What Goes Into Tour Managing A Band Like Electric Callboy

[@TankTheTech]

Start taking your hearing protection seriously! Protect your ears at concerts the same way I do with Eargasm Earplugs: bit.ly/3nMGtYV

[@-Heavy-]

I would like to draw attention to the band Nevermore!It's a very underrated progressive Metal band with one of the best guitarists of the world ! (Jeff Loomis,who also did most of the lyrics and plays now with Arch Enemy since Nevermore split up) and an amazing singer (Warrel Dane who sadly died a few years ago)! Composition,lyrics,musicianship,storytelling...all outstandingly good. I'm sure you as a music lover would totaly enjoy it! I'm almost 50 now and a metalhead since I was 12,so I know what I'm talking about when it comes to metal! And Nevermore are one of the best bands I have ever heared! I would love to see you giving them a try, even if it's not the most known band out there!But their nickname 'the best band you've never heared from' comes not from nothing!Cause thats always what people say who listen to them the first time... 'This Godless Endeavor' or 'Sentient 6' would be great to react and analyze! Both masterpieces!

[@spacitytony]

I wish I would have taken this seriously much soon but now at shows I use my ear buds with noise cancelling and it makes a world of difference and the bands sound so much clearer.

[@pixierocks]

I’m actually looking to buy some currently so I was excited to see you mentioning these but 65$ only for the international shipping is a bit steep for my budget 😅

[@Herdatec]

Serious question about the earplugs. I have similar ones from Senner, but for me personally the quality is worse than with normal plugs. They tend to give me a whining/rattle noise. Am I doing something wrong, is this normal or do I need different plugs.

[@Iamjeffrobertson]

Tank, as a musician, one of the things that drives me UP the wall about live shows ive seen, when and why did the “stepped” FOH thing start for openers up to the headliner? I saw Switchfoot a handful of years ago, and given the faith based aspect I figured they would have the openers sound great. But opener one was maybe 15% kick in the house, no bass or electric from FOH just stage level, and Vox. Then From there it stepped up to full system for the headliner. WHY IS THIS A THING!? Have you dealt with this on your tours youve worked?

[@KelsieJG__they-them]

Obviously the most grueling part of this whole process was when Tank had to make sure that Kevin's dressing room was equipped with a sufficiently impressive hair dryer.

[@TankTheTech]

😂😂😂

[@scott744]

I actually have a keyring with a Hairdryer on I'm hoping to give to Kevin when I see EC in October haha

[@XOChristianaNicole]

I’ve come to realize tour manager’s are really like the dads of the tour.

[@TankTheTech]

Dad and Mom combined. 😂

[@brolohalflemming7042]

Yeh, they're the 'responsibe adult', or meant to be :p

[@InfernoGoggles]

Would love an after action report after the tour is done!

[@shannonmanning6166]

Electric Callboy is a love letter to humanity from the universe. That is all.

[@michajagielski4116]

At a metal festival right now and I'm in shock how many people are working backstage and setting everything up. Incredibly impressive. Great vid as always

[@joeyvanostrand3655]

There is so much that goes into a 2-3hr hour show. Now multiply that by 10-fold for the weekend for a festival.

[@DM-il1hf]

As someone who’s worked as a tour mgr & tech & I can verify that Tank is spot on with everything discussed on his channel. I really appreciate your channel because you’re catching people up to speed on the vast amount of responsibilities that managers have to pull off from day to day. Tank, you should consider spinning off another show where you bring on other managers & techs to tell funny stories of the daily adventures of the road. No names named obviously but it would be hilarious. I’m not volunteering to participate, just throwing the idea out there. 😂🤘 Love the channel! Thanks for doing this!

[@vantomvandeopera6888]

Once again super cool to get these insights, thank you for sharing 😊 Also I think it's somehow adorable that you got to be the tour manager for EC basically because you reacted to their songs and became friends with them 🥰 (if I remember correctly) I wish you a great tour

[@leftyjaggajagga]

I'm a production manager for several venues in my area. Also a fan of your videos. Would be more than happy to advance with you. So many TM's drop the ball on the advance. Sounds like you have a solid grip.

