Eric Talks With Driving Legend Bill Parks.  Bill’s first Job in the Entertainment Industry Was Driving for Legendary - Conway Twitty. 

First job in the entertainment business, was driving a tour bus for a Conway Twitty and did so for 22 years! Bill talks about how Conway didn’t drink or allow alcohol on his bus, paid well, treated others great and was a man of his word.  Conway’s first bus was a 1972 MCI MC7.  It cost $130,000 in 1972. 

Bill reminisces about life on the road with Conway.  He mentions shows with George Strait, Reba, Merle, Dolly and Porter and Loretta and talks about how smart of business person Conway was.

Everything has improved over the years. The basics like a super quiet and smooth ride and a good night’s sleep on a quality mattress are standard now. 

Today these homes on wheels have luxury bathrooms and entertainment systems, fully functional wifi for over a dozen users, custom tile and flooring, sliding doors and Air-Ride Suspensions… 

Some of the more interesting All Access Coach Leasing builds have included a rock climbing wall, recording studios, custom cubby systems and built in dog kennels.  Push button doors, multiple bathrooms, custom lighting, and steam showers.  

Eric discusses different types of tours - fairs, sheds and stadiums arenas. How the heat of a fair produced everyone’s favorite ‘gig butt’. 

He discusses how artists today are managing catering while on the road. It’s a wide variety from corn dogs to gourmet food every night.

Eric shares some of his experiences selling t-shirts with Tim McGraw and gives a shout out to Billy Bob’s Texas in Ft. Worth.

Eric describes a typical tour and who’s actually riding on a tour bus and how it changes as an artist or band is growing in popularity.  He also describes how some artists build long term sustainable careers and may only need one or two buses when they want to tour. 

Eric talks about the changing dynamics and relationships the artist has with the crew over time and discusses Eric Church, Billy Currington, and Josh Turner

Eric, Rabbit and Tim talk about building buses and the options that were available to them at the time, in the late 90's and early 2000's.  

Eric and Rabbit discuss the origin of the bus business with bus business legend Tim Dillman.

Eric and Rabbit discuss all of the companies that were early pioneers in the leasing business and how the branched from the early bus owners. Slow Ride Coach, Diamond Coach, Pyramid Coach, Music City Coach and discuss some of the artists including Lee Ann Womack. We also get a funny shout out to the The Flying Karamazov Brothers.

We hear from Don "Rabbit" Arkon.  Don is another pioneer in the bus business and started Nitetrain Coach years ago.  

Rabbit explains how industry factors created the leasing business and how that became the norm in the industry. 

Rabbit started with one bus called "The General" and went on to become one of the leaders in the business.

Eric actually drove for Rabbit years ago and they share lots of similarities. 

Ever wonder what it takes to be a great driver in the entertainer tour bus business?  That’s exactly what Eric Blankenship discusses in this podcast. 

It’s not about being the fastest driver.  It’s not about just ‘holding a steering wheel’.  Customer service is the key and Eric talks about what’s expected of driver today and tells some stories of a legend in the business.

Eric Blankenship currently is the co-owner of a successful tour bus company located in Gallatin Tennessee, north of Nashville.  In this episode, we learn how this small town singer from Bonham Texas  ‘made it big’ in the music business, but just not how he planned. 

Eric sold boots, shirts and eventually drove a tour bus for Ricky Skaggs, one of his musical idols. That start in driving led to a friendship and ultimately opened doors for Eric to build his own company, All Access Coach Leasing.  We hope you enjoy this origin story.