Hi there, Adriene here!
Traveling for a living is a very specific lifestyle. It is necessary to posses a certain unique personality to be successful out here, and the things that keep roadies coming back for more are equally unique. Here are a few of them:
1. The organized chaos of load out. Big rigs in the double digits being conducted in and out of loading docks by mad scientist drivers is a sight to behold. Stagehands and crew bringing down the show and pushing cases with what seems like wild abandon. Love it.
2. Rolling in to hotels at a ridiculously early hour of the morning after a show. For example, when the four buses pulled up to the Affinia Hotel in New York City last week, we all piled out, hauling luggage up 7th Avenue in our pajamas. It’s like a game! A typical schedule: arrive at 5 or 6 in the morning, stagger to the hotel room, sleep as long as possible, then emerge in the afternoons like overworked vampires.
3. A new city at least every other day. Need I say more?
4. The people. The friends I have made on the road are some of the best human beings in the world. I can always count on something interesting to happen when roadies are around.
5. Adventure. Adventure. Adventure.
6. The sound my bunk curtain makes when I slide it shut at 2:30AM, when the bus is about to roll out. A small thing perhaps, but it’s so distinct. When this tour is over in two weeks, I will miss that sound.
7. The infinite possibilities of tour schedule. Where are we going? When? Great! Count me in.
8. The fans. Music makes people happy. It shapes lives, and I get to be a part of that. What’s not to like, right?
9. The bus parking area during the hour or so between the end of load out and time to leave. Skateboards, cold beer, and the occasional rousing Connect Four tournament (you laugh, but that game can get heated, trust me!). We fool around with a frenzy and cause as much havoc as possible. It is the one piece of touring life that can never be recreated anywhere else. It’s a roadie secret that I might get in trouble for sharing . . .
10. The adrenalin rush that comes along with being a part of a large tour. It’s like a machine out here. So many moving parts! To watch it come together each day is like magic.
The road is my favorite place to be. But after a while, the pace becomes exhausting and it’s time to take a break. Two more weeks on the TRT! Sad, yes. But the best part is I never know what will happen next time . . . !
Dear TFC Fans,
