The road and another year gone...
It's a very cold and snowy day today. I decided to log onto my blog, which I realized today I never seem to post to anymore. I guess it happens. I find myself on Twitter and unfortunately Facebook. Also there are a few industry blogs and forums that I like to frequent.
Time seems to go by quicker each year. 2013 found me still touring, though not as much as the previous few. The guys in YES have been keeping me busy and 2014 is gearing up to be more so than 2013.
The music business is shifting on so many levels. Bands are making very little money selling their music. So touring is a means to make some real money and if they are lucky a living. The bean counters have really stuck there noses into the industry. Managers, accountants and even the bands themselves are cutting back on salaries offers. They are also pushing to cut back on the amount of people they hire and ask the ones they do to wear more than one hat.
This multi hat issue is not new. It has been going on with the younger and up incoming artists for some time. The problem is established and more well known bands are doing it more and more. For example they want the same person to do sound and road manage. Or they want someone to set up the band gear and handle the merchandise. Yet they only want to pay them the equivalent of one job or even less.
What this is leading to is the quality of work is suffering. Also I believe it will lead to safety issues as well.
As a fan it will effect you to a point. The quality of the product will go down. Say if you have an young inexperienced sound person mixing your favorite band and it sounds bad, you a not getting what you paid for. This will come back on the artist because "you" the fan may not be willing to pay your hard earned money to see them the next time around.
Labels: 2014, Band, Canada, North America, Progressive, Road, roadie, Roadies, Salary, Snow, Tour, Tours, Travel, YES
2013 is underway
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| ASIA Lighting Rig Japan 2012 |
Is it really a month into 2013 already? Wow time seems to be flying by. 2012 was a fairly busy touring year which was good for the bank account. I spent most of the year touring with the band
YES. We did a North American tour which included the US, a couple Canadian shows and a show in Mexico City. We also did a tour of the far east which included Japan, Australia and Indonesia. Things wrapped up at the end of the summer.
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| Mount Fuji |
In September I was asked to work with the guys from
ASIA which of course includes Steve Howe and Geoff Downes from YES. It was ASIA's 30 anniversary tour. This time we started in Japan and then did a North American tour. The tour wrapped up at the end of November.
It was then announced that Steve Howe would be leaving ASIA to concentrate on solo work and of course the band YES.
Speaking of
YES. The band will be hitting the road at the end of February for another North American tour. They will be performing three of their classic albums in their entirety. Also there will be a five day
cruise during the middle of it, that will feature several progressive rock bands along with YES headlining.
After this tour we should be heading to South America in May. After that there is talk of a summer tour but where we haven't been told yet.
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| part of the kitchen remodel |
Since I have been home for the holidays I have worked a few local shows, but mainly I have spent this past month remodeling my kitchen. I hired a contractor to do 75% of the work. I designed the kitchen and did most of the demo and all of the painting. I was very fortunate that it came in at what I had budgeted. I have a home improvement line of credit which I have been using over the past year to make improvements to the house.
It's tough doing anything around your house when you spend more time away from it than you do in it.
I will be working this year just pay for most of these improvements but in the end it will be worth it.
Labels: 2012, 2013, ASIA, Canada, Lighting, Mexico, North America, Photos, Road, roadie, Roadies, South America, Toronto, Tour, Touring, Tours, YES
I'm off to see the wizard
It's been a busy 6 weeks here at home, working with the guys at
Audio Images Sound & Lighting. We have been doing quite a few festivals providing staging, sound, lights, backline, etc. Long hours but also some good times and laughs.
Well now it's back on the road on Sunday with the band
YES. The tour is kicking off in Toronto and will run till August 22 when it finishes in Mexico City. A North American tour in the summer and fortunately most of the shows are indoors. I hate the heat.
After the YES tour I will be heading out with the band
ASIA. Steve and Geoff from YES will obviously playing with them too. The tour will kick off in Japan in the middle of September with a North American tour after that and the UK in December.
