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Truth or Darron
Like most people, bands’ touring vehicles come in many different shapes, colors and sizes, but they are designed to provide a mobile ‘home’ while touring the country.
For those who haven’t experienced the inside of a tour vehicle (bus, shuttle bus, van, etc), you might not really understand what some bands go through in order to play venues, make some money on merchandise sales and find their way to your world sans a Garmin most of the time.
The larger bands have the luxury of the Greyhound – a larger bus filled with the luxuries away from home such as showers, TVs, couches, bedrooms, and truthfully, enough space to feel comfortable.
Other bands find themselves on the other end of the spectrum with a full-size van and a box trailer providing a few bench seats to sleep.
Last week, my wife and I were introduced to “Bruno” – and it didn’t involve a movie theater or the moxie/persona of Sacha Baron-Cohen. Before the character hit the big screen, Bruno has served as the home away from California for national recording artist, Midnight to Twelve (www.myspace.com/m212live or @m212 on Twitter).
For Michigan folk, Bruno is a mid-sized tour bus – almost looking like one of the smaller SMART shuttle busses in our area. As a veteran band, Midnight to Twelve (or M212 for short) has made this vehicle an even smarter bus to meet their needs on the road.
Vocalist Jon Hartman gave us a look into life on the road by explaining how Bruno has the comforts of home. He admitted his place in the six-bunk bus is his preferred sleeping arrangement as he can ‘close the curtain and crash.’
Sure, the bus doesn’t have bedrooms, privacy or even showering facilities, but the guys make do with what they have on the road. Bruno provides a corner with a small, 19” flatscreen TV to watch Family Guy or Lost DVDs as well as play some Xbox thanks to a portable generator on Bruno’s back. Jon also keeps up with fans through the band’s MySpace and Twitter through his phone.
Sometimes, budget overrides comfort on the road, so M212 ‘plugs in’ at a local truck stop for showers (Febreze keeps the van “fresh”) or even a fan’s house depending on their needs. The wear and tear of the road also can wreak havoc on Bruno as the vehicle had its engine replaced a few years back.
But Midnight to Twelve’s story is just one of many tours by many bands on the road. Ironically, most bands develop a name for their touring vehicle because it becomes a part of them as it refines their character and serves as a home away from home.
For example, vocalist Heather St. Marie of Hydrovibe (www.myspace.com/hydrovibe or @hydrovibe on Twitter) told me they named their touring van “Sylvia”.
“She has taken us through blizzards, tornadoes and tens of thousands of miles on the road,” she added. Sylvia will primed for the road again this Fall as Hydrovibe’s new album drops in September followed by a U.S. Tour.
Sometimes, touring comes at an even greater price for bands like Joan Red (www.myspace.com/joanred or @JoanRed on Twitter). Their van, called the “Red Rocket”, recently blew a head gasket which translated into a $2,400 bill.
For those who don’t understand the concept, most bands live off their tours with each stop providing gas money and maybe the chance to be a $1 Menu-aire at McDonald’s or Taco Bell. Right in the middle of their album release tour, the Red Rocket crashed and burned their tour plans which lead to many cancelled dates.
Joan Red even established a donation link to help them. Feel free to check it out here. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=99602999&blogId=503221531
For a month or so, LZZY Hale of Halestorm (www.myspace.com/halestorm or @HalestormRocks, @LZZYHALE on Twitter) asked her followers to help them come up with a new name for their new touring RV.
On August 2nd, the group came up with Bouncing Betty. You can check her out here http://img443.yfrog.com/i/6x8.jpg/. Their former vehicle was called Rolling Thunder or Large Marge by Arejay Hale (@ArejayHale on Twitter). Check it out here. http://twitpic.com/640rx
Even local bands have an affinity for their touring vehicle. One local band, Reign, recently contacted me about their VW bus which gets the equipment around the metro Detroit area.
“I just recently bought a VW bus,” admits Aaron “Dr. Shiv” Shivnen, bassist for Reign (www.myspace.com/downriverreign). “We call it the Reigndeer because it pulls our wagon. There's no clever story behind the name, like we ran over Santa or anything like that.
“We just want to use every pun there is for the name Reign. So Reigndeer would be our first endorsement of the rain puns. Soon there's sure to come a party bus, named the Reigncloud, an album called the Sound of Reign, and custom guitar picks called Reigndrops.
“So look for a purple hippie van (soon to be painted), and chances are it's Reign's Reigndeer. The license plate says Reign too.”
Been Caught Stealin’
This section has news I have picked up from music-oriented people in my friends list. I’ll repost their information here. If you want your information here, send me an e-mail.
Roadrunner Records
Are you in a band? Do you know someone in a band? Do you think you're good enough to be signed to Roadrunner? Or do you think you have the "ears" to help us find the next big artist?
The new media department at Roadrunner Records (yes, that's us!) have been busy in the laboratory over the past 8 months working on a brand new website designed to make submissions of recorded demos easier for bands hoping to one day get signed to our record label.
At this website, you can join as an ARTIST and upload your best material. SCOUTS who join can then rate, review and comment the music you submit. Roadrunner's A&R department will be looking at all of this material every day - listening to submissions and occasionally rating and reviewing songs themselves.
That website is signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com.
Come to signmeto and check out the hundreds of cool, interesting, cutting-edge and...yes...totally lame bands that have uploaded music to the site. And if you are one of the bands involved - we have nearly 200 new scouts joining daily, so there are plenty of opportunities to get your material reviewed.
It is early days for signmeto, and there are still a lot of improvements that have to be made. We hope for your patience. Jon Satterley, Senior Vice President of New Media, has started a new blog at the regular RR website to discuss, on a weekly basis, the updates, fixes, changes and roadmap for the signmeto website. Check it out here.
Feedback is welcome at the comments area of the blog, and also by using our getsatisfaction feedback widget to the left of every web page at signmeto. Don't forget to follow us on twitter by going here.
We hope you enjoy the new home of Roadrunner's online A&R. ~ The Roadrunner Records New Media Development Team
Six Pack
* Wasting Days, “Beautiful Shame”,
www.myspace.com/wastingdaysmusic
* Black Leaf Clover, “Up Until”, www.myspace.com/blackleafclover
* SBU (Strength Beyond U), “Dead Calm”, www.myspace.com/sbumetal
* Inverse, “Do What You Want”, www.myspace.com/inverse
* LOVEHATEHERO, “Echoes”, www.myspace.com/lovehatehero
* Tides of Man, “Not My Love”, www.myspace.com/tidesofman