• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Road Gigs and Eating

#21
I don't tour with bands, but I travel for business on occasion. And it's impossible to carry several days worth of food onto an airplane.

My secret is: Upscale supermarkets. Of course they have fruit and veggies, but typically also a deli where you can get sandwiches, etc. Since they are selling food rather than ambience, it tends to be higher quality than typical restaurant fare.

Don't forget: Water.

Don't forget: Exercise. Maybe you could take a long walk during the downtime between setup and downbeat.

For restaurants, though I'm not vegetarian, I look for vegetarian food because it tends to be prepped with more thought about health rather than just seeing how much sugar, salt, fat, and bacon they need to make a big pile of bland junk palatable.

[/foodsnob]
 
#23
I'm only 21 so my stomach is somewhat of a steel trap, but basically whatever I got my hands on.
Cigarettes. They cut down on my appetite.
Mcnuggets and fries from the dollar menu. Cheapest dinner ever.
Juice. A bunch of those little bottles of cranberry juice or whatever, fills your stomach and gives you some nutrients to counter the fast food.
Cereal. I would buy a box of shredded wheat or whatever and munch on that in the van on long drives, no milk needed.


Whatever free stuff you can snag from people, do it. I once kept a half eaten chipotle burrito in my suitcase on trailer for a day and a half because a bandmate didn't want it. It was the winter and my bag was in the trailer, the cold kept it from getting nasty. I was dirt poor on that tour, I ate for 5 bucks a day for 10 days.

That's pretty much the diet of a college kid trying to tour.
 
#24
Much as I would like to patronize locally owned non chain restaurants on principle, I have had enough bad experiences with food quality, price and/or service in "local" joints that I usually default to Subway or a similar option whenever available cause I know what I'll be getting, about how much it will cost and that I won't be waiting forever since time before downbeat is often somewhat limited.
 
#25
We are fortunate enough to have a quality tech rider which provides dinner prior to the show that is often good. On travel days, we typically stop at a town or shopping area that provides variety (and hopefully an option that isn't a national chain). The tour manager gives us a time to return to the minivans and off we go. It's interesting how often all nine of us end up in the same restaurant though--despite the hundred + days we're on the road each season.
 
#26
These days the occasional overnight or weekend trip is about the extent of my "touring". It's usually to some resort town down on the coast so it's more like a vacation with some music thrown in. That being the case I just treat it like any other vacation and eat very light during the day, grab a deli sandwich and some fresh fruit or veggies for the day and a nice fresh seafood dinner in the early evening. On the days we play I eat an early breakfast then nothing but water until after we're done and then I might have a candy bar and some fruit juice if I feel hungry.

Back when I was young enough to stand up to a week or two on the road I'd always take a smallish cooler packed with assorted crap to eat and drink and would restock as needed. When everyone else wanted to stop for food I'd eat a little something but otherwise I pretty much lived off whatever I happened to have in my little ice box. It was usually a bunch of fruit and veggies I could eat raw and the occasional slab of baloney or some kind of precooked sausage. I've never been big on bread or condiments so when I'm going to be away from a place to prep and cook my food I tend to keep it simple.
 
#27
fhm555 said:
On the days we play I eat an early breakfast then nothing but water until after we're done and then I might have a candy bar and some fruit juice if I feel hungry.
Click to expand...

So... if you're going on for an 8 or 9 PM show, you haven't eaten anything since breakfast that morning?

:eek:

I mean... glad it works for you but I could never roll that way. If I don't have a balanced meal 1-2 hours before I go on (especially protein), I'll get light-headed and stupid halfway through the show, to the point it actually affects my playing and I start messing up. It's happened to me too many times to ignore. I guess it just depends on how each person is "wired" and to some extent, what you train your body to need (or not need) in order to function on stage.

I'm with you on the after-gig thing though. You'd think I be hungry as a horse at midnight or 1 AM after playing but more often than not all I really want is a big bottle of potassium enriched Vitamin Water and a bed. We've never done the "band breakfast" thing on the way back from gigs because it's usually the middle of the night alread, none of us are that hungry and we'd all rather just save the money and get home as quickly as possible.
 
#28
jaywa said:
So... if you're going on for an 8 or 9 PM show, you haven't eaten anything since breakfast that morning?...
Click to expand...

Sorry, as is so often the case these days, I fail to properly convey my thoughts.

When we do those out of town jobs our time slot will usually be sometime between noon and three or four in the afternoon and it's usually an hour or so and we're done. If it's going to be a late start I'll lounge around and have a late lunch then nothing but water until after.

We've also done two shows in the same day, one early and then another one later. In that case I do the early breakfast then a light snack sometime between the first and second, but not another full meal until after the last show which usually means a light snack and some juice before bed then have a big breakfast the next day.

I do this because if I eat a full meal I tend to get groggy in the first few hours afterward and the last thing I want is to be dragging on stage.
 
#29
A friend's son recently went on a 3 week tour. Halfway through he called his dad complaining they had no money and no food. My friend mentioned this to the band leader when they got back and the BL said "What's he talking about? There was a box of Cheerios in the trailer the whole time"!
 
