Photo by Sam Bennett
We were in Montreal, three days into the tour, when I saw it for the first time. The night before, we'd played Peterborough, Ontario, and after the show, we stayed up late drinking and carrying on the way you do at the beginning of tours before the road catches up with you. It was 2013; we were two solo musicians touring eastern Canada in a white 2002 Honda Civic in late February into early March. My friend and tourmate, Jon Creeden, was promoting the release of his newest full-length recording, Beards, and had been on the road for a week or two by the time we hooked up, I had just got a fresh batch of T-shirts printed for the occasion and was looking to cut my teeth as a solo performer.
That night at l’Escofriffe in Montreal was Jon's album release show, and the low-ceilinged room was packed in anticipation. So when Jon took the stage and broke into his first song only to realize he'd completely lost his voice, a collective holding of breath swept across the bar. Through grit, determination, and a couple shots of Jager, Jon managed to make it through his set, but I could tell he was disappointed by the performance. It was the first time I'd really seen the true toll that restless nights can take on a performer.
"Oh man, yeah, that one was the worst and best examples of what pushing yourself when you're already run down and then staying up and yelling with friends all night will do," Jon tells me over Facebook messenger.
If you're a solo acoustic performer, losing your voice can mean the end of a tour. If you're in a rock band, you might have a bit more leeway if you can mask your shot voice with a couple extra guitar solos and stage banter from the drummer, but who wants that? Even the world's biggest stars can succumb to the pressures of being on the road and singing every night.
So no one is safe from the fragility of the human voice or the general weariness that the road can bring. Finding a chance to rest while on the road, to take a break from the late nights, constant partying, and long drives, is integral to maintaining a career in live music. With that in mind, here are a few ideas to help you find that much needed R&R on the road. (And that's rest and relaxation, not rock 'n' roll.)
1. Treat yo' self
No matter how wide your vocal range is, you need to take care of your voice, especially if you're performing night after night. A lot of singers swear by teas to help ease their throats, and there are almost as many tea recommendations for singers as there are genres of music.
"I have tried throat-coat tea and have tried ginger tea. The best one was at a punk house and my friend Todi just chopped up a bunch of ginger and boiled it," says Jon. "Really though, I don't find for me, personally, any of them save my voice as much as getting some rest."
If you've ever taken vocal lessons, then you know the importance of warming up your voice. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you should do a quick YouTube search and find some that work for you. "Doing vocal warm-ups is something I will always be doing now; [it] helps a lot," Jon says.
[Top 5 Exercises to Warm Up Your Voice Before a Show]
After touring for eight years and sleeping on floors and lumpy couches for the majority of that time, Jon says he's come to realize the benefits of splurging on a motel every once in a while. "Having a bed and 'your own' space can be a big help to getting some rest," he says.
After all, it's not just singers who feel the weight of the road. Excessive partying or lack of sleep affects every performer, and it can affect you in myriad ways.
"As someone who's toured with me, you know how grumpy I can get," Jon says. "I am less personable when I am tired. I imagine it has an effect on my energy levels as well… I am definitely not as funny, if I am actually ever funny. I am likely to have way less banter, witty or otherwise, if I am tired though. When really run down on tour it's hard for me to think of anything other than finding a nice place to sleep that night. This is rare, but I'm talking like at the three-to-five-week mark on tour when the last thing you want to do is have a big late night followed by a long drive. It just makes it harder to be in the moment and have fun and perform to your best."
2. Learn when you need to just say no
If you've been staying up late every night drinking from Seattle to Saskatoon, it's probably a good idea to take some time off. The longest tours Jon has been on were two months straight and four months with a few breaks. His longest stretch without a day off has been two weeks, so he's well aware of the dangers of partying too much.
"You are always going to be at someone's big drinking day of the month, the day they waited to let loose, but for you this may be the end of a week of partying, even if it is Saturday night," says Jon. "Sometimes it is okay to party sober. It might help you keep going when you feel you are almost out of steam."
You can't party every night. Sometimes you just have to man up and go to bed.
