Traveling as a Musician

Any gig or show that is not local will involve traveling.  Whether you are traveling by car, plane, bus, or train, a few simple guidelines can make the process a lot smoother for everyone.  I’ve assembled a few suggestions centered around common sense that may provide some insight for people on their first endeavor.   For starters, be prepared to take care of yourself first, and then worry about everything else second.  Make sure you have your own gear in working order and personal items packed and ready to go.  Anything you forget will probably inconvenience someone else on the road.  Poor planning on your part should not constitute an emergency for someone else.

Traveling Regionally

Some of the time, traveling to a regional gig involves getting into your own car and driving a few hours.  Stop, think, and plan ahead.  Try to run errands and take care of last minute responsibilities the day before departure day.  Departure day has a natural ability to fill itself with last minute things that have to be done leaving no time for things that would have been nice to get done or things that should have been done the day before.  Fill the car with gas, hit the ATM machine, restock travel size toiletries, pack, and print directions the night before you depart.  When departure day arrives you will start out less tired and have plenty of time to deal with last minute emergencies.  Every city in the country has traffic.  Whether traffic is expected or unexpected, it’s never fun.  The only factor that combats traffic is planning ahead and leaving early to avoid being late.  Showing up late because of traffic makes everyone shrug their head and think the same thing – you should have left earlier.

For gigs that I have to drive to, it seems like I can never leave early enough.  There’s the gear packing on my end, “Do I have everything?”  Nothing is worse than arriving at the gig and then realizing I forgot something crucial (like my cymbal bag).  Then there’s the traffic, “Oh my God!  Why won’t the person in front of me get out of my way!  I’m on my way to a gig!”  Road Rage sets in.  Arriving at the venue is always fun too.  There’s the parking, unloading, and load in issue.  Ten minutes is not enough, trust me, I’ve tried. Let me recommend building 45 – 60 minutes of buffer for regional gigs.  Worse case scenario, you’ll end up with 30 minutes to wash your hands and freshen up a bit before transitioning your mind from being a roadie, to being an actual musician ready to play a job and play well.

Lobby Call/Curb Call/Sound Check etc.  Be on time.  If you are part of a band, it means you are part of a band, as in, not everyone should be waiting for you all the time.  If your name is not on the marquis it means you are a sideman.  Being late is disrespectful.  Sadly, musicians who repeatedly run late are talked about more than those who are always on time.  It’s also a good idea to avoid discussing other gigs that are “way better than this one…” in front of band and crew.  If you do other gigs that are “way better than this one….”, people will already know, and there is no need to actually say anything.  Stop and think about the actual performance, get your head in the right space.

I know musicians that love to sight see and soak up the local atmosphere, but forget why they are there in the first place.  It’s usually not a good idea to venture too far from the venue on performance days.  If you must venture out, make sure you allow ample time to return.  If there was no traffic leaving, assume there will be some on the way back.  It’s not the fault of traffic or your driver, it’s yours.  You are being paid for a performance, not to party/vacation.  Be responsible, use common sense.

Traveling Nationally

I have spent the last 18 years of my life going to an airport anywhere from twice a year to twice a week.  Since 9/11, airports have been testing the patience of the most passive and patient people.  Arrive early, and don’t be afraid to call your airline or log over to the TSA website for the latest boarding procedure and allowances.  Bringing a guitar in a soft case to the airport and having to gate check it at the last minute will be problematic. Knowing what to expect in advance will allow you to pack, prepare, and handle the check points and boarding procedures with ease and comfort.  The rules change every few months and sadly the procedures differ from airport to airport.  Be flexible and be ready to cooperate.

It’s easy to spot people who do not travel a lot.  They are the one’s sweating, frustrated, late, holding up the line or making a scene.  It’s understandable, but also quite avoidable.

Here are a few tips for flying to a gig:

1)    Arrive early.  All lines are long, and nobody ever missed a flight for being early.  Bring a book/laptop/ipod or something to keep yourself occupied while waiting for your flight.
2)    Visit http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm and your airline website the night before your departure and make note of all the details.
3)    In General, pack light and only bring what you can actually maneuver with comfort.  It’s unfair to depend on the courtesy of everyone else to help you lift a 100 pound carry-on into the overhead bin of an aircraft.  If you have a connection, maxing out the carry on allowance with a heavy suitcase, a purse or backpack along with numerous hand-held items and a shopping bag is going to make your transfer rather difficult.  Sometimes connecting gates are right next to each other, and sometimes they are miles apart and can involve taking a bus or train.

