I bet it was a lot like the final scene of Casablanca. Only without Humphrey Bogart. And the fog.
And the plane.

We were scheduled to play the Today Show on Monday morning. Georgia and I were at home, in Nashville, so we flew up the day before (because we are conscientious and well prepared). Kenny and the band were playing a show in Ohio. There was only one way to get them to New York in time for the show… there had to be a private plane to take them. I know when everyone hears the words “private plane” they think, “Ooh, rich rock stars eating lobster sandwiches with mini skirted hostesses serving them Mojitas.”

That’s exactly what it’s like. Right down to the correct drink. (Them Mojitas are delicious) But not this time my class conscious friends. A private plane was booked. Overnight bags were packed. Tarmacs were occupied. Waiting… waiting….

No plane.

Georgia and I got the phone call at 1:30 in the morning in our luxurious closet in New York City, telling us the bad news. No plane. No Today Show. Upside? No wake up call. Yes, we are THAT self centered.

Here’s where our crack team proved itself to be the best we could have. Producers were awakened. Pleas were pled.  A “B level band” was woken up and informed there was suddenly a slot available on Monday’s show. (I don’t know if there WAS a band performing in our place on that morning… if there was… it’s just a joke. Unless there WAS a band… and the band’s name actually IS “The B Level Band”…. in which case I am a clever, cheeky monkey) We were rescheduled for Tuesday. The band was put back on the bus and driven to New York, the city where Georgia and I slept on… blissfully unaware of all the drama.

I have just been asked to insert this into my blog after our crack research team discovered that the “B level band” that replaced us was actually John Legend. Since John Legend is number three on Georgia’s “list” of men she is allowed to sleep with – with no repercussions, and I do not want to screw that up for her,… I will now backtrack and apologize like crazy. John Legend is a genius and why he was sitting around Manhattan with nothing to do on a Monday morning I will never know. He saved our ass.

But the “B level band” joke stays.

By the time the band and crew got there, they had been up for about three days straight. We played our first City Winery show very well considering several of the crew were hallucinating due to fatigue, and our bass player actually napped during the guitar solo of “Feelin’ Brave.” Everyone got a quick three hours of sleep and we were on the soundstage of the Today Show…as if nothing had happened.

The only real evidence of how tired everyone was? When I got there…they had forgotten my guitar. You hear what I’m saying? There are three guitar players on the song we were performing on the show that morning. Scott’s electric (check)… Kenny’s electric (check)… and Gary’s acoustic. Gary’s acoustic? Beuler? Beuler?

Were they sending me a message? Holy Pete Best, Batman! Should I start working on my resume? Begin the process of looking for two new singers and form “Gary Burr and the New Blue Sky Riders”?

Swallow hard, chalk it up to exhaustion and pick up a tambourine?

For more details of the Today Show appearance, please go to my new website: www.garyburrandthenewblueskyriders.com

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