![](https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=675&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=7ed5c64e8d849ced448460be2b86bb57 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1350&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=64aa5fb6752b95169053e90e78bf9b3a 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=558&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=854768139b6864d49e87e2c9ce7a268b 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1116&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=973fd8e3a31428a4746028069f0fcfef 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=432&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=8fc26e4177c0988733f4cb1bfa66229d 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=864&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=583d82ff6f7b1ec37acc2cdf7f44fa0c 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=324&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=d6f2a0db1829a1b764ab3c45f4b002f1 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/gseries_van.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=648&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=c066bac951b295b4c48babac4dc6de7d 1152w)
My first car was a 1989 Chevy G series van, which I purchased collectively with a band I was playing in around 2006. This band actually consisted of myself and the four original members of Real Estate. We bought this van together to do a month-long tour of the United States. It was the first time any of us had ever gone on a tour like this, and the first time I would see many parts of this country that I would come to return to often as I got older.
The van was beige with dark red upholstery. It had mood lighting in the back, and seats that you could really settle into. No CD player. Cassettes only. We bought it for a reasonable price from a friend of the father of one of the band members.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1104&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=bea4cc3f32bb1a663bc4522423fd54d7 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2208&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=1383ebb01c3fe31856e12868e28c5e87 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=912&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=ab6b2085602afa9c0d1a1d30891432e8 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1825&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=edd7078aa0e3d24e6ed86faf1e7af4a4 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=706&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=8e31eb598e04534e6d66a06fe1d131ab 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1413&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=f3572f93a17685521ab975535a9d2883 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=529&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=d4d3b35baf8d72ca39d33545cbacd986 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/dash-1.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1059&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=06f69f9005bc3a1571b832cd321e308e 1152w)
That van took me to cities like Chicago, Atlanta, and Austin for the very first time, and to Madison, Wisconsin, where I would move to just a couple years later, and where I still reside. That van also brought me all the way to the west coast for the first time in my life. We drove it right up to the Pacific Ocean. We drove that van through national parks, like the Badlands in South Dakota, and we drove it past the Hollywood sign and other icons of American culture. In just a single month, that van saw mountains, lakes, rivers, deserts, swamps, and of course thousands of miles of interstate highway.
Since none of us had much experience with cars, we neglected to check our fluids often enough, and ran into trouble at one point in our trip. Just as we were pulling up to the Devil’s Tower in the northeast corner of Wyoming, the van started smoking. The transmission fluid had gotten too low, all dried up in the summer heat. We had to get towed to a mechanic that was around 30 miles away. We had no idea what was going to happen to our van, to our tour, or to us. The ride in the tow truck was bleak. There were wildfires tearing through that part of Wyoming. It was the first time I had seen fires like that. We watched deer sprint frantically across the interstate, fleeing the smoldering landscape in the distance.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=600&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=940eb999ab7b421a0556431a796fa013 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=9ea0fa8d53056c2698663d40c3d9a885 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=496&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=5e2c609d402fbcfaf7e73e1f2b4ab97f 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=992&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=2dc27a735d52a19e938058d294b7c150 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=384&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=f18e6e97eb3542eec876afeb0215a155 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=a25116839b9bab5c3cd65bf479be1a85 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=288&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=610a96f741f9fe782e7e1766103babfd 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figureB.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=2c5cd310a169151720f62157a86d40e5 1152w)
Anyways, we had to pay for transmission repairs. It cost a lot of money. We were stranded for about a week while the van was getting fixed. We stayed at a campsite in Gillette, Wyoming. The Razor City. Once repairs were complete, we were able to make good time to pick our tour back up in Seattle, having only missed a few shows.
We didn’t make any money on that tour. We each lost a bunch of money on that van. It got sold at the end of the tour, for far less than expected. Before it got sold, I remember the tires getting slashed at some point while I had it parked overnight outside my house in Washington, DC, where I was living at the time. I remember the van feeling like a burden at the end. Strange, of course, since it represented something so different to us before our journey with it.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=600&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=16bf31c77a8bf0aa81c8632b22d6752c 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=0165ecf7e55aa7a794baf28726b3ffe4 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=496&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=2fca8411d5b4613c48fa61b042d5551a 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=992&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=6df3cc5fa239c65826540f4720969485 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=384&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=125338dae432251ebd76d87b59fd9a0f 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=7d1df1ac5d07e875af80d6ff6e5154c5 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=288&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=07a444431fdad4251705a9cecab0e840 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/firstcar_figC.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=f823328a350b81bf589e0da415b8120f 1152w)
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