Motorhead350
05-21-2014, 06:19 AM
A few have asked about how the bands first tour went, so I will share a little.
It's hard work. You are lucky to get 6 solid hours of sleep a night and are constant alert towards your band mates. You do not want to make anyone upset and must take into consideration they can leave at anytime. Leaving you high and dry. Not to mention a whole bunch of venues to be upset for not being able to make the show.
Income is never secure. It depends on how many people you bring in and how much everyone drinks. No deal for payment is ever the same nor is it ever guaranteed. What brings in cash better than anything else is selling Merch. CDs and tee shirts are what makes Tank.... yes Tank as in gas tank.
You must look good for each show. Whatever is bothering you on the road, or someone crying on the phone that you are not home, forget about it. No one in the audience cares about your personal problems. They came to see a show and get blown away. Shave right before the show, do not eat less than 2 hours before the show, drink plenty of water before and during the show. Make sure your clothes are clean and you look your best. For the next 30-45 minutes it's your job (literally) to rock out 3 chords like the world is about to end.
Driving can be as little as 45 minutes or as long as 14 hours. I tapped out at 11 hours straight on the way home. When I get tired I get really goofy as to a point where the average person would think I was intoxicated. It got bad near South Bend, IN when my ID was requested for a purchase and I pulled out my ID, pointed to it and said in a little girls voice "That's ME!!!"
We found a place to stay nearly every night. One night I did not agree with the others and ended up sleeping in the Mercury Mountaineer just for the sake of my desire for isolation. The next morning they both said they were sorry and "No matter how pissed you get, NEVER sleep alone in the car again." That was a very nice feeling coming from my drummer who I know known for nearly half of my life.
One show went over so well, we had the audience singing along to a song I wrote by the 2nd chorus. Plus, a man approached us saying he would love to be our roadie and become a part of our crew. :bows: Other times we drove hours to play to a room that had no more than the band we were touring with and the local staff. Those are the worst, but even if it's a small number audience, it's important to put on the best show possible no matter what. You might get an idea for the next show.
In Atlantic City, they liked us so much we were invited to come back and play again a week later. We returned and got paid for it. Money is not important, but it's nice when aren't losing it. We had quite a few expenses... fuel, trailer rental, TOLLS (Thank you very much New Jersey) and meals. Every show we got income and every show we sold CDs and shirts. We upped our likes on our facebook, mailing list and were invited back to nearly all venues.
Usually we stayed at local peoples houses and took them out to breakfast in return. Philly was the best for that, but it would never stop raining. Plus the cats got my drummer sick. I was worried about him. Not about gigs, but his physical self. We all care for each other and that's what matters. At no time did any one of us tell one another to go away or F off. If anything, we learned we can all get along together just fine.
Girls might be a question for some of you. The answer is, we do not have time for that. As soon as the show is done, it's not a matter of who can get a helmet wash first, it's who will sell the most CDs, what good came out of the show, who wants us back, who was in the crowd that wants to work with us now. This is all that matters. Being that 2 out of 3 of us do not drink, we do not "party" after. It's usually off to Denny's or a local diner for a 2am dinner after the show. Usually it was fine until one night I broke down in tears after hearing a Roy Orbison song. "Why are you crying?" "Cuz he's F-ing dead! I will never see him live. Ever!!" Usually a rant on why 2014 sucks will come from my lips and they need to cheer me up. The same will happen for the others. We are all there for each other every night. After food we will find a floor to sleep on (literally) and off to the next place the next day. Do this day after day.
Staying out of trouble is easy unless you are in Philly and have to deal with parking. We got one parking violation which was totally false. 2 hour parking limit and the truck was moved 3 times. The 3rd time it was back to where is started. The officer thought it was never moved because I guess they never saw it in the other parking spaces before, but there was no photo. The ticket will be fought.
You go places and meet new people every day. Sometimes it's great, other times it's clear they want you gone. Just like that scene in Easy Rider with the locals laughing and making fun of them. We experienced that a few times, but never really too much trouble. When you walk into a place with green hair and another guy with a pink mohawk with you, you will be welcomed or you will be wanted out. Usually we were welcomed, followed by constant complements from ladies about our hair and asking how we did it... they know how we did it, they just wanted to talk to us.
The road trips can be boring, but with 200 CDs and the other two with their phones, there is something new to listen to. At one point I passed a charter bus in the mountains on Pennsylvania and noticed it had only one working headlight. So I stuck with it for about 2 hours until sunrise. I'd like to think the guy was happy and I may have kept 10s of people safe early that morning, but you never know. We kept a cooler in the truck and plenty of snacks. It helped to pull off of the road every hour due to constant consumption of water.
My drummer HATES The Ramones and to me it's the best music to drive to. His solution is to wear head phones and weed out what I am listening to. Plus the others are into comic books, while I am into reality. So they were reading comics the whole time, while I was driving and listening to The Ramones... we were all happy.
I got to see quite a few Marauder members from all over the country too. Some never showed, but a lot did. A few even drove their Marauders to the show!
There is a lot more to it, but this is simply the cliff notes. I cannot wait to do this again.
BTW I booked all, but one show. It was very last minute. Usually these things take 6 months, it was done in 5 weeks. It took a lot of work and hours in front of the computer each day, but it paid off.
