RAR con't-----------Leaving San Francisco to go on a three month tour having no money in my pocket, no real place to com4 back to was not even a thought in my head. Isort ofassumed Phillip would be there when i returned and again let me move in where ever he was. and money--i never thought about it. i had about $90 worth of Food Stamps so i felt ready to go. Debbie had gotten in touch with the AR people and we had a loosly put together itinerary. I did not know then but later found out. the leadership of RAR did not want us to go. they really had not heard of us, and felt they didn't have the money to take on another band. Dave and MDC had really fought to gt us on the tour. It came down to they would not go if we were kept from going! I never really knew this and it touched me wwhen i much later found out. ofcourse it made the crew not exactly in love with us when we did show up.
My old friend Scot form the Palo alto days had a little truck and offered to drive me and help roadie if we could get him fed daily and gas money to drive. He would also help carry some of out bags...since the only equipment we had was Glen's guitar, i think Pat had some drum sticks....maybe. the day before we left Buxf was able to get a Bass from a pawn shop--we were depending on the 'kindness of strangers' to get us through. the band was a little hesitant to bring Scot along. even though he was one of my oldet long time friends he did have a reputation of "being late"...for everything. always. but i really wanted him to go. instead of being in a crowded van with Pat, Glen, Buxf, and Debbie...i opted to ride along in the little black truck and turn it as muh into a vacation as i could. i had never seen the most of the country. never ben to NYC or anywhere on the east coast. so having my buddy along sounded good.
as time got close to leave everyone was happy to be going on a real tour. I never really knew how but one day we had an old van...i think Debbie had bought it with the understanding wwe would pay her bqck when we ere able. leaving Phillip and San Francisco was hard but i was also ready to hit the road. i knew this was going to be real experance. i was nervous, too. but i was with my family, i felt.

a few weeks before we left Tim Yohanan from Maxium Rock and Roll had done a big interview with us at hi house in the East Bay. Tim was a great guy and always seemed to lik the Dicks and seemed to be fond of me, too. we had done a few interviews at the Radio station where MRR had their show over in Berkeley. we were known as the 'drunk rock' band since e always had beer...wheather in the radio station or whereever. once while being interviewed by Jeff Beale (sp-?) on the radio i hryad said "Russia was a revolutionary country until Khrushchev
became it's leader. Meaning, of course, that Stalin waas a great leader. Of course i was drunk as hell and happy to have put dumbfounded looks on everyone's face's. A bit on air arugment followed....i really didn't believe this none sence but i wanted to be the baddest communist in town so i fowwowed up by spouting a bunch of drunken jibberish. i really don't think we ever got asked back. But Tim wanted to do an interview with us before we left for the RAR tour. He even told us we going to be on th cover! the issue would come out the day e left. it was another drunken party asfar awe ere concerned. and another chance for me to shock everyone by my "more red than Mark" attatude. years later i tried to read the long, rambling bullshit i was spewing and really couldn't get more than a couple of paragraphs into it. the other guys were not even talking much. so e came off like crazy people. when the magazine hit the streets the picture on the cover indeed was us. a live shot taken i don't even know where....buxf had a mohawk and looked like the meanest murderer in prison. glen looked nuttie and demented. pat, as usual couldn't be een. I had a Mu-Mu on....sunglasses and bleached blond hair screaming into the mic.....the words scrawled across the top were....The Dicks--A Commie Fag Band From Texas. i looked at Debbie when she handed me one to see for the firt time..after a long gaze i met her eyes and sort of nervously ask, "what do you think people are going to think about this...about us". she looked funny and said, " just wait till you read the interview".
I kept thinking to myself, 'i'm bound to get my ass kicked before this tour is over". however, the day came to leave and off we went.