Ever since grade school, I’ve been one of those people who preferred to ride in the back of the bus. Even when I was on tour, I always seemed to get my sanctuary hanging in the back of the bus, working or reading. Of course spending hours on the road, solving the problems of the world over a couple of beers with the rest of the road crew often required time in the back lounge. Likewise, I spent the last eight years feeling quite at home occupying the back page of PLSN. You had to look all the way in the rear to find me.
A Full Time Gig
Somewhere along the way of my career I have aged, albeit gracefully. I know the ins and outs of my profession and the physical limits my body can withstand while working. And I also noticed I have been hanging out in the front of the bus. When I take a trip from home to downtown in my city, I always grab a seat up front. Maybe it’s evolution. I think many of us spend a lot of time contemplating how we are going to ever get off this bus. Where and when will the next door in life open? I am now getting off the tour bus for good, and at the same time I’m giving up my beloved column. But it’s all right. I am not giving up writing, but further embracing it. I have been offered and taken on a full time role with this magazine. Instead of writing from the bowels of airports and the back of the bus, I’m taking an office while taking on the job as editor of PLSN.
I think all of us road people seek a way out, once we turn 40. I worked at lighting vendors and all kinds of freelance gigs to try and keep off the tour bus. I did it successfully for years until the recession that occurred before Obama took the helm.
In order to pay bills, I started touring again in order to add to my retirement and children’s education funds. We all know that road touring is a young mans’ game, but that doesn’t mean that experienced personnel need to retire. They need to stay in shape and delegate the physical labor in the right direction. Either way, I think all of us eyeball a doorway out where we can still make an affordable living.
Quality Time
My decision to take on this full-time job was not too difficult. It wasn’t the financial part, as the guaranteed salary doesn’t come close to what I was paid to travel. But the rewards of starting a new life while at this age cannot be measured in money. My wife and I made the decision for two reasons. First is the fact that I can now work 9-to-5 in an office and drop my six-year-old off at school and pick him up daily. My wife can continue on her career without being the sole designated driver after all these years. She is free to make dinner appointments and early morning meetings with clients, while I answer countless emails and write all day. The second decision to take this gig is that I am using my college education to the fullest.
I graduated high school early and went out to become a ski bum in Colorado for a year. I flipped burgers and enjoyed a year of just being happy. The next year, I attended a State University in New York, starting an academic career that took me seven years, many shows and a few tours to complete. I did not know what I wanted to do with my studies, so I set out for a liberal arts program, taking lots of English classes. Headed towards a journalism major. I socked a lot of knowledge away and became a life-long addict to reading novels. At the same time, I signed up with local stagehand groups to hump gear. I loaded in PA and mixed monitors for a local audio vendor before touring with several rock acts. I dropped out of college to work in clubs and on tours. Eventually I returned to school. Dad paid, and in return, I promised not to work until I finished school. After graduating school I went to work in NYC and never looked back. Until 12 years ago.
Power of the Pen
An old lighting tech I knew (Steve Moles) had given up his roadie career to go back to school and learn how to write. I have read his stuff for a long time, as he covers careers and assorted events in the U.K. I told him in passing that I would one day love to write. So out of the blue a new trade magazine got my number from Steve, and my career as a columnist was launched. Years later, Terry Lowe, the publisher of this illustrious magazine, offered me the position as LD-at-Large. I’ve taken this column to heart every month. I usually alternated writing stories that educated young readers through stories of how to do stuff, backed with sarcastic sojourns through the history of my gigs. I never took myself seriously and expected the same from my readers. Over 10 years of columns, I have received only two complaints from readers, and hundreds of thank you notes for just being my native New York self and telling it like it is. I have said some stuff I wish I could retract or would have fact checked earlier (Jessie Blevins in particular — I owe this gifted programmer some payback).
But all in all, I think a little controversy is good. I learned a few things about life and political awareness towards genders. I liked to think I gave some kudos along the way to those who deserved it, and some shame to those who deserved theirs.
So now I’m an editor. I’m still an LD and will design an occasional tour and do some one offs. But I’m a full-time editor. I am actually making full use of my college education. I have not had a résumé since I got out of college. My entire career is based on networking. When asked for a resume over the last few years, I simply directed clients to my website for the sole intention of showing pretty pics of work I have done. But I can write a mean résumé and have helped countless others over the year look good on one page. Being an English major gave me the ability to write a good letter. And that ability has opened more doors in my life than all the lighting design accolades I have collected.
A Good Foundation
The best advice I can give to someone young is to go to college and learn a whole lot of stuff about everything. It’s true one doesn’t need to attend a university to be an artist. But it never hurts to be more educated in any field. I honestly do not know the answer to the thousands of touring personnel who are faced with the dilemma of what to do when the time comes to get off the bus for good. What job are they qualified for? Will they be lucky enough to find one vendor who is happy to sit them behind a desk? Or do they start a new career selling insurance? For me, I’m just glad my dad insisted I educate myself before I spent a lifetime traveling the world. Because it opened the next door when I finally closed that one on the bus.
Reach the new editor of PLSN at nook@plsn.com.
