driving an ambulance on those roads and it rattled the teeth out of my head. It was miserable and dangerous for everyone involved.

We definitely do not have the infrastructure for that. I've got two gigs this weekend and I'm ready to cancel them at a moments notice with absolutely no regrets. Subaru or no Subaru.

 

[Topkat13]

Stay inside and keep the thermostat ~ 70 degrees.

 

[logdrum]

As a comparison, my friend working with the Denver Public School system said, she does not remember any snow day cancellation from the time she started and when she retired 30 years. In Albuquerque we do it often but I think they just prefer to have school day cancellations.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Drink lots of beer and watch TV.

View attachment 7413654 View attachment 7413657

I play Bass..!?

 

[Passinwind]

I think this is racial memory from the Blizzard of 78. I was living in Kenmore Square in Boston at that time. There was no food in the supermarkets by the end of the week. The Red Cross ended up distributing rations from the street.

Yep, I was there too. When the packie down past Mass Ave finally opened up the line was around the block. The Greek all night joint in the Square was officially closed at some point, but they made serious bank before the food ran out.

 

[pepj]

We do a few waterfront gigs and these get cancelled by local authority if too windy.
That works for the band too because the chill wind whipping off the water might not be so comfortable. Everyone accepts these late calls and mostly welcomes them. Cold weather kills of an audience too, mostly.
No way am I playing 60 degrees..

 

[turf3]

I think the tribal memories of 78 linger on in New England and make them readily willing to cancel things if travel looks dicey. Many many times I've been sent home at noon due to impending heavy snow.

 

[logdrum]

I'm in Portland where an inch of snow can shut down the city. We just stay home and complain.

I was surprised by this because the state does get a healthy amount snow is a mountain state and I always equate it with outdoorsy types. I was on a company business trip and we flew in about 10AM and me and my boss cannot understand why everyone decided to drive slow when it was still safe at 50 mph. By the time we got to Beaverton and Hillsboro, people were abandoning Subarus , 4Runners and Jeeps on the highway. He was from Mass and I've lived in Vermont and MN, so it really was no big deal, easy on the gas brake/slow down early I've never seen so many AWD cars abandoned for less than 3 inches with no ice or sleet yet. We were told that is quite normal or even recommended. Our meetings ended up being done from our hotel rooms

I think 90% of New Mexico roads are not paved and most likely not going to be snow serviced unless done privately. So normal for people to fend for themselves to drive through., because most of the resources will be to keep the major highways cleaned up first and hopefully it will melt the next few days. Some towns like Santa Fe and Taos have more plows per square mile because the snow sticks longer and they are also ski towns.

Also note to Midwest and NE folks, there is a difference when mountains and cliffs are involved. Like I said, the road is likely not going to be plowed or salted and a little spill can mean 300 ft down a cliff. In California, they require chains if there is snow in the mountain roads and it does not matter if you are from Vermont with a capable AWD car, they will not let you through

 

[bassfran]

I can’t speak for anyone else but a lot of us do this-

My heart goes out to our eastern neighbors across the lake and that huge pile up that happened.

Northern WI, MN, CO, and Buffalo- THAT’s what I would call Serious Weather. Respect.

I was born here in winter and it’s still my favorite time of year. I don’t know how ya’ll deal with 100F+ temps down there, honestly.

 

[Pocket Dave]

With the changes going on with the Northern jet stream "untethered" wagging like a dog's tail due to Arctic heating, I expect places like Texas will have to invest in some of that ultra cold snow infrastructure so people can at least have "continuity of basic services". Weather extremes (including fire and flood) may be brief and rare, but it only takes once.

Cities like Dallas/Fort Worth have a fleet of spreaders - problem is when freezing rain continue to fall. Even with changes in jet stream, there aren't enough snow days a year to warrant plows.

 

[HolmeBass]

That time of year again in N. Texas - usually happens toward the end of January/beginning of February - ICY ROADS, CANCELLED GIGS.

We're watching out for a possible Winter storm coming in late night Friday - about the time we'll be loading out. Current forecast has temps by then in the 20's (F) so the 14 overpasses I have to traverse to get home from Dallas to Fort Worth will probably be at risk.

Saturday evening's gig looks like a complete washout if the forecast sticks. So much so that I accepted a Sunday gig to make up for some lost revenue, which is also in jeopardy of cancellation if the roads don't thaw or if they re-freeze with lighter Sunday evening traffic (also a Dallas gig).

Don't you just love this time of year?

What do you folks do in the midwest and northeast US to cope?

Reschedule and hope it works out. We have an upcoming Saturday night gig that looks like it will get snowed out in all probability.

 

[allen_m]

This thread reminded me of one of my favorite gig stories. We were a pretty tight four piece country band in Arkansas in the early eighties and stayed pretty busy playing the bars and fraternal lodges as well as being the core of a weekly jamboree style show at an old theater. We agreed to play a dancehall for a cut of the door. $5 per couple. The snow began late morning and by showtime about 8 inches on the ground and roads but the owner didn’t cancel so neither did we. One couple showed up. We played four hours for them. I guess the owner felt bad because he “upped” our share to 80%. We each got one dollar, made it home safely, and had a story to remember.

 

[Evanforbass]

my cover band (Denver) plays often up the mountain in Breckenridge, which is a blast during ski season. I've only had to drive up once during a storm, but with AWD, snow tires, and the fairly decent plowing/salting of our DOT, it wasn't too harrowing. Having lived in North Carolina, as well as the northeast, I can confirm that places with anomalous snowfall/ice like TX are pretty dangerous when it happens

 

[turf3]

Cities like Dallas/Fort Worth have a fleet of spreaders - problem is when freezing rain continue to fall. Even with changes in jet stream, there aren't enough snow days a year to warrant plows.

And they don't use full salt like up north. That mixture of sand and "some other stuff" isn't very effective. Watch how much SALT they spread before a snow in Boston, for a contrast. And it's good ol' sodium chloride, you can tell by the cubic crystals.

 

[Passinwind]

I was surprised by this because the state does get a healthy amount snow is a mountain state and I always equate it with outdoorsy types. I was on a company business trip and we flew in about 10AM and me and my boss cannot understand why everyone decided to drive slow when it was still safe at 50 mph. By the time we got to Beaverton and Hillsboro, people were abandoning Subarus , 4Runners and Jeeps on the highway. He was from Mass and I've lived in Vermont and MN, so it really was no big deal, easy on the gas brake/slow down early I've never seen so many AWD cars abandoned for less than 3 inches with no ice or sleet yet. We were told that is quite normal or even recommended. Our meetings ended up being done from our hotel rooms

It's much different just to the east of Portland. I-84 going out to the Gorge can be world class hell, but once you get here it's more or less ski town mentality and I've driven to many gigs in similar conditions to my time in northern VT. But in my area it's all about altitude, and I live at ~200 feet ASL. My friends who live just up the hill may have a very different take, and with good reason.