Music Video Pictures Steve Geoff Rowan Contact Other Home What goes on tour stays on tour, well, almost... At a band house in Christchurch nicknamed "the fridge" because it was so cold in the house, Sandy went out to the shed and grabbed a bottle of some kind of spirits and threw it on a small fire that was barely struggling to stay kindled in the fireplace in the vain hope of making the place a little warmer; and whoosh! up went the flames and burnt the wall above the fireplace. We managed to get it put out and, luckily, there was a can of paint in the shed, too, so Neil and Sandy painted the scorched wall and we left the place in better shape than we arrived, at least it got a new coat of paint. The Dabs rock up to Sweetwaters and drive into the Artists Enclosure, because they are playing and have all the right backstage passes. As they are part of the Propeller Records stable they decide they should set up camp next to their boss, Simon Grigg, and his caravan. An upset Simon emerges from the caravan and chases The Dabs away to a site not so close to the Propeller HQ because he's nervous of the reputation they have for hard drinking and partying all night. An opinion not too far from the truth as it turns out ... Neil Hayden spends the night passed out in a campfire after an altercation with some skinheads, see the pictures on this site for a shot of Neil the morning after. The skinheads were there to see No Tag, an 'oi band, these guys were also on Propeller and funnily enough Simon Grigg wasn't too concerned when they turned up and parked right by his caravan! Go figure... In Wellington, we were loading out after a gig at The James Cook when Geoff comes rushing up and wants to get  us out of there damn quick, wthout much of an explanation, but we're loading out and it takes a while to do that. A short time later the police arrive and arrest a pretty blonde girl who Geoff had been talking with after the gig. It turns out she had stolen a couple of bottles of grog from behind the bar and if we had left when Geoff had wanted us to then she probably would have gotten away with it. Anyway, she stayed with Geoff for a few days and then went back to law school at Wellington Uni ... hope she passed her degree! We get double booked at The Station Hotel with a bunch of guys from Dunedin who we never heard of. Turns out to be Mick Dawson of The Enemy fame and his new band. They don't have a place to stay and were planning on sleeping in their car so we give them the first half of the gig, from 8-9PM, then invite them back to Ariki Street for chips and a place to crash.  Mick is taken with the Toy Love album we have in our collection and is a little amused to see some of his songs on it. Making a living from playing music doesn't take you too far, thank heaven for the $2 egg & chips special at a pub called The Keg somewhere along the middle of Queen Street. This place kept us cheaply fed on more than a few occasions, five people for $10. On The Mockers/Dabs tour and The Dabs van is heading into the small South Island town of Balclutha when a loud banging noise is heard from the engine bay. The van limps into Balclutha to the nearest garage and we find that the engine has been destroyed, but we need to be in Invercargill the next day. The mechanic gets a replacement engine sent  from Christchurch and works overnight to replace the old one. The bill is presented in the morning and Ian the hippie tries to get out of it by making The Dabs pay for the breakdown ... but it's a valid tour expense, and we don't have the money anyway. Money is sent from Propeller in Auckland and we can continue on our way.  The tour is still profitable even with this major expense and Ian the hippie's light fingers. The band pay for that tour was $5 per day, and on this you were expected to eat and drink!