The Official Roadie Handbook

By Wayne Prophet

The quintessential guide on how to become a roadie. Written for those who are serious about becoming a roadie or for those who are just curious to see how the live entertainment industry REALLY works ... on all levels. Learn about the different types of roadie jobs and how to find training for these jobs. Tips on how to find work and how not to look like a rookie on your first day. A must have for anyone who has ever toured or for those who have a roadie in their life. Also makes a great novelty gift for your favorite rock fan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 24, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456822101

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Copyright © 2010 by Wayne Prophet.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2010917447

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4568-2209-5

ISBN: Softcover      978-1-4568-2208-8

ISBN: Ebook          978-1-4568-2210-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

90473

Table of Contents

1.    How to Become a Roadie

2.    The Show

3.    Festivals

4.    Touring With a Broadway Show

5.    Tour Managers and Production Managers

6.    Travel Issues and Etiquette

7.    People Skills and Other Miscellaneous Touring Issues

8.    Back Home

Preface

Cruising down the freeway for the past 9 hours is now starting to cramp your legs again. That slight 15 minute break back at the truck stop for gas wasn’t enough to get the blood flowing through your lower appendages. The drummer that’s sitting next to you reeks of a putrid smelliness that combines cigarettes, beer, and sweat that’s been fermenting for the past 3 days. The smell would be a lot worse if you yourself had showered within the past few days, but your own body odor seems to be dampening the effect. The van’s air conditioning is broken and blows hot Arizona desert air into the 15 seat passenger van. There are 7 of you. This means that the lead singer gets the back row all to himself so he can rest for the show because . . . well . . . because he’s the lead singer and he needs his beauty rest. You of course are the roadie and are stuck on the front bench behind the passenger seat. You wish you were sitting in the passenger seat. You actually daydream about it, along with that funky weird bump in the middle where the engine compartment pushes into the cabin and you can’t straighten you legs. The only sleeping position up there is sitting upright, leaning against the door with your head on the seatbelt as a pillow of some sort. At least up there you could sleep. The cramped conditions of the passenger seat seem like heaven compared to sitting next to the only guy in the band who goes through a vigorous workout every night. At least tomorrow you’ll have a day off. A hotel room sounds like paradise at this point even if it is at one of those roadside hotels with the scratchy towels and rock hard mattresses. The chance to lie down and sleep would be a nice change from the past three days in a row. The thought alone seems to help you relax a little bit, . . . but just a little.

Ah yes . . . showbiz!

Working on the road as a roadie for a musical act can be tough. You have no life to speak of. Your love life is almost non-existent. Workdays are an average of about 14 hours per day, and finding a decent shower is harder than you might think if you’re on a small club tour riding in a van every day from city to city. The van tour is the quintessential experience of what it’s like to travel in the entertainment industry with a new and burgeoning young band. They’re full of energy, ready to hit the stage every night with a fervency that can only compare to that of a fundamentalist zealot. This is the tour that always starts with the most honest of intentions such as fame, fortune, and women, but that very tour will soon transition into a dark, dirty, sultry, greasy spoon helping of real world issues that make you want to go home and get a real job. It should now seem obvious to all readers, that working in the live entertainment industry is only for those who really want it. If this is not your passion, then you shouldn’t even try. Hence the fact that the vast majority of roadies working on tour today are of a younger generation. Those who are looking for adventure and maybe a little glamour even if it means riding some coat tails. I discovered a factoid somewhere in my life that stated, Your chances of winning the lottery are better than becoming a rock star. So why even try? Because there are so many different levels of success in this industry and so many ways to achieve it. Some luck into this success by having a high school friend or sibling who is in a band. Others work hard, go to school, network and make contacts. However, to this day, it is my firm belief that hard work and luck are the greatest factors when it comes to being successful in the biz. Whether you want to be the star or the lowly roadie, there are many options to choose from if you’re trying to figure out how to get a job on a tour.

This guide book is for those few brave souls who are ready to stick their head in the fire. Although these pages have all been written in collaboration with veteran road dogs, one must not use this book as one would use a religious manual. From my own personal experience through many years in the business as an audio engineer, I will go ahead and give my best possible advice here in the preface and say this . . . I learned something new at every single gig and show that I have ever worked. To put all of the information about the entertainment industry in one book is almost near impossible. To think that you know it all is also the most ridiculous idea that could ever form in your head. This advice especially goes out to those individuals who are, are about to, or already have graduated from a major university or trade school with or without a degree. I personally did not graduate from any formal educational program, and can honestly say that I have found significantly more success than a vast majority of all of those graduates based on good old fashioned hard work and a little luck. Too many times after a show have I spoken with a young and willing graduate who is desperate to know how to get a job and to do what I do for a living. All whom have asked have received my automated answer, Nobody ever told me how to get in the touring industry, and no one person ever told me to become an audio engineer. I just wanted it more than anything and found a way to make it happen. You too have to want it more than anything else because without that fundamental desire and need to be a part of the show, there would be no one there to do the things that need to be done. The things that an average roadie does are not glamorous or fashionable. They just love doing the job that makes them happy and you’ll be hard pressed to find a single roadie who doesn’t love what they do.

Roadie—(Row—dee) Noun—An individual who travels with a musical band or an organization that conducts their business traveling from city to city setting up a show or concert. This individual is responsible for the setup and tear down of a certain specified set of equipment that will relate to a specific job. The term roadie does not refer to the specific duties