# About to go on my first tour.



## heavy7-665 (Jun 26, 2010)

We leave on the 30th of this month and have our first show in Vegas on the 1st of july. SO PUMPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(and crazy nervous). I even turn 20 on tour lol No 7 strings unfortunatly. I play bass in this band BUT, I play a 6 string fretless Hohner tuned GCGCFA# if that helps. Any tour tips?


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jun 26, 2010)

Be very tolerant. There's no better way to find out you hate someone than spending a few weeks in close proximity to them. Also people tend to get more stressed on tour, as it's not always easy, so, again, tolerance.

Don't overdo it. Drinking is fun, as is everything else, but hammering it every day will take it out of you, and will affect your stage performances. Remember why you are there, and it's the shows, not the partying.

Be prepared to be ill at some point, be prepared to not always shower (bring baby wipes), be prepared to be tired, eat crap food and not get enough sleep. So, try to actually eat healthily, which is ridiculously hard, but hey.

Bring spares of everything if you can. Stuff will break, touring really batters the crap out of amps, gear and instruments.

Other than that, enjoy it, it's a lot of fun, and, if you get lai, remember to bag it  (as you don't know where it's been )


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 26, 2010)

7 Dying Trees said:


> Be very tolerant. There's no better way to find out you hate someone than spending a few weeks in close proximity to them. Also people tend to get more stressed on tour, as it's not always easy, so, again, tolerance.
> 
> Don't overdo it. Drinking is fun, as is everything else, but hammering it every day will take it out of you, and will affect your stage performances. Remember why you are there, and it's the shows, not the partying.
> 
> ...





Get to the shows at the time you're told to get there.

Don't get wasted every night. I know you're only 19, but if you have the chance then don't do it, otherwise you will give a crappy performance each night and that's not exactly giving people what they've paid to see.

Seconded about getting ill at some point, kudos if you don't get ill though.


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## ZXIIIT (Jun 26, 2010)

Take lots of pictures too


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 26, 2010)

Thank you guys lol Im so excited for this. My band has already decided we are either gonna hate each other or be so close it will make us sick lol


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 26, 2010)

I guess we are gonna take showers at friends places or truck stops lol now for MANLY SHOWER SANDLES!!!!!!!!!!


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## Daken1134 (Jun 27, 2010)

tours are a blast but be careful man. i lost a really good friend of mine cause of it. you get to see who people really are after a while. bring alot of canned food and small snacks. i lived off those bags of cereal you can get at walmart for like 4 dollars and also they have diet shakes at walmart as well for 5 bucks. they will save your life. i can write you an entire guide on how to survive your tour depending on how long it will be. but most of all just have fun and try not to let anything stress you out.


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 27, 2010)

Daken1134 said:


> tours are a blast but be careful man. i lost a really good friend of mine cause of it. you get to see who people really are after a while. bring alot of canned food and small snacks. i lived off those bags of cereal you can get at walmart for like 4 dollars and also they have diet shakes at walmart as well for 5 bucks. they will save your life. i can write you an entire guide on how to survive your tour depending on how long it will be. but most of all just have fun and try not to let anything stress you out.



Campfire stove and chili, also poptarts lol Might have to check out those shakes. it will be about 3-4 weeks total. Halfway through we are gonna stop at a friends and record our first album too.


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## blister7321 (Jun 27, 2010)

grats 
actually show up a little early
always have a charged payed cell phone
be prepared if someone in the band does get trashed, dont go off on him while hes trashed (have ya seen eh lamb of god dvd or heard of metallica/or megadeth) try to work it out

other than that just have fun play good shows also
any ritual you guys do at local clubs do every night (if its legal)


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 28, 2010)

blister7321 said:


> grats
> actually show up a little early
> always have a charged payed cell phone
> be prepared if someone in the band does get trashed, dont go off on him while hes trashed (have ya seen eh lamb of god dvd or heard of metallica/or megadeth) try to work it out
> ...



Will probably be our lead guitarist.


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## Inazone (Jun 28, 2010)

Buy vitamins, especially vitamin C and zinc to keep your immune system going despite eating questionable food. Halls makes some combination C/zinc/echinacea <sp?> lozenges but they can be tough to find. Also, the health shake idea is a good one, and technically they don't need to be refrigerated. The "store brand" shakes at Wal-Mart or Target cost quite a bit less than Slim-Fast, Ensure or others.

