waltermalling wrote:ultra liberal

That's one of the most self-evidently funny phrases I've heard on this board to date.

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:Someone remind me why we're not harrassing bands that travel the country for their touring pleasure in large fuel-inefficient passenger vans.

still waiting for your alternative mode of transportation - please let me know when you find it!

if i have to choose seeing touring bands or slightly worse environement, fuck our kids - i take my entertainment now!

nick92675 wrote:still waiting for your alternative mode of transportation - please let me know when you find it!

It's called solar-powered "not touring".

Getting rid of the drummer might allow you to limit yourselves to a much smaller vehicle as well. Samplers and drum machines are quite the thing these days. Plus, drummers are filthy and stupid. Leave them at home.

Face it. It's selfish and wasteful to tour with your band. It's fun and meaningful to many people, but it's selfish and wasteful.

Am I wrong here? I don't believe that I am wrong.

But I guess that it is critical that your special bands be seen in Poughkeepsie or Spokane or Lawrence or El Paso or Tallahassee.

We do occasional short tours in a Ford Windstar. New tires, balanced and all, and keep up on oil changes and maintence. Yes, we could refrain from any touring because it does use gas......?

The second they can devise an electric minivan that a band can practically tour in, I'm on board.

Or? And!

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:Someone remind me why we're not harrassing bands that travel the country for their touring pleasure in large fuel-inefficient passenger vans.

I've always maintained that there is a creepy classist focus to this anti-SUV discussion, and none of you are doing anything to dissuade me.

Brad,

I see there being a difference between a band using the space of a van to carry their gear from show to show and some knob using an SUV to take they asses to the store for a pack of smokes and some beef jerky.

I understand the comparison, however.

For general day to day use, an suv is a waste of resources for a largely empty vehicle. I always felt a peck of guilt when I had to use my van for a daily driver whilst my car was in shambles, however when the space is being used by a whole fuckload of gear and some sweaty folks, I don't see it as a bad thing. Bands need and can justify the space. Some jackass getting a big car just for the sake of having a big car feels different.

It's the same logic behind 18-wheelers. They use the space in those massive trucks. From my experience, the avg SUV driver does not.


Faiz

Sock Monkey! I wouldn't talk about my car if I were you. It's a 1992. The old Taurus is not only uglier than an H3 but it definitely pollutes a lot more. Good thing my license is suspended or she'd be painting the roads black for all yall pick'n'choosers to whine about. I don't care how fuel efficient any gas guzzler is... It's still contributing more to the shits than to the good.

I agree Bradley, although I disagree with the El Paso statement. People in El Paso need to see someone other than their 1st cousins every once in awhile. Break up the gene pool with some flacid band dong ya know!?

If the tour van of every band in this city suddenly evaporated, I wouldn't even notice. If every SUV and Hummer in this city suddenly evaporated, or even turned into a honda civic, there would be a positive gain in the quality of life for millions of people. The air would be less filthy, there would be more streetside parking space, roads would require less maintenance, there would be fewer fatal car crashes, and so on. The gains might be slight, but they're much more substantial than what would be gained if bands stopped touring.
What's the ratio of SUVs to touring vans in this country? 1,000 to 1? I can only speculate.

Well, honestly, I don't take issue with anyone using large vehicles for a good reason. I think everyone needs at least one good friend with a truck or van. It's fine that families need vehicles to accommodate them, and hell, my occasional 4 hour motorbike rides for no reason other than to just ride for four hours is pretty irresponsible too.

But I think a culture of excess for the sake of excess is pretty creepy.

I'm less offended by a band (lets say, four or five people in one vehicle?) touring for a few weeks in a crappy old van that gets the same mpg as the northshore nancies and norms driving by themselves in gigantic suv's that they got a tax break on.

Yeah, living in Fox Lake, IL for a year did all sorts of bad things to me.

When we're in the market for a new family vehicle next year, we're 99% sure it's going to be a Mini Cooper S. For some reason, people think this is funny. Then again I grew up in a family of five with a Chevette.

waltermalling wrote:it’s still too much car for my wife.

Gee, I wonder why.