Advice on Touring Shows

[WestlakeTech]

I'm a rookie askin' some rookie questions. Tried searching for a thread with the info I'm lookin for, but didn't find one. If you know of one, please post a link.
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I'm considering taking a position on a touring show in the future. Seems like none of my local theaters are hiring and I don't want to move across the country 'cause I love Austin.

So I'm asking you, the professionals, what do you think about touring gigs? What are the pros and cons? Is it majorly different than normal shows? Would you recommend I give it a shot, or is it a bad idea?

(I have no idea what crew position I'd like to take)

 

[MisterTim]

Check out this thread for information about specifically packing, but also what life on a tour is like. Lots of great information in there.

 

[len]

More on general good and bad of touring:

Good
To me it was a really focused lifestyle. Everything revolves around the show. Since you don't have a house, family, etc., that you'll be with, you have nothing to focus on but the show, and whatever free time you get.

If you do have a lot of free time (and that includes time between show getting set up, and actual show call) you can explore. I used to walk around town for hours, talk to people, read, etc.

Depending on the crew, you can do a lot of things as a group. Sports, movies, games, etc.

Bad:

If you don't like communal living and you can't roll with things, don't go on tour. There's no personal space. You have your bunk on the bus. And that's about it. Figure you'll be watching someone else's favorite movie most of the time. Or hearing their music, etc.

Your standards of clean are different from everyone else. So you may be irritated by the slob OR the neat freak.

Be prepared that the tour can either be a total killer, work wise, or easy as pie. Or both. And what may seem like one when the tour is getting prepped in the shop may turn out the opposite on the road.

 

[Chris Chapman]

Eat Ramin Noodles on the road and save your Per Diem. You'll be shocked how much money you can make.

 

[bishopthomas]

Len pretty much summed it up, but I'll add...

Linking up with a touring band was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Of course there were some bad times too, but the good FAR outweighed the few negatives. I have been to continents I never would have gone to had I not been working. Flights to Australia/Japan aren't cheap, and I got to go for free AND got paid for it. Life on the road isn't nearly as hard as the "old road dogs" will make it out to be. If you don't have to drive then you should be able to get plenty of sleep, and my favorite part of touring is waking up the next morning in a completely different place than where you were the night before. To go to sleep in the desert of Arizona and wake up in the snowy mountains of Colorado is pretty cool.

I am married, but with no children, I don't mind being away from home for several weeks at a time. It always helps to be able to spend the day or so with your friends/loved ones, and if the tour goes through your home town that could be a good way to do so. Plus, if you have friends around the country/world then this is a great way to meet up with them, if not just for a quick lunch close to the club/theatre/venue.

Just so I'm not giving you a completely slanted view on the subject, here are some of the cons/warnings: Firstly, if you have a girlfriend/dog/whatever that you can't go without being around for more than a few days at a time then touring is not right for you. Also, if you need personal space and alone time forget it. You can always go for a walk, or find some corner of the venue to get away for a while, but it won't last long and you'll soon be back on the bus/van with several others that you may or may not even like, which brings me to my next point.

You need to be able to get along well with a wide range of people. Being in such close quarters with people you may not necessarily hang out with outside of the tour can be very trying. Learning how to resolve conflicts quickly and non-destructively is very important. This mainly goes for touring staff, but extends to local crews as well. You may not like the attitudes or actions of the local crew, but immediately getting on their bad side is not the way to make progress. Be respectful of them and realize that they probably don't care one bit about your production - you're just another show that's between them getting to work and going home. Do what you need to do to make a successful show happen, but if you didn't bring your own mic package don't go requesting specialty mics when they pull out a pile of 57's and 58's.

Anyway, if you get the opportunity then take it immediately. Touring is a great way to travel, make new friends, gain invaluable experience, and get paid while doing it. I've been off the road for a little over a year and really miss it. If I have more than a day off at a time I start to go a little stir crazy. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Footer]

One thing to keep in mind, if you are the kind of person that hates doing the same thing every day, touring is not for you. Theatre tours can make you think a bit, arena tours are essentially the exact same thing every day. If you can not imagine having to load in the exact same show every single day for 6 months, don't get a touring gig. Most people get into theatre because it is something new every day, this is not so true in the touring world. Good luck to ya.

