March 2, 2020
Twenty years ago, the Smugglers embarked on an epic, dirty, naughty, explosive, dangerous, debaucherous, sold-out, month-long tour of the United States of America with two other bands: the Donnas, from Palo Alto, California, and the Plus Ones from Oakland, California.
The Donnas were touring their 1999 hot pink hit album "Get Skintight", the Smugglers were touring the recently released "Rosie" (Feb 1, 2000), and the Plus Ones (a band that featured our good friend Joel Reader from the Mr T Experience and Dan Panic from Screeching Weasel) were newly formed and touring their debut EP "On The List."
The tour wound from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, hitting 28 different States in as many days. Along the way we either rocked out or crossed paths with Joan Jett, Neko Case, the Fastbacks, Nashville Pussy, William Shatner, the Muffs, the Real Kids, the New Bomb Turks, Molly Shannon, and the Subsonics.
To celebrate this rock 'n' roll road trip that I often think back on (sometimes listing off the tour dates in my head to fall asleep when I have insomnia - I usually get to around Dallas) I'm going to post a photo and a story from every day of that outrageous tour of March 2000 here in March 2020... whether you like it or not. Hopefully you will.
Some of the stories from that tour have already been printed in my book "Dirty Windshields" (*plug*) but not all... until... NOW. Hope you dig it, and if you were there, thanks for being part of one of the wildest adventures of our Smuggler lives!
-Grant Lawrence, voice, the Smugglers
