RELATED EVENTS

• Flogging Molly

Reverend Peyton and his wife, "Washboard" Breezy, perform at the 2007 Arkansas Blues and Heritage festival.

On Feb. 10, the Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band will come home to Indianapolis to play a sold-out show at the Vogue, opening for Irish-American punk rockers Flogging Molly and indie rock collective Dusty Rhodes and the River Band.

Reflecting on the upcoming show, guitarist and lead singer Reverend Josh Peyton wistfully recalled the band's first live performance in Indianapolis a few years ago at the Melody Inn.

"Nobody was there," Peyton said. "Not a soul."

Peyton and the rest of the band -- comprised of his wife "Washboard" Breezy on washboard and his little brother Jamie Peyton on drums -- began touring full time a little over a year-and-a-half ago. Since then, they've been averaging 250 shows a year. And this road trip with the popular Flogging Molly is the band's most important tour yet.

"In terms of people and numbers, this will be the biggest ever for us," Peyton said. "The Vogue will be the smallest venue we play, and it's pretty good-sized."

The band keeps a detailed photo blog of its touring adventures online (see it here), which offers a fascinating and often hilarious glimpse into their lives on the road.

Peyton -- who talked to Indy.com as his band's tour bus passed through Post, Texas, on its way to a sold-out show in Austin -- recently shared some of the band's most memorable stories, including a chance meeting with Axl Rose and a run-in with a fugitive.

So you've had some pretty strange things happen while on tour these past couple of years.

Yeah. My brother got thrown out of Canada; we lived with a chicken for a while in San Francisco; we spent Jamie's birthday with Axl Rose; and we almost got killed by a hitchhiker we picked up.

Why did you pick up a hitchhiker?

We picked him up because we had extra time, and we were in Oregon, where hitchhiking is legal and everybody does it. What we didn't know was, we were picking up a hitchhiker right next to a jail. This guy had escaped and had a sackful of guns. To get away, I had to bluff and make him think I had a gun. We ditched him at a gas station.

What went through your mind when he threatened you?

I thought that was it. We're pretty gun-shy about picking up hitchhikers now.

How did you meet Axl Rose?

We were on tour with Derek Trucks and had just played a sold-out show at the Roxy in Los Angeles. After the show, we were at this bar on top of the Roxy, and Axl was there. We were talking, all of us being from Indiana, and he found out it was Jamie's birthday, so he started buying shots of Patron. He also let us hear (the long-delayed Guns N' Roses album) "Chinese Democracy." He was real nice to us.

What did you think of "Chinese Democracy?"

I think he played us some of "Chinese Democracy."

But did you like it?

I think he played us some of "Chinese Democracy."

How did your brother get kicked out of Canada?

All I can say is this: The Canadian government, they don't want my brother back for five years. In five years, everything can be all right. We've got lawyers on it, and we think it's going to be cleared up -- just not for a while. You can read more about it on our photo blog.