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PUMPJACK – The Ozzfest 2k diaries, Chapter 10 of 12:  Dallas, Houston, and The Gorge

–A short story in 12 chapters

By the time we hit Dallas, we were rolling on a high.  A couple of shows under our belt, and we were getting into a rhythm of sorts.  Us and our crew guys got on really well with the Ozzfest stage crew, so they were all great with us.  Coming from having played dozens of crappy clubs, here was a situation 180 degrees from that.

You mean I could have anything in monitors?  Anything?  Really? And not only did I have perfect monitor levels of all instruments, they were coming out of two massive speakers that sat right behind me.  Out of them, I heard our entire mix, including my drums pounding away.  It was the best stage scenario I’d ever experienced. And once all our on stage levels were set in St. Louis, it never changed.  It was perfect the entire tour.

The Dallas gig was awesome, with many folks in the audience recognizing the band as locals of sorts, and letting us know. (On YT, search Pumpjack, Ozzfest 2000, Dallas.) One dude from the audience even gave his $7 beer to Thurb!

After Dallas, we rolled down to Houston for show #4. A week in and Thurb had grown tired of the RV, tired of no privacy, tired of us all, so he and Bob and their girlfriends drove separately to Houston.

Garn reminded me of a hilarious story that seems appropriate to share with you now.  In his own words…”And I’d just like to add something about the sleeping arrangements on the RV.  If you remember, Thurb and Willie both took the liberty of claiming the back bedroom as theirs (the largest, and presumably the most comfortable).  Willie Hicks went so far as to glue his alarm clock/sleep machine to the nightstand next to the bed. Only, they didn’t take into consideration how bouncy it was back there when the RV was rolling down the road, like the back seat on a school bus.  One night, going down the road, I got down from the “over the driver” bunk to go take a leak.  I climbed back into the bunk and heard something next to me.  I rolled over and was face to face with Thurb.  He was already snoring.  I lost it.  I yelled “F*** NO”, and kicked him out.  He was, of course, pissed off as he went walking back to the back of the RV.  I remember yelling that he “could have glued himself to the bed back there too!”  LOL!!!”

Ahhh Houston… All I remember of Houston is once again, “GET ME OUT OF THIS GOD FORSAKEN HUMIDIFIED HELL HOLE.”  The show was good and felt like the best up to that point.  We played the tune, “Hangover” at this gig, and I think Dime might have put a bug in Thurb’s ear about maybe not playing a 7 min slow-tempo tune when you only have 30 min to make an impression.  We swapped that tune out for a couple of faster tunes that we could play in the same amount of time. (On YT, search Pumpjack, Ozzfest 2000, Houston.)

But anyway, yeah, there was no relief though from the stifling, oppressive heat, and our poor RV was working overtime trying to keep itself cool.  Could not wait to leave, especially since we were hitting the West coast next.

That night, we left Houston.  The next morning, we were further north, but still in Texas.  Later that afternoon, we were still in Texas.  What the hell?  Does this state ever end???  Good lord, I swear it took over 10 hours just to get the heck out of Texas.  Good thing they gave us 2 days to get to WA.

That was the longest ride ever, as Clay wanted to take the scenic route – Texas, thru Colorado, thru part Wyoming, thru Idaho, and finally into Washington.

But the journey was worth it.  My best pals, Brent, and his gf at the time, and Billy, as well as Tiffany and her husband and another friend came, most of whom travelled from AZ.  The venue grounds are massive and beautiful, perched on the edge of a huge canyon (the gorge itself).  It was a beautiful day, and even though we were going to open the festival as usual, as soon as we started, people started filing into the area, and by the end of our first song, the place was nice and full.

It was also at this show that Vinnie and Dime made an appearance.  They came by, first stopping by the sound booth.  Vinnie continued to the stage, and hung out on stage.  Dime and his cameraman hung in the audience.  Thurb shouted out to them from the stage right before we launched into the song, Proud to be American.  It was a highlight show, as the crowd was fantastic, massive, and of course, the brothers showed up. (On YT, search Pumpjack, Ozzfest 2000, The Gorge.)

