005 - It Begins

I have just confirmed to tour manage Alesana from the US on a mainland Europe tour in May-June! My first headline tour as tour manager is in far, far Europe (Finland, Sweden, Italy, Austria etc etc) and it's also my first tour ever on a nightliner which is so fucking exciting! A tour where I can have at least one beer a day if I want!

Emarosa also have 'officially' asked me to go tour manage their headline tour in the FUCKING USA too! 6 weeks in the states would be such an amazing time, if not the best thing that I have ever done. Just in talks about the logistics and visas and things, but I hope we can sort it out!

I'm going to learn so much and I'm going to share it here. I'm just halfway through getting quotes on busses. We need 14 berth and I'm trying (and hoping) to get a 'MegaLoader' or similar - with big enough bays on the bus for all the backline and merch, so we don't have the added expense of a trailer. A trailer increases the length of the bus which means you have to give the driver usually an extra £20 a day, it also costs about £2000 to hire for a sizeable tour, and most importantly it increases the price of any ferry crossings you need to make (we'll be getting on 7 ferries on this tour!). 

Here are the dates:

15 May 2009 20:00	Melkweg	Amsterdam
16 May 2009 20:00	Rockfest	Belgium
17 May 2009 20:00	Watt Basement	Rotterdam
18 May 2009 20:00	Exhaus	Trier
19 May 2009 20:00	Werkstatt	Cologne
20 May 2009 20:00	Headcrash	Hamburg
21 May 2009 20:00	Vega	Copenhagen
22 May 2009 20:00	Garage	Oslo
23 May 2009 20:00	Sticky Fingers	Goteborg
25 May 2009 20:00	Noustri	Helsinki
27 May 2009 20:00	Klubben	Stockholm
28 May 2009 20:00	Siesta Festivalen	Hassleholm
29 May 2009 20:00	Kato	Berlin
30 May 2009 20:00	Conne Island	Leipzig
31 May 2009 20:00	Flex	Wien
2 Jun 2009 20:00	Zoe Club	Milan
3 Jun 2009 20:00	Planet Rock	Pinareall di cervia
4 Jun 2009 20:00	Abart	Zurich

Keep safe,

xo

004 - Whistlestops

So I kinda neglected this, huh?

I just about got home and settled, increased my feelings for Emilie a whole bunch, but now I have to head out on tour again. I'm tour managing Emarosa on the sold out tour with my dudes in You Me At Six. More on that soon!

I just got back from a night with Emilies sweet grandma, Jenni, and i can safely say i was very well fed!

If you look at my other posts you'll see my 365 project, where I am aiming to watch 365 films in 2009, and keeping a log of them? Well, for months I've been wanting to see Jumanji - I've tried to to borrow it, download it, buy it - without luck. BUT IT'S ON TV. RIGHT NOW.

/afk loving life

003: The Lean & Reem Tour - Paris

The WiFi was so shit in Europe, or kept dropping out, so I didn't get much (or any) chance to write much. It's all still fresh in my head so I'll do a brief rundown, and then add some photos at the end.

We left Surrey at 5am, to get the 8:40am EuroTunnel. When we got there, we found it had been delayed until 10:50 for some reason, so we sat in the terminal and had a full English! After an uneventful journey, we missioned it to the venue in Paris, which was actually within the same building as La Cigale, the venue that we last went to for the Fall Out Boy show.

Once all soundchecks were complete, me and Bobby walked the 1 mile to the hotel, which was right next to the Moulin Rouge and on the corner of Place du Clinchy. After check in, and telling a drugged up would-be mugger to 'get the fuck away from me' in a Yorkshire accent (which caused him to actually get the fuck away from me), it was show time at La Boule Noir.

Once we'd loaded out, the bands new manager who had flown out, took us all to a sweet Irish bar down the street which stayed open longer for all 20 of us, including the awesome guys in the support band, A Thousand Leaves, to party.

The support band were so friendly, and so eager to talk to us all about the scene in the UK, and I really got a sense that they were so frustrated that the French music scene is totally shit. They are a really good band, with an amazing front man, and could do so well in the UK and I'd really like to help them out.

After a 3am parking nightmare (the van is more than 2.40m tall) and a half-assed argument in french with a right old basatrd, it was time to get some shut-eye in a tiny hotel with more stairs than rooms.

002 - The Day Before The Day After Today

It's amazing how quickly these bastard tours come around. I'd only just remembered the locations I chose for all my stuff when I took them out of my (small) suitcase when the last tour finished, when I realised this morning I had to start packing them all away into the case again.

