I’ve written about how my work in the music and cannabis industries have been complementary—how cannabis saved my sanity during the numerous tours I managed, and how offering cannabis products to those touring bands has saved theirs. But there was one time when a band saved me from a potential stretch of jail time.
I was out with a “baby band,” comprised of millennials who had never taken on a tour of this degree: back-to-back three-week-plus tours opening for larger and more established acts, driving nearly 4,200 miles in the classic Ford E-350 Econoline van and trailer.
We set out one morning from Arizona, with a good dozen hours ahead of us along I-10, stretching across New Mexico and into Texas. Knowing that the only food we’d find when we pulled into town would be a Sonic, we loaded up groceries from a health food store.
After several hours, we found ourselves at the notorious Texas border checkpoint known as Sierra Blanca. It’s 30 miles from Mexico (and 85 miles east of El Paso), but the town’s US Customs and Border Protection stop has busted numerous notables such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Fiona Apple.
