PJ – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the R&B artist, PJ, gives you her tips for being on tour. You can check out the feature, after the break.

1. Make sure you use the bathroom after every show.
On the Free The Real Tour, we had a tour bus, which was super clean. The only catch is you couldn’t: NO NUMBER 2s. So there’s nothing worse, then being on a long open road, with no rest stop bathroom in sight. Not to mention all the stress you’re already putting your inside through, eating all types of greasy, unhealthy, different food every night. It’s really hard to eat for your body on tour for sure.

2. Bring an Extra Suitcase.
I think going on tour for new female artists is super hard. You have to learn to be self-sustaining and be self-contained, and organized. On my last tour, it was just me and my piano player. And basically, it’s like there’s not always enough space to get ready. So it’s cool to have your regular suitcase and a show bag. That way you don’t always have to keep lugging around, big your suitcase, that has your life locked inside of it. I had 3 and even then, I still felt like I needed one more.

3. Makeup with a Quickness.
I know you hear it all the time, that tour life is grueling. But I actually love it, to be honest. With my first tour, it definitely wasn’t super glitz and glam. Sometimes I didn’t always have a room to myself. Actually one time I was getting ready in an office, and dude from stage crew walked in on me. But I was actually pretty covered up, thank GOD!. But you just have a backup plan on those days when you’re green room doesn’t exist. One time I had to do my makeup in like the storage warehouse, behind the stage. And it was so hot, everything I put on, was sweating off. so you just have to be able to adapt with that. Sometimes there’s a green room with no mirror. So oh yeah! Having a mirror, if you’re a girl, you gotta bring a mirror just in case!

4. ALWAYS BE READY BEFORE YOUR SOUNDCHECK!
When you’re opening act, sometimes you never know when you’re going on. Even though sound check is supposed to be at 7:30. Let’s say you end up sound checking, at 8:30. And Doors opened at 8:00. There’s like no way to know. So it’s always best to get dressed and ready as soon as you get off the bus. There were a couple of times on my first tour, I didn’t sound check till like 20 minutes before. And I was no way near ready like I wanted to be in time for the show.

5. Don’t Eat Weed Chocolate.
Long Story Short. Don’t eat any chocolate that’s not infused with anything other than peanut butter, caramel, or nuts. Because Basically I died that night in Seatle and came back the next day. It was horrible. And the chocolate wasn’t even the size of a mini Reeses. I threw up for the first time in like 6 years. No bueno.

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(Photo credit: Connor Detko)