Simonne Jones – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the singer-songwriter, Simonne Jones, gives you her tips for being on tour. You can check out the feature, after the break.

1. Double check the flight baggage allowance online before you fly
Have flying in mind when you are buying irreplaceable gear. Make sure that your custom racks are portable in flight cases that are under 23kilos. I learned this from Peaches. On her first tour, she didn’t double check the size regulations of the luggage and had to pay crazy fees on all the flights she booked. Every flight has different regulations so make sure that you are checking them all if you have different airlines on a single tour.

You may get away with an extra kilo once but when you are doing ten flights in a row it will save you the extra hassle if you just make sure that your luggage is down to the cm and gram. It ended up being thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees. Sometimes the regulations change overnight so double check. I tour with a hand scale. Also, carry on irreplaceable gear. Any guitars or gear that is expensive and hard to get I carry on. This includes costumes. A friend of mine Dave from Gwar told me, when he was alive, that I should always carry on my costumes because his got lost by the airline going to Australia. He just can’t perform without his bloodied monster face.

2. Using in-ear monitoring
Using in-ear monitors changed the way I perform. Being able to hear your vocals and instruments clearly on stage while protecting your ears from loud drums and screaming fans is a must. You don’t need to spend a lot of money. Sending molds of your ears to JH audio for high-quality in-ear monitors can cost over a thousand but I feel it is worth the expense. There are also ones for a couple hundred.

I use the Berhringer X-Air XR 18 and iPads and smartphones on stage so each band mate can set their in-ear monitor mixes during sound check. We rehearse in a room with the PA turned off so we can get a realistic simulation of what the sound will be like on stage. That way we don’t have to make many changes at the venue. So we don’t need to tour with an in-ear monitor mixing console and in ear mixing engineer. It saves hundreds a show.

3. How to not get sick
Drink 3 liters of water every day on the road. Also, don’t smoke or drink. I like to think of it as not worth the risk on my immune system and treat shows as I am going into work. A lot of people depend on me being well and support aside, it is also about being present and showing gratitude to your fans by showing up and delivering.

It can be tempting to party every day. If you are a bigger band and you tour, everyone throws a lavish party or after party in honor of the band. Even for smaller shows the local promoters and friends you meet always want to celebrate your arrival but if you do this at shows you end up drinking that rare bottle of whiskey someone brought you and are hungover every day. You can’t keep this up long term. You will burn out, get sick, and end up being able to have to quit something that you love in order to take care of your falling apart body. I was backstage with Iggy and the Stooges at a festival a couple of years ago, he kills it on stage as expected but behind the scenes, he was still beautiful yet invisible pain just existing. Don’t know how he does it.

Some people take multivitamins on the road but I like to juice. I like to not even put bad stuff on my rider, then I have no option other than to tour in a healthy environment. Try to avoid processed foods and junk. I try to avoid sugar, gluten, and lactose.

4. How to maintain a healthy head-space on the road
You become the energy you surround yourself with. Don’t take drug addicts on the road with you or people that party too hard. So many times I have seen crew members not make it to the tour bus the next day because they took some pill from a fan and ended up in the middle of nowhere. Try and tour with people that you like. Imagine when you are hiring someone… could I be locked in a bedroom with this person for a month straight? This is what a tour bus feels like. You get really close to the people you sleeping next to in the adjacent bunks on the van. If they smell, if they are in a bad mood, they are inescapable. It is best if these people are your dearest friends.

Also, stay grounded. Talk to people who are not working in the music industry or fans every day. Preferably if they are not impressed by what you do. Some of my closest friends are scientists, astrophysicists, and nerds. It helps to not feel like I am in a relationship where I am inclined to talk about myself because they are more interesting than me.

Meditate. It is really great. Create a stage ritual where you can be alone and get into the right headspace before and after a show. Your happiness is the only thing that matters on the road and not going crazy.

5. Have hard copies of addresses when you are traveling in case your phone dies
Sometimes you get separated from your tour manager. When I was touring in China, I was in a small city (7.5 million) of Tianjin. So, as it is not a tourist attraction, there are no street signs in English, no taxi drivers that speak English and my phone doesn’t have Chinese characters. It was essential that I had pieces of paper on me at all times that had the hotel address and the venue address in case I was alone for some reason. It happened. I went off exploring. My phone died. It was terrible. I travel with backups of everything I need to get to where I am going in paper just in case.

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