The road crew (or roadies) are the actual technicians who travel with the band on tour, and handle all aspects of the live production and all logistical support associated with a live show. I’m here to tell you being a roadie is back breaking work, that requires consistency, vast technical knowledge, and a lot of experience. The following members typically make up a full road crew. The bolded ones indicates the absolute minimum needed for am extensive regional tour (100+ shows a year) ..
– Tour Manager
– Sound Engineer – or Sound Guy
– Guitar Tech
– Drum Tech
– Production Managers
– Stage Managers
– Monitor Engineers
– Lighting Technicians
– Pyrotechnic Technicians
– Security or Bobyguards
True you will not need all of the above individuals to pull off an extensive 200 city tour. But the reality is I’ve heard horror stories of bands trying to pull it off all by themselves, always ends up as a complete disaster in the end with their reputation permanently damaged. Don’t underestimate the amount of work, and logistical coordination it takes to pull off a killer show night after night. Not only do you have to set up, and sound check everything in a timely manner , but you also have got to break down everything down after the shows over – a tall order for a band to pull off night after night. Don’t even go there. The good news is you can usually pull it off with 3 or 4 guys even with multiple bands on tour together. To make things easier, mix & match equipment between sets like drums & amps. In many respects being a roadie is the toughest job in the Music Business. They do a lot of hard work, and get no credit for it. They deserve all the money and free pizza they can get their hands on.