[@CoachSet]

As a music nerd this was crazy fun and informative. Thanks!!

[@maximilianwentz5202]

Loving this channel more and more everytime I listen/watch

[@TankTheTech]

Thanks!

[@kimclarke5647]

The more I hear you talk about this the more I would love to make this in to a video game

[@TankTheTech]

I want an RPG style roadie video game for sure. Haha

[@rocioiribe5841]

ok but *logistically* , HOW do you organize all this info? print out schedules? scheduling software? emails? digital calendars? do you organize by venue and have subdivisions of info or just a mass organization? i just like to know cuz i'm an organization nerd. :D

[@TankTheTech]

Kinda of a mix of everything. I have a drop box for a lot of stuff, folders are all my computer, folders for my emails, screenshots of quotes, and a ton of other stuff. Haha

[@rocioiribe5841]

@@TankTheTech yay! thanks for the reply haha

[@lolfriendz]

As a concert photographer I knew how much work a tour manager undergoes, but I didn't know it was that much work before I watched your video. This was a fun and informative video to watch Tank! Wishing you the best of luck going on tour with Electric Callboy! I can't wait to see the band perform in Toronto. Hopefully I can get the chance to shoot photos of the band as well!

[@pitpride1220]

I always learn a lot from you man. I was in a touring band for years. Hated touring. Hearing the behind the scenes stories reinforces it. I also learned I wouldn't like doing any part of the touring business watching your stuff. My alcoholism and drug addiction were out of control at that time. I love making music, I love the studio. I actually enjoyed being on stage. But everything else makes me want to drown in chemicals to cope. Love the channel!

[@RPEagles]

I stand by the eargasm 1000%. I bought them like a couple years ago. Haven't used anything else ever since. Perfect for when I'm practicing with my band & I keep em in when we're playing.

[@psychobetha]

the amount and variety of confetti alone you’ll have to find should be fun lol. i came out of the tent covered in it after the show on Sunday. your boys owned Download… it was legit the set of the festival for me.

[@paragrafenreiterinn]

putting them in the tent bordered on being a crime tbh

[@psychobetha]

@@paragrafenreiterinn agreed. the only reason i got such a great spot about 5 people back from the stage was because i made my way in right after the previous band said goodbye… about an hour before EC came on. people who got there 15-30 minutes before the show couldn’t even get near the tent.

[@Leo_Blac]

Good tour managers are so so important.. I have seen how a tour can go south when they don't do their job properly.. So hats off to you Tank and all the best for the EC tour! I would never do that job to be honest.. so much to do, so much responsibility.. I am very content behind my audio desk 😅😉

[@sweettangoTIMMY]

This was such a refreshing video for you to make. Absolutely would love more of these fireside chats about bands and tours and kits and anything else you could think of!

[@muzzirenti]

Just seen Electric Callboy last night at Download and they were amazing. I’m glad I found your channel a few months ago and discovered them because I probably overlooked them otherwise. Also shout out to anyone else who was there, that Avalanche stage was bouncing.

[@reubenk7331]

Dang, it's so mind blowing how much you did/do being a tour manager. Sounds like the job of 3 different people! Really interesting stuff. Thanks Tank!

[@hobomyst]

I can't wait to see Electric Callboy in September!

[@pipelineaudio]

I can't imagine how Tank manages the amount of stress here...this is balls of steel, nerves of 4130 Chromoly stuff

[@TheWrestlingFamily]

Get them guys another date close to Chicago!!! It sold out instantly and you guys have 2 days off following the Chicago show.. maybe a small show at the Rave in Milwaukee or in Madison??? Or even Rockford or something?

[@grinkashman7884]

Dude, I was a monitor/FOH engineer thru the 90's early 2000's. my tinnitus is crazy!!! Protect it! Now I play bass(again)fretless yeah! with my old buds, album/ light giging, love it, not that loud..

[@kaynesantor8136]

Super interesting. Nice work, bro. I always wanted to be in the band, but the older I get, I know that probably isn't where I should be. This is all good information and I appreciate your honesty and insight. Be well homie.

[@HeretiCflow]

One thing right away: IF your schedule allows for anything like that, I'd love, love, LOVE a few BTS videos from that tour. From a logistics POV.

