Mobile 'Stateroom' lets Terri Clark ride in style.
When it comes to tour buses, Terri Clark has learned that new is nice. Everything works, the comforts of home are at hand, and it even smells good.
It also sends a message. At $500,000 a pop, buying a new tour bus is not like picking out a secondhand car.
After leasing several buses, Terri knew what she wanted in her own maroon Prevost ship of the highways ... privacey - the one thing every star always needs and rearely gets - and maybe a little comfort.
"It's nicely decorated but not too fancy," says Terri. "I picked out the colors." The bus features knotty pine cabinets, taupe leather for the couches and parquet floors with dark green rugs for comfort and warmth.
The quest for privacy shows up in the tinted windows. Terri and her crew of 11 can see without being seen. And Terri's stateroom is the "How I Feel" star's refuge from the storm of touring 225 days a year.
Terri admits it's her favorite room because it affords her the most privacy. "I can watch my own TV and make personal telephone calls," she says. "It's also where I get ready for my shows, and if I do any songwriting, it's in the privacy of my room."
Terri's stateroom has plenty of sofa space as well as a bed and a sophisticated TV stereo system. "I have a make-up vanity, a hanging closet for most of my stage clothes, and a separate closet for my boots," says teh 30 yr old from Medicine Hat, Alberta. "There's a small refrigerator next to my bed, and a phone that goes to my driver or road manager if I need to call them."
Bedside switches control lighting, temperature and sound; elecctronics do the rest. Terri says the best thing on the bus is the "tracking satellite TV." She enjoys spending her limited free time watchin TV - particularly VH1's "Behind the Music" - and movies. A recent favorite was the Oscar-nominated "The Ap[ostle" with Robert Duvall. Terri also makes time to listen to other artis' music. "I really enjoy Sarah McLachlan," she says.
On the road, Terri prefers convenience to cooking. "My driver keeps HealthyChoice meals in the refrigerator for me, and there are soups, pop-tarts and some pringles light potato chips. If I want someting good right away, my favorite is a Healthy Choice pepperoni pizza."
When it's necessary to fly to an engagement, the bus will be wating at the venue. "It's nice to know it's there," she says. "It gives me the privacy I need."