3. Get creative with where you sleep
The best sleeping places may not be obvious, especially if you're relatively new to touring. Everyone is eyeing the couch, but a sleeping bag under the kitchen table can actually provide a bit of much-needed privacy. The trick, Jon says, is to get creative.
"Over the years – and I attribute this to my sleepover days as a kid – I've gotten very good at entering a room, even early in the afternoon before the show if we visit where we are staying, and seeing places to sleep others may not," he says. "While someone is calling dibs on a couch, I'm calling dibs on the removable chair and couch cushions off the back. Put those on a floor with a blanket you have a great bed that no one else knew was an option."
When all the couches and cushions are taken, you’re not completely out of options. Emptying out your laundry and using it as a cushion is an option I've used, or bags and backpacks can be used to give you some extra support.
"I once slept on some cardboard at a friend's in Trois Rivieres in their kitchen," says Jon. "I can't really think of a time when I have slept on just hardwood floor or cement on tour. You can always at least find laundry or cardboard."
Jon has pretty much slept everywhere. He's slept in strangers' tents, on trampolines, and on the floors of ferries crossing the sea. "I have spent many days and nights sleeping on Greyhound buses also. I once laid down in the aisle because sometimes you just really need to get horizontal."
[Touring on a Budget: 6 Places You Can Sleep for Cheap (or Free!) on the Road]
4. Come prepared
The more self-contained you are, the better guest and bandmate you'll be. Most sporting goods stores will carry inflatable sleeping pads and sleeping bags. Try and come up with a system that's compact and easy to carry.
"I bought a very small, thin air pad for sleeping this year due to all the travel with bands, and it has saved my life," says Jon. "I have slept on more floors this year than all the years of my touring life combined. Also, having a compact sleeping bag that will fit in your backpack is key. You take up less room than in the van and in people's living rooms if you are self-contained."
Once you've done it enough times, it becomes second nature and, Jon says, you do get used to the smell. "I cannot travel anymore without my sleeping bag – it is starting to permanently smell...but it still feels like home, far more than changing blankets every night."
5. Give the sick person the bed
If you're on the road long enough, it's inevitable that someone's going to get sick. I've seen everything from the common cold to full-blown pneumonia while on tour, so it's important to nip any signs of illness in the bud.
"If I am really run down, feeling a cold or sickness coming on due to lack of rest, I will try and take extra vitamins and complain a lot so I can get the bed that may be available that night," Jon says.
Being on tour is the polar opposite of survival of the fittest; this is survival of the commune, so taking care of each other will help everyone in the long run. "Remember, if one person is run down, soon everyone is likely to catch whatever they may have," says Jon.
6. Implement "snorentine" if necessary
Every band has at least one heavy snorer. The guy who keeps everyone else awake for hours as he sleeps peacefully, blissfully unaware of the small boat engine running in his chest. But Jon says there's a simple solution to this: "Make the snorer sleep in the van."
And snorers should accept the fate with grace and aplomb. Sometimes, according to Jon, it even works out in their favor. "In Europe, Molotov Kyle [of Brutal Youth] and I were 'snorentined' since we both snore fairly loudly. That worked out great as we got to share a bed. I would much rather share a bed than be the one on a floor or busted up couch! Yay, snoring!"
Everyone wants to live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle (it's 75 percent of the reason most people join bands), but if you want to be in it for the long haul, it's important to get some rest and treat your body with respect. That night in Peterborough when Jon and I stayed up late with our friends drinking and carrying on taught him a few valuable lessons, even if he doesn't necessarily regret it.
"That's a night I should have slunk off to a room and slept, not talked about how great Gob was with friends and beer all night," he says. "But that's also one of my favorite tour memories... so there ya go."
Jon Creeden recently put together a full band called Jon Creeden & the Flying Hellfish. He'll be heading to Europe with Chris Snelgrove & The Last Mile in March, and will be finishing up the recording of the band's full length in April.
Ty Trumbull is a Canadian musician and writer living in Mexico City. He's played banjo and guitar with a bunch of bands you've probably never heard of.
