Originally written by Rae Amitay
Full disclosure: I’ve never been one to offer unsolicited advice on much of anything, much less about music as a career. This article is not a pedestal for me to spew “pro-tips” about microphone placement or tom tunings. Hell, I’ve fallen off my drum seat whilst trying to adjust my pedals during sound check. However, I’ve spent two of the past six months on tour, and since returning home a few days ago from my latest five-week trek with Castle, I’ve been itching to write down some of the things I’ve learned. I hope that the following pieces of advice will prove helpful to bands about to embark on their first expeditions, or at the very least serve as entertainment for more perspicacious players. These bits of knowledge have accumulated both through firsthand experience and via the counsel of my more seasoned touring friends. Enjoy, and feel free to leave your own words to the wise in the comments section!
1. CHANNEL YOUR INNER SANTA CLAUS
As in, make a list, and check it twice. Do you wear contact lenses? If so, have you packed enough? Are you bringing your iPod? If so, did you remember your charger? Forgetting things like this can make a tour thoroughly unpleasant. Make sure that you’ve gotten your prescriptions filled, bought a few (hundred) new pairs of socks, and prepared for inclement weather you may encounter on the road. It might take up space in your bag, but you’ll be glad you brought gloves, a scarf, and a jacket heavier than a hoodie if you’re touring in the winter and playing anywhere other than the West coast. Making a physical (not just mental) checklist and marking it off while you pack will save you a lot of grief in the long run and leaves far less room for forgetful mistakes.
2. DON’T BE A HERO
This means, don’t suddenly decide to take up a moral stance against over-the-counter pharmaceuticals like Advil or Claritin or whatever. If you’re not the kind of person who ever takes meds, fine, but if you all of a sudden choose to forego taking pills that have always helped you in the past…Reconsider. You’re going to be crashing on all sorts of couches, floors, etc. with every kind of hair/fur/dust imaginable. Sleep is your best friend and your chance to gather strength before the next show. If you’re sneezing, coughing, and snoring all night, you’re hurting yourself and potentially hurting your bandmates (if the sounds of your respiratory arrest are keeping them awake, too). Same goes for migraines and the other aches and pains of the road. “Toughing it out” will likely put you in a foul mood and possibly aggravate an injury even further. Just pop a few Aspirin, no one will think less of you. The second I started to develop tendonitis on tour, I stocked up on heat patches, wrist braces, learned a dozen stretches, and sought advice from other musicians. It made a massive difference and made it possible for me to hit my hardest each night. Powering through the pain might seem more “metal”, but it’s also stupid and will rob years of playing from your career. You owe it to yourself and your band to take care of yourself.
The second part of this tip is: If it’s too heavy, don’t lift it alone. I know that you want to load in/out as quickly as possible, but you’re no one’s hero if you slip a disc or get a hernia three days into a six-week tour. As a 5’3” woman, I always feel like I have something to prove, and that stubborn streak has caused me a sprained wrist and a pulled hamstring. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Even if your bandmates are busy loading other gear, chances are that a kindhearted sound engineer or even a helpful bartender will lend a hand. These two pieces of advice go together like PB&J, because if you don’t listen to this one and you act like Thor and pull a muscle in your back, listen to the first part and pop an Aleve instead of “walking it off.”
3. CARRY A TOWEL
Yes, this is a piece of advice that I’ve advocated ever since reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy almost a decade ago, but it rings true despite your affiliation with brilliant science fiction writing. Seriously, towels are great. You can’t assume that every person you stay with will have a pile of freshly laundered towels for you and your bandmates to use, and having a towel of your own takes the element of chance out of the showering equation. If you’re not using your towel for traditional use, it can also be folded up to create a makeshift pillow, or you can use it as a (fairly inadequate) blanket. It’s just a good idea to have one, and an even better idea to have a washcloth along with your full body towel. Of course, towels can get pretty gnarly, which leads me to tip #4.
