Thelma & Louise Vegas-Baby Beach Party Road Trip!

By Sharice Paris ©2011

Published in WHOOPSY Magazine’s Women Who Rock! Isuue – August 2005

The aftermath of SXSW this year left me with the inspiration to hit the road myself to get a hands-on-experience of what being on tour is like. I’d been playing around town and on the corners of 6^th Street for a couple of years so I knew I could make a little money doing it and the road was calling to me. In less than a week the plans were made and I set out for California with my best friend +Angela O  We quit our jobs, and with only a couple hundred bucks in our pockets, we knew we’d need tips for gas and food from here to the west coast and back.
I’ve always enjoyed playing the guitar for others and affecting people in different ways. Whether it’s inspiring them to tap into their own musical talents, adding romance to a date with a love song, or just putting a smile on someone’s face, it’s always about the fun rather than the money. So with that driving force we packed the jeep with maps, a tent, and of coarse my guitar. We left town on April 5^th with a fantastic lightning storm seeing us off, engraving a beautiful memory of Austin in my mind.

The first town we settled into was Lubbock, and we set up shop on Buddy Holly Ave. Though it’s a small city, it’s also a college town, and a square full of bars and clubs seemed like the place to be. We had some positive responses, but the people in general just weren’t familiar with what we were doing and quickly looked away. I was used to Austin, where there’s so many people hustling corners I’ve seen knives pulled over prime locations. Music in the streets is part of what makes Austin the live music capital of the world. And Lubbock most definitely isn’t.

We then rolled into Fort Sumner, New Mexico, controversially the home of Billy the Kid and a place that doesn’t see a whole lot of music. We had pulled into a state park to camp – cold, tired, and hungry, we ended up sharing a campsite with some local youngsters who already had a fire going. The next day they invited us back to their ranch to meet their parents, their father being one of the 3 deputies in the entire county. They took us out to the county club and bar where a DJ had the people dancing, and asked him to let us perform. Everyone was so excited; most of them had never seen someone play live before. Couples were two-steppin’ and the cowboys were hootin’ and hollerin’. A bunch of young girls had me sign things for them afterwards, because they swore I was going to be famous someday. After that, the sheriff, who is also a photographer, did a professional photo shoot for us and let us shoot his .40 Smith & Wesson. So now New Mexico is one of my favorite places!

Next stop Phoenix, Arizona. We played for some gangsters who mixed it up with some free-styling, and when they would stop rapping I was hot on their heels with a chorus. It was cool to improvise with a style I don’t usually play. They said they had never hung out with a girl that had so much talent, and they saw me completely differently because of that. I’m glad singing and playing guitar can earn me respect that way.

On the way to California I wondered if I was too average to fit in there and wouldn’t be as welcomed ad I’d been so far. The first time I played in CA I was nervous as hell! We sat right in the middle of a stream of people going by on each side of us, and started belting out songs that most people know, and a bunch of originals people love. We got so much positive energy that day and made $60 in 2 hours! The best part was the little kids coming over to drop money in, all wide-eyed and smiling, and elderly couples stopping to be serenaded, while others just thanked us, or jumped in for a song.

While we were in California, we also played in San Diego, Pacific Beach, San Clemente, and Oceanside. Oceanside was a chill place to play. Home of Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton, they enjoyed songs like “Travelin’ Soldier” and “Margaritaville” the most. I met another street performer there named Steve, and he’d show up once in awhile with his guitar and we’d have an all-out-concert on the corner, drawing crowds of 20-30 at times. One night the manager of the club came out and told me he’d heard good things about us from his customers and the police, so he invited us to play at the club when he gets the acoustic set going later in the year.

Pacific Beach was the only place we had a problem with cops who threatened to impound my guitar. Typically we made friends with the local police and had them watching our backs. This was most appreciated in San Diego where a riot almost broke out one night when some jerk-off hit me in the face, and a couple of guys jumped up in my defense. Fights broke out all around us, and when newspaper stands started flying we packed up quickly and ran up the street to hang out by the cop we had befriended earlier on our way down. Great tips in San Diego though and several people offered to record me, but I didn’t know who to trust. It might have been different if I weren’t a woman, or if they had been women instead of men.

The blunt truth and reality of what’s it’s like being a woman in the music business was laid out for me by a pimp in Las Vegas who insisted that, “To make it in the music business you have to get on your knees… everybody does it.” To this I responded, “Do you?” and he said, “No, but I’m not a woman.” Even though we made the most money in Vegas ($50/hr), if that’s the kind of energy and treatment I receive, it’s not really worth it to me. If I ever get down on my knees, it will be to thank God for getting this far.

We made it back to Austin on June 5^th after 2 months on the road. I was glad to be home and more inspired than ever to do something with everything I had learned and experienced along the way.

More photos from this trip:
http://sharice.shutterfly.com/roadtrip