Demanding physical labor, smelly tour buses, waking up in a new city every day, and working into the early morning hours day after day. Not many guys can cut it on the road – but this girl can. Aileen Burns, the 25-year old, Hawaiian born and raised merchandise manager and current California-resident has stepped into the spotlight at ForTheSound.com to give you the real deal on what life in a band’s crew is like. With a resume that includes The Plain White T’s, Snow Patrol, The Scene Aesthetic, Shirts For A Cure, Silverstein, The Spill Canvas, and Bedouin Soundclash – Burns is an industry force to reckon with.
With the conclusion of her most recent tour with The Plain White T’s and Snow Patrol, Burns gives us a breakdown of a typical day on the road. Aspiring tour managers, merchandise managers, band members, and girls striving to work in the music industry – Burns gives a must-read insider’s look into the industry and what it takes to be successful on the road. From inventory counts to the perfecting the timing of load-in, read on to find out what it is like to walk in the shoes of Aileen Burns! -Natalie Bisignano, Industry Insider
A Day In The Life by Aileen Burns
10:00AM Location: Bunk, tour bus, anytown, USA
Alarm goes off, hit 10-min snooze.
10:10 AM Location: Bunk, tour bus, anytown, USA
Alarm goes off, hit 10-min snooze.
10:20 AM Location: Bunk, tour bus, anytown, USA
Alarm goes off, re-set alarm for 11 AM.
11:00 AM Location: Bunk, tour bus, anytown, USA
Alarm goes off. Silence alarm and open Twitter application on my Blackberry. Reading through all the updates posted while I was sleeping forces me to stay awak; However, the Blackberry screen is so bright that I can only open one eye at a time.
11:36 AM Location: Tour bus
Finally throw open my bunk curtain and roll out. The hallway in the bunk area of the bus has a distinct scent of body odor and farts. My bunk, on the other hand, smells like the cinnamon apple air freshener I’ve hung on the wall. My jeans are usually stuffed at the bottom of my bunk; I have to lock myself in the back lounge to swap my pajamas for the jeans. I only pack 1-2 pairs for tour and I’m lucky if I get either pair washed once. Once dressed, I head to the front lounge of the bus with my toiletries. Usually someone else from the crew is awake and can fill me in on what I’ve missed so far from the morning that I mostly slept through. Contact lenses go in (which is technically the official start to my day) and I brush my teeth in the bathroom sink. If there’s time, I’ll make a pot of coffee for the bus. Sometimes I put makeup on, but if it looks like I can squeeze in a shower after load in then I don’t even bother changing out of yesterday’s shirt. Clean clothes and makeup don’t need to be on my body until after load in.
12:00 PM Location: Venue loading dock
I check on the progress of the gear coming off the semi-truck. This needs to be timed well; honestly, if I could only just wake up at a normal morning hour then I wouldn’t have to worry about timing, but I love to sleep. Depending on the venue’s loading dock specs and the competence of its loaders, the backline and lighting gear may or may not be off the truck by noon. If I have good timing, the gear is almost completely unloaded and not only do I save myself from waiting around, I can also potentially recruit some nice loaders to give me a hand moving x-number of merch boxes into the venue. Usually this is rare and loaders sit around smoking cigarettes and gawking at me while I lift and carry multiple heavy boxes of merch. Always nice when they ask for free t-shirts later in the day [note: this isn’t to say that all loading staff are snobs about carrying cardboard; I’ve met many friendly and helpful people all over the world who have given a helping hand. Unfortunately, I’ve also met many loaders who look at handling anything but road cases as a job that is beneath them.].
12:30 PM Location: Semi-truck
Assuming I’ve done all my work properly the night before, I’m prepared for today’s show with a list of what I need to pull from my inventory to add to the returns from the previous day’s show. These are called “pulls.” Ideally, I issue enough merchandise without running out sometime during the course of the night, but not so much product that I’m packing it all up again at the end of the show (these are called “returns”). Learning how to project sales and do a proper pull is something a skilled merch person learns how to do over the course of touring. There are also other factors to take into account, such as specific cities that are known to buy (or not buy) a lot of merch, or if the band is playing a hometown show.
1:30 PM Location: Semi-truck
Once I have my pulls and returns ready to go, I stack them up on the hand truck and hopefully it’s an easy trip from point A (the loading dock or truck’s location) to point B (merch area inside venue). If the show contract specifies ‘artist-sell’ (that’s me), then I park my merch boxes in their area and use the next hour or two for eating lunch and showering.
