A Day On The Road

     In the winter of 2010 I was on board for a tour with the band 100 Monkeys. I was an assistant to the photographer on the tour as well as the go getter for anyone that needed anything as well.  The tour started the day after Christmas and went through the 1st of the year. Here is one of the days that I encountered...

     It was early in the morning, probably around 7am. We had just pulled into New Orleans, as we had been driving through the night from the show the night before in Birmingham, AL. Having only got an hour or two of sleep in a cramped crowded van we get out to see our surroundings. I am double fisting iced coffee as the rest of the people in my group start to get ready for the day. Around noon is the in store performance for the band. I sit this out as I am just enjoying the beautiful winter weather in the south. For most of the rest of the day it is a lot of waiting around. There was an awesome sing a long outside the bus from my party and the band. That passed a little bit of time. I was ready to get into the venue!

     While the show was going I hung out by the merch booth. Helping to sell as much merch as I could! As the show was coming to a close I started helping set up the table in the back for the after show signing. I was in charge of observing the line and making sure it kept moving. Around 2am we all start walking back to the hotel... but not to sleep. We hang out in the lobby waiting for a text of where we are all going to hang out. By the time we get the text it is well after 3am, but we head down to Bourbon Street anyway. The downside to touring is by the time you get done at the venue most places are getting ready to close... We meet up with some of the band, try to decide where to go, and in the end decide we should just head back to the car and make an effort to make it to the next city. The next city is Houston and that is a 6 hour drive. I am running on 2 hours of sleep and it is now 5 in the morning. I pull over somewhere in Baton Rouge to rest, because I do not want to wreck anyone in my party.

     Two hours later I get up and continue the driving, and do everything all over again!

     Being on a tour is completely exhausting and draining and I did not even have half the work that some of the others on the tour did. It definitely takes a lot of stamina and endurance to make it!

Introduction

Good evening everyone,

My name is Jennifer and I am currently a student at Full Sail University getting my degree in the entertainment business. As a person who is always working and loves to be out on the road more than I am in my own home I decided that a perfect blog would be to create a place where people can come and learn about the touring and traveling aspect of the industry as well as connect with those who already have a job in the profession and are looking for products or reviews for when they are out on the road.

Let me get the ball rolling!

Since I live in Kansas City I am going to do a short review of the city. Those who may come here for business that have never been here before might enjoy knowing something about the city that they are working in.

Kansas City is famous for its BBQ. One of the best places I believe to go get some good BBQ is Arthur Bryant's. They have three different types of sauces to appeal to all taste buds. The meat is plentiful and good portions. The staff is friendly and helpful.

For those looking for a place to unwind and even party after a long day of work there is the Power and Light district. Two stories of bars of all different types surround an amazing courtyard where live music is often played or big games are put on the big screens. There are lots of restaurants and shops around as well. This district is located right across the street from our largest indoor arena the Sprint Center.

I look forward to really adding more to this blog and am open to any and all suggestions! Feel free to comment on anything that you would like to see on this blog!

Goodnight!

Jennifer