Abandon Kansas – TOUR TIPS

Rock band, Abandon Kansas, has written a set of Tour Tips for us. You can check them out after the break!

1. With gas prices as high as they are we are constantly thinking of ways to get better mileage. Our drummer Brian should be on myth busters or something. He has tried arranging the trailer so many different ways and we’ve kept statistics on our mpg’s at every speed from 50mph to 75mph. We found that going 60 mph pulling a trailer was the healthy balance between getting better gas mileage and not driving so slow we’re a traffic hazzard. We’ve seen some bands that travel with WAY too much extra gear, or speed at 80mph to the next show. I wouldn’t recommend either…
2. I can’t tell you how many times a venue has kindly provided us with dinner before the show only to enter the green room to find the local bands chowing down on our dinner. Our stomachs drop, because they are empty, and we know good and well those kids came straight from their mom’s house and could have eaten whatever they wanted at home. Here we are a thousand miles from home, having spent hours traveling and loading in that day fueled only by a couple McChickens from earlier that day. I would advise hiding your food from local bands or at the very least making it clear that no locals bands should partake in dinner before all the touring musicians have been served!
3. Speaking of McChickens… I always order a side of buffalo sauce at MacD’s and pour it on my McChicken’s and McDouble’s. Before ya know it your dollar sandwich is a delicacy. Our bass player Chet often orders a side salad and chicken nuggets and then breaks up the nuggets over his salad, basically a premier grilled chicken salad. Value menus are simply unavoidable but there is a way to eat healthier than others, even on a value menu at a fast food chain.
4. Redbox has made our drives a blast. We rent Rexbox dvds, play them on our laptops, and return them in the next city. This plan only backfires when we forget to return the movies or can’t find a convenient RedBox.
5. So little of tour has to do with music. Even though it’s the main reason we’re on the road, we only spend 5-6 hours of our day at the venue, and only one hour playing music. We go out of our way to eat at local hot spots, see the free tourist attractions, and site see in general as often as possible. I thought every band did that still we started touring with more veteran bands and realized they hardly ever look up from their phones/computers to enjoy the view. We have made it a point to wake up early, even if the drive is short, so we can explore stops along the road if we see something cool. We embrace everything that being in a band allows us do, including seeing the entire country twenty times over before we turn 25.

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