#30
jaywa said:
Much as I would like to patronize locally owned non chain restaurants on principle, I have had enough bad experiences with food quality, price and/or service in "local" joints that I usually default to Subway or a similar option whenever available cause I know what I'll be getting, about how much it will cost and that I won't be waiting forever since time before downbeat is often somewhat limited.
Click to expand...

Every time I eat at Subway I end up getting the runs.
 
#32
jaywa said:
Much as I would like to patronize locally owned non chain restaurants on principle, I have had enough bad experiences with food quality, price and/or service in "local" joints that I usually default to Subway or a similar option whenever available cause I know what I'll be getting, about how much it will cost and that I won't be waiting forever since time before downbeat is often somewhat limited.
Click to expand...

Haha, similarly I pretty much hate Starbucks. They have driven several of my favorite cafes out of busines. However when I am traveling via plane, I have found that the cheapest, safest healthiest bet is the little island of food items they have.
I often pick up a coffee (blecchh!) an odwalla protein smoothie and maybe an apple or orange. All of that will cost less than a grilled cheese at most airport vendors.

Likewise, when I am in unfamiliar terrain and in a hurry, Subway is regrettably my first choice. If I am on the west coast I look for a "Grocery Outlet" store. they actually carry a lot of discounted organic stuff. You just have to mind the expiration date.
 
#33
I had a really bad experience a few weekends ago with a small town "ma and pa" restaurant.

We took some locals' recommendations and went to this place for dinner. We walked in a little before 6 PM and two of the guys in our band had to be onstage at 7 as they do a "duo" act to warmup before the full band goes on. High school kid takes our order right away, no problem. The place was relatively busy but not packed. Gets to 6:20, no food. 6:30, no food. We're only two blocks away from the stage but the duo guys still have to change and we're getting a little nervous. 6:40, our guitarist finally goes up front and asks what's going on. Some older lady comes out, gives a half hearted apology, says, "we're kinda busy tonight" and promises we'll have our food soon.

6:50, still no food, the duo guys say "F it" and leave us their money to pay for their food. A little after 7 we FINALLY get our food and have to take it out to them onstage in takeout boxes. Tacky as hell but what else were we gonna do, delay the show?

So OK, if we had to wait that long I figured the food would be worth it. Wrong! Amazingly average and somewhat overpriced. Chintzy portions, bland flavors and came with absolutely no extras for the price at all. My chicken wrap was just that... a wrap on a plate. No fries, no chips, no pickle. Nuthin. Not even dipping sauce.

So after all this (and again reminding both the waiter and the supposed manager that we had waited over an hour), not even an offer from the restaurant to take anything off our bill. In most places around here having to wait that long would get you at least 50% off your tab if not a full comp and you wouldn't have to even ask for it. But at this place it was pretty clear they knew they were the only game in town and they really didn't feel they had to make nice with anyone cause where else are you gonna go?

This was the second time we'd played this town and both times our dinner experiences were bad to horrible. We're already booked back there for next summer and I've learned my lesson. Next year I'm gonna bring my own.
 
#34
I spent 23 yrs in the Air Force & more times than I care to count I was stuck somewhere because the aircraft, most of which were made before I was born, broke (C-141 & C-5's). It did not take long to remember to pack some snacks in a backpack.
 
#35
yeah, I keep a bag of dried fruit & nuts in my personal bag for emergencies, but usually we find great places to eat.
We've gotten to know particular chains localized to certain areas, and rely on stuff like that. Sometimes we just go to a supermarket and buy a bunch of stuff and get back in the van. We still do the fast food sometimes...driving all day gives me a craving for the 'Bell.
 
#37
Speaking of free stuff... I really have to watch that.

Other than the occasional wedding gig where we usually get fed, my band isn't big-time enough that we get a catered pre-gig meal or a stocked green room very often. Which is probably good because when somebody else is buying I tend to overindulge. There's been a few times I helped myself to way too much free food and beverage too soon before the gig and suffered for it on stage!
 
#38
If we weren't being fed at the venue, I used to go the subway route until that started disagreeing with me. Either way, I really cant eat much before a gig. Afterwards.. that's a whole other story.

One thing i found that works great as a road snack is Beef Jerky. That and usually some trail mix.
 
#39
I've learned the hard way that I need to bring my own food to most gigs, especially the corporate/private events. We always have meals in our rider, but you wouldn't believe how many times clients have dropped the ball on providing food. We recently played a wedding where meals were supposed to be given to us, and catering had no knowledge of that fact. Nice. Another time, we had food (that we PAID for) thrown out by the catering staff during the show because they thought we were finished with it. We hadn't even touched it since soundcheck ran late and we didn't have time to eat. Unbelievable.

Also, don't get me started on food "buyouts." Half the time, there isn't a restaurant close to the venue when that happens, and I'm not about to jump in the van (with trailer) and journey around town looking for food when show time is looming near.
 
#40
gustobassman said:
One thing i found that works great as a road snack is Beef Jerky.
Click to expand...

I've been doing the beef jerky thing lately too. On our longer trips it seems like we're usually making a gas stop somewhere around 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon and that's when I'll chow down on a couple sticks of peppered beef. It's kinda spendy (especially at a truck stop or C store), but it gives me what I need to get through the rest of the trip and setup. Which is important cause we never even think about eating until we've taken care of business on setup and soundcheck.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back