James Shealy – TOUR TIPS

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

Hey guys, My name is James Shealy and here are some tips I’ve hung onto, especial in the last few years of being on the road! You ready????

1. Bring something that makes you feel like a huge child, you’re gonna get bored, then you get more bored. Kids have more fun than adults. Truth is there’s plenty to worry about on the road. Will my voice crack tonight? What if someone drops me when I crowd surf? What will I buy in the front store of Cracker Barrel? Is there any safe place to go number 2? At ease soldier, I pack a rolling entertainment suitcase that goes wherever we go on the road. Inside, it contains a 19 inch TV, 4 controllers, and a circulating list of gaming systems. Currently, we have an N64 with every good game there ever was, although we all know we’re only playing Super Smash Bros! This thing was easy to make and you should do it yourself! The best feature is it’s completely portable. Throw it up in the green room and in a matter of a minute, profanity is flying and you’ve all got the finger sweats. Maybe we’ll all play a few wrong chords tonight, but for now, all that matters is who gets the hammer.

2. Whatever you do, don’t buy another 3 dollar pillow from Wal-Mart. JUST DONT! Over the years, I have bought so many pillows I recently created my own eBay store called “James’ Lightly Used Pillows”. So here’s how you stick it to the pillow man. Go to the army navy store, get a huge army bag. Make sure it is butt ugly, has one zipper, no pockets, made of thick material and appears completely nonfunctional. The general non-functionality will refrain you from using it for anything else that may seem more important but is not! In your case, it’s going to be perfect for one thing and one thing only. That’s is to hold your pillow, a fleece blanket, and a comforter. Plus, its so ugly, you cant forget it. Spend one night in the bus or van after a long show with no blanket, head on a backpack, curled up like naked and afraid and you’ll know the true value of this tip. Let it happen.

3. Life is about snacks. A wise man once said, “Let us lean on Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, but where we groweth weary, thus a snack giveth strength”. Never underestimate the power of what a snack can do. Keep it simple, beef jerky is expensive. If you’re a musician like me your probably poor, but don’t worry. A little beef jerky can definitely go a long way! My other go to is a Cliff Bar. Be a dawg, if someone in the band is pitching a BF, making life hard for the rest of the group, chances are they’re only hungry! Travel with snacks for two.

4. Get some space! We all love our band. Traveling the world with your mates making great music can be a super great experience. But we all need a little alone time. Even if you are the on-site manager, you can still time find to walk away for a few minutes. Even a 3-5 minute walk can rest your mind. Get some fresh air and walk around a new place. Get a cup of coffee or check out a local store. Music and drama can take it out of you, most people don’t know how engaging playing in a group is. During your set, you and your band or crowd are deeply connected. You often share the same thoughts, constantly communicating with each other often using taxing non-vocal methods (The Force) or hand signals. Making music for long periods of time is draining yo! Be prepared, before you get out there, find some clean headroom or you’re in for a long one….

5. Be thankful….Speaking from my own heart and conviction here as well. Honestly, this is a lesson I learn and relearn every day. Truth is, we are all so blessed…In this industry, it’s so easy to find things that we wish were better. (This travel situation sucks, When are we gonna get a raise? When are we gonna get the accolade we deserve? How many more club dates do we have to do until our dues are paid?How come everyone seems to be getting a break but me?) Dang dude, you’ve got a lot going on up there. We’ve all had these thoughts… You have a choice in life. Not just people in the Music Industry, its every industry. You have the choice to shut it down by harboring a positive attitude, or to let those thoughts fester, growing into a nasty (and highly contagious) condition. I have a method I use to keep me humble, and am thankful it has served me well. Anyone can do it. First I take a birds eye of my life, what opportunities do I have? Where do I have the possibility to grow? What are the new and exciting advantages I now have? What quality lessons have I learned? Use life landmarks and relationships to gauge your current situation in this exercise. Now with that in perspective, use the same lens to look at your life 1, 2, or 5 years ago. I tell myself this, If I were to somehow visit James Shealy 5 years ago, where you were a banquet server, working part-time on music with no production skills, living paycheck to paycheck looking for any break in music. Tell the old you where you are today, What would the old James do? I can tell you I would probably have broken down and cried. It’s plain to imagine I would be so thankful and excited for near future. There are things I never thought I would accomplish, but have accomplished in a short time. In the last 5 years I’ve been able to Travel the world, make my best music, earn a healthy living for my wife and I on music alone, surround myself with a great and honoring community of fellow artists and creators, and also become a sought-after producer and songwriter, (cutting down my production costs to more than half), working not just for my music, but for a wide range of amazing clients as well! All that to say, we should all learn to find the zoom out button in our lives. So often we zoom in to better ourselves, to find a new range of focus, but the true thankfulness we need comes at a distance.

Thanks for reading! – James Shealy

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