Hit The Road, Jake #14570

The Story

Here’s Jake McCall working his other part-time gig as a traveling skeleton musician. He sits waiting to go with his guitar case on his old Dodge pickup truck, Half Note. It used to be called Whole Note until that bad wreck a few years ago coming back from a band gig with The Deadbeats at the Dead End Grille in Tombstone.

Ah yes, good old Tombstone. What a night that was. It was almost the Grand Finale, for sure!

Actually, all of The Deadbeat’s musical gigs fall into the realm of the grand finale these days. No matter, you need to keep yourself in work with lots of eternal time to kill on your hands. Like life in The Before, even skeleton spooks need something interesting to do in The After. Who says you don’t live forever? Besides, you might want to rock on outta’ here until forever shows up.

As they say, the show must go on. That’s just how it is when you’re on the road gigging forevermore as a traveling musician and full-time spook. During those travels, sometimes this skeleton musician takes his girlfriend Desmerelda and her pet blackbird companion along with him too. There’s always room for two and a bird, especially on the Friday pizza special night.

Playing in bands around the town of Afterlife is the longest gig any musician will ever have, but hey, if you love what you do…you know. Tonight’s gig is just down Route 666 in the town of Nevermore, playing at the Dead Ringer Diner. The Deadbeats play the diner every other Friday, alternating sets with the Backyard Mummies. Back in the day, they had that popular hit, The Ties That Bind.

Spaghetti with Tomb Sauce is served every Tuesday at the diner; pepperoni pizza with extra crunchy fossil toppings is on Friday.

Yes, Jake and the rest of The Deadbeats really do play a few cover songs by some other zombies. Those songs are always dead or alive people-pleasers if the truth be known. They’re standing proof to show how one good musical hit can last more than a lifetime.

Does the band play Grateful Dead covers too? Of course, they do!

Location: the Town of Afterlife. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks