You can run you can hide...

...but you can't escape Anna SUPERNOVA's love. Check it out - The Beta issue of the all New FEEDtheVan.com!

Note that you need to have Quicktime installed on your computer to view the site correctly. Download it here.
Also note that the site front page isn't working very smoothly in Internet Explorer yet. It should be soon, but for now you can view it in Mozilla Firefox.

Comments/Suggestions gladly accepted!

Signing off (passing out)...

~ Nate

You Better Believe It!

Another crazy weekend plus 2 for this Mann.

Saturday:

Woke up at the Days Inn, brewed up the free coffee, took a shower, met a Northern Irishman and his son (his business website) who are traveling all around the country in there three-wheel Honda Motorcycle and pull-behind luggage trailer (which he buys the kits, puts them together, and sells them back home in Ireland) and then... the car didn't start, unsurprisingly enough (remember, the alternator is bad.) I got a jump from the guy working the front desk. This got me about three blocks downtown, since the Saint Patricks Day Parade (which I missed playing in for the first time in 4 years) was just beginning and traffic was crazy. So, I called the Good Samaritan and the best car mechanic friend I know, Tim McMeeken. He arrived within 25 minutes with 20-some foot jumper cables that never lacked the length needed for a convenient jump. So we jumped the Bimmer not once, not twice (in the left turn lane onto the freeway - we looked like two uninsured Mexicans trying to get away before the cops arrive) but three times (on 77-Southbound, this is where we swapped batteries) to get it back to his house where he could replace the alternator. Seeing that the job would take more time then the time allotted before my first gig at 4:45, I called up none other than Johnny Blazed (aka my Manager... for the night.)

He came and picked me up from Tim's in his "I think I can" Mercedes and we were on our way to the first gig, a private party. It went well, they want me back next year, but the best part, the best part of the gig was at the end of it all, when I was going to John's Mercedes where he was waiting to pick me up. As I approached the vehicle two little girls were riding on their bicycles. One of them said to the other, "Don't go over there! There's a stranger over there!" I looked "over there" and there was John, sitting there in his 1983 Mercedes loaded with body putty and worn off grey paint, and I couldn't help but to laugh. I reassured the little girls that John is surely not a stranger, but I don't know if they ever believed me. So on to the next gig...

It went in this order:

Dinner
Picasso's Pizza & Sports Bar on East Blvd.
Big Ben's English Pub on Providence Rd.
Union Station Restaurant & Bar in Gastonia
Hef's Lounge and the Wine Bar next to it on Woodlawn (under Jason's Deli)
Ri Ra Uptown
5th & Tryon

It all ended uptown at 5th & Tryon Street around 3am playing for loads of people for tips on the street corner.

Sunday:

Woke up late... of course. My brother Dustin and his wife Crystal were in town at my brother Peter's for a short visit. They came and picked me up at David Johnson's in Matthews, where I'm staying for now, and took me to Peter's where we all hung out, ate pizza, and watched some basketball. Check the pic (who's taller? Look at their feet!) After Dustin & Crystal left back up to Virginia where Dustin was going to check out a law school I took Peter's car and, with some help from Tim again, picked up my freshly fixed car that he had fixed for me. Goodnight.

Monday:

Finally got a hit in with John. Today's the day I'm supposed to check out the "New" van that I held the seller up from selling for almost a month now. Some things fell through in trying to get it all together before dark, so it had to wait until Tuesday, aka today.

Tuesday:

I woke up at a decent hour today - finally back on schedule. I made some phone calls, booked a piping gig for a Memorial Service this Friday and for April 7th, then waited up for Dirk Allman, my Historian / Junk Dealer friend who is quite an interesting fellow ('fella' for Southerners.) Yet he was unable to come over to pick me up as his mother got sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. I pray all is okay with your Mother, Dirk! So I drove over to look at the van on my own.

