Sadler Vaden – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the rock artist, Sadler Vaden, gives you his tips for being on tour. You can check out the feature, after the break.

Tip 1-Touring Band Transportation
If you are in a touring band, there are only two effective modes of transportation (excluding an airplane). You should tour in a Ford E-350 15 passenger van with or without a trailer or in a relatively new tour bus. This is something that Jason Isbell and I talk about and we feel we are correct because we’ve tried the alternatives and they suck. Do not get a Sprinter, RV or Minivan. Sprinters just aren’t comfortable at all and they’re too tall to be safe. An RV will continually break down because they aren’t meant to be moved around a lot. Ford does not currently offer the classic E-350, so if you’re in need, search back a few years. The E-350 van is great because you can customize the inside with mattresses, Christmas lights, disco balls, or any other awesome rock n’ roll decorative items.

Tip 2- Touring internationally
If you’re already at this point in your touring career or you know you will be soon, know that you should always bring a power strip. We all have to go to Wal-Mart or Target and get the international power converter set with all 5 or 6 adapters. BUT here’s the trick. You have more than one device that needs charging but you don’t want to keep buying adapters. POWER STRIP. Plug all your cables into the strip with the appropriate adapter on the end and you’re golden. You can watch Netflix, Hulu, and HBO all at the same time if you want to. Just be sure your devices are all dual-voltage, or else you will blow out the power to an entire hotel floor. Jason did this once with a shitty digital camera.

Tip 3- Starbucks
You’ve just stopped off the beaten path and found a sweet hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant and your drummer decides to eat five habanero peppers OR you found an authentic Thai restaurant and your bass player decides to go native level spice on his Pad Ka Pow. 30 miles later your boys or girls are hunched over on a bench seat about to have a fire baby. You need a clean comfortable bathroom because you’re gonna be there for a while. Corporate they may be, but Starbucks usually has very clean restrooms. One-holers too, so you don’t have to listen to another guy’s grunts while you’re squeezing one out. Sometimes they’re few and far between but get the trusty app or use your GPS and you’ll know where to find one. While you’re waiting you can get a consistently brewed coffee and check your email.

Tip 4- Gold Bond and Baby Powder
The name’s Bond. Gold Bond. I can’t tell you how important this is. Just keep a small travel size bottle of it in your bag or in the console of the van. This comes in handy especially when you didn’t have the chance to shower and you need to freshen up downstairs or around the backside. Also, if you’re on your last clean pair of socks but need to squeeze one more day out of them, rub some Gold Bond or baby powder on your feet and you should be good to go at least for 12 hours. They even make an aerosol version now. The baby powder comes in handy when you didn’t get a shower and you have to go do TV or Radio and your hair is looking a little too greasy. Rub some baby powder in there and you’ll look like one of the Beatles.

Tip 5- Get off campus
So, the club has a pool table and 2 for 1 pitchers of Natural Light for 4 bucks or the Call of Duty campaign in the back lounge has almost ended. These are the distractions that keep us from seeing a lot of really cool stuff in the world. I know it’s hard when you’re in the van driving all day or it’s just easier staying on the bus and drinking 5 cups of Keurig coffee but for Chrissakes get some sunshine on your face! I have found that it’s important to get off “campus” and have some time to walk through a park, go to a museum, sit in a coffee shop or just go sit on a bench and read for a half hour. These are things I believe keep us balanced when we’re out there on the “long and lonesome highway” (thanks, Bob Seger). Even if it’s raining, grab an umbrella and take a walk. Hell, you’ll probably write a song, meet someone cool, or just let your mind wander while you’re staring at an abandoned brick building that used to be a factory. It’s important to get away for a bit.

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