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European tour, says roadie Justin Crew.Crew has been touring with bands since 1980 and is currently on tour with Tom Waits. He says the biggest change during the years, besides the change in technology, is that the industry
has become a business.
"Throwing TV out of hotel windows is certainly not a c e p t a b l e anymore," he says.
But this business does not offer benefits in the traditional sense. "You get to choose what tours you do, but
"IT'S RARELY DRUGS,
NOT MUCH SEX, AND
WE PLAY COUNTRY."
— MONTY PELTI,
ROAD MANAGER FOR
JASON BOLAND AND
THE STRAGGLERS
there also is a reality that you get shoved in a bus with 10 other guys or gals, and you have to work out how to get along with everybody."
Although Crew admits that he has a great job,he says that at the end of a long,hard day, he can still end up standing on a runway in the pouring rain, trying to load equipment with the help of locals who don't speak English.
Bob Cutler's first tour in Europe as a roadie for Canadian punk band D.O.A. got off to a rough start due to a combination of inexperience and the language barrier. "Take some Kansas hillbilly who barely speaks American (much less Canadian) and just throw him in the deep end in a different country, on a different continent, and problems are guaranteed," he says.
importing thing is that roadies. "Get to the fucking gig on time."
Chip Walker, former Lawrence resident, gets to the gig on time, but not always on the bus. Walker worked as a carpenter on tour with Metallica this summer
Cutlerplayed in local Lawrence punk bands in the '80s, including The Klusterfux and Slackjaw.
Since then, he's toured with bands such as SNFU, Patti Smith, Vice Squad, The Vibrators and UK Subs, but more recently he has started a non-profit organization in Topeka, with the goal of opening an all-ages coffeehouse and live music venue. He also says that if the phone rang with the right touring offer before his coffeehouse was established, he'd take it.
On the résumé
When it comes to job skills, Cutler says that in addition to the ability to work the equipment, trouble-shoot failing gear on the fly and being able to drive for hours and hours, the most
In Vienna, Austria. When his driver got stuck in traffic, Walker flagged down a motorcyclist and caught a ride to the music festival.
A lthough he often works with Metallica, Walker says that this industry is fluid, and roadies
move from band to band."I get a gig and find out they"asked three people before me," he says. In addition to working with Metallica, he toured with Bon Jovi this summer. "Lars even gave me shirt for going out with Bon Jovi. Kirk asked me if I missed them [Metallica]. And James asked me what it was like," he says.
Walker started off as a roadie
Walker said in the late '80s by helping local bands, like Kansas City's Sin City Disciples, haul equipment in exchange for free beer. His first official tour was as road manager for Shana Morrison, Van Morrison's daughter. A friend was her booking agent, which is how Walker got the job. His favorite thing about this career so far has been meeting his wife when he worked with Metallica in Belgrade, he says, but the lifestyle can be exhausting. "People think it's a party, but it' s not. It's probably one
managed. Syncrollte Technician, Dimmer Tech, Moving Light Tech, Lighting Director, Production Manager and Crew Chief are some
of the job titles 37 year-old Kocurek has held through the years as a roadie for bands including the Foo Fighters, Matchbox 20, Fountains of Wayne, Goo Goo Dolls, Vince Gill, N'SYNC, Backstreet Boys, The O'Jays, Ricky Martin, Pearl Jam, Sade, Baby Animals, Yes and Michael Jackson. Now that he has a family of his own, however, he finds that his time is in short supply, and
of the hardest jobs you'll do in your life, if you take it seriously."
Currently on tour with the Red Hot Chill Peppers, Gregory "Lil G" Kocurek's career path was forged when he was only about 10 years old, helping bands who played at a Texas music hall that his parents
LIL G'S HANDY LIST OF WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A ROADIE
1. Common sense. Things can get ugly without this.
2. Listening. Important to get the job done.
"Dad" is sometimes a hard title to fit into the touring schedule."I am working on goals of being home more with my family so I don't miss my son, Ashton, growing up," he says.
Getting connected Fortunately for
3. Be yourself. You can't get along with others if they don't know the real you.
Flaming Lips, suggests that you offer to help bands at local bars, such as The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, or the Granada, 1020
4. See the big picture. Always remember you are not the only person trying to make the show happen.
5. Multitasking.Makes the day much smoother and faster.
JAMIE GERMAINE'S HANDY LIST OF WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A ROADIE
6. Never expect the job will last. Always remember, everyone is replaceable, even you.
1. Being on time is a plus.
Source: Gregory "Lil G" Kocureck, currently on tour with the Red Hot Chill Peppers
being on time is a plus.
2. Be honest. If something goes wrong, admit it.
lingo,roadie news,and promotes the annual Roadie Palooza, a social event for roadies that will be held in Nashville on Oct.23.
If you'd prefer to get your foot into the business locally, however, Kliph Spurlock, former roadie and current touring drummer for The
3. Have good endurance because sleep is compromised.
4. Do your job well.
5. Be diplomatic and work well with others.
6. Be patient.
4. Do your job well.
Source: Jamie Germaine on tour with Dwight Yoakam
for out-of-work roadies everywhere, there's Roadie.net. The Web site provides online roadie résumés and job listings, roadie recipes, chat rooms, games, jokes and more. Membership is free and includes access to backstage photos, memorials to fallen roadies, tour stories, and networking with professional roadies. This site is one way to find out more about the business if your interest is piqued. The site also offers a list of frequently asked questions, roadie
Massachusetts St. "Especially in Lawrence — you can't really spit without hitting someone who's a musician," he says.
