Las Vegas band Rusty Maples is touring its way toward Austin, where official showcases at this year's South by Southwest festival await. Drummer Max Plenke, a journalist who frequently contributes music content for the Weekly, checks in with a series of reports from the road.

Day 3: The lockup Once we saw the inside of the cell, we realized our show in Laredo wouldn’t be without hitches. To be fair, we were told plenty of times to ditch any weed before hitting Texas because here, right along the border, they don’t f*ck around. Even still, it came as a shock when that grinning golden bitch started hemming and hawing somewhere near the rear of the van, straining her leash to get in the window.

Within moments we were pulled out, patted down and locked up at the same border inspection checkpoint that did in Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and, most recently, Lil Wayne. It seemed like a lot of fanfare for a couple grams, especially with major pipelines to spurn and rappers to bust. But it’s how we came to be a trio for 24 hours. On that day, the third of tour, we learned three things: 1. Don’t (ever) mess with Texas, 2. two grams of weed can mean a night in jail and a $450 bond, and 3. when you’re in a border town in deep south Texas, cursing the immigration police will immediately win your audience.