[@greaper1976]

these vids are actually super helpful for the project I'm busy with. thank Tank

[@seanwallace7517]

I also want to add that Eargasm earplugs are fantastic. Never took them seriously until last year and I wish that I started using them earlier. Tested them out at a Meshuggah show. Heard everything super clearly and my ears weren’t fatigued after the show.

[@rocioiribe5841]

i just love the industry videos as a lay person. :) also, i need to take my hearing protection seriously.

[@shingentheruler]

Very excited for this tour in September! @tank is the job for the festival a lot different for you then the regular gigs?

[@TankTheTech]

Only big difference is that when it's a regular gig, you and the band you're working for have more of a say in what you want to do. When it's a festival, you kind of have to do what the festival asks you to do, with some exceptions.

[@Skaatje]

15:51 Looking back, you should have probably skipped that one. Your job description sounds like a nightmare to me haha. It's amazing to me you can do all that without hiding in your bathroom crying. 😅

[@thomasscharnhorst2381]

Thanks for the video and all the background information. That sounds like a super interesting job. I love all these logistics, background action and organising and then seeing it all come together for a great show.

[@bazamere]

Id love to hear stories from the road. There was a time when I considered being a roadie but I became a mom instead 😂 but still has always been a career that has interested me.

[@misscrackwood]

Hearing you talk about Electric Callboy's upcoming tour makes me SO EXCITED for it! We'll be traveling to Toronto and then back home to Montreal for the next day, couldn't resist going to both shows with VIPs! Hopefully we'll get to say hello to you as well x) Also thanks for talking about earplugs, I was feeling alone when I started wearing them last year, but I see more and more people with it! If anyone in the comments tried Eargasm and Loop, can you tell me which one you ended up preferring? I already have a pair of Loop and don't really want to buy a new pair if they're pretty similar in terms of sound quality ;^^

[@ewouteveraert5174]

Will there be footage of Tank playing on stage with EC, dressed as the Hypa Hypa musicvideo? I am not asking this for myself, I am asking this for humanity.

[@matthorndrums]

Props to all the TM's out there. The busiest people on the tour.

[@thisisevil01]

Going to the Boston show at big live in September can't wait

[@drmithril]

This is interesting, hearing this while knowing we have had our tickets for the Phoenix show for a while already. This sounds like a hell of a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. If you need any volunteers for security hit me up. Catching little metal heads to Pump It sounds like fun to this is vet 😂. Much respect and good luck on tour.

[@davidstowe7880]

So looking forward to this tour. I'll call out to you if I see you setting up on stage in portland! You're the reason I found electric callboy so thank you so much.

[@johnmuffler1695]

I know you havent done one in a while but if you do another sabaton saturday, I think you'd like seven pillars of wisdom and their covers of twilight of the thundergod and for whom the bell tolls. Been a sabaton fan since 2010 but always love watching your reaction videos and the breakdown

[@TheBonac]

Outstanding content. Thank you for sharing your world!

[@jmarie0527]

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about all these things that go into making a tour happen. Very cool. Phoenix August 31 - Can’t wait!!!

[@chadhenry961]

I’ll be at the Electric Callboy show in Boston, wearing a light up mask. And yes I got eargasm earplugs, from that video you did a little while back about hearing loss

[@kha0sv4ktor72]

looking forward seeing you on stage playing a song on bass cause EC just said " dude come on up and play with us"

[@alextwardowski776]

Dope breakdown Tank thanks!

[@mikestillwagon5675]

Years ago I was asked to be the runner for a 3 band show that was playing at my church. This included driving the guys around to find a laundromat, getting bus parts, running them to their hotels, etc. At the end of the evening, the headliner said, "Mike, usually the runners we have seem to feel obligated to drive like maniacs. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for breaking that mold". 😆

[@eviel0]

Would love a video like this but from a tech's perspective!

[@groberunfug379]

Can‘t wait to see you in their upcoming tour vlogs improving your German!

