Rideau – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the hard rock band, Rideau, recommends advice for being a musician on the road. You can check out the tips, after the break.

RIDEAU has always been touring DIY style. Through the years we have picked up a few tricks that will help you stay alive out there.

1. The Air BnB — a friendly gesture
Look for a single room to rent. They often only allow 1-2 guests, but with a little bit of flirty kindness, we’ve managed to house six guys in rooms for two. Offer free entry +1 to the show and make sure to buy your landlord a beer upon arrival. This was a real money saver while touring as the opening act for Bad Religion, getting paid 100€/show. This one is a key element in a well planned DIY tour.

2. The airport hustle
Special luggage is a headache. Expensive, time-consuming, really annoying. To save time and money you need to find out the maximum weight allowed per package. We often tie two or three guitar cases together and cover them up with a blanket. Go crazy with the ducked tape and no airline can argue that it could be anything else than just ONE package.

To get away with paying taxes and unnecessary package expenses — wear the merch. It also gives your hardcore fans a real and enchanting scent of the band.

3. The “Good cop — bad cop” move
When on tour, you can sometimes find yourself in situations that call for this classic move. Always agree before going on tour who will play which part because when you come across a situation that calls for this, you need to know.

RIDEAU played a Ukrainian festival once when world-famous trolls in LORDI tried to steal our slot — 30 minutes before going on stage — when “good cop, bad cop” saved the day. Mats (more or less not knowing) played bad cop and Calle (who just tried to make sure no one got punched in the face) played the good cop.

The situation got solved and both bands played awesome shows that night. Either way — really nice if you need to get your will through no matter what.

4. The Co-driver
When spending hours and hours on the road, packed up like sardines in a 1980’s Volkswagen van, it is really important to have yourself a designated co-driver. The co-driver makes sure the driver is in a good mood and doesn’t fall asleep while driving. The co-driver also makes sure the driver has constant access to snacks, beverages, and good conversation. The road is often long and to keep time burning we always coming back to trying to nail all the Queen vocal harmonies, talk about the past, play impro charades and listen to classic TOTO-tracks.

5. The chef
Being a zero budget punk rock DIY band like RIDEAU is, we all have to keep our day jobs in order to survive. But the best thing about this is that if you play your cards right — you end up with a chef in the band. RIDEAU is blessed in such a way that boom blaster bass player Mats cooks on tour. Sensational sandwiches made in the back seat, or a Sunday morning brunch (borrowing your not better knowing Air BnB landlords kitchen) or (just by looking at them) knowing which gas station has the best hot dogs in the Ukrainian wilderness.

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