What I learned on Ben Levin Group’s first tour

(Stuff I wish I had known, and stuff I’d like to share)

A few weeks ago, my band “Ben Levin Group” went on tour for the first time. It’s funny to me how the phrase “going on tour” has this magic to it.  It paints a timeless picture of musicians on the road.  It incites curiosity, excitement, and envy in others.  It implies that people all over the world want to hear your music, and it is an experience shared by the music legends who inspired us to pick up our instruments in the first place. And because of all the hype, I had never actually questioned why someone would want to go on a tour.  I just planned on going, set it up, and away we went.  My band doesn’t have any management, representation, or road crew, so it was our job to book and promote our shows, find rehearsal space, rent vehicles, transport equipment, and deal with the inevitable chaos that comes with trying to organize just about anything.  For five days in a row we worked constantly, barely slept, played hours of incredibly challenging music, endured millions of  “that’s what she said” jokes, and had to spend a lot more money than we could possibly make back.  After hours of driving and hauling gear, we would play like madmen, sometimes to a nearly empty room.

At the end of the day I could barely stand up straight.