drewvandal Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Was curious if there are any other touring dudes / dudettes on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcohenour Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 This could be an interesting thread 6heart6breaker6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billya Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I work some DIY shows in the Philly suburbs, but I haven't done it on a tour (yet). jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henster311 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 i do little stints with bands when they come around photographing for them a few days or so. not every band, just the ones im friendly with. still working out details to head out on the prada / tgi tour come march and hopefully hang with tgi again for warped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Avatar Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 logan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyFuckingPowers Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Currently out TMing a band. Then going out in April working for the Long Island Medium. Then on warped all summer. jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holland623 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I was on the road for about 12 years with various bands... did merch, stage manager, backline tech, and/or tour managing. more or less fell out of the touring game when a steady gig opened up for me at a venue in town. Sadly, said steady position only lasted a year when the owners decided to close shop... currently an event coordinator/production manager for a non-profit... I toy with seeing what's out there in the touring world, but I'm not sure my body would enjoy that life these days. with that said, it was the best 'job' I ever had, and I wouldn't trade those memories and experiences for anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcohenour Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I was on the road for about 12 years with various bands... did merch, stage manager, backline tech, and/or tour managing. more or less fell out of the touring game when a steady gig opened up for me at a venue in town. Sadly, said steady position only lasted a year when the owners decided to close shop... currently an event coordinator/production manager for a non-profit... I toy with seeing what's out there in the touring world, but I'm not sure my body would enjoy that life these days. with that said, it was the best 'job' I ever had, and I wouldn't trade those memories and experiences for anything... Wow that sounds amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewvandal Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 I was on the road for about 12 years with various bands... did merch, stage manager, backline tech, and/or tour managing. more or less fell out of the touring game when a steady gig opened up for me at a venue in town. Sadly, said steady position only lasted a year when the owners decided to close shop... currently an event coordinator/production manager for a non-profit... I toy with seeing what's out there in the touring world, but I'm not sure my body would enjoy that life these days. with that said, it was the best 'job' I ever had, and I wouldn't trade those memories and experiences for anything... I hear you man, I've been doing this as my full time job for about 3 years not. Still love it and it's perfect for me being 24 but I am already starting to think about what my next move will be. A dog / apartment / girlfriend all sound really cool but pretty impossible being away 8-10 months out of the year. jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holland623 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I hear you man, I've been doing this as my full time job for about 3 years not. Still love it and it's perfect for me being 24 but I am already starting to think about what my next move will be. A dog / apartment / girlfriend all sound really cool but pretty impossible being away 8-10 months out of the year. it was rough balancing tour and life. thankfully, I met a very supportive woman at home who stood by me living the dream.. I was on the road for the better part of our first 4 years together. we ended up getting married a couple years ago when I shifted focus to new paths. getting paid to see rock shows... there wasn't much better than that! jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorgante Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 At this point in my life, I've done 30 US tours and 1 European tour either with my own bands or as a merch guy. I did merch for bands such as War of Ages, Edison Glass, A Perfect Kiss, Deas Vail, Barrow, etc. I've had some great times over the years, but I haven't done anything since the last tour with Deadhorse in 2012. It's been a nice change of pace in my life to live in different cities and be settled, but I'm ready to get back out on the road! jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniegwilliams Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I toured off and on for about three years, I don't miss it at all. There's something awesome about sleeping on floors and scrounging to find money for gas and food, and there were a lot of good stories that came from it; but at 30, I don't think I could go back to doing that full-time. I enjoy my apartment, gal, family, and felines far too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Doing this is my dream, but I'm not friends with any bands and have no idea how to get into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I would like to go do merch for a band that I'm friends with for like a month just to have the experience, but I couldn't be gone away from my son for very long. jtcohenour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holland623 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Doing this is my dream, but I'm not friends with any bands and have no idea how to get into it. If I could offer you, or anyone that's interested any advice, the best thing to do is get in at a venue or with a production company.A lot of bands are slimming down their crews to cut costs due to the incline in touring costs. I was going to so many shows in my younger days that I got to know the venue staff, one night the head of security told me he was short-staffed and asked if I wanted to make a little money, I obliged, after the show he asked if I wanted to help out at upcoming show. I said sure. I did that for a year or so and, eventually, jumped on stage and learned the ropes of being a stagehand... at that point, I started to meet a lot of people, it's a tight-knit community and you see a lot of the same faces fairly regulary. If you're good, bands and/or crews remember you (they also remember you if you totally suck at the job) At one point, a touring crew I had worked with multiple times asked if I'd be interested in coming out on the road with 'em, I said sure, gave them my number... they called randomly many months later. I went out with that particular artist for a couple months and thought I was going to go home after the tour, they kept me around, sent me with a label-mate, and I bounced around with that camp for about two years... I decided my time with them was up, came home, went back to the local circuit, ran into another guy I worked with he mentioned his employer would have a need, I was out with that band for about 3 years... I had a string of good luck when this band was done, that band would take me... in the end, it's all about networking. I did bus tours, as well as van tours. being in my mid-thirties, I doubt I have it in me to do a van tour these days or as ronniegwilliams pointed out, sleeping on floors on the regular. If you don't take care of yourself, you can get real unhealthy real quick. jtcohenour and cemeterytapes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I toured with my band a couple times, we clearly didnt give a shit about anything but having fun, I dont know what its like to tour professionally, but I can say that if you tour with no real