River and Conor, our on-board editors for Station to Station: a public art project made possible by Levi’s®, have finally finished up their journey on the Station to Station train. Between the two of them, they traveled from New York City to Oakland by way of Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Paul, Minnesota, Kansas City, Missouri, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Winslow, Arizona, Barstow, and Los Angeles. River and Conor kept us here at the VICE offices up-to-date on their dispatches from the road, which you can read here.Station to Station is over, but we asked River and Conor to put together a list of tips for riding on the Station to Station train, just in case the train goes out for another lap.
DIBS A SLEEPER CAR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING
No matter how much you desperately want a cup of coffee, the first thing you should do is race your fellow passengers to the empty sleeper cars. These rooms are in short supply, and they are necessary if you want to nap somewhere other than sitting up in a chair or on a couch while the rest of the train walks past and takes pictures of you.Once you secure a room, do your best to unpack everything in your backpack and scatter it around haphazardly to stake your claim. Most people just toss a few jackets and a book into the sleeper car to make it look lived in. But if you want to get creative, you can do it like Taylor-Ruth Baldwin, one of the artists on the train. Taylor-Ruth lined the walls with her comics. We all knew which room was hers.PICK A SIDE OF THE TRAIN AND SETTLE IN BEFORE RECORDING CAR LOCKS DOWN
The recording car is right in the middle of the train cars. The sleeper car and the Levi’s® train car are on one side. The dining car, the video editing car, and the caboose are on the other. No band wants you wandering through while they’re in the middle of a recording session, so once the tape starts rolling, the doors are locked. You better not be stuck on the wrong side of the train when the clock hits 5:01 and it’s happy hour in the Levi’s® car. Speaking of which…GET THERE EARLY FOR THE LEVI'S® 5:01 HAPPY HOUR (SHOW UP AT 5 PM)
Train cars aren’t very big, and everyone will be rushing to find a spot on the Levi’s® car once Happy Hour starts rolling. So make sure you get there early, before the line to the bar gets too long. Izumi, the bartender, is probably whipping up some magnificent jalapeno-infused tequila cocktail…BONUS TIP:
If you’re trying to find Ariel Pink, look down. He’s probably asleep at your feet somewhere. He never got the hint about the sleeper cars. -River Donaghey.jpg)
YOU CAN RESIST TEMPTATION BUT YOU CAN'T RESIST A TRAIN
No matter how much your body is telling you to find a quiet corner to melt into, the key to enjoying yourself on a long train ride is to indulge in everything around you at all times. If they're dancing in the Levi’s® car, shake a leg. If it's beer for breakfast in the dining car, chug in time and if someone invites you for a loogie competition, you suck that spittle up and hock it into the desert like a truck driver's daughter.UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN
If you want to spend an afternoon with your hair in the wind or go pick the Amtrak guy's brain about wicked bends and bandits in the desert, or if you do lock eyes on someone and they lock back and you think wouldn't it be nice to go have a cuddle in a sleeping car, the do just that. Truth is, this kind of opportunity is a once in a few lifetime's occasion and the best answer to every impulse is yes. And…ENJOY
Station to Station was the culmination of several years of hard work, hundreds of hours and more. In a month of hard travel only one person missed the train and she caught up that night, and apart from a stowaway in Winslow, the delays were all down to unpredictable desert railroads. No injuries either apart from the rolling hangovers and blistered lips. They were everywhere. But all in all, it was as close to a perfect festival as these things get and if you didn't enjoy it, there's not much you will. -Conor Creighton
Check out the Levi’s® Icons product collection here.
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No matter how much you desperately want a cup of coffee, the first thing you should do is race your fellow passengers to the empty sleeper cars. These rooms are in short supply, and they are necessary if you want to nap somewhere other than sitting up in a chair or on a couch while the rest of the train walks past and takes pictures of you.Once you secure a room, do your best to unpack everything in your backpack and scatter it around haphazardly to stake your claim. Most people just toss a few jackets and a book into the sleeper car to make it look lived in. But if you want to get creative, you can do it like Taylor-Ruth Baldwin, one of the artists on the train. Taylor-Ruth lined the walls with her comics. We all knew which room was hers.PICK A SIDE OF THE TRAIN AND SETTLE IN BEFORE RECORDING CAR LOCKS DOWN
The recording car is right in the middle of the train cars. The sleeper car and the Levi’s® train car are on one side. The dining car, the video editing car, and the caboose are on the other. No band wants you wandering through while they’re in the middle of a recording session, so once the tape starts rolling, the doors are locked. You better not be stuck on the wrong side of the train when the clock hits 5:01 and it’s happy hour in the Levi’s® car. Speaking of which…
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Train cars aren’t very big, and everyone will be rushing to find a spot on the Levi’s® car once Happy Hour starts rolling. So make sure you get there early, before the line to the bar gets too long. Izumi, the bartender, is probably whipping up some magnificent jalapeno-infused tequila cocktail…BONUS TIP:
If you’re trying to find Ariel Pink, look down. He’s probably asleep at your feet somewhere. He never got the hint about the sleeper cars. -River Donaghey
No matter how much your body is telling you to find a quiet corner to melt into, the key to enjoying yourself on a long train ride is to indulge in everything around you at all times. If they're dancing in the Levi’s® car, shake a leg. If it's beer for breakfast in the dining car, chug in time and if someone invites you for a loogie competition, you suck that spittle up and hock it into the desert like a truck driver's daughter.UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN
If you want to spend an afternoon with your hair in the wind or go pick the Amtrak guy's brain about wicked bends and bandits in the desert, or if you do lock eyes on someone and they lock back and you think wouldn't it be nice to go have a cuddle in a sleeping car, the do just that. Truth is, this kind of opportunity is a once in a few lifetime's occasion and the best answer to every impulse is yes. And…ENJOY
Station to Station was the culmination of several years of hard work, hundreds of hours and more. In a month of hard travel only one person missed the train and she caught up that night, and apart from a stowaway in Winslow, the delays were all down to unpredictable desert railroads. No injuries either apart from the rolling hangovers and blistered lips. They were everywhere. But all in all, it was as close to a perfect festival as these things get and if you didn't enjoy it, there's not much you will. -Conor Creighton