[@jazzakai2000]

Im going to the Pittsburgh show. Cant wait

[@WookieWoman]

I'm so sad that I'm going to miss them this time since there are no Ohio dates. 😞 My bro and I had VIP tickets last year and since Niko was sick, they ended up sending an awesome package with all of the autographed stuff to my house a few months later. ❤️

[@TheSolarCobalt]

Tank had to make sure that everything was *Hypa Hypa* up for Electric Callboy

[@tjmoran3879]

I got the hookup for their after show feast! I work for Fat Shack and we can definitely hook them up with some killer food

[@debbyshannon7242]

Black Veil Brides and VILLE VALLO of H.I.M. released a cover of the Sisters of Mercy song Temple of Love 💕

[@markbraun6405]

Thank you so much for doing the video above hearing! I seen your video an showed my wife an we ordered 4 sets of eargasm earplugs! For us 2 an our kids! So thank you very much!🖤🖤🤟🏼🤟🏼

[@Jibbylax]

Will there be vlogs when you're on tour with them? :)

[@TankTheTech]

Possibly, if there’s even tile. But I’m out there to do a job for them, so KZbin stuff will be an afterthought.

[@jsspyder24ify]

I don’t know if you’ll actually read this and see it but I would love to help out with anything I can in Dallas, Texas, Phoenix,Az I have a connection with photography and other musical needs. Also, I’m just a huge fan of you and this channel and would love to hang out with you man and the band and anything I can help out with taking out the trash whatever 😅

[@kaefa0139]

Very ineresting video. What I'm wondering is what is the process of upgrading a venue? Like do you still have to pay out the original venue. Are bigger venues in mind before announcing the tour?

[@TankTheTech]

Thats all on the promoter for the show.

[@TheMadMedek]

Meet the band? I wanna hang with Tank.

[@xiaodown]

What a phony! Calls himself Tank the Tech, and literally just is not a tank!!!

[@ninakiewiet]

What are you looking most forwards touring with electric callboy? And thanks for this video

[@TankTheTech]

Traveling and good hangs.

[@ninakiewiet]

@@TankTheTech can I come and travel and hang too 😉🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@pin-upmariposa412]

This video was very informative. I hope tour will go smooth. How often strange situations happen (for example unexpected problems with crossing borders, missing gears or so), there is possibility to be prepared on this difficulty?

[@TankTheTech]

General rule for touring is be prepared for anything and everything to go wrong.

[@Shinks87]

This is what I’m imagining when you got the call from Electric Callboy. ‘Doing some work and cell phone goes off’ You: Hello? EC: Hi this is EC and I want you to be a… You: Fuck yes! Done!

[@SeriiusRogue666]

Have a good one

[@dennis1194]

Man, that sounds brutal. It seems to be a hell of work. I hope you will have as much fun as you get stuff to do!

[@sagetim]

WTF ... NO southern US states for Electric Callboy Tour... That Blows

[@Brombit]

Sometimes when a show is sold out very quickly, another show is scheduled in the same location (country/venue/don't know). Is there anything special that goes into arranging that?

[@TankTheTech]

Nope. Booking agent books it, crew does the same work like any other show.

[@misterkenova6695]

Sweet! See you at the Belasco

[@bianca2817]

... Or, to make it short: Tank is the most important guy! For me, he is! I wouldn't even know about EC, so danke danke danke, Tank! 🇩🇪🤝🇺🇲 😄💋🤘

[@desmit6]

For those interested in reading actual riders, the smoking gun site has a “backstage” section with a ton on interesting riders from a huge variety of artists.. the Iggy Pop ‘06 is legendary. The famous Van Halen M&M rider is there as well.

[@martin-1965]

