Scott “Scooter” Nebb (Jake Miller’s Tour/Production Manager) – TRICKS OF THE TRADE

In all of our other features, we highlight bands/artists; now we want to take you into the world of the people who work for a band on tour, their crew. For this feature, we teamed up with tour and production manager, Scott “Scooter” Nebb. You can find out more about Scott and advice he has for people interested in hitting the road (his “Trick of the Trade”), after the break.

Name:
Scott “Scooter” Nebb

Touring Resume:
Current – TM/ PM for Jake Miller
Previous – Hollywood Ending, Before You Exit, The Moms… just to name a few.

What positions have you held (i.e. Tour Manager, Front of House, etc.)?
Tour Manager, Tour Manager/Production Manager, Merch, Tour Manager/Production Manager/Merch.

Your first touring gig:
Warped Tour 2008

Who did you work for?
I was working for this small band that after the first week of the tour they dropped off the tour due to unforeseen circumstances. The band went home but I continued on the tour for a few more weeks developing friendships with other people on the tour.

How did you get the gig?
In June 08′ I was running a festival that this band played and we developed a friendship that turned into this opportunity.

What was (is your continued) motivation for wanting to start working for tour bands?
At first, when I started I was a promoter in New Jersey, it was my passion and what I was doing at the time. I was the promoter in town that all the bands left the shows happy and not feeling like they got screwed. At every show, I would talk to the bands and ask how their show was the night before/ how their tours been going. One in four times I would hear horror stories how either they got screwed by the promoter or the band rolled up to the venue to load in and the door was locked and the promoter never showed up. When I’m working for an artist, my goal is to always make sure the artist I’m touring with is taken care of and represented in the way that I would take care of them If they were playing at my venue.

While growing up were you involved in your local music scene? If so, how did you get involved?
When I was in 8th grade I was going to local shows at VFW halls and Fire Houses. I was very fascinated by what goes into running a show. I had the opportunity to organize some shows in the Middle School auditorium at my school. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I sent some Myspace messages out to some bands asking them to play a show and In the space of like two days, I had a stacked lineup. I had my mom bring me to Staples and I bought the “do it yourself at home” business card paper. I made tickets for the show out of these crappy business cards and gave them to the bands. It was a few weeks before my first show and a band messaged me and requested more tickets because they sold out of the stack of tickets I gave them. I went back to Staples bought more of these business cards and sent them to the band. It was the night before the show I had this revelation that I should have my mom sell concessions. Day of the show I can’t think of one thing that went wrong. Everything ran so smooth and it was a one of those awesome moments for me. From that point forward the music business became my calling. Once I moved into High School I lost the Middle School but I gained a few other venues. I eventually partnered up with another concert promoter that promoted the show in NY, NJ, and PA. This just opened more doors for me.

If you could recommend one piece of advice (“trick of the trade”) to current or aspiring crew members, what would it be?
Just go out there and be safe. You’re going to see and experience some ugly stuff that might scar you for the rest of your life.

Keep up with Scott on Twitter and Instagram! Also, help us continue releasing great content, like this, by supporting us on Patreon!

(photo credit: Mike Danenberg)