Me and Bobby are, between us, the driver/tour manager/drum tech/guitar tech for the american band Escape the Fate, starting on the 20th January. If life were simple, I'd be sat in my room with my girl(s), television and a brimming ashtray, waiting till the 19th to hop in the van and head to Heathrow and get them. Instead I am facing just 5 hours sleep at my friend Chris' house in Walton-on-Thames, so that we can catch the 8:45am EuroTunnel to Calais. His band are called You Me At Six, and we're about to head for 5 fun filled, frostbite giving shows anywhere from Paris to Eindhoven, before Bobby and I drop them off and head straight to Heathrow for Escape the Fate.

This blog isn't going to be an egotistical brag about who I know or meet, it is intended to be for two very different reasons. Maybe three.

1: For the memories. Of all the tours I have ever done, I have never kept a blog, taken photos, took videos etc. All I have are vague memories, or 'you had to be there' stories that don't really make sense. Whilst I am pretty much free to do this job now, I want to document it well, so that when I finally have to get a 'proper' job, or do something else, I can be proud about the travelling and experiences I have had.

2: To educate. I get asked a lot by kids online or at shows, just how I got into working with bands, or what exactly it is that I do. I'm an equipment geek, so will be sharing success/horror stories and providing any useful tips I learn whilst being a guitar tech on tour.

3: For my family & friends. When I go on tour, I leave my family, my friends, and something which is technically a first for this tour, a girlfriend at home. I want them too to be able to keep in touch with me, and see pictures of where I am, what I'm doing, how I'm doing and all the rest. I realise this might seem pretty similar to the first aim of this blog, but to me it's entirely different.

Follow the blog, leave comments, ask me questions, AIM me, e-mail me, do whatever you want. 

If all goes well, I will post tomorrow with a Parisian entry!

001: Sleeping Pattern

I'm well aware my sleeping pattern is messed up. 

The 365 Project

I am going to watch 365 films in 2009. I will update this list as soon as I have watched one.

1. The Terminal (01/01)
2. The Simpsons Movie (01/01)
3. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. (04/01)
4. The Mummy (05/01)
5. Police Academy (05/01)
6. From Dusk till Dawn (06/01)
7. American Pie (06/01)
8. Top Gun (07/01)
9. Bowfinger (07/01)
10. Run, Fat Boy, Run (09/01)
11. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (10/01)
12. Final Destination 3 (10/01)
13. In & Out (11/01)
14. Pinapple Express (12/01)
15. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (12/01)
16. Coming to America (16/01)
17. American Pie: The Naked Mile (31/01)
18. Die Hard 2 (31/01)
19. Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (02/02)
20. Alien Resurrection (02/02)
21. Wild Child (03/02)
22. Ghost Town (03/02)
23. The Commitments (04/02)
24. Ratatouillie (05/02)
25. Kangaroo Jack (06/02)
26. The Italian Job (07/02)
27. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (07/02)
28. Pride & Glory (07/02)
29. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (?/02)
30. Flatliners (?/02)
31. Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style (?/02)
32. Lakeview Terrace (25/02)
33. Millers Crossing (27/02)
34. The Pianist (28/02)
35. Nine Months (28/02)
36. Wayne's World 2 (28/02)
37. Babe: Pig in the City (01/03)
38. Jumanji (01/03)
39. Rush Hour 2 (01/03)
40. Phonebooth (03/03)
41. Cheaper by the Dozen (03/03)
42. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (03/03)
43. The Warlords (04/03)
44. Role Models (04/03)
45. About A Boy (14/03)
46. Ali (14/03)
47. Twilight (16/03)
48. Shallow Hal (23/03)
49. Armed and Dangerous (23/03)
50. The Incredibles (24/03)
51. Bolt (x 3 haha) (25/03)
52. John Q (30/03)
53. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (31/03)
54. What Happens in Vegas (31/03)
55. The Ringer (03/04)
56. Big Nothing (03/04)
57. The Rocker (03/04)
58. The Day After Tomorrow (04/04)
59. Metro (05/04)
60. Ghostbusters (05/04)
61. Mr. Deeds (05/04)
62. Fun With Dick & Jane (05/04)
63. The Usual Suspects (06/04)
64. The Mask (07/04)
65. High School Musical 3 (08/04)
66. Resident Evil: Degeneration (10/04)
67. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (11/04)