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.