When traveling through an airport, quite often other travelers will pick up on the fact that you are traveling in a group and will deduct that you are an actual band (they see one of you carrying a guitar, a saxophone etc)  If you are approached or recognized, be human and be nice.  Nobody cares how tired or inconvenienced you are feeling at that particular moment.  I have met many famous musicians in airports.  Some have been gracious and friendly, others were quick to make me feel that I was inconveniencing them.  Chaka Khan was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in an airport.  Maybe I caught her on a good day, maybe she’s always like that, but I will always remember her as courteous and friendly.

Use common sense.  Talk to some more experienced musicians who travel frequently for some tips.  On some of my gigs I have to fly with my own stick bag, which is not a problem.  It only becomes a problem when I forget to remove my Swiss Army knife from my stick bag before going to the airport.  I keep a Swiss Army knife in my stick bag because it has several useful tools for last minute drum set tweaks (screw drivers etc), however, the TSA no longer looks kindly at bringing knives into the cabin of an aircraft.  I have surrendered 2 or 3 Swiss Army knives to the TSA over the past few years.  We all watched 9/11 on TV for weeks after the event, anyone who tries to bring a knife onto an airplane is someone who did not think or plan ahead.

Traveling internationally

Make sure you have a valid passport that hasn’t expired.  If you don’t have one, get one.  What are you going to do if you get the call for the gig of a lifetime and it starts in Germany….tomorrow?  If you are a US Citizen start browsing here:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Make sure you or your tour manager has done the proper research on visa requirements.  Don’t assume someone else has taken care of it.  Some countries have strict visa requirements, some do not.  Don’t just assume because you are American, you can do whatever you want.  Since the United States has gotten strict with visa requirements, other countries have been quick to reciprocate.  Here is a good website to surf for information:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html

US citizens traveling to Canada might want to visit www.visitcanada.com.  Do you have a criminal record?  Be prepared to pay a fee to enter Canada.  Our neighbors to the north are not as cooperative as they have been in the past.  Find out if other countries have similar penalties.  Think and plan ahead, be prepared.

When you leave your own country, you are not just representing your band, you are also representing your country.  Think about that before you act the way you do.  As an American, we receive some bad press for our actions in foreign countries, some of it is deserved and some of it isn’t.  Without putting on a big façade, think about how you want people to remember your visit.

Backline

If backline is supplied to you on the gig, don’t be afraid to call the backline company a couple days before to double check what is being supplied.  Make sure it’s a) what you asked for b) sufficient c) meets the minimum requirements for you to do your job well.  If your band has a tour manager he/she should take care of the rider for you, but don’t be afraid to double check directly with the backline company.  Tour managers are responsible for a lot of things and can easily look past following through with the rider.  Sometimes backline companies pack and load the gear the night before and travel great distances to set up for your show.   If you realize the gear is insufficient 5 minutes before sound check is set to begin, it’s too late to do anything.  Blaming the gear for a bad performance is unacceptable.  Think ahead, plan ahead, be nice, be cooperative, and use common sense.

Finally, whether you are traveling across the street, across town, across the region, across the country, or across the globe, your job is the same.  At the end of the day, you are being paid to play a job and to play well.  The promoter, the local crew, your fellow band members and your audience do not care how far you’ve traveled or how tired you are.  Sometimes normal travel conditions cause flights to be delayed and there is nothing you can do about a delay.  Do your best to get where you need to be and show up ready to do your job with or without sleep.  Being a musician means being tired a lot of the time.  Work is work, do it well and do it without complaining.  Gigs with a sleep deprived band and crew are a perfect time to step up to the plate and show your true colors.  Anyone can perform well under perfect conditions.  A full night of sleep, a glorious hotel room, a solid meal, and 4 hours of preparation before a gig are rare.  How well will you perform when perfect conditions are not met?  How are you going to perform with no sleep, delayed flights, bad accommodations, airport food, and not enough set up/sound check time?  Have you ever heard an artist take the stage and start a concert with a list of excuses or a list of mishaps from their journey?

Playing out of your immediate market is a privilege and should be treated accordingly.  You will have to earn the respect of your fellow travelers and audience with repeated professionalism and courtesy.  Respect is not awarded after one single gig or loudly verbalizing your demands.  Acting like a diva and constant whining/complaining doesn’t prove or solve anything.  Keep your playing and your job as your priority, but make room for some professional courtesy to everyone around you along the way.  It’s difficult and sometimes the pain of actually being awake can put the most patient person to the test.  Have fun and remember that a little courtesy and some common sense will go a long way on the road.  Safe travels!