Roadies work at a Bon Jovi concert

Stoner

I’m not sure how many people really pay attention at big music concerts to the roadies, but I usually look for them and take note of what they’re doing, how tired and worn out they look, and watch their interaction with the band. I don’t have much experience as a roadie. What experience I do have quickly helped me figure out it is not the life for me. The word “roadie” actually covers a wide variety of jobs. Obviously the word derives from people on the “road” setting up, tearing down, and transporting all of the PA, lights, and instruments for artists. The term pretty much describes all of the “behind-the-scenes” people that make sure the performers look as good as they can possibly look. However, the word can also describe local help in each city that helps unload trucks, do most of the ‘heavy lifting’, and loading the trucks back up at the end of the night. That was most of my experience. Obviously, the local help can usually be anyone with a healthy back and willingness to do some heavy lifting work for no money and poor treatment … just to say you worked as a roadie for your favorite band and maybe you get to meet them as they exit the stage and pick up a couple of picks or broken drum sticks.

Light rig at a Bon Jovi concert

Those of you who were music fans in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s in the Quincy/Hannibal area probably remember the big name acts that played at the Hannibal riverfront amphitheater. Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan, Poison, Ratt, Warrant, Damn Yankees, Tesla, Pantera, Skid Row, and many other big names in entertainment played this venue. Some of us brave souls volunteered to be the local help for many of those shows, and that is where I learned what it means to be a roadie. The tough part was lifting amps, lighting rigs, and other equipment that seemed to weigh a ton, but that was offset by great memories of meeting some of the bands and watching Ted Nugent act like an excited schoolboy shooting his bow next to the river. One personal memory that was a little spooky was the lead singer of Pantera mistaking me for someone else and jumping in my face demanding to know where his bottle of Jägermeister was stashed. Fortunately, one of my guitar heroes, Dimebag Darrell jumped in and saved me, which gave me a great story to tell.

It was during this Pantera (opening for Skid Row) show that I was able to talk with some professional roadies and find out what their life is really like. Normally, there isn’t too much time to talk to these guys and quite a few of them aren’t in the mood to talk to the “local help”.

Sambora guitars

However, there was plenty of time on this day. After having my band play the two nights before in different towns, myself and a couple bandmates slept in our car over at the Hannibal amphitheater ready to work (although very tired and not smelling too good). When the trailers showed up with the PA and lighting, we started to unload case after case while the professional roadies started to put everything together on the stage and attach the lighting rig to the stage cover. Suddenly, we were told there might be a structure problem with the stage and overhang and people were on the way to check it out. This was about 9 a.m. About 3 to 4 hours later after sitting in the sun all morning, the stage was given the all clear and the race was on to get everything ready to go. So during the long delay, I had time to talk to professional roadies and was told delays like this happen all the time.  These guys (and sometimes gals) spend their lives setting up equipment in one city and work through all the snags only to tear everything down after the last note, load it up and go to the next city.

Trucks used by Bon Jovi road crew

Their only sleep is usually in the trucks on the way to the next town or a couple hours before the band starts playing. The guys told me they really look forward to a day off. I assumed this was to get some rest but they explained that it’s also so they can actually get a warm shower and sleep in a bed. Of course they all had some great inside stories about the rock stars they’ve worked with and the crazy personalities they deal with every day. Most people think these folks are just around to lift things, plug in cables, and bring girls backstage but if you work behind the scenes at a show you will see that while a little crazy, most of these guys are electricians, construction professionals, and sound engineers with degrees and certifications in their field. Many of them are roadies simply for the love of the adventure and the music. While it’s great for a certain type of person, I decided to go back to college after my summer as a roadie.

Bon Jovi road crew members

The 2011 Bon Jovi tour had a crew of more than 190 people with a huge set packed into 1,000 flight cases loaded on to 18 trucks. Their backline crew chief describes the process of tearing down after the last note is played as “organized chaos”. The crew chief says they usually work 21 hour days starting at 6 a.m. and build the stage in about 8 hours. Lighting rigs can take much longer in addition to the almost 10,000 pounds of video screens