It's hard work. You are lucky to get 6 solid hours of sleep a night and are constant alert towards your band mates. You do not want to make anyone upset and must take into consideration they can leave at anytime. Leaving you high and dry. Not to mention a whole bunch of venues to be upset for not being able to make the show.
Income is never secure. It depends on how many people you bring in and how much everyone drinks. No deal for payment is ever the same nor is it ever guaranteed. What brings in cash better than anything else is selling Merch. CDs and tee shirts are what makes Tank.... yes Tank as in gas tank.
You must look good for each show. Whatever is bothering you on the road, or someone crying on the phone that you are not home, forget about it. No one in the audience cares about your personal problems. They came to see a show and get blown away. Shave right before the show, do not eat less than 2 hours before the show, drink plenty of water before and during the show. Make sure your clothes are clean and you look your best. For the next 30-45 minutes it's your job (literally) to rock out 3 chords like the world is about to end.
Driving can be as little as 45 minutes or as long as 14 hours. I tapped out at 11 hours straight on the way home. When I get tired I get really goofy as to a point where the average person would think I was intoxicated. It got bad near South Bend, IN when my ID was requested for a purchase and I pulled out my ID, pointed to it and said in a little girls voice "That's ME!!!"
We found a place to stay nearly every night. One night I did not agree with the others and ended up sleeping in the Mercury Mountaineer just for the sake of my desire for isolation. The next morning they both said they were sorry and "No matter how pissed you get, NEVER sleep alone in the car again." That was a very nice feeling coming from my drummer who I know known for nearly half of my life.
One show went over so well, we had the audience singing along to a song I wrote by the 2nd chorus. Plus, a man approached us saying he would love to be our roadie and become a part of our crew. :bows: Other times we drove hours to play to a room that had no more than the band we were touring with and the local staff. Those are the worst, but even if it's a small number audience, it's important to put on the best show possible no matter what. You might get an idea for the next show.
In Atlantic City, they liked us so much we were invited to come back and play again a week later. We returned and got paid for it. Money is not important, but it's nice when aren't losing it. We had quite a few expenses... fuel, trailer rental, TOLLS (Thank you very much New Jersey) and meals. Every show we got income and every show we sold CDs and shirts. We upped our likes on our facebook, mailing list and were invited back to nearly all venues.
Usually we stayed at local peoples houses and took them out to breakfast in return. Philly was the best for that, but it would never stop raining. Plus the cats got my drummer sick. I was worried about him. Not about gigs, but his physical self. We all care for each other and that's what matters. At no time did any one of us tell one another to go away or F off. If anything, we learned we can all get along together just fine.
Girls might be a question for some of you. The answer is, we do not have time for that. As soon as the show is done, it's not a matter of who can get a helmet wash first, it's who will sell the most CDs, what good came out of the show, who wants us back, who was in the crowd that wants to work with us now. This is all that matters. Being that 2 out of 3 of us do not drink, we do not "party" after. It's usually off to Denny's or a local diner for a 2am dinner after the show. Usually it was fine until one night I broke down in tears after hearing a Roy Orbison song. "Why are you crying?" "Cuz he's F-ing dead! I will never see him live. Ever!!" Usually a rant on why 2014 sucks will come from my lips and they need to cheer me up. The same will happen for the others. We are all there for each other every night. After food we will find a floor to sleep on (literally) and off to the next place the next day. Do this day after day.
Staying out of trouble is easy unless you are in Philly and have to deal with parking. We got one parking violation which was totally false. 2 hour parking limit and the truck was moved 3 times. The 3rd time it was back to where is started. The officer thought it was never moved because I guess they never saw it in the other parking spaces before, but there was no photo. The ticket will be fought.
You go places and meet new people every day. Sometimes it's great, other times it's clear they want you gone. Just like that scene in Easy Rider with the locals laughing and making fun of them. We experienced that a few times, but never really too much trouble. When you walk into a place with green hair and another guy with a pink mohawk with you, you will be welcomed or you will be wanted out. Usually we were welcomed, followed by constant complements from ladies about our hair and asking how we did it... they know how we did it, they just wanted to talk to us.
The road trips can be boring, but with 200 CDs and the other two with their phones, there is something new to listen to. At one point I passed a charter bus in the mountains on Pennsylvania and noticed it had only one working headlight. So I stuck with it for about 2 hours until sunrise. I'd like to think the guy was happy and I may have kept 10s of people safe early that morning, but you never know. We kept a cooler in the truck and plenty of snacks. It helped to pull off of the road every hour due to constant consumption of water.
My drummer HATES The Ramones and to me it's the best music to drive to. His solution is to wear head phones and weed out what I am listening to. Plus the others are into comic books, while I am into reality. So they were reading comics the whole time, while I was driving and listening to The Ramones... we were all happy.
I got to see quite a few Marauder members from all over the country too. Some never showed, but a lot did. A few even drove their Marauders to the show!
There is a lot more to it, but this is simply the cliff notes. I cannot wait to do this again.
BTW I booked all, but one show. It was very last minute. Usually these things take 6 months, it was done in 5 weeks. It took a lot of work and hours in front of the computer each day, but it paid off.