Ryan Griffith Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 I've been checking out websites of some original & jam bands and it got me thinking about the idea of touring. Ahh, the road. I haven't had the fortune of going much farther than 1/2 an hour for a gig, but a local band escaped & spends most months on the road, doing a circuit throughout Virginia, North & South Carolina & Georgia. (11 Foot 7, if you're wondering) So, as what'll hopefully be an interesting topic... not totally bass, but still biz-related, has anyone had any travel experiences? Tell us about 'em here. Was it a couple weeks crammed into a van? Was it a cross-country tour with a high production act in posh tour buses? Or do we all just play in bars? Not that it's a bad thing... Regards, ~Griff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 i'll be going on a tour of the midwest with enemy squad this summer. all the guys in my band have day jobs, too, so it's a weekend only thing, in OH, IL, IN, and MI. we may hit NY and the east coast if we want to take a few vacation days. i'm looking forward to it, even though it's not a real, on-the-road tour. it will be a new experience for me. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimT Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 What!? A tour of the midwest w/o hitting Wisconsin?! Congratulations synaes! Haven't done the road thing, yet. I can't wait to hear about it, though. SlimT It's all about the rumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Hey there... I'm in two bands. One tours a good bit (2 weeks at a time, 3-4 times a year.) The other not as much. We're very poor. We take our old-ass van out and drive from Maine to Florida, hitting as many places in between as possible. We play everything from from lovely showcase rooms in NYC to spiderwebby basements in GA. We sleep in the van a lot. We smell bad a lot. It's fun as hell. We love it. It's really hard to organize our time with this. We all have day jobs, families, etc, but we manage. Here's a good story: We were traveling from Syaracuse, NY, to Boston, MA, last November and running a little late for the gig. Our van had devleoped an ugly oil leak earlier in the tour that was prohibitively expensive to fix (like $1000.) So we were constantly pouring oil into it (about 6 quarts a day). This was a constant source of worry. We shouldn't have worried about it that much... as long as we kept oil in it, we were good to go. We were about 60 miles from Boston (on the MASS Pike) and making decent time when our exhaust and muffler dropped off of the van and started scraping along on the highway at 80 mph. We pulled over to check it out, and it turned out we couldn't detach the whole thing from the van because it was still partially attached. So... I managed to crawl under the van and wire the exhaust onto the underside of the van with a bass string (it was a "G"). The van was noisy as hell after that, but we made it in time for the show. We still had about a week left on tour, so we left it that way. Two months after tour, we were still so broke that van exhaust was still held on with the string. I have about a 3 million stories like this... and some others involving women, drugs and other stuff as well. I guess the worries that occur when we tour are more focused on the basics: making sure we get there, where we will sleep, what we will eat and where we can find a clean toilet. The music is the last thing we worry about... that part is easy. It's the only constant. When you are sleeping 3" from another stinky guy for the 2nd week in a row, the music seems so simple. You realise that it's the only reason you're putting up with these inhuman conditions. I think it makes you play better. I think every independent touring band has stories and feelings like these. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassplayer7770 Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Originally posted by synaes: i'll be going on a tour of the midwest with enemy squad this summer. all the guys in my band have day jobs, too, so it's a weekend only thing, in OH, IL, IN, and MI. we may hit NY and the east coast if we want to take a few vacation days. i'm looking forward to it, even though it's not a real, on-the-road tour. it will be a new experience for me. Hey, let me know if you're playing the Columbus area Maybe I could stop by! Rig: Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling Fender Deluxe V (Bartolini pickups and BTB-01 preamp) Schecter Diamond Series Model T Eden WT-400 Avatar B410 NEO Boss ME-50B The Mac - My cover band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted November 17, 2001 Share Posted November 17, 2001 Cool thread. Is Gabe still the drummer for enemy squad? tell him I said whassup! hope you guys make it down to the southeast. I personally haven't done the tour. I am too old for that now. Ah youth .... RobT Thumpin' in Charlotte, NC by way of Detroit, MI RobT Famous Musical Quotes: "I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve" - Xavier Cugat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Boy Posted November 18, 2001 Share Posted November 18, 2001 I haven't toured since 1982, but here's my advice, FWIW. When I toured, we played lounges, so my experience comes from that perspective. I don't even know if the lounge scene even exists any more so this may not be relevent to anything. We had a lot of time on our hands. We played for weeks at a time in the same place, so we almost became like residents. We had 10 - 12 hours of time to kill every day, so we would usually rehearse every day. Unless of course the room was used for lunch or dinner. I got really good at Asteriods and Pac Man. The money was decent, but with so much time to kill you often go out shopping. Meals also consume much of your income, and you learn to eat frugally. One guy I played with practically lived off of the "Happy Hour" finger food. You usually had to room with another band member so it helped it you could get along. One guy used to bring his wife and kid along for extended stays. It's better to be single out there. Here's the good part. You're gigging 5 to 6 nights each week. That's 20 to 30 hours each week playing your axe. If you rehearse with the band and practice on your own, you end up putting many hours in on your instrument. I don't know if I would have half my present chops without the experience. If you're single, go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaddik Posted November 18, 2001 Share Posted November 18, 2001 I ghavee toured in all levels- Ive beat it out in a van and waseven flown to a gig in a Lear jet!!! honest, no lie- in all cases, it is a wonderful experience.. you owe it to yourself- Ive seen half the world- and got paid for it- when music is good, it is SO good!! Praise ye the LORD. ....praise him with stringed instruments and organs... Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. excerpt from- Psalm 150 visit me at: www.adriangarcia.net for His glory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted November 18, 2001 Share Posted November 18, 2001 Originally posted by bassplayer7770: Hey, let me know if you're playing the Columbus area Maybe I could stop by! i'd love to play columbus, but i think it might only be cinci. i'm not sure... because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted November 18, 2001 Share Posted November 18, 2001 Originally posted by RobT: Is Gabe still the drummer for enemy squad? tell him I said whassup! he is. i couldnt' be more excited about playing with those guys. i hear they're all really, really nice, and of course they're amazing musicians. i can't wait to learn all the stuff i'll learn from them. i don't think my band will make it down south (i'd love to go), but i can't speak for enemy squad. maybe they'll make it down. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tal_dup1 Posted November 18, 2001 Share Posted November 18, 2001 man, my friends and I just started jamming and putting some songs together. Its our dream to be popular enough to play in more than one city. In my opinion, the best way to get esposure is to open for a band who plays similar music that already has some kind of a fan base. You have to go on tour and stay on tour LIVE MY DREAM!! PLEASE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Griffith Posted November 19, 2001 Author Share Posted November 19, 2001 Thanks everyone for your remarks & stories. I have no idea how far my group might go, but it's inspiring to read some tales of life on the road. Now all I have to do is listen to my guitarist, a classic dreamer if ever there was one, and we'll soon be doing a cross-country college tour like his friend's band or something. Silly dreamers. Regards, ~Griff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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