After the show, we all again piled into our RV to do more shots.  From across the RV, I overheard Vinnie comment to Thurb that he chose well with me, saying I was killing it. I never connected with Vinnie in the same way that I sorta did with Dime. Vinnie wasn’t necessarily the super fun and friendly kind like Dime, at least back then. And back then, on top of already feeling just lucky to be there, I was way too reserved to assert myself in a situation where he might have been. It’s a small regret that I didn’t get the opportunity to talk shop with one of the greats. There I go off on a tangent again…

After the short hang with the brothers, they took off and we hung out the rest of the day with my friends.  Early in the run, we befriended the dudes in the band, Slaves on Dope, who didn’t drink alcohol.  Each show day, when we received our allotments of booze and water, someone from each of our camps would go make an exchange – their beer for our water, so we’d have at least 2 cases of beer each show day.  Priorities!

The Pantera guys told us to come around before their set that night.  We did as we were asked, and it was just to hang, drink a couple of beers as they got ready to hit the stage. Dime was already strapped with his number 1, playing unplugged, stretching fingers. Vinnie was doing singles on a pad. I think as a little promo thing, there were temporary Pantera tattoos being handed out. Somehow the talk gets around about how Willie Hicks was the only one in Pumpjack who had any tattoos. I kind of spoke up with Vinnie, and asked where all his tattoos were?  He said he had the only one he’d ever need, and lifted his right arm like he was flexing to show off his bicep, but what he was showing was his only tattoo – a small image of a “reset” button on the inner side of his right bicep muscle. It’s funny the “little” things that stick with you over the years.

Show time comes around very quickly, the guys are picked up in two golf carts, to be driven to the stage a short distance away.  Rex and Dime head off in the first cart and Phil and Vinnie in the second one.  I was told Phil wasn’t feeling great, and I watched as they headed toward the stage.  Both Phil and Vinnie, sitting backwards in the cart, were staring straight through us all, and not saying a word to each other.

Just after their final notes rang out, all of us in PJ and crew were hanging out behind the stage, which is where Pantera’s aftershow dressing rooms were.  These mobile rooms were filled with booze and ready for them as they walked off stage.

This little memory was such a movie moment…. we’re all standing there, and the stage was at a little lower elevation, such that the band had to walk a short, slightly uphill distance through a crowd that gave them a nice wide berth, on their way to their dressing rooms.  And they each came up one by one…first Phil, then Vinnie, then Rex, and finally Dime.  And they all filed into the one dressing room.  But within an instant, three of them vanished and were off in different directions.  The only dude hanging… Dime.  Of course, the room quickly fills up with people once it’s approved to do so, and a party ensues.

We hang for a short bit, but eventually, Bob, Stevie B, Lance, and I make our way to Phil’s dressing room. He’s in there, but he’s in a conversation with the drummer from the band, Kittie.  In walks his assistant, who hands Phil a huge wad of cash, and then disappears.  Phil sticks the cash in his pocket, and from the other pocket, pulls out a bag of weed and tosses it to me.  Bob makes fun of me for not being able to roll a joint, so I give the bag to him and he rolls up a couple of fatties.  Bob gives the bag and fatties back to Phil, who sparks one up, passes it to me, looks at my C.O.C. shirt, and just kind of grunts, “Hmph… Pepper Keenan.”  And that was my one and only encounter with Phil the entire tour.  He smoked those two joints with us, chatted with Lance a bit, but then we got out of there and Bob and I went back to the RV.

next up, California shows and Phoenix!

Ryan Maloney
Ryan Maloney
Ryan Maloney is a husband, bartender, caregiver, drummer, and former online advertising professional. In addition to writing and drumming, Ryan enjoys cooking for and entertaining friends as well as going to the beach and traveling the world. He lives in Ft. Lauderdale with his main squeeze, John. Though born and raised in Chicago, Il until the age of 14, Ryan considers his true hometown to be Phoenix, AZ. Ryan spent over 30 years in Arizona, starting in 1985 at Cortez High School. From there, community college and ASU followed, but all the while, Ryan was drumming up a frenzy in local heavy metal bands. His late teens saw his main band, TYNATOR, achieve a small amount of local success, as well as release a cd to the European market. The opportunity of a lifetime came in 2000, which provided the basis for one of his writing series', PUMPJACK - The Ozzfest 2k diaries. The 12 chapter series documents the meeting of two friends, and then the events that led up to the band, PUMPJACK, heading out on the annual summer Ozzfest tour in 2000, in which the band had been invited to participate, as well as some memories of some of the individual city tour stops.After the tour, Ryan began what then became a 15 year career in online advertising. Having left the corporate world behind in 2017, Ryan now enjoys serving drinks to thirsty customers in Wilton Manors, Florida.

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