Not specifically pedal steel, but I guarantee somebody on here will know the answer.
A member of one of my car forums is moving to Austin. Someone posted a picture of an ancient tour bus parked at the Broken Spoke. Another member was quite interested and wondering if it could be purchased and restored.
I said I THINK it's no longer there, but I'm probably 1,700 miles away and have never been there in person (yet!). Can anyone confirm or update the status of that poor old vehicle? Someone else thinks it's restored and displayed in San Antonio? Judging by the street views of today, and the trees in the background of the bus pic, it was taken a long time ago before the buildings went up.
If I can make out the name on the front of the bus, I think it says the "Texas Top Hands".
Anybody have any information on that western swing band?
Erv
Any one here old enough to remember the Miller Bros swing band ? We froze in the winter time on an old Flex bus like this one. Bought it from Hank Thompson as i remember, We traveled from Wichita Falls,Tx to Ca for a one nighter The bus had no heat or AC. And that is called the good old days. lol. Tracy
Tracy Sheehan wrote:Any one here old enough to remember the Miller Bros swing band ? We froze in the winter time on an old Flex bus like this one. Bought it from Hank Thompson as i remember, We traveled from Wichita Falls,Tx to Ca for a one nighter The bus had no heat or AC. And that is called the good old days. lol. Tracy
And that was one of the short trips. Crossed the
rockies in the dead of winter. Almost went off the summit in a blizzard. Good thing we has a pro driver. Tracy
Tracy, your saga reminds me of the 5 (or 6?) trips from Nashville to Nevada I made (with 3 other unfortunates) in the late 80s with Ira Allen--I think it was a Flxible.
Tracy wrote: "We froze in the winter time on an old Flex bus like this one. Bought . . .. The bus had no heat or AC. And that is called the good old days.
Ha. Our first trip, we all wrapped up in our sleeping bags, only noses sticking out. On another, the bus's injectors (?) went haywire outside of Hays, Kansas. Good old Ira went out in the cold and worked on them and we got going again.
Then there was the time that we pulled out of Tucumcari--and the differential went clunk! We left the bus there to be fixed, bought a big jeep--whose transmission went after a few hundred miles. So we rented a U Haul--and made the Mesquite casino gig!
Good times. Chris
Last edited by Chris Brooks on 30 Mar 2021 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
It is not restored and still looks pretty much like the photo by the Broken Spoke. Pretty cool to look at so if you are ever near San Antonio on 1604 go by and check it out. Good food, Good Music, and Good Cold Beer!
When I was a kid, the Doc and Chickie Williams Band came to our high school auditorium and did a show. They we stars of the Wheeling West Virginia Jamboree. They were traveling in a Flex Bus just like that one.
Tracy, I played bass with "Jake Miller" at the Legion Hall in Lubbock every Saturday for a while. I sure liked him. Hot jazz band and I knew nothing about jazz. He put up with me until I learned the songs and the feel of jazz.
Never traveled from Texas to California but closed Monday 3:00 AM in Vegas and opened Wednesday at 9:00 pm in Minneapolis then drove back to Vegas for the next gig. One fun trip was when we closed Sunday night in Concord Ca. and drove all night to Vegas for a 2:00 pm sound check.
I drove Monarch pass from Gunnison to Canon City in a blizzard one time. Never would have made it without a truck from Pueblo breaking trail for us.
David Weisenthal wrote:Wow this a great read. Thanks for posting everyone. I'd Never heard of the flexible bus company but I'd love an old one in my backyard.