I test drove it. It ran very solidly, but had some little things wrong with it (only one headlight working, and other small issues like that) as it hadn't been driven in quite some time, at least not anywhere far. I spoke for a while on the phone with Tommy Lucas, the owner, who is now in Hawaii, about all the details of the vehicle, and believe me there are a lot. Anyway, to make a long story short, I just purchased my first home today (see pic - that's the Title and the keys I'm holding.) Time to re-vamp the campaign!

Directly afterward I got my first hit in with Tim Wilkison himself, did some of his recommended drills on the ball machine, and called it a day.

I'm in Charlotte and I'm still loving every minute of it.

Signing off...

~ Nate

There's No Place Like Home

I'm back in Charlotte, North Carolina! I arrived at around 9am this morning with John Valenti (JohnnyBlazed.com.)

We traveled from Houston, TX to Cocoa Beach, Florida, dropped off John's bus, loaded everything up into his old diesel Mercedes which was sitting there for a few months and had 480,000 miles on it (yep!) and drove it up to Charlotte all through the night. Note that the bus's max speed is about 65 with the wind at its back and the Mercedes can't be driven over 70 or it will shake violently.

So we went up to North Charlotte and slept on Alex McMeeken's couches (also where my ol' Bimmer was sitting for three months) and woke up around 2pm. I tried starting up the Bimmer, but no luck. We tried jumping it and it would start, but as soon as the jumper cables were taken off it would immediately shut off. So then we headed to Wal-Mart where Alex had to get something and I was able to have my battery checked there... where it just happened to be purchased from originally. It ended up being dead but I got a partial refund since it was still under warranty (yes!).

After installing the new battery the Silver Bullet started up immediately. So then I was on the road and it was about 5:30 or so. It was then time to work on getting gigs for tomorrow - Saint Patrick's Day! I filled my schedule, but ran into another problem, the lights were dimming on the bimmer... and fast, to the point where it almost stalled. After a few phone calls I realized it is most likely the alternator. But this was about 3 hours ago and I didn't want anybody to come pick me up downtown, as I would have to come back to get my car anyway and that's a lot of trouble for someone to go through. So, after continuing walking the Charlotte uptown streets to finish filling my schedule I decided to try to sleep in the car. That didn't work, so then I went to catch a cab on the street. The rate was $50 to go to Matthews where my friend David Johnson lives where I would be staying for the night. I got him down to $40 but that still wasn't cheap enough to have to drive back into town again anyway. So, I started the Silver Bullet up again with no lights, slipped her down the back streets and into the Days Inn parking lot where I got a room for $45 bucks... and a wireless internet connection.
________________

Dispelling some myths:

Myth: Some people thought I was going to South Padre Island to party with the Spring Breakers.
Fact: I didn't go there at all to party with the Spring Breakers, but rather to keep my van in a good location where it would be likely to be sold. In fact I got several hours of practice in with John every day while I was there... not to mention running every morning on the beach. I was up late only one night and that was to play my pipes for tips - which I did very well by the way.

Myth: I've been getting the question of how I'm gonna keep my FEEDtheVAN site up if I sold the van... and people are wondering if it is just a scam to get money for the tour.
Fact: FEEDtheVAN.com will be sporting the all new Dodge Xplorer Camper Van I will be purchasing on Monday in Charlotte, which I've been planning to purchase for almost a month now. The FEEDtheVAN.com website is strictly a business venture and will take some time in getting going, but once it does, I believe it will spread like wildfire across the U.S. and be a great investment for all who decide to purchase an ad.

I know I should be in bed, but I had to get the word out.

The morning begins a new day.

Signing off...

~ Nate

SOLD!!!

Big Blue was officially sold yesterday afternoon in Harlingen, Texas. She started the day broken down at the Uncle Buggies Dune Buggy Rental on South Padre Island and ended the day in someone else's hands... Thank God! The night before last her surpantine belt broke off while driving on the island, so I had it towed off the island and fixed the next morning.

