Getting to hit the open road with your best friends and bandmates is one of life’s greatest joys for any musician. Taking your show on the road is an effective way to get your sound out there and experience new places and people. It is a grand adventure, but it isn’t one that doesn’t come with a unique set of challenges.
To maintain peace, and ensure that everyone has the best time possible, follow these five pro tips below:
- Sleep
Getting rest while touring is essential. A good night’s sleep can be the difference between enjoying your time and hating every second of it. Getting enough sleep each night will help keep your spirits up and improve your playing abilities.
While it may seem fun to take advantage of your new-found popularity and party the rest of the night away, that lifestyle will catch up with you fast.
If you’re new to this, finding a comfortable place to sleep can be a challenge – so pack inflatable mattresses just in case you and your band find yourselves sleeping on a floor somewhere.
- Earplugs
Pack at least two packs of earplugs each.
Sleeping in a cramped van or backpackers’ room will mean sharing your sleeping space with the rest of your band and crew. To avoid a friendship meltdown, and tinnitus, wear earplugs.
After gigs, you’ll take some time to wind down and for the adrenaline rush to dissipate – which is different from person to person. The last thing you want to hear at 3 or 4 a.m. are the sounds of your drummer snoring or construction workers starting their day next door.
- Label Gear
Theft in the music industry is sadly rife.
Even at large venues where you would expect things to be on the up and up, expensive gear still frequently goes missing. Label every piece of kit that goes on the road with you – including cables and tools.
Mark your gear where only the people in your band know, nothing that will ruin your kit, just to make sure that even if someone else has a guitar just like yours, it isn’t actually yours.
Keep everything labeled and packed away neatly in cable trunks – the more secure, the better. Click here to find out more about these trunks. They’re a godsend for managing cables!
- Stay Calm
Tensions run high on the road, especially when you have all been stuck in the same bus for ten hours.
When touring, you and your bandmates essentially become roommates in a super small space for three to four weeks. That is a recipe for disaster for even the best of friends.
Every band has issues from time to time, particularly during touring time. Stay calm, and don’t let personality clashes over little things affect your experience.
- Enjoy The Road
You will never have another experience like this in your lifetime – so make the most of it.
Instead of partying and getting drunk, take this time to build personal connections with your bandmates because they will likely become like family.
Embrace the experiences along the way; those will form the memories you will share with your grandchildren one day.
\There are so many tips and dos and don’ts for going on tour. You can’t think of everything, and you shouldn’t overthink anything. There is a discernible difference between planning a music tour and obsessing over one.
These are supposed to be some of the best days of your life; don’t let trivial things get in the way of that.
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