So it looks like the rest of my year will be fairly busy. I have begun looking for a different house and have been going back and forth with the credit union on a mortgage. It looks like I have finally been approved. So hopefully during the weeks between legs of the tour I can find the new digs.
Labels: Concert, Home, Road, roadie, Roadies, Stage, Toronto, Tour, Touring, YES
Life's reality
Like many people in my line of work we are misfits in various degrees. How else do you explain the fact that we like to work 15 hour days, travel around on buses and planes. It's a strange life we live. Sure the money is usually good and there are good times. I wouldn't trade it for any other job. Well maybe one or two.
It's a different world though and at some point during the year you have to come back to the "norm". I have a hard time of this. It's difficult to relate to family and those friends that aren't in the business. I find myself just hanging around the house. I don't venture out to the bars or clubs. I'm not much of a socializer these days and realize it's getting worse.
When I'm on the road it's easy. You are with the same group of people all day long for weeks on end. You are comfortable with most of them because you all relate to the situation. I also find it easier to talk to people when I'm on the road. Why? I don't really know. Maybe it's the vagabond factor, is there such a thing? I don't really know how to describe it.
The holidays are upon us and I will be out on the road for the first half of December which is good. However January is looking to be a month of having some time off. I think it might be time to travel for pleasure and not for work.
Labels: Christmas, Holidays, Road, Roadies, Touring
NO I DON'T......wait what?!!
I think I have posted about this before, who can remember, I'm old dammit!!
Addiction is something that most people deal with on a daily basis. Whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex or food, everyone has one to some degree. Fortunately for me I don't really have any of these except for maybe caffeine.
I love soda and I have been really trying to cut back and to some degree stop drinking it all together.
The thing is I need the caffeine especially when I'm on the road. I'm back on a coffee kick again even at home. Normally I only drink iced coffee when it's hot outside, but lately I have even been drinking it hot.
It's a good thing there isn't a Starbucks in my neighborhood. I could go broke.
Labels: Coffee, Road, Roadies, Touring
Hello Cleveland!!! Hello Cleveland
The road is a strange and wonderful place at times. You see things and get to meet people from many walks of life. After several shows and many miles traveled the crew arrived yesterday in the city dubbed the Home of Rock & Roll, HELLO CLEVELAND!! To coin the line from the movie Spinal Tap.
We spent Sunday eating, going to the movies and hitting the nightlife. I had a chance to see the film “28 Weeks Later”. If you enjoyed the first film “28 Days Later” you will like this one too. We ended eating at an expensive restaurant which I usually only do once a tour. I had the lobster tail of course, which put a huge dent in my per diem.
While reading the local entertainment rag, we noticed that Lemmy was in town. As some of you know I am a fan of Motorhead and yes the man himself was in town playing a club. On this night it was with his side project The Headcat, which also includes the drummer from the Stray Cats. The play a couple original’s but mainly rock and roll standards. It was very cool and if you can you must check it out.
Today we decided to hit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now I have been there several times over the years including several times with artist’s who performed for events there. Today we were treated to a behind the scenes look at items that are not on display but are located in the vault. This included the last passport of John Lennon. The jacket Prince wore in Purple Rain, one of Steven Tyler’s outfits and a jacket owned by Hank Williams Sr.
They will be opening an exhibit for the Doors starting next week and we saw a couple of the old guitar cases in the vault. Unfortunately the guitars were already in the display cases, which we didn’t get to see, we asked if we could get a sneak peek. They politely denied.
The nice young lady who runs the vault mentioned to us that a few of the things on display are actually copies. One of them was a song lyric that Lennon had written on the back of what looked like a brown grocery bag. We saw the copy on the exhibit floor later. I wonder how many others are copies.
We have just four shows left on this run. There are a couple of one off’s in June which I will probably be doing.
