Hey everybody! This is Ben from TRE. We’ve been recently inspired by some blog posts from a couple of our fellow “mid-level” bands dealing with the day-to-day financial situation that most groups in our position find themselves in, so we decided to add our two cents to the mix. Instead of just dealing specifically with the financial side of things, which frankly, can be kind of depressing, we’ve decided just to show all of you wonderful people the ins and outs of a typical tour for us, and also how much we depend on the love, generosity, and prayers of our friends and fans.
First and foremost, we just want to be real with you. None of us will ever pretend that our lives are miserable on the road, or that we don’t have it better than the 80 percent or so of the world living in abject poverty. We as individuals, as a band, and as a nation have been blessed far, far beyond anything we could ever hope to deserve. We’re living our dream, and although we’re about as far from “rich and famous” as anyone could be, the blessings that God has poured out on us through this have been unbelievable.
That being said, tour for us, as well as many other bands in our situation, runs the gamut from amazingly awesome to mind-numbingly discouraging. A typical week long run for us will normally include at least one show where either no one shows up, or the 3 people that do show up couldn’t care less that us or any of the other hard working bands at the show traveled hundreds of miles to be there just to play for them. Believe it or not, we don’t do this for our health. With the long hours, lack of sleep, frequent over night drives, and generally stressful environment of the music industry in general, this is honestly one of the hardest “jobs” out there. We’ve had shows where we unloaded our equipment in sub-zero temperatures, lugged all of our gear up 3 flights of stairs, and set everything up only to realize that literally NOT A SINGLE PERSON was coming to the show, even after hours spent doing everything in our power to promote the show. Nights like that can honestly be pretty crappy.
I don’t say this to whine or complain, or to try to elicit sympathy, because there are literally hundreds of other bands out there in our exact same situation. This is just the (sometimes harsh) reality that we deal with in our chosen profession. All we ask is that you please, PLEASE support your local music scene, especially the nationally touring bands. We want to meet people, make new friends, and above all, hopefully make even just a small positive impact on your lives. And the only way we can do that is if people still come out to shows.
On the flip side, there are some really, truly amazing parts of tour as well. As I write this, I’m laying on one of the most comfortable air mattresses I’ve ever had the privilege of sleeping on, in the home of a wonderful family who were kind enough to give us food and a roof over our heads after a long overnight drive. We just got to spend two days exploring New York City, which is just one of many incredible places we’ve gotten to visit on our travels. Even the van we’ve been touring in for 2 years was literally GIVEN to us, no strings attached, after our last van broke down. God provided all these amazing through the incredible, loving people he put in our path. Which brings me to our final point: we need you!!!
We leave our homes each tour with not much more than a bag of (somewhat) clean clothes and a small amount of money for food and gas. Everything else has been given to us by people that come to our shows, and truly believe in us and what we’re doing. I can’t tell you how much we love and appreciate everyone who’s ever helped us on tour. Even what seem like the smallest things can make a HUGE difference when we’re hundreds of miles away from home. Seriously, you all are both the reason that we do this, and the reason we can continue to do this. We love all of you…please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
TRE |