When Tour Managing a show, having an unusual request on the rider that - on arrival at the venue - you can spot has been done correctly (i.e. the legendary M&Ms rider) is a great way of making sure that the venue/promoter has gone through the rider in detail and gives you confidence that the really important aspects of the rider have also been sorted out 100% as needed. Often when I was doing the job we would request something small like a pack of postcards from the city/town plus stamps. or a specific packet of cigarettes that you're not going to get at a gas station and even something simple like a copy of the local newspaper for the town/city. As Tank says, when you arrive at load in you have dozens of things to be working on from the minute you walk through the load in doors. Seeing these small, non expensive rider requests have been sorted always told me I was dealing with professionals at the venue who took you, the crew, the band and their job seriously. Also, sometimes the band would just ask for something to be added to the rider because it made them laugh their tits off 😂. Other requests, like 4 packs of clean socks and underwear may seem weird or even arrogant when you read them on the page, but when you're on the road and laundry is not always easy to do (hotel baths were always used for handwashing by both crew and band lol) then clean basic clothing items like that can really help. Contrary to what some people think, you don't get a lot of time to see the cities you're playing in (if at all) unless it's a scheduled rest day, so popping to the local store to buy extra clothes is rarely an option. Hell, I've had people ask me about cities on tours saying "Hey so what was Miami like?" and I'm "Uh no idea, I saw it through the bus window as we arrived, saw the venue, and saw it again as we drove off at 4am" 😂 Life on the road is hard and also the best experience imaginable. You're away with the circus and everyone works and plays together as a team (ideally, not always) but when I hit my late 40s - sheesh, the lifestyle gets hard to keep up, for a ton of reasons. It's a great life but not everyone can hack it and when you realise it's starting to kill you, it's time to get your bags off the bus for the last time and slow down. I've friends that didn't leave and it did eventually kill a few of them. Oof... sorry, I rambled on. That is another thing about touring, everyone you meet will talk for hours about the tours they've been on and crazy shit they've seen. It's like the cowboy scene in Blazing saddles, everyone farting around the campfire. Well... thar's my farting done for now 🤠 - have a great tour Tank !

[@TopiT23]

Whats up tank?, just out of curiosity, have you been listening to Swallow the sun?, id bet you would like the song "Cathedral Walls".

[@AceMusicFreak]

I have a good friend who is a tour manager and a sound engineer and we sometimes joke that he's basically just a glorified baby sitter xD I mean he started saying it so the rest of our friend group just jumped on board. He sometimes says getting some of the bands he TMs for all in one place is like herding cats xD

[@donbergeson6771]

I've done club (and some personal) security most of my life. Through a roadie friend of mine I almost was part of a 3 man security team for the Dope/Status X tour but unfortunately, after the delay, they went with another squad. I also briefly went to school, majoring in music management. I figured if I couldn't be in a band, I could manage one. I was really looking forward to going on the road for that tour and getting that experience. Your behind the scenes info like this really appeal to the analytical part of my brain and I really enjoy it.

[@TheAnticorporatist]

Sounds like the venue should just have an FAQ, lmao. …that would probably put someone out of a cushy job though, heh.

[@branndonday5364]

I'm going to be at Blue Ridge Rock Fest this year, it would be a pleasure to meet you if you have any free time. Hyped to see Electric Callboy since their set was cut from the line up last year.

[@the_arrowflight]

15:50 that didnt age well xD

[@MR-jh8hq]

Watching this now and listening to you talk about blue ridge rock fest… the irony

[@rjc0188]

that's crazy. so much work. not fun at all. congratulations for getting the tour manager position for electric callboy. that's awesome.

[@andycluer6259]

I saw Electric Callboy at Download Festival yesterday. If their show is to go by anything, you are going to have such a rad time.

[@SRW1969]

Will you be giving insights into the ECB tour?

[@austGaming-hw2em]

Bro explained it almost exactly as my mom did

[@TankTheTech]

Don't know whether that's a good or bad thing. Haha

[@rocioiribe5841]

as in easy to understand and with love? haha

[@austGaming-hw2em]

@@TankTheTech good

[@garyfoster1611]

hopefully you guys play the king of clubs in columbus ohio we missed you last time with attack attack

[@SJPace1776]

Broke my heart when EC canceled their tour last year as had tickets. Sadly this tour is not same cities so will not be able to see them. I hope they come back to US so I get abother chance. Vest ifnluck to them and you, hope itnis successful.

[@misscrackwood]

I'm confident they'll come back, considering they sold out a lot of dates, it would only make sense for them to visit us again and again, they clearly have a huge fanbase here ^^

[@fv1005]

Same here in Dallas

[@blakel29]

LOVE these videos. I work in procurement and logistics, and I would love to get into some of this but have no experience in music industry.

