Stefan's Summer Tour Diary: Volume III

[Nitro1515]

As I write this entry, I'm sitting at the desk in my hotel room in Birmingham, MI, about an hour outside of Detroit. Today was my birthday and I spent it at the ballpark watching the Detroit Tigers battle it out with the Boston Red Sox. A bunch of us from tour went and got a suite to chill out in. I was wishing that I had brought my binoculars; we were at the top of the park. It was the first MLB game that I've ever been to. I know that sounds crazy, and I really love watching baseball on TV, it's just that I've never found myself at a game before.

So there I was watching Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek battle it out with Zach Miner and Marcus Thames. The Red Sox won 8 to 3 after Zach Miner walked home two Red Sox players. They crowd was not happy and let Zach know it with a chorus of boos as he left the mound. OUCH!

I felt like a kid out there - the sounds, the traditions, the cotton candy, the smell of hot dogs and beer. The guys got me a baseball cupcake with a candle in it. I'll definitely be making my way back to the ballpark this summer. It was a great birthday!
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The night after the first gig was such a relief. We had made it. We had gotten through the night. I still remembered how to play bass. I could relax and drink a beer. Everything was good. That night, after the show, I sat on the couch in the dressing room and just spaced out.

After a good hour or so doing nothing I decided to leave. We were going to drive overnight to Kansas City. There we'd park the bus at the gig and sleep until morning, or in my case, early afternoon. If the bus ride is far and we're playing the very next day, I prefer to go straight to the venue. There's always bus parking which means I don't have to get up in the middle of the night and go into a hotel.

My bus has six bunks where people can sleep. Each bunk has a DVD player, a small TV (you can also pick up the DirecTV from the front or back lounge), a nightlight, air vents so it doesn't get too hot or cold, a blackout-style curtain to separate you from the hallway, and a small window (so you can see where you are) with it's own blackout cover. So the bunks are quite cozy. I have even produced a cozier than normal bunk by getting two large soft feather pillows, my 600-threadcount cotton sheets and a heavy feather comforter. I look forward to a good ten-hour bus ride because I sleep very well in my posh little bunk.

When the family is out on tour, every bunk is full. But right now my family is at home and it's just my business partner and me. My business partner also works for the band, so when he's on tour with us - which isn't all the time - he rides with me so we can brainstorm fun things to do while we're on- and off-tour. He's also one of my best friends and was even the best man in my wedding.

Back to the bus! I roll up on the bus and we start rolling down the road. I pop open a beer and set up my new X-Box 360. I don't normally sit and play hours of video games, but when I'm on the road traveling down the highways of America, I like to play them so I can take a break and have a little fun. I like playing "PGR Racing" at the moment, but I enjoy all kinds of games. I'm also playing this game called "Condemned" which isn't the nicest of games, but it sure is scary and has gotren a startled jump out of me on more than one occasion.

I played X-Box for about an hour and a half when I felt myself getting really tired so I went to bed. Right before I fell asleep, I read a chapter in the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel. It's about his time in a concentration camp during WWII, about being forced to travel by foot at night, in snow, to different camps where death was always right on top them. I said a blessing to myself and thanked God for all that I have, and then I turned off the light and fell asleep quickly. I dreamt that I was locked away in a camp, trying to help a family find their little girl, who went missing earlier that day.
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Thought you might like a taste of the typical day on tour. I wake up around noonish, splash some cold water on my face, wet my hair to get rid of the bed-head, and brush my teeth. Then I'll pour myself a big glass of orange, cranberry and blueberry juice to start things off. I turn on the news and drink my juice and try to connect with my family. I eat fruit, drink juice, talk with my daughter, my wife, watch the news, look at IZSTYLE, and check my myspace page.

After about 45 minutes or so I'll venture out of the bus to catering where I'll search out our cook who will gladly make me some scrambled eggs with cheese while I make myself a triple espresso. This is one of my favorite times of the day. As I eat my breakfast, the rest of the crew comes in for lunch so I sit with the back line crew (aka "The Heathers" and enjoy their company and humor. I'll finish my coffee and head back to my bus.