The sale happened like this:

John and I were caravaning our way towards Harlingen, where the full-size Double Dragon Arcade game his brother in Houston bought on eBay was located. Once we arrived at a spot where we could drive together without doubling both vehicles back to where we were ultimately going I left Big Blue in a Citgo parking spot and it wasn't 20 minutes, just hangin' out at Joe Vega - The Arcade Guy's house - that I received a call from someone interested in Big Blue. When we came back to where she was resting there must have been four Mexicans waiting there ready to check out Big Blue. After a brief test drive and run through of the vehicle, they were ready to buy. So we swapped all of my stuff out of Big Blue and put in into John's Road Sailor mini-bus, wrote up a bill of sale, did the transaction and headed onward and upward.

The Journey continues in Houston - We'll be playing in New Orleans tonight...

Signing off...

~ Nate

P.S. I made $100 in tips one night playing my pipes on South Padre to Spring Breakers and in pubs as well. $82 was of that was made up of ones.

Beached... and Puzzled...

Well, here I am on South Padre Island, in my van, all the tourneys here in South Texas are finally done, and I have a dilemma. Here it is:

As you know, I put my van up for sale here in Texas. Well, I have actually had several buyers here, but one major problem. I haven't been able to locate the Title. It is nowhere to be found in the van, and the only other place it could be is in Charlotte with my friends Tim & Alex McMeekan, where I left all of the rest of my stuff... and my car. They have looked up, down, left, and right and have not found it either. So, as you also know I was gonna ride back with John Valenti in his mini-bus (see pic.) He is here also on South Padre Island. So today I filled out an application to get a duplicate title and mailed it out to Charlotte, but even then it will take 15 days to get the new Title once they receive the app. Staying on South Padre is not an option, as I have to be back in Charlotte by the 11th or 12th to begin working and training with Tim Wilkison, as I've given my word I would do. Not to mention, March 17th is St. Patty's Day and I already have one gig lined up and probably will obtain several more once I get back to Charlotte.

So what do I do now??? That is the big question. I spoke with John this evening and he is thinking about not going all the way back to Charlotte, as the next tournament will be in Mobile, Alabama, which is right on the way back. He will only have to pay $30 more in gas to travel there on his own, so it doesn't look too practical to him to travel all the way to Charlotte with me. If this is the case, then it's time to FEED the VAN and haul my van back to Charlotte in Big Blue one last time, then sell her when I get my Title in the mail there. In essence, it is a 1409 mile trip from here back to Charlotte, which translates to just under $300 in FEEDtheVAN money, or six ads.

If you are willing and able or might know somebody (or company) who is willing to FEED the VAN then boy, now is a great time! I know I will make it back - I have faith, yet it will take much works...

Signing off...

~ Nate

P.S. The second picture is of Lance Vodicka & me. Lance is my new good friend I met on the Tour.

Quick Update from McAllen, TX...

Okay, I came to my match 2 days ago quite unprepared, without adequate racquets and warmup and I played a tight match. I lost badly, yet learned much. Never will I come to a match unprepared again. I have been playing, training, and eating a ton over the past few days, so I have had little time to write much.

I am playing in the main draw Doubles tomorrow with my friend John Valenti (aka Johnny Blazed.) I am looking forward to this one - we'll just leave it at that for now.

Signing off...

~ Nate

Match tomorrow

Well it's 9:43pm and I have a match at 9am tomorrow - the first in nearly 2 weeks.

As some of you know, I'm selling Big Blue, sadly but happily enough. I'm purchasing an upgrade back in Charlotte. It's a Dodge Xplorer Class B RV, but it looks like a regular van (see above pic) and gets 15 miles to the gallon - 50% better than what I'm currently getting. It has a sink with running water, a toilet, a stovetop, a microwave, a fridge, inlaid floor for standing, a propane power system, and 2nd battery in the back to power more stuff. It also has 64000 miles and a rebuilt transmission.

So I'll be traveling back with none other than Johnny Blaze himself. We'll first be stopping in South Padre Island, a popular Spring Break spot, then heading up to Charlotte on the 9th or 10th.

I'll let you know when Big Blue is sold...

Signing off...

~ Nate