For me, there is a mixed bag of feelings going on right now. First of all, this isn't a long tour and there's very little travel involved. A total of 12 shows and only 3 of them are overnight trips. But this tour has posed challenges of a different nature for me. To start, as well as mixing FOH on this tour, I'm also serving as tour manager which is where things begin to get interesting. Even on a "normal" tour there are a myriad of different people and concerns to deal with.
Advancing a tour is a concept that most people never really think about but a tour would never happen without it. In the last month I've spoke with at least two different people for each venue; always the tech director to make sure all the technical details are worked out in advance so there's no surprises when the band shows up. As FOH tech I also make sure all the equipment is taken care of and in my case I try to carry as much gear as possible so to maximize consistency.
I also always speak with whoever is in charge of the artist relations to sort out hospitality, catering, dressing rooms, accommodations, parking, merchandise, sales, guest list, schedules... the list goes on as do the phone calls and e-mails. On top of all that preparation, I also have to communicate with the artist to make sure we're on the same page artistically and technically.
I must deal with the agent to make sure we're clear on all the financial details in terms of the deposit and the amount I need to collect before the performance. If it's a flat rate or a figure versus a percentage of the profits.
I'm dealing with the merchandise, making sure there is someone to sell at each venue, calculate the house's percentage and adjust prices accordingly, pick up the merch and make sure it gets to each venue. A somewhat unique feature of this tour is that I am required to arrange a "page turner" for each performance. This is a person who sits at the piano and turns the page so the pianist's hands don't need to leave the keyboard. This is traditionally a purely volunteer gig, but I'm throwing a $20 tip at each of them just for their trouble. Another thing on this tour that's slightly different is that I require the piano tuned before and after soundcheck. These guys are that pro!!
One of the other things that makes this tour different than most I've done is that since there's an ensemble plus a special guest, that means I get to deal with two managers, two agents, two PR agents, etc.... The guest artist's wishes and the bandleader's wishes must be reconciled and though it's been a fairly smooth task so far, there are times when I have to play referee here and there. Also, I must make sure all the musicians have an itinerary, day sheets, maps/directions to each venue, and that everyone has a ride, etc...
So tomorrow I start a tour. In the last two days I've gone from an average of 10 e-mails a day to about 40+. 10 phone calls a day to about 20 or more. Today I drove to the merch warehouse to pick up the boxes. I am currently doing a show at the theatre right now which, luckily for me, is a film screening that requires no real audio work during the show. Since the film has started I have e-mailed people from two different venues, the agent twice and one of the band members. I have arranged the vocal mic that I will be taking on this tour. I have put together maps and directions into a PDF file so I can e-mail them to everyone. I have re-configured my input to make sense with some changes in the show that were made yesterday at rehearsal. In the morning I'm going to my wife's office to print tour books and then pick up the vocal mic on my way to the first venue.
Tomorrow I start a tour. One is never ready to start a tour, regardless of how much they have prepared. Things will change, issues will arise, complaints will come, things with be forgotten. Changes will be made, issues will be solved, complaints will be dealt with and forgotten things will be worked around. If everything that can go wrong does go wrong and things crumble, I will hold it all together by the sheer force of my will. I will not panic, I will not be grumpy, I will blame nobody in their absence or in front of others. I will be as prepared as possible and I will be surprised at nothing.
Tomorrow I start a tour; house lights out, stage wash up, go sound live, fly curtain out and here we go!!!
Song Of The Day
I realized right off the bat the hard part wasn't going to be finding songs, but editing which ones to share and when. I don't want to keep throwing up songs from the same few artists or songs that stay in a common theme. So today's song will be from an album that I actually haven't listened to in awhile but something I'll probably be listening to over the next few weeks as a calming agent. I have a few albums and songs that I use for such effect. James Taylor's "Carolina in my Mind", anything Harry Manx, most Caedmon's Call albums, Dave Gunning, the list goes on. This album I discovered through an Apple commercial for the MacBook Air. A totally unknown artist at the time named Yael Naim. I don't think my keyboard has the proper keys to punctuate that name correctly. She's amazing in general, sings in English, French and Hebrew and is drop-dead gorgeous. The song I'm featuring today is actually a song originally recorded by Britney Spears called "Toxic". I heard the original version of this song and wrote it off as the usual pop-princess-whore crap that is typical of her 'work'. But then I heard this cover of the tune and was completely blown away. The vibraphone work is stunning and her vocals are superb. Download this album right now and prepare discover a new favorite artist.
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