Touring Technicians

[Ra Byn James Taylor]

I toured in 1995 to Europe, South America & the US with Branford Marsalis. I
wasn't a piano tuner at the time & we didn't travel with a piano but I took
care of the gear & the stage.

If you're talking about extra parts & such, I can give you my experience. We
had an 88 key Fender Rhodes that was constantly breaking. At the beginning
of the tour, we didn't have a case for it. Something that heavy is going to
get mistreated without a case. We ended up finding a used case in Philly
about half way thru the US leg of the tour. The keyboardist brought a duffle
bag full of spare parts, tines, hammers, etc.. If he hadn't, I don't know
what we would of done.

The bigger the name, more money, more options. For instance, on Neil
Diamond, Every piece of gear, lighiting truss, PA gets shipped everywhere
the tour goes, no matter what! On Whitney Houston, they had so many people &
so much gear out that everything was barcoded during rehearsals. AS it went
on the truck, it got scanned into a handheld computer. At the end of the
night, they new exactly what was missing if anything & what it was.


First rule of touring - the toilet on a tour bus is for urinating & not the
other option.
Second rule of touring - always sleep with your feet pointing toward the
front of the bus.

If you have specific questions, you can email me directly if you like.

rabyn@flash.net

ra byn james