Man...we had a bounder. Or more specifically, we had The Bounder...THE Bounder. It looked very similar to the one in the picture above, but ours was pimped. And I mean PIMPED! The Moke Bounder had another set of wheels towards the back, a satellite dish that you cranked up with a handle linked to a huge television, fridges, a kitchen, a shower, toilet...and best of all, electric steps that popped out at the touch of a button. We eschewed the black paint job and went instead for pure beige. Classic, sleek, sexy...cool.
We first met The Bounder in Florida. It had been driven out to the East coast by our driver for the next twelve weeks, Hans. The man was, and hopefully still is, a legend.
Over the course of that tour, The Bounder took a bit of a kicking. We regularly overlooked to retract the electric steps. What would alert you to this was a horrific metallic scraping sound, which would only happen when the vehicle turned right. This could be ten, twenty minutes into a journey.
The satellite dish? Navigating a low bridge at high speed took care of that one. The huge wing mirrors? Casualty No. 1, entering a checkpoint at Disney in Anaheim, CA. Casualties Nos. 2, 3, 4... - I don't remember where, but what's important to understand is that there were multiple casualties.
We also ripped the roof off and crashed the fucker on a daily basis, usually at the back, which when you look at the design of the vehicle is understandable. Approximately one third of The Bounder's length was behind the rear wheels. You'd go to swing out of a parking space, and destroy the back of the bus AND a street sign in one fell swoop.
Inside, The Bounder was a palace when we took possession. Check it...
...just like Dolly Parton's living room. By the time the tour ended in Houston, Texas, it had also been destroyed. Following the incident with the roof, water had leaked in, helpfully all over the 1,000 or so Moke T-shirts we were carrying at the time. We chain smoked throughout the 600 mile daily drives, and in the tradition of all considerate rock bands, entertained well wishers in the vehicle following a show, instead of our hotel rooms. Hot rocks, spillages, general bon viveurie took care of the soft furnishings and interior decor. And due to the lack of a boot (GB) / trunk (USA), flightcases rolled over the floor on a daily basis had ripped the lino to shreds.
The final straw was when we travelled to a show somewhere in the mid-west. As we drove through a densely wooded area, a sprightly deer suddenly leaped, gazelle-like, into the road in front of The Bounder. I was riding shotgun at the time, and as we hurtled towards it, the deer's head turned - we locked eyes. What followed was that special moment, where animal and man are in perfect harmony. We understood each other completely.
"Maybe, just maybe, this isn't going to happen...?"
Then...
THWACK!
CRUNCH!
BUDOOMP!
May it's enormous great bulk R.I.P. And I'm talking about The Bounder, as well as the stupid deer.
a l e x m o k e
We first met The Bounder in Florida. It had been driven out to the East coast by our driver for the next twelve weeks, Hans. The man was, and hopefully still is, a legend.
Over the course of that tour, The Bounder took a bit of a kicking. We regularly overlooked to retract the electric steps. What would alert you to this was a horrific metallic scraping sound, which would only happen when the vehicle turned right. This could be ten, twenty minutes into a journey.
The satellite dish? Navigating a low bridge at high speed took care of that one. The huge wing mirrors? Casualty No. 1, entering a checkpoint at Disney in Anaheim, CA. Casualties Nos. 2, 3, 4... - I don't remember where, but what's important to understand is that there were multiple casualties.
We also ripped the roof off and crashed the fucker on a daily basis, usually at the back, which when you look at the design of the vehicle is understandable. Approximately one third of The Bounder's length was behind the rear wheels. You'd go to swing out of a parking space, and destroy the back of the bus AND a street sign in one fell swoop.
Inside, The Bounder was a palace when we took possession. Check it...
...just like Dolly Parton's living room. By the time the tour ended in Houston, Texas, it had also been destroyed. Following the incident with the roof, water had leaked in, helpfully all over the 1,000 or so Moke T-shirts we were carrying at the time. We chain smoked throughout the 600 mile daily drives, and in the tradition of all considerate rock bands, entertained well wishers in the vehicle following a show, instead of our hotel rooms. Hot rocks, spillages, general bon viveurie took care of the soft furnishings and interior decor. And due to the lack of a boot (GB) / trunk (USA), flightcases rolled over the floor on a daily basis had ripped the lino to shreds.
The final straw was when we travelled to a show somewhere in the mid-west. As we drove through a densely wooded area, a sprightly deer suddenly leaped, gazelle-like, into the road in front of The Bounder. I was riding shotgun at the time, and as we hurtled towards it, the deer's head turned - we locked eyes. What followed was that special moment, where animal and man are in perfect harmony. We understood each other completely.
"Maybe, just maybe, this isn't going to happen...?"
Then...
THWACK!
CRUNCH!
BUDOOMP!
May it's enormous great bulk R.I.P. And I'm talking about The Bounder, as well as the stupid deer.
a l e x m o k e
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