4. FEBREZE & BODY WIPES
A friend of mine bought me a travel-sized Febreze from Old Navy, of all places, but it proved invaluable while I was on the road. It’s definitely no substitute for doing laundry, but it helps. I wore the same Strong Intention hoodie pretty much every day for five weeks and Febreze kept me from having to set it on fire. Same goes for towels. Or socks. Or jeans. Or anything you wear more than once. Which, when you’re on tour…Is everything. Body wipes are also a worthy investment, and you can pick them up at any drugstore. When you have to cram into the van right after a show, it’s nice to be able to freshen up, especially when you don’t know exactly when your next shower will be.
5. ALWAYS GET OUT OF THE VAN
Even if the drives are short, always get out of the van/bus when you have a chance. Sitting for hours at a time isn’t good for your circulation, or your sanity. Just take a minute to walk around, breathe some fresh gas station air, grab a snack, or splash water on your face. If your legs are all cramped up when you get to the venue, you might hurt yourself during load-in.
6. CHOOSE GROCERY STORES
Supermarkets can be a cheaper and healthier alternative to eating fast food. Stock up on cereal bars, water, bananas, and other snacks with quantifiable nutritional value. Buying a yogurt and an apple instead of a McMuffin is less expensive, and far better for you. There will still be places where you’ll have no choice but to grab a cheeseburger, but the less frequently you have to do this, the better you’ll feel. Eating healthy while on the road requires some creativity, but putting in the extra effort can make a huge difference.
7. GEAR, THEN BEER
I get it. You’ve got free drink tickets, you played a killer show, and people want to buy you shots. That’s awesome. But first things first, make sure your gear is accounted for and is safely tucked away. Leaving your shit haphazardly scattered all over the venue is a surefire way for things to get stolen, misplaced, or accidentally packed into another band’s trailer. If you don’t have your wits about you, it’ll be much more difficult to account for everyone’s stuff, not to mention your compromised motor skills could lead to guitars being dropped, a snare drum rolling down a hill, etc. If you want to pound back some brews, feel free! Just make sure the gear gets loaded before you do.
Castle – Photo by Laura Higdon
8. KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES
As in, play your goddamn heart out every night, whether you’re performing for the sound guy and the local opener, or a room filled past capacity. If the crowd’s energy isn’t enough to feed off of, find it within yourself to keep the enthusiasm going from the first note to the last. You never know who’s watching, and every show is a chance to play better than the night before. The second part of this is, don’t forget who’s helping you. Introduce yourself to the sound guy, to the opening bands, and to the people approaching you before and after the show. The friendlier and more personable you are, the more likely people will be to connect with your music, not to mention, someone may offer your band a place to stay, pick up some of your merch, etc. People who adopt bands for a night are a special kind of wonderful, so always be a gracious houseguest. The road can be rough, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve made pals in almost every city.
9. SHARPIES AND DUCT TAPE
This is pretty self-explanatory. If you have these two things, you’ll have a solution to almost every problem. I have personally resurrected the most busted drum hardware imaginable using creativity, duct tape, and entry-level engineering prowess. As for Sharpies, you can use them to write setlists, label boxes, sign albums (should you be so lucky!), designate water bottle ownership, draw on bathroom walls, etc.
10. BE GRATEFUL AND HAVE FUN
This seems obvious, but I have attended many shows where the touring band has loudly and publicly lamented their situation in front of the people who paid to see them play. I know being on the road isn’t easy. You’re tired, you smell, you’re broke, you’ve got stuff going on back home, etc. Still, there are hundreds of bands that would kill to be in your position. And they’d do it for even less money and even longer drives if they could. It’s important to remember that even in the darkest of times, this is what you signed up for, and this is what you’ve been working toward for years. Very few bands get to experience the glamour of full-blown bus touring with catering, roadies, merchandisers, tour managers, drivers, etc. A lot of it is just surviving on blood, sweat, tears, and gasoline. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a woe-is-me moment or two. And if you’re truly in an unsafe and unstable situation, there’s no shame in reassessing your feelings about touring for the next time around. But if that’s not the case, you shouldn’t lose sight of the big picture. Touring is the dream for so many bands, and you’re living it! Take a deep breath and realize that this time won’t continue indefinitely. Soon enough, you’ll be back home and wishing that you could be on the road again.
