This Great State – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the alternative rock band, This Great State, give you some tips for being on tour. You can check out their tips and stream their newest single, “Headspace”, after the break.

Touring is a magical time full of sketchy encounters, caffeine bingeing, constant fatigue, and stories that will enchant others yet haunt you for years. It can be difficult, but it is always extremely rewarding and an incredible blessing to be able to do. For the rough patches, we’ve found that the road is made a touch more manageable with these tips:

1. Fiber, Fiber, and Fiber!
Psyllium husks, Metamucil, et al. We cannot emphasize enough how important regularity is. Good intentions to get salads from grocery stores can often be forgotten when someone at the venue tells you about their favorite pizza place that’s open late and, “just around the corner.” The truth is, you will take meals however they materialize and trying to perform when you haven’t unleashed a demon is a surefire way to miss out on precious moments while on stage. Our favorite way to the deliver the goods is in a protein shake, which is also something we recommend to sate hunger while in motion. A regular musician is a happy musician, trust us.

2. Smell Ya Later!
Personal hygiene is an absolute must for a touring band. You share so much airspace together, so be sure to bathe as best you can. AXE SPRAY DOES NOT COUNT. Our bassist, Max, has gone as far as to use a washcloth and soap in a gas station bathroom (drying off was free thanks to paper towels). If a laundromat is out of the question, don’t be afraid to hand wash your clothes in the sink and dry them with a hand dryer if available (otherwise roll the top edge of the clothing item up in the window of your road machine). Brush your teeth and floss. Use deodorant. Throw food trash away so it doesn’t sit in the vehicle and reek. These basic techniques will keep your bandmates from hating you and telling their friends and family back home that you’re “the stinky one.” Bonus tip: use an aerosol air freshener in the vehicle whenever you park it overnight for a spring-fresh drive the next morning.

3. Work It!
Push-ups, sit-ups, and lunges require no equipment whatsoever. Our drummer, Dillon, brings exercise bands with him and fastens them to fences, bike racks, and any other stationary fixture he can find to add resistance. If that’s not your style, then at the very least take walks wherever you can. Sprint races are also a great way to settle general arguments and disputes over things like who gets shotgun for the next stretch of highway. Exercise will give you a needed endorphin rush and make sure that you stay limber while performing and help prevent injury while loading equipment. And if you workout as a team, it will only strengthen the bonds between you and make the drudgery of exercise less miserable.

4. Roadside Assistance
This is so incredibly important to us. Having a tow truck available to get you and your gear to town after making one phone call is priceless and membership rates for roadside assistance programs are cheaper than you’d think. It would also be wise to set aside some money exclusively for parts and repairs. Be sure to bring a tool kit with you as well, because the problem may be as simple as swapping out a part or tightening a bolt. For us, a garage is only an option if we don’t have the means to repair it ourselves. Youtube and the Internet, in general, are great tools for figuring out how to diagnose and repair automotive issues, but if you prefer an analog method, grab a Chilton manual for your vehicle before you leave and keep it under the front seat. Mechanical wherewithal can be the difference between canceling a gig or triumphantly rocking the house after what initially seemed like certain doom.

5. Play Like You’ll Be Dead Tomorrow
Never lose sight of what a privilege it is to tour. There will be amazing experiences and super high times, but there can also be bickering, long days, and other undesirable circumstances. But you can’t let the bad stuff deter you from fully enjoying being a rockstar. Always remember that you are there for the audience and the audience doesn’t have to be there for you, so give them plenty of reason to stay. On top of all that, there are other people that work hard to support your performance, and the best way to reciprocate their effort is to play hard, be great to work with and be entertaining. Our guitarist, Chase, has always said that people feed off the energy you exude and translate it to their overall take of the show, and he couldn’t be more right. So rock the F out! Make the goal every night to have the management ask you to come back and perform again. The time will fly by, so live in each note you play and cherish every memory you make. Speaking of memories, our singer, Keva, suggests keeping a diary of your day to day experiences so that you don’t forget anything.

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