The Limousines – TOUR TIPS (Part 1 of 2)

Electropop band, The Limousines, have written a set of Tour Tips that you guys can learn from. You can check out part 1 of 2 after the break.

1. New Fish. When you bring a new goldfish home in that plastic bag full of water, the first thing you wanna do is place the bag into the fishbowl until the water in the new fish’s bag is the same temperature as the water in the bowl – that way, when you release the new fish into the bowl everything is cool – everyone is in the same environment. The vibe is even and undisturbed and all the little fishes are cool. The van/bus/plane is a fishbowl – respect the other fish, pay attention to their water temperature and hope they pay attention to yours, but majority rules in the bowl – if the whole bowl is cool and your water is hot, it’s up to you to adjust your temperature. In other words, four mellow potheads and one amped up cokehead is a recipe for disaster. Everyone in the van is annoyed because of a few wrong turns and growling tummies, maybe now is not the best time to sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall…
2.  Packing – Pack light. You don’t need to bring ALL your favorite clothes. Chances are you’ll settle on a stage outfit you’re comfortable with and an off stage outfit or two – all you need a lot of is socks. I used to bring so much stuff on tour thinking i’d have time to do it, pads of paper for drawing, extra guitar to play in the van, when the only thing I really need is my iPhone and a book. my old drummer used to bring an entire extra suitcase full of nothing but shoes and, you guessed it, he’s only end up wearing one pair of shoes for a whole tour and that extra suitcase was always in the way.
3. Farting. You’re sharing a space, whether you’re in a van or a bus or a plane or backstage, if someone is having a bad day a rancid fart could set off a chain of events that could break up your band! Seriously. Sometimes you gotta walk on eggshells. Be considerate and/or sneaky.
4. Hygiene – there’s always one guy who thinks it’s funny to try and go the whole tour without shaving, and that’s fine because it doesn’t really affect anyone – but when your drum tech decides to test his will by not taking a shower or not brushing his teeth for five weeks, that’s a great way to fuck with the whole fishbowl. Listen to your mom, wash your balls and your butt! Nothing worse than sitting on a sweaty rash for that 18hour drive.
5. Be NICE – the first day of a tour is when the headlining band’s tour manager is probably going to be kind of a dick. That’s because he’s setting boundaries. He’s letting everyone know he’s the boss. So nice, stay out of the way and don’t ask for favors (yet). Of course you should introduce yourself to all the members of the bands on the tour but be sure to get to know the crew and techs too. Those are the guys who will root for you, they’ll be helpful with day to day loading and unloading and set changes, and if you make enemies out of these guys they can make your time on the road a living hell. Be nice to the headlining band but don’t try and wrap them up in an in depth conversation about being famous (insert big amazing thing they did – win grammy – play SNL, etc) the first day of the tour. Introduce yourself to the local staff, remember their names and be nice when you need to ask for something. Within minutes they’ll probably be asking you if you need anything.

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