About to go on my first tour

[gabriel g.]

lots of t-shirts, shorts and socks. You will be on stage everyday and will sweat like a motherfucker

Was one of my dumbest mistakes when I was on tour for the first time

 

[Revson]

Oh, wet naps for a portable shower.

 

[amarshism]

Gaff,colored gaff and a sharpie. Flashlight.

 

[AllanD]

That's great that you're going on tour man, I hope to do this within the next two years. I would take wheat bread and peanut butter, a lot of it. Filling and gives you energy, neither needs to be refrigerated, and it's cheap as hell.

 

[gabriel g.]

That's great that you're going on tour man, I hope to do this within the next two years. I would take wheat bread and peanut butter, a lot of it. Filling and gives you energy, neither needs to be refrigerated, and it's cheap as hell.

He will get that stuff in europe mostly cheaper then in the UK

so whats your bands name?

 

[ratsapprentice]

Remember to pick up loads of knives, fireworks, chocolate and bad porn while you're in Belgium.

 

[OctoberRust]

You have to develop your own system!

It's very important to not take too much unnecessary stuff with you, but the more important issue is how you carry them. It can become very uncomfortable to rifle through your bags every day, especially when your band is jammed together in small places.
I did it like this:
One big bag as a refill station that stays in the van and a rucksack.

Put everything you need for the day in the rucksack and just pull out the big bag once when you go sleeping. Then, take out your sleeping bag and after showering/the next morning exchange clothes, maybe put some in your rucksack for later.
You don't want to carry all your belongings with you the whole time, and you also don't want to go to the van every time you need something.

- Take big plastic bags with you so your smelly used clothes don't contaminate the other stuff.

- Don't bring your laptop or be really mindful about it, it might get stolen.
This also applies to expensive MP3 players, cell phones etc...

- Don't forget to bring a towel, and after showering on tour don't forget to take your shampoo with you

- T-Shirts, underwear and socks are important. Pants are not!

- If you might (want to) end up having sex bring condoms

- Again: always mind your personal (expensive) stuff could be stolen. The best protection is keeping your stuff hidden where nobody sees it. E.g. never ever put your laptop in an empty car on a blank seat where any passerby can see it.

Have fun!

 

[Geno_]

have designated stage clothes that you keep in a bag and wear for each gig - at the end of the tour they will be epic/toxic

 

[Skinny Viking]

baby wipes

 

[xTomx]

Woah, didn't expect this many replies! Thanks A LOT for all the info guys, some insanely useful stuff in here I forgot.

I'm in a melodic hardcore band called Isolated, only got one song up atm but we're putting up our free (recorded by yours truly) tomorrow on a bandcamp site. Then thankfully deleting our myspace account...

If you do plan on coming to any shows gimme PM me btw!

 

[ahjteam]

About to go on my first tour in Europe for a week going through Belgium, Germany and France.

I know plenty of you guys are in touring bands so what would guys reccomend bringing that's I might have missed. Apart from the obvious like clothes and gear etc, so far I've got:

• Laptop and headphones to keep my sane in the van
• UK to Europe plug adapters
• Spare strings, 9 volts and wire cutters
• Sleeping bag and pillow
• Anti-perspirant, towels, shampoo, vitamins
• Pain killers

Any general advice and tips for saving money, getting by in Europe etc?

This will cover most of it:
- Bottled water. A lot of it. Try to ask for 12-24 bottles of them on your hospitality rider from each venue if possible.
- The all essential stuff to maintain your instrument: strings, batteries, wrenches, screwdrivers, wire cutters, AND AT LEAST 1-2 SPARE GUITARS AND 2-3 SPARE CABLES. Also bring something like a POD for backup in case your amp breaks up. Use flight/hard cases for everything possible.
- Tools: Paper, pens, big black markers, gaff tape, flashlight, leatherman, multimeter. Also having your own microphones is not a bad call.
- Personal entertainment and porn for travels.
- The general hygiene kit (pack separately from everything else): Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, razor, meds, 1 personal roll of toilet paper (important!), 2 towels, shower flipflops (I once got really bad infection to my feet, highly recommended) and all the other less irrelevant things you need and that I forgot
- I personally suggest not to fuck as you can get AIDS or some other shit, but if you do, use a condom.
- Clothing: 2-4 pairs of shoes, 1-3 hoodies, about 10-20 t-shirts, 3-5 pairs of jeans, as many pairs of socks and boxers as you can and a few plastic bags for the dirty clothes. Laundry when ever you can. Also if you are travelling in Switzerland or other mountainside and/or fall or winter time: 1 set of warm clothes. And sunglasses and hats.

This might all sound like a lot, but it all fits in a big suitcase (with exception of the instruments of course).

 

[RLab]

The correct spelling for the french place is "BordeAux", not "Bordeux"
And sorry, it's too far from my place, I won't be able to come but I like your music btw !

 

[TheDriller]

Bring an assortment of vitamin pills and supplements, to compensate for what will probably be a shitty diet.
And various meds, Asprin, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, etc...

 

[ratsapprentice]

Animal Pak