perseverance – Bradley Minnigan

Burning up the Road

Apparently Jessie and I have been burning up the road. How do I know? In the last seven days, we have replaced seven tires. I already posted about the two camper tires last week. Today we brought five new tires into the family.

This weekend we had a show in Florida, and Jessie’s car needed an oil change. I decided that I should do a tire rotation too, so I took it to my grandfather’s shop Thursday night to do all of the work. I jacked up the car and took off the tires while the oil cooled. As I was rotating them, I noticed one tire was so worn on one side that I could see the cords that are embedded under all the rubber. That was not good.

I went ahead and changed the oil (it’s much easier with the front passenger-side wheel removed), and I put the bad tire in a position where I thought it would get the least amount of wear. It was 9 p.m. the night before we leave for Florida – no time to get new tires before we leave. The rest was going to be luck.

Jessie kissing a gator at Bayou Bill’s in Florida

We made it down there, did our gig, had a fun weekend on the beach with our friends, and then headed home Sunday afternoon. Monday morning, I was at the tire shop having my tires (I thought) balanced to remedy some shaking I noticed as I towed the camper back from Paducah. Unfortunately, one of my tires was beginning to separate, meaning I needed a new tire. $$

I had made an appointment for Jessie to get new tires today too, somewhere between teaching music lessons and meetings. $$$$

All this on top of the two camper tires, having work done on my truck, and my gas-and-tire-saving bicycle being stolen. It’s been a rough couple of weeks around these parts. My friends suggested we start a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to replace my bike so I can get back and forth from work. It seems more and more like a good plan every day.

We have a couple of shows in Wisconsin this weekend. I’m hoping we sell a bunch of merch at these shows to help offset all of these recent costs. For those of you who won’t be in Wisconsin, feel free to check out Jessie’s merch over at Swampicana.com – there are even a few new items I have yet to add to the online store. That reminds me – I need to add the new Jessie Smith tank tops to the store.

Maybe we can make a case for a tire endorsement…

36771858_559077701157045_8669911255328227328_n — This is Cam and me getting the spare tire out to put on the camper somewhere in Nebraska.

Saving Money + Healthy Living

I’ve always been pretty active. My wife will tell you I can’t sit still, which isn’t far from the truth. I completed my first half-marathon this April. On Saturdays, I’m always working in the yard, on the house, or on the pop up camper. I started thinking and then talking to a few coworkers about commuting to the office on a bicycle.

When I was a kid, I biked every day to school. It was about four blocks of freedom. I knew every crack in the sidewalk that created a mini ramp and every curb that would jolt me through the bike frame. I’ve always loved bicycles. I searched online for several days and found a good road bike in good shape for a good price.

Last Saturday, I took a test ride from home to the office. I wanted to make sure I could do it, and I needed to know just how long the commute would be. It took me just over an hour – only 20 minutes longer than it takes to drive. I couldn’t wait for Monday.

Monday I made it to the office, and I felt great! It was a long, hot, sweaty ride, but I felt great that I did it. On the way home, my chain popped loose, but that was an easy fix. It delayed me only a minute or so, and I was back on the road.

Tuesday came around, and I had to stop by the jewelry store to pick up my wife’s ring that had been repaired. The store is only just off my route to work, so I biked again. As I left the store, I decided to take a shortcut through the local college campus. As I turned into the parking lot of campus, I couldn’t hit the curb head-on. This popped the tube in my back tire. Luckily, the first thing I did when I got my bike was to purchase a helmet and a repair kit for my tubes. A couple minutes later, I had a new tube installed, and I was once again back on the road.

Today I drove to the office since an early meeting would have had me waking up too early to make the trek via bicycle. It has also been a welcomed day of rest. Tomorrow I’ll be back on the bike.

Doing some math, I save almost $7 per day that I ride my bike. I also get a killer workout. I’m hoping to keep biking about three days a week. I want to the bike to pay for itself, then start saving for A/C for my truck. I get some savings, I get my workout, and I save on my carbon footprint. Hopefully I can keep it up for a while.

Give Up

Music is hard.

“The perishing is more likely, and will be a lot easier anyway.” – Samwise Gamgee, “Lord of the Rings”

It’s easier to give up. Chances are success will not be attained. Why go after dreams in the first place?

I’ve always been a dreamer. I used to sit in my room at night and play guitar, imagining I was playing (and sometimes singing) in front of thousands. I never actually thought I would get to do that, but I didn’t care – I was dreaming.

As a dreamer, I’m not really sure what motivates the “non-dreamers.” I’ve never met someone that labeled himself a non-dreamer, but I suppose they are out there. What motivates him to wake up in the morning and get out of bed?

For music, it’s my dreams that motivate my practice. I want to fulfill my dreams. Maybe it’s a sense of duty for non-dreamers to practice. That sounds like it would quickly lead to burn out. That ain’t my style.

I was fortunate enough to have parents that supported pretty much any extracurricular activity I fancied. Baseball and guitar were the two with which I stuck the longest. Music longer than baseball. I’m thankful for that support – showing up at every game, tee ball through senior year of high school; buying me my first guitar and lessons at age 8; allowing me to take over weekends and summer vacations with days at the ball park; chipping in to help me buy my Taylor in 8th grade; loving me all along the way.

It’s late and it’s time to head off to dreamland. Luckily, I’m a dreamer. Tonight looks to be filled with dreams of songs and stories, and I couldn’t be any more excited for what’s ahead.

Olympic Hurdles

So the second show felt like an olympic event. Here’s why: late Thursday night before the Saturday show, the A/C in our venue crapped out. Died. Stopped working. This is not good for middle Georgia in July. Postponement was not an option – we had to play this show because Kickstarter needed this show to happen now.

Thanks to Jessie’s parents working tirelessly, we were able to find another venue 2 blocks away. A church graciously opened its doors to us and let us use their sanctuary for our Saturday night show. A venue!

So once we get inside this church, we realize that the sound system is going to be, as we like to say, fun. We brought a sound system capable of powering a 1,500+ venue, and here we are in a 500 max sanctuary. It was loud (sometimes a little too much maybe), but we got it all figured out by the time we went on stage. Also, luckily, people showed up – around 300 – and that helped our sound not echo off the wood-panel walls so much. And then…

My wife put on an awesome show. Probably one of her best. I’ve really only played 2 “real” shows, this one being my second. But I have played around town with friends. It’s hard playing to a Nashville crowd. But playing to this crowd on July 28 in Georgia was a blast.

I can’t wait to play not-Nashville again!