I just did a four-day road trip from Minnesota to Texas and back, and lived off the following:

Equate (Wal-Mart brand) Weight Loss Shakes, Special K Protein Meal Bars, Crystal Light Pure Fitness drink mix (will need 16 oz/32 oz plastic bottles w\ water), bananas, mixed nuts (almonds are best) and vitamins. Splitting the cost up between your bandmates will keep it very affordable, and you can get this stuff virtually anywhere. That still should leave you money to get "real" food now and then, and will be healthier. You definitely don't want to get sick on tour.


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## Daken1134 (Jun 28, 2010)

^^^^ that man knows what he is talking about, take what he is saying to heart


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 28, 2010)

Daken1134 said:


> ^^^^ that man knows what he is talking about, take what he is saying to heart



I take everything here to heart. We are leaving with about 1k in cash and about 1200 worth of merch.


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## Meldville (Jun 28, 2010)

Keep a cooler, replace the ice in it each day/two if you have food in it that needs to stay cold (sandwich meat, cheese, etc). Avoid going out to eat when possible -- lots of times the venues will have free or uber-cheap food for bands, so when you're burned out on eating turkey sammiches you have an affordable alternative. 

Bring a sleeping bag and pillow or two. Also bring some tylenol PM or sleep aid; nights when you sleep in the van, you'll need something to knock you out. If you or your bandmates smoke weed, I'd highly advise against carrying on the road. There are always folks that will get you high if that's your bag, and getting pulled over while on the road is bad enough. If anyone absolutely insists on bringing weed (and again, I would try to talk them out of it), make sure it's enough that they can eat if need be. 

SIGHTSEE! When possible, definitely try to set aside time to go see shit. Having a tour consist of only show->sleep->drive to next show-> repeat will wear you out really quickly. One of my favorite parts of the last tour I was on was going around DC and seeing all of the cool shit.

Don't EVER leave the cash in the van. Honestly, I would NOT take a thousand dollars in cash with me if possible. Someone can steal a credit/debit card and you can get out of it unscathed; someone steals your bag/box/wallet, and you're fucked. If anyone has a checking/debit account with a national bank, I'd put half of the money in there and plan on hitting ATMs throughout the trip. 

My last bid of advice -- always have someone sleep in the van, unless you've got it parked inside an attached garage or something. There's way too many people out there that will break in and steal your shit when you're on the road to chance it. I've had plenty of friends whose tours were ruined (and, in some cases, their bands fell apart as a result) when their van and trailer (and everything inside) got jacked.

Have fun!


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 29, 2010)

Meldville said:


> Keep a cooler, replace the ice in it each day/two if you have food in it that needs to stay cold (sandwich meat, cheese, etc). Avoid going out to eat when possible -- lots of times the venues will have free or uber-cheap food for bands, so when you're burned out on eating turkey sammiches you have an affordable alternative.
> 
> Bring a sleeping bag and pillow or two. Also bring some tylenol PM or sleep aid; nights when you sleep in the van, you'll need something to knock you out. If you or your bandmates smoke weed, I'd highly advise against carrying on the road. There are always folks that will get you high if that's your bag, and getting pulled over while on the road is bad enough. If anyone absolutely insists on bringing weed (and again, I would try to talk them out of it), make sure it's enough that they can eat if need be.
> 
> ...



Way ahead of ya brother, way ahead of ya.


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## elbiatcho1 (Jun 29, 2010)

SOCKS!
Guess where all that sweat drains down into.
Hard to beat putting on a fresh pair of socks and simply throwing out your crusty ones and they are inexpensive at Walmart.


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## Inazone (Jun 29, 2010)

Almost forgot, buy a FIRST AID KIT!!! Burns, scrapes and cuts are going to happen, and the most minor injury can immediately derail a tour. Also, I strongly suggest some Pepto-Bismol (or generic equivalent) tablets, just in case someone eats something that doesn't agree with them.


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## heavy7-665 (Jun 30, 2010)

Well Im about to hop in the van and HEAD OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ill get some updates going hopefully. Keep the advice coming please.


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