Although he's only been home in his Lawrence apartment nine days since March, when he's not on tour with The Flaming Lips, Kilip spends his down time the same way many students do
— hanging out at The Replay Lounge, 946 Mass., The Love Garden, 936 1/2 Mass. and The Tap Room, 801 New Hampshire St. He also plays in the local band Rohypnoi Rangers.
Although Spurlock started working for The Flaming Lips as their roadie in 1996, he'd planned to be a musician. He played in local Lawrence bands, including Slackjaw with Bob Cutler, before being hired by Wayne Coyne, singer and guitarist for The Flaming Lips, a couple of months after helping them unload equipment at a South by Southwest music festival performance in Austin, Texas.
Spurlock sounds like he's still a little shocked that he's touring the world with The Flaming Lips, and he's enthusiastic about the experience. The Flaming Lips are currently touring with Sonic Youth.
"I never would have imagined in a million years I'd meet them," he says. Spurlock says that one of the perks of touring with The Flaming Lips is meeting other musicians and getting free music. In fact, after he saw one of Sonic Youth's set lists he told them that he loves the song "Catholic Block." Sonic Youth dedicated the song to him when they played it that night. In many ways, an experience like that beats a 401K and dental plan any day.
"None of us are rich by any stretch of the imagination," Spurlock says. He won't offer figures but says, "I'm not rich,
RALPH THE ROADIE
Ralph the Roadie has rapidly been adding band names to his resume. Ralph is 'a character played by Chris Bonno, an actor and comedian in Los Angeles. You can see several short, comical films created and directed by Peter Byck and starring Ralph at rapltheroadie.com. In each episode, Ralph works as a bumbling, disheveled, incompetent roadie for bands like Dishwalla and Bowling for Soup. But, as the first film says, "Ralph does not want to be a roadie. He wants to be a rock star."
So far, the episodes are only available on the Internet and on MVSpy (direct TV), which is unfortunate for television viewing audiences who are swimming in an ocean of game shows and reality programs that don't
Ralph wonders out loud where the chicks are, helps himself to merchandise and offers to fill in for musicians, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bon Scott from AC/DC and work his way from roadie up to lead singer of the band — any band. Along the way,musicians like Chris Burney from Bowling for Soup give Ralph advice. "Chicks dig this," says Burney while he paints Ralph's fingernails black. Ralph asks when Burney bought his first bottle of fingernail polish and later asks about his piercings. He's learning something, but his roadie skills don't improve.
seem real at all. While Ralph the Roadie creates comedy by perpetuating and poking fun at the stereotypes of roadies as musicians — waiting to be discovered, on the road for the sex, drugs and rock and roll — it also shows real bands (and their rivalries), live music, the behind-scenes drudgery of loading and unloading equipment, odd jobs a roadie must do and the real-life characters met along the way. Television viewers might appreciate this original, thoughtful, yet spontaneous behind the scenes, comedic look at the life of roadies and musicians.
people, sorry." And to further shatter any myths about life on tour he adds, "A lot of people think we're getting laid all the time and that just doesn't happen." The other members of The Flaming Lips are married, and Kliph admits, that he's in his 30s now so things may have been different for him if he were 10 years younger.
Star Chris Bonno agrees He says that musicians and roadies love it, too. New episodes are in production and Bonno is still hopeful that this series will see the light of primetime networks, or possibly the big screen. But at the end of the episodes. Ralph inevitably gets fired. He's entertaining, but the bands all agree that he's ultimately just a bad roadie.
Spurlock says that a lot of the band's time and financial resources are dumped back into their stage shows, costumes, and video projects. "The more we're around other bands and I see how other bands work, I realize
how different and unique life with the Lips really is."
WHAT IS A ROADIE?
Life as a roadie, regardless of the band or job title, is a different and unique way to make a living. It provides something new each day, in a different city or country, with strangers and friends, live music and the musicians you always wanted to meet. And you get to see the world on someone else's dime. If it sounds like the right job for you, you can try buying Spurlock a drink or offer to give him a hand loading in his drum set down at The Replay. That's one way to start.
"Roadie"is NOT...
- a person who uses a road bike to cycle on the road (although cyclists have taken to calling themselves roadies lately).
- an alcoholic beverage taken with you in your car.
- a highway department worker who repairs roads.
*a person working with a carnival (that would be a "carnie").*
- a young girl who wants to "party" with the band (that would be a "groupe").
"Roadie" IS a highly trained and specialized technician providing services for touring
musical groups. These services can include sound reinforcement (what you hear), lighting and staged design(whatyousee),band equipment(what the artists play), rigging (those wires everything hangs from at concerts), video technicians, pyrrotechnics and lasers (fireworks and really bright lights), management (someone
has to count the money and hand out the backstage passes), security (can you spot a stalker?), transportation (a.k.a. truck drivers and bus drivers), and on larger shows, they can also be production, staging, spot operators, costume, make-up, catering, a piano tuner and even licensed day care.
Crews range from a one man "bar band" roadie who does everything except play an instrument (well, sometimes they do that too) to the mega shows with dozens of tractor trailers full of equipment and over 100 roadies and stage crew.
Depending on the job performed, the skill level and
experience, a roadie can make anywhere from minimum wage up to six figures. Generally it's a thankless job with long hard hours of grueling physical work, lightly mixed with some of the most rewarding moments a human being can ever experience.
Ready to pack yet?
Source: Roadie.net