On the Road...With Frick and Frack
The Beds The Snoring The Mess The Arguments The Driver The Parties The Grub The Lonely Nights The Nintendo
Brian: Nick's pretty sneaky about nabbing the nicest bunk. He gets to the bus a couple of hours ahead of time!
Nick: Well, the best bunks get nabbed first.
Brian: We've pretty much gotten to know which bunk everybody wants. Howie takes the back left with AJ above him and Kevin just across the way. Nick and I go a bit further down the bus.
Nick: I'm sleeping in the bottom bunk right now 'cause it's nice and snug down there. It gets really cold on the bus, and it can be a bit uncomfortable. I keep waking up and wondering where I am. It's weird.
Nick: Howie snores sometimes. It's 'cause he sleeps with his mouth open. I stuck a bit of Kit Kat in his mouth once, and he tried to take a bite out of it--in his sleep!
Brian: He talks in his sleep, too. You can have a conversation with him sometimes. He'll go "Hawaflawabah" and you go, "Whaddya say, Howie?" Then he'll say, "Ah, nothing." He'll be fast asleep the whole time.
Brian: I think that AJ and I are the messiest. AJ eats stuff and never throws away the wrappers. He really hates it when people touch his stuff. If something of his gets moved, he goes nuts. "OK, who's been near my things?!" Everyone gets on Nick's butt too, 'cause he leaves the Nintendo area in a mess.
Nick: That's not JUST me!
Brian: Sometimes, we fight over the CD player. I'll play a CD and then someone will take it out and throw it on the counter. By the end of the day, there's sappy stuff all over it.
Nick: But there's never any really bad fights.
Nick: His name is Conrad, and he's from Germany. He's pretty cool and keeps the bus nice and clean. (Laughs cheekily.)
Brian: He's an all-around nice guy and stops off at McDonald's whenever we want.
Nick: Conrad speaks pretty good English but not enough to nag you. We always wind him up about his girlfriends and call him "Superboy."
Brian: A couple of years ago, we had a mad Halloween party on the bus while touring the States. AJ's mom and the bus driver decorated the place with fake cobwebs and lanterns. It was cool. We managed to squeeze about 20 people on board.
Nick: Yeah, that tour bus was huge. It was the same one Whitney Houston uses.
Brian: AJ tries to get everyone to make him stuff. He'll as for a can of soda by going, "Oh, since you're closer than me," and he'll be like an inch away.
Nick: Brian and I raid the fridge first. We steal all the potato chips and candy bars.
Brian: But Howie and Kevin are trying to get on the health thing and watch what they eat.
Nick: AJ's really strict about his McDonald's. Nobody's allowed near it. "He's like, "Get off my French fries! Those are mine!"
Nick: That's when I put my headphones on. I was listening to Metallica yesterday.
Brian: I sit up front, listen to my CDs and look at the scenery. It's the only time I get to chill.
Nick: I also sit on my bunk and draw.
Nick: We always play Mario Kart or Tennis. Brian always beats me at Tennis, but I hold the title in Mario Kart. Brian's a bad loser. He holds a grudge when I dig it in.
Brian: That's not true! I'm a good loser. Anyway, you don't always win.
Nick: Howie definitely takes the longest time in the toilet. He's always the last off the bus.
Brian: We don't have a proper bathroom on the bus, so we have to brush our teeth and stuff when we get to the hotel. It's pretty horrible.
The Bumpy Rides
Brian: Nick got ill in this small van on tour last year. We had to stop, so he could be sick.
Nick: It was only because the guy driving kept jerking the van around. I'm always fine on the bus 'cause it's nice and smooth.
The Personal Touches
Brian: All our personal things get chucked on our bunks. There's no room to put stuff anywhere else. Even our clothes get stored underneath the bus.
Nick: We used to have a little troll up front. Whenever someone got off the bus, they had to put it on the seat. It was a sign to the driver. It told him that someone had gotten off the bus.
Brian: Luckily, no one's ever got left behind.