[@joshvaughan3403]

Stoked to see the first EC show in Portland later this summer. Best of luck to you managing that tour, its gonna be huge!

[@kevinschmidt6747]

i saw them last month in luxembourg, you guys will have a lot of fun if you go to their concert!

[@flashanddancedj]

As an in house tech for a venue, it's awesome to know everything that is going on... Much respect to you

[@JOshj5hawk]

Hope you have a blast in Minneapolis! I'm sure you don't get a *ton* of free time. At least I know who to come blame if something goes wrong at the show ;) Keep up the great work bud!

[@HauntSlider]

God I wish there was a date less than 5+ hours from me for Electric Callboy. Was so looking forward to seeing them and meeting you at the Cleveland date.. but yeah.. no Cleveland date in the reschedule. John 5's TM is also his merch guy (Mike) and he's one of the coolest cats in the biz. During M&G's he always tells everyone "Remember people I have a lot of shit of to so don't ask me when the merch stand opens. It'll open when it opens." lol

[@mattstrickland4749]

For Catering and what not, is there a general theme to what you guys get? Like lets say you regularly get burgers and hot dogs for an example. Do you use a catering company or go more threw ordering catering from specific places?

[@TankTheTech]

On this tour most everything would be in house or ordered out. And we also take into account dietary restrictions for everyone on the tour as well.

[@bootska]

What goes into changing a venue, like EC in Montreal or NOFX in Florida this year.

[@JA-ut8fi]

Great video tank, I have a question. Do you see any change in the employment aspect, as in are there less guys like you to hire? Are there more? Been just think about the old sayin “no one wants to work” and how it applies to other careers.

[@ivanlmiller]

We've had tickets to Electric Callboy since they went on sale!! Super stoked that you are managing this tour 🤘 hopefully see you in Phoenix!!

[@DM-il1hf]

We’ll be there too! Cheers! 🤘🍺

[@gromann]

This just makes me even more sad I won't get to go to this tour after they had to cancel the last one.

[@aakholop]

Same here. Was pretty late to original tour sales, spent crazy amount of money on resale tickets on a sold out show and now they aren't even coming to Texas.. Hope they'll come eventually, but their schedule looks so packed.

[@deathclaus]

How early in the process do you get brought on board, and do you provide any input into city and/or venue selection, or is that all handled by the production company? Can't wait to see your everyone's hard work pay off when you hit Minneapolis.

[@TankTheTech]

Booking agents route the tour and book the venues. Crew are brought on to handle the logistics after the tour has been already confirmed. I’ve been working on stuff for this tour since February.

[@motormilk]

Have you had a talk with there normal tour manager to see how they usually do stuff? Like time for setting up, different people sharing rooms or food time before shows and stuff? Like see there "normal" schedule for a tour day.

[@TankTheTech]

I have not, but I’ve been in constant contact with their production manager to get all of that info and ask those questions.

[@barrycuff4048]

Just come back from Download 🇬🇧 and was a great time For a future vlog could be who pays for the production for let’s say BMTH who had an amazing production

[@Evy-1988]

what specifically happened recently with security being rough?

[@TankTheTech]

Theres been a lot of videos online lately of security guards just being tough guys and being physical with fans rather than protecting them like they should.

[@phillosopherguitarist2673]

Hi Tank, this is sooo helpful for me a a local musician from germany. I am organizing our shows and tiny tour of about 4-6 shows in two to three weekend runs myself. So it happen, that I am tour manager, tech for our IEM, booker and a little bit of a lead guitarist. My big question is: how is your system of keeping track of: 1. gathering always all the information you need 2. keeping track of it and not mixing things up. Because usually filling out lists is not always working out with all the specials and workarounds that can happen from venue to venue on the same tour. And how do you deal with venues not responding after the gig is agreed on. We can't let the show go because of that, as a small band, we depend on venues more than they do on just some band without a name. Thank you soo much for this content! Very helpful to develop to be a band that is growing more professional to work with. Best regards, Phil from Nuremberg, Germany

[@johnbeamon]

Awesome to hear all these names and credits given faces and jobs. Best of luck with the tour.