3:30 PM Location: Venue merchandise area
If the show contract specifies ‘building-sell,’ a representative from a vending company or from the venue itself will usually meet me around this time to check in my product. I like to advance with the venue rep ahead of time so that they have a copy of my product list and we can set up a time to meet for check in. I have my product laying out for easy counting before the rep arrives. We agree on numbers and gross, and from then until the end of the night the vendors handle my merch. If they ever run low on an item, I restock for them and we add the product to the original count.
If the show contract says ‘artist-sell,’ I try to start setting up about three hours before doors to give me adequate time. I lay out all of the product to re-count what is being issued for the show and double check the numbers in my computer. My cash needs to match with the numbers on my computer at the end of the night, so it’s really important for me to be accurate with my counts.
I lay everything over boxes in the merch area for easy access when I’m selling merch. Then I set up my visual display using metal grids or a large foam board. I put up price signs with available sizes, but a lot of people don’t ever see or use those signs, even though they’re right there in plain sight.
6:00 PM Location: Catering or nearby restaurant
I try to make sure I eat dinner before doors because if I am selling merch all night I won’t have a chance to leave and eat until long after the show is over.
6:45 PM Location: Merch area
If the building has a vendor selling for me at that particular show, I swing by merch to check out their display. I need to make sure nothing is missing and that all the prices are correctly displayed.
7:00 PM Location: Venue
Doors open. Fans who are vying for a spot in the front row tend to rush in first and bypass the merch area. Less crazy fans come to merch to purchase a t-shirt prior to showtime so that they don’t need to leave their spot once the bands have started.
8:00 PM Location: On stage
Opening band performs. Fans of the headlining band continue to buy merch or opt to spend their cash at the bar.
8:45 PM Location: Merch area
During the intermission between opening band and the headliner, many people typically choose this time to purchase merchandise from the headliner before they go on, or maybe to get a CD or t-shirt from the opening band that just performed. This is usually the busiest merch will get until the end of the night.
9:15-10:45 PM Location: On stage
Headlining band performs. Fans are entertained. Merch person gets a breather. If I’m running out of any particular item, this is a good time to run out and restock from the truck.
10:45 PM Location: Merch area
End of show rush at merch. Everyone who wanted merch and hadn’t purchased it during the show turns up now. They may run the risk of their size not being available at the end of the night, but if my pull is good then it shouldn’t be a problem.
11:30 PM Location: Merch area
Last remaining patrons are ushered out by security. If I have been selling merch all night, I count my cash and then piece count my returns. The numbers are popped into my spreadsheet to calculate the gross for the night, and if that amount matches the cash on hand then I haven’t screwed up.
11:45 PM Location: Merch area
If the venue has been selling merch, I usually give them extra time to get through all the customers and then start counting their cash and product returns before I arrive to take numbers. If the vendors are competent, it will hopefully only take 1 hour to agree on numbers and complete the settlement. Either I receive a cash payment from the venue, or they send a check to a designated business location for the band. I pack up my boxes of returns, get them on the tail end of the semi-truck (after all the gear has been loaded), and then tell the driver to travel safely before I head to my bus.
12:45 AM Location: Back lounge, tour bus
Work isn’t done yet. I email tonight’s settlement sheet to the band’s management, tour manager, and merchandise company so they can all keep track of our business on the road. If my inventory is running low, I make sure to include a note of that in my email to the merch company, who will help me determine a re-order. Then I prepare for tomorrow’s show by making a spreadsheet with updated inventory numbers, and plan my pulls for the next day.
Occasionally I have a reason for putting aside work to hang out with friends on tour. On those nights, I have to set an early alarm so I can get the work done in the morning that I would have otherwise finished the night before.
1:30 AM Location: Back lounge, tour bus
Once my computer work is done for the night, I change into my pajamas, brush my teeth, remove my contacts, and climb into my bunk. I’m usually too tired to watch a movie or read a book, so I play solitaire on my Blackberry until my eyes won’t stay open. I try to beat the game at least once before I fall asleep, but sometimes sleep gets the better of me before I can conquer the game.
10:00 AM Location: Bunk, tour bus, anytown USA
Alarm goes off, hit 10-min snooze…
For more information and for daily updates on the touring antics of Burns, check out her personal blog here: http://aileen365.tumblr.com/ It is, by far, one of my favorite blogs to follow and offers further insight into what it takes to tour and how to get started in working in the music industry. Thanks for checking out the industry insider’s latest guest blog. Be sure to leave comments or questions below!
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