expectations or cares it'll make it much more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Logan Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 logan I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE...wait...what. Been on the road since I was 16, I got a really amazing offer in 2012 and was stoked to have been able to quit my 'real' job for my 'dream' job. It all unraveled and became hands down the worst 'tour' I was ever apart of. I didn't really know what to do with myself but I made a small little family with everyone at We Are Team Hans and we've got some really neat stuff lined up. I was hoping to be on Warped this year, a lot of friends are going out but I'd rather finish up college (I graduate in August) instead of postponing it for a measly few months. I'm definitely going out on the road sometime late Summer, but I'm not allowed to announce who with yet (also, I'm not too sure anyone knows which tour I officially got placed on, since I was requested for another.) Time will tell. I honestly have no clue what my next move would be though, I start thinking about that more. I went to school for Entertainment Business, so it's not like an actual real-life degree to fall back on (I didn't think this through, I was pretty set on going for music management, and got swayed into entertainment because it's 'broader'.) I enjoy running the social media side of things a lot, so maybe there will be a home for me there when it's time to settle down more. Until then, bottom bunk 4 lyfe. jayteamanis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewvandal Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 If I could offer you, or anyone that's interested any advice, the best thing to do is get in at a venue or with a production company.A lot of bands are slimming down their crews to cut costs due to the incline in touring costs. I was going to so many shows in my younger days that I got to know the venue staff, one night the head of security told me he was short-staffed and asked if I wanted to make a little money, I obliged, after the show he asked if I wanted to help out at upcoming show. I said sure. I did that for a year or so and, eventually, jumped on stage and learned the ropes of being a stagehand... at that point, I started to meet a lot of people, it's a tight-knit community and you see a lot of the same faces fairly regulary. If you're good, bands and/or crews remember you (they also remember you if you totally suck at the job) At one point, a touring crew I had worked with multiple times asked if I'd be interested in coming out on the road with 'em, I said sure, gave them my number... they called randomly many months later. I went out with that particular artist for a couple months and thought I was going to go home after the tour, they kept me around, sent me with a label-mate, and I bounced around with that camp for about two years... I decided my time with them was up, came home, went back to the local circuit, ran into another guy I worked with he mentioned his employer would have a need, I was out with that band for about 3 years... I had a string of good luck when this band was done, that band would take me... in the end, it's all about networking. I did bus tours, as well as van tours. being in my mid-thirties, I doubt I have it in me to do a van tour these days or as ronniegwilliams pointed out, sleeping on floors on the regular. If you don't take care of yourself, you can get real unhealthy real quick. Amen to literally everything in this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atticus Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 If I could offer you, or anyone that's interested any advice, the best thing to do is get in at a venue or with a production company.A lot of bands are slimming down their crews to cut costs due to the incline in touring costs. I was going to so many shows in my younger days that I got to know the venue staff, one night the head of security told me he was short-staffed and asked if I wanted to make a little money, I obliged, after the show he asked if I wanted to help out at upcoming show. I said sure. I did that for a year or so and, eventually, jumped on stage and learned the ropes of being a stagehand... at that point, I started to meet a lot of people, it's a tight-knit community and you see a lot of the same faces fairly regulary. If you're good, bands and/or crews remember you (they also remember you if you totally suck at the job) At one point, a touring crew I had worked with multiple times asked if I'd be interested in coming out on the road with 'em, I said sure, gave them my number... they called randomly many months later. I went out with that particular artist for a couple months and thought I was going to go home after the tour, they kept me around, sent me with a label-mate, and I bounced around with that camp for about two years... I decided my time with them was up, came home, went back to the local circuit, ran into another guy I worked with he mentioned his employer would have a need, I was out with that band for about 3 years... I had a string of good luck when this band was done, that band would take me... in the end, it's all about networking. I did bus tours, as well as van tours. being in my mid-thirties, I doubt I have it in me to do a van tour these days or as ronniegwilliams pointed out, sleeping on floors on the regular. If you don't take care of yourself, you can get real unhealthy real quick. +1 on the get in at the club/venue level. I had an English teacher who was a DJ at a local radio station and I would always beg her to get me on with bands when they came through. She told me that since I was always at shows anyway to get to know venue staff. My production career started exactly as described in the above post... I was the annoying kid who showed up early and hung around the venue. One day they had like 4 ppl call in sick and asked me to watch the side stage gate (literally sitting in a chair checking credentials for the maybe 10 ppl on the backstage list). From there I just sort of became part of the family. It's also true about the memory of stage hands. They hate people who suck at their job. Mostly if you're willing to learn and work really hard and not really make much money at first (or sometimes ever) you can make it. I gravitated more toward the Front of House side of stuff so I never really did the "world tour" thing. I went out as a FOH assistant a few times for little 3 month stints which was awesome but I mainly stayed venue-side for most of my experience. I will say I've also noticed the trend in touring acts cutting down on personnel (at least the small to mid-sized ones). A big name tour is going to bring a fucking army though. The problem with breaking into that roadie community though is that they are sluts. They're the same group of people they just switch acts that they tour with. They also know their shit. And not just like they know what they're talking about. They know fucking EVERYTHING. A friend got me backstage/hanging out with the road crew for Dave Matthews one time when he came through. I thought I was hot shit talking shop with some of the crew. I was so far out of my league it wasn't even funny. It's a different level being able to talk about something and actually living it 300 days a year. The thing that amazed me the most was the level of professionalism. I mean around the clubs I've worked in we got our shit done and did a good job and what not. But we had a few beers and were able to cut loose a bit while we were doing it. These guys were all business-very very intense. The dedication was obvious though, that show ran like clockwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salpanza Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 professional as fuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I've done bicycle tours! They're similar-ish and WAY FUN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewvandal Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 professional as fuck. Whats up Sal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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