At the beginning of the tour I got a brand new carbon-fiber frame, full suspension, S-Type Specialized mountain bike. One of my favorite pastimes on tour is to go for bike rides. After I'm no longer full from breakfast I'll take off on my new bike through the parking lot, across the road to whatever I can find. Sometimes it might be a park, sometimes it might just be miles and miles of parking lots surrounded by busy roads. Sometimes if I'm lucky, I'll find a great trail and ride for miles. It's so great just to be able to get up and go - get away from the gig, the buses, the trucks, the PA being tested. It's good for my soul. I savor those moments on my bike when I find a good trail or a good road and my thoughts and cares leave my head; I'm just breathing, moving, seeing, being.

After I make my way back to the venue, I like to get in a good workout on the gym truck that travels with us on the road. I'll usually work out for a good hour. It gives me a chance to listen to music. By the time I'm finished, the rest of the band will have arrived (I'm not always the only band member who's early; sometimes some of the others will have already been at the gig too) and it's time for sound check.

Once sound check starts, the day kicks into high gear:
4:00-5:30 sound check
6:15 dinner
7:15 start warming up
8:15 hit the stage, and boom:
11:00 show's over and I'm back on the dressing room couch, spacing out, drinking a beer. And that's the typical show day. Things change and things aren't always the same, but for me this is the way the day rolls on most occasions.
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The first four shows that we have played have been amazing. We've been playing some old tunes that haven't been played for a few summers. I've really enjoyed playing them. It's a good exercise for my mind to try to remember these oldies and it's been a pleasure to see how much the fans have enjoyed hearing songs that many of them might have thought that they would never hear again. After two shows, we felt confident enough to try a new tune named "The Idea of You." I really love this song and it's great to play a new tune that I believe in and love to play. Sometimes new tunes feel awkward and strange and that's when we have to keep working on them till they feel right. Once a new tune gets to a point where everything feels right, that's when it's time to take it to the stage. We realized that "The Idea of You" was at that point. If we were going to mess up the song, it needed to happen in front of our fans. Songs take shape mostly once they're played in front of the audience. I cannot wait to add more new songs to the set so they can start to bake and slow cook to that savory level where we want all of our songs to be. New and old alike, I love having all these choices of tunes to play in an evening.

And on we roll...

[mattinbeloit]

Good find, it's cool to read about their normal day. Sounds like mind kind of life, but I'm sure it gets as routine and boring as mine is at the moment sometimes.

[Elliottman]

Thanks Nitro, good read. the last paragraph was enjoyable to read.

[dmfollower]

Sounds exactly what i'd be doing if i were in his spot. Minus the xbox playing......i'd sub in hiking and mt. climbing between the biking. Good to see that stephan enjoys the finer, natural things in life.

thanks Nitro!

[bense27]

thanks Nitro

[CWMCALL]

That was good read

Thanks

[ericwormann]

Each member has his own bus?

[mdel21]

I don't know about their own buses, but I'm sure the blacks drive in the smaller more crammed one than Dave, Stefan and Butch.

[Nitro1515]

Each member has his own bus?

yes

[Beauford33]

I don't know about their own buses, but I'm sure the blacks drive in the smaller more crammed one than Dave, Stefan and Butch.

[czech]

Each member has his own bus?

yes

that's good for the environemnt.

[a1075dd63aa12]

Each member has his own bus?

yes

that's good for the environemnt.

they plant trees every year to offset the emissions caused by the tour

[STLflmmkr]

I remember hearing somewhere that Dave flew in a private jet to gigs. I also read somewhere that after Before These Crowded Streets they all traveled seperately.

[czech]

Each member has his own bus?

yes

that's good for the environemnt.

they plant trees every year to offset the emissions caused by the tour

i knew thy did something, couldnt remember what.

[littlefriend]

Don't they use bio-diesel? I would expect them to switch over soon, if they haven't already, considering the band's outlook on the environment and Dave's ties to FarmAid.