When I used to think of Stowe Vermont I would think of mountains, moose, picturesque views, and Ben and Jerry’s. Now, when I think “Vermont” I can only think of one word: “Snow.” Let me start by giving you the backstory of our musical adventure this winter. As the music director for the band Redline, I am the member who talks and meets with the clients. As I was driving to a gig in Vermont, I received a call from the events planner. She was not just the person in charge of the on-site decisions in Stowe, but also happened to be the Director of Operations for her company (a.k.a. “the big boss”). We’ve worked together in the past, so the conversation started with pleasantries. However, it took a turn for the serious when she said, “I’m a little concerned about the snow.”
Redline has worked all over New England and I am not scared of a little snow; plus, I had been driving for at least an hour in New Hampshire and hadn’t seen a single flake! But the old adage, “If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a minute” rang true when I hit Vermont and saw they were indeed in the middle of a snow storm. To make matters even more interesting, I drive a VW Jetta – which fits a surprising amount of gear – but doesn’t have any type of 4 wheel drive!
We had just finished rocking “the Full Vermonty” in the giant wood ballroom of the Stowe Mountain Resort when one of the production crew mentions “the new snow” and laughs. While we were moving and groovin’ the dance floor, Stowe got 5 inches of new snow! My trusty little Jetta doesn’t do well in the snow and kept getting stuck. Thankfully the production crew helped us every step of the way and even jokingly said, “If you get stuck in a snowbank tonight, call me and we’ll get you out.”
We slid around a little but were doing okay (I mean we are rockstars, and this is just part of the gig sometimes) and it was only a 5 minute drive to our Airbnb… I seemed to have forgotten that not only did it snow, but we were staying at an Airbnb ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. After trying unsuccessfully to get our car up the steep incline, we decided to walk. I mean, what’s not to love about walking in the snow after playing a gig? In winter. In VERMONT. After realizing that we’d be walking 2.5 miles in the snow, in the pitch dark, in dress shoes, with our instruments, we decided to call the production crew.
Our new best friend in the crew heroically declared, “I’ll be there in 10 min! We have to pull one of our box trucks that slid off the road into a ditch, but then you’re next!” Ten minutes later, he pulled up in his 4X4 and drove us to our condo at the top of the mountain (it was after 2am by the way). He mentioned that he’d drop us at our cars in the morning and we said, “it’s okay, we need to leave around 5:30 or 6 in the morning.” He thought about it for literally a second and said, “See you at 6, man.” No kidding, he arrived 5 minutes to 6 in the morning and we were off towards home. The fact that a stranger went out of his way to make sure that we were home and safe is amazing!
So kids, the moral of the story is: being a musician is amazing, fun, eventful and entertaining. That said, make sure that you bring an extra coat and a pair of snow boots if you head North. And oh, by the way, it might be a smart idea to drive the pickup truck that night!
