Dave Rat - Roadies in the Midst

2pm - Fifty people all checking into a hotel and sometimes the hotels don't really comprehend the concept of getting all the room keys ready before we arrive. It is gonna be a while. Priority goes to the crew that are have to head to the gig soon so they can get a shower beforehand. Today is a day off for sound engineers, backline, band party and some others but it is a pre-rig day for riggers, lighting crew, sound crew. The tour will be pre-rigging a few times till everything gets dialed in. We have back-to-back shows in different cities coming up so pre-rigs will soon become a thing of the past.

Super tired, I will get used to sleeping on a bus soon enough but it will take a few rides to get there. Shower and a nap and wake up to a PIN message from Chad (drummer human) about going to see Ted Nugent. Hmmm, not a big fan. He has some pretty rough political and alpha-male related hunting views that don't mesh with my view of the world around me. On the other hand, something to do and am curious to meet him even if I don't agree with him. Plus I used to rock out to Stranglehold when I was a kid.

Oh, PIN messages are pretty much the life blood of communication out here. BlackBerry's have an internal network where you can send a super fast, confirmed delivery, free text messages directly to another BlackBerry, pretty much worldwide. They are so effective that we use them for sound check and staying in touch during the gig from FOH to mons. Next in line is SMS text messaging but the charges add up and they are less reliable and slower, emailing phone to phone is slow and not confirmed. An actual phone call? Way too intrusive! Ever tried to talk on the phone during a rock show?

2am - Ted Nugent played a club gig, Chad and I actually rode over with him, his family and the bass player to the gig. On one hand, everyone was super friendly, on the other hand, my opinion was reinforced. I can not remember ever hanging out with someone that I disagree with more.

And sleep time cometh.

Dave Rat