In the meantime I am looking for a summer tour. I have a few things in the fire but nothing has confirmed.
I hate looking for work.
Labels: Concert, Five For Fighting, Road
Rules of the road
First let me say I did not create these.
If you are a current touring roadie you should already know these. If you are thinking of becoming one......are you sure?
If you have personal issues, please leave them at home, or have the subscriptions canceled; most significantly, substance abuses of any kind. There's no room for them on the bus.
If you know you're going to have a problem getting into Canada, then you've done this before, and you should tell us now. It's bad enough that people have to go to Canada at all—don't make it worse by forcing them to hear your story during a four o'clock in the morning border crossing. If you know you're hiding this, then make sure you have several hundred dollars in your pocket and the airfare for your replacement.
The Production Office is the production's office, not yours. Your office is the million-dollar system you load in and out every day—hang out there instead, and see if there's a way to take better care of it, or make better use of it.
Do not use the production telephones for personal use. If you need something for yourself, then use your own phone.
The tour manager takes care of the band, and doesn't need to know what you think or need. The production manager takes care of the production and only needs to know what the production needs. The production assistant is your best friend, but that's supposed to be a well-kept secret, so don't act like it.
Do not ask the runners to do anything personal for you. If it's that important, then either take care of it on your days off, or ask the production assistant if you can put it on the runner's list. If you have to think about whether you want everyone to know about it, then don't bother—simply re-read the first sentence of this rule.
There is to be no sex, real or imagined, with the production assistant or merch person—male or female.
In every situation, please try and remember these two somewhat metaphorical tenets for a successful operation; they also work for relationships and other emergencies:
a. Clearly establish and respect your chain of command, lines of communication, and plan of attack before you embark on your mission.
b. Secure your base, establish your coordinates, and guarantee an escape route. (In other words, figure out the best location for your equipment placement, find the safest and cleanest route for all signal paths, and lay it all out for the most efficient load-out.)
Take care of the equipment as if it's your responsibility—it is. Saving 30 seconds on a load-out is not worth two hours the next day to fix a piece of gear, or $500 in Fed Ex charges to send you a replacement.
If you are assigned a walkie-talkie by production, be aware that a replacement will cost as much as you likely net in a week, and will be worth more than you.
Bring your own specialized tools. Only you know what it is you do. God knows we still can't figure it out.
Work as a collective team. If one person is working and you're not, then help him. If you're too stupid to add anything, then go to the bus—but let someone know where you will be. Sitting around telling the same boring road tales while everyone else is working will not make you the envy of anyone, but it could invite disdain from the crew.
If you are the designated crew chief, it's an acknowledgement of leadership, responsibility, and respect, not an elevation in job title. There is no extra pay in it. Someone's gotta do it. Would you rather have some other idiot telling you what to do?
Speaking of idiots, be sure you do an "idiot" check at the end of every load out—this is in addition to staring at yourself in the mirror for an hour wondering why you agreed to do this gig. Do not assume the local crew gives a damn about the gear only you know is yours. If you leave something behind, you'll know it before we do, so get it back immediately or your name will replace the word idiot above .
Do not offer strangers tickets or passes. They're not yours to offer. Besides, you're leaving town on the bus and won't get laid anyway, and if you already did—why bother?
Think twice before offering people you know, including family, tickets or passes. Remember how distracting and time consuming it is to wander around outside a venue before a show, worrying about anything but the show. And you shouldn't be having sex with relatives anyway.
Beware the three-week rule. That's when everyone has learned the show, takes it for granted, and starts focusing on each other's behavioral problems. You've done this before; so don't act like you're surprised at that time of the month. It's going to happen. Get over it. It is also when spouses and mates get bitchy at home. If you don't want to come home and find the toilet seat up, then either give them the attention and detail they deserve before you leave, or don't go on tour.
NEVER be late for a bus call. You will be oil-spotted at your own expense. The good news is, if you're late, you will provide the entire production an opportunity for a lifetime's worth of jokes-also at your expense.
If you find you cannot urinate standing up on a moving bus without redecorating the entire head, it doesn't mean you're a drunk or a sissy. Even rock stars do it sitting down.
Do not even consider going #2 on the bus, or someone will pull your head off and do it down your neck.
Do not leave your new "special friend" alone on the bus, or in your hotel room-ever. I guarantee you, when they are gone they will have taken a souvenir, which could easily be your wallet, or your job.
Do not lose or lend your bus key, or your laminate, to anyone—ever. The cost of replacing either is subject to a market price determined by the most ruthless, twisted, and relentless person available in production – haha we know who this is.
If there are long bus drives ahead, buy a book or some videos, or write letters to your loved ones telling them how much you miss them. Do not ask us to pay for a flight to the next destination. Besides, you might miss a great view of the country's heartland before some deranged extremists attempt to destroy it.
Always sleep in your bunk with your feet facing the front—everyone else does. There are a lot of boot lickers in this business, and you wouldn't want them to get confused in the middle of the night. And if you really don't understand this rule, then just take note of what it feels like when the driver slams on his brakes 10 times during the late night ride.
Avoid falling asleep in either the front or back lounges of the bus—unless you want to wake up with a face that looks like a tattooed princess from New Zealand. Everyone has a Sharpie!!!
If you have days off, do not consider taking off for home. You should've taken care of whatever is so urgent before you left. Instead, arrange for whatever it is to come to you, at your own expense, and don't expect any special considerations.
Do not whine; you are an adult, and hopefully a professional. It's not becoming, and you might invite a kind of sex you do not want.
When you check out of a hotel, always pay your incidentals or you'll become incidental.
You have agreed to a pay rate. Do not suddenly decide halfway through the tour that you're working too hard, or are too talented, for that pay. That is only the artist's prerogative. If you were an artist, then we would have met in some avant-garde art gallery sipping sissy wine.
All recordings of the show belong to the artist—again, you are not the artist. They should be clearly labeled and handed over to one designated person in production. Any material recorded on hard drives should be dubbed onto "safeties."
Do not bother apologizing. Enough time was wasted when you screwed up. Time would be better served drawing a map for yourself so you won't bother going that way again.
No matter how you feel about the music or the artist, remember the artist is always right, and is ultimately responsible for all of you. They have put their trust in you while "up there on the stage." If they weren't there, you would be home wishing you had a gig. Or worse yet, you might be flipping burgers.
Remember, the show's the thing and it's a composite medium. It only works if everybody does their best together. Keep in mind that the audience has possibly spent their only disposable income of the year for one night out. Make it worth it.
The stars are not our friends, they are our employers. "Close to the fire, first to get burned." If they know your name, guess who they're going to freak out on when something goes wrong? Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to remember exactly who you work for.
These rules are ordered for reference—not priority. Whichever one you screw up first automatically becomes #1. Do not see this as a challenge for how many infractions you can accumulate in the length of the tour. You will not last that long.
If you learned anything new by reading this, then either you don't belong on the road, or you're new, and should keep your excitement to yourself. We advise you then, to look at it again and again in your bunk with a flashlight, as if it were a girlie magazine. If it gets you titillated, we don't want to know about it.
Be nice(not tour manager applicable), be great, and have fun.
Labels: Crew, Road, Roadies, Touring
Hey fat ass.......no I didn't mean you
For you that celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope you didn't over eat. I made sure not to eat too much. Having lost about 10 lbs in the last two months.
It's one of the things I love about touring. I always seem to lose weight while I'm on the road.
Al our sound engineer and tour manager is a very talented guy. He does his job very well and is also an excellent musician. Well, he also likes to cook. Now it's hard for him to do on the road. However he did make some guacamole one day from scratch.
This lasted all of about 10 minutes.
Labels: Food, Mexican, Road, Touring
