Being on the road with Ballyhoo! has been a blast. When I was hired I was told I would be a stagehand/tech. But right before tour they bought in-ear monitors and I got promoted instantly. So far I have learned so much from working with our front of house engineer and all the house engineers at each venue. When setting up the stage every detail counts. The goal is to make break down and load out as quickly as possible. For example, the order of cables to lie down, or working one side of the stage while the previous band loads out on the other. In a nutshell it’s all about efficiency, all the way down to the specifics of packing the trailer/van.

Opportunities like this are very rare. Which just means it should be pounced on immediately! You meet so many people, so easy to make friends that have the same career path as you. Word travels quickly on the road. You might start working with one band but the other bands that you toured with want you to work with them! That just starts a cycle of (hopefully) constant employment. Then you can pick and choose who you want to go on the road with.

Working on the road is a dream job. Lots of laughs and music every night! It’s important that the time out here is used wisely. Making connections and passing out your business card out is crucial. I technically only work for one band but I help out all of them with load in/out, fixing guitars, food runs. People remember stuff like that which helps in the long run!

Learn the bands equipment top to bottom! Knowledge is power, do research on their guitars, amps, or any instrument they have. It’s a plus if you could teach them something it they didn’t know.

In general, keep the band happy. The less the band has to do, then the better job you are doing. The band members got to have face time with the fans and press so make sure everything is put away and loaded out. Be ready to leave when the band is ready.

Finally, there is no such thing as a show going 100% perfect. Little things happen every time. Like a mic slipping out of a clip, guitar string break, spilled drinks. As a stagehand just be focused and attentive. Don’t think about the situation just react to it and don’t beat yourself up if something goes wrong. A lot of tings that mess up are not your fault at all, but you need to fix it 30 seconds ago.