 

[Scarrgo]

I did 15 yrs on the road, from tiny to huge theaters, bars, clubs ,arena's and fields. Meet some really great people and a few that I hope to not have to work with again. And I miss it, sometimes a lot....but, I had a family, and my needs changed.

It can be a great experience, lots of fun, and if you like to learn, you will learn lots. But, just be careful, I have seen some friends with addictive personalities fade to the dark side, almost ended there myself. Sorry, don't mean to come across so heavy, but be careful, have fun.

If you find that its not for you, its okay, just stick it out till the end. And you have learned a great life lesson.

Remember, you never stop learning

Sean...

 

[mixmaster]

The tours I did left me we mixed feelings. Generally, I'm glad I did, but I don't miss it now that I'm a house guy.

The first couple days on a tour always had that "new place, new sights every day buzz". but eventually I got sick of being in another dot on the map, watching another town fly by outside the bus, having to find a new place to do laundry and eat lunch every day. Speaking of food, how's your tolerance for flatmeat sandwiches for lunch 5 days a week, donuts or bagels for breakfast almost every day, and bad-catering-lasagna for supper about half the time?
Forget hanging out with the band and meeting girls. Most road dogs work all day while the band sees the sights or sleeps on the bus, then the road dogs work all night to strike and get the rig to the next venue while the band parties and sleeps. It's hard work, a lot of it, and it's the same thing over and over, every **** day for a couple weeks some times. Everyone's job is important, more so on smaller tours because budget never seem to allow for hiring enough people, but doing the same thing day day can be mind numbing. There's only a few "exciting" jobs, like board ops, and a lot of grunt work to be done, over and over.
I didn't mind be confined to a bus with a bunch of other smelly, scratchy, rough, road dogs, but I knew a couple guys who simply couldn't deal with the lack of privacy.
All that being said, I learned a lot about troubleshooting and making things work on road because it's not like you can just run back to the shop for something. You either carry spares or fix it yourself, and spares take up expensive space on the truck. I learned self-reliance, troubleshooting, and creativity touring and gigging in a way that I never quite experience as a house guy. I'm a bit of gear nut too, and if there is on thing that I miss about being on the road, it's seeing how other people and other venues do things. Seemed like there was always some new piece of gear to drool over, or someone's new way to deal with this or that, around the corner. You will run into hundred of thousands of people from all different backgrounds and listening to their war stories is a wonderful way to learn. The networking opportunities on a tour are fantastic too. If you are a solid hard worker, word will get out. If not, that word will get out too.

 

[len]

The food topic seems to have come up a lot.

One tour I was on the food sucked. Carryout from the local sandwich shop, not a lot of forward planning. Too much salt. But some of the others it was outstanding. Fresh fruit for breakfast, eggs, waffles, etc. Dinner was 2 - 3 roast meats and fowl, vegetarian, pastas, salads. I did a couple one-offs with a band one year when they broke away from a festival tour and gained 5 pounds in a week.

One tour they spent crazy money the last night of the tour. Post concert party was lobster, filet, white tablecloths, champagne, waiters, etc. It made it VERY difficult to get the rig down that night, and most of us hadn't even had any champagne yet. We were just stuffed.

 

[WestlakeTech]

Thanks for the input guys. This helps a lot.

 

[Pie4Weebl]

Also one of the perks that has not been mentioned in this thread yet are all of the exciting duties you have as the "greenhorn" out on your first tour, such as bringing ice and cans of coke out to front of house for the LD's mixed drinks before the set starts, running both yours and the opener's snake to FOH everyday as well as any other task related to the show or otherwise that anyone can think of.

Also with touring don't forget the exciting schedule, of loading in as early at 7 or 8 (or earlier) and then having a load out finish at 2 or 3. The joys of trying to load out a 7 truck show with no loading docks and only room for one truck to ramp at a time. Also for the first time in my life I've had to plan when I eat certain things so I don't have to go #2 at night.

/Ah the rock star life.

/It's cool to finally be able to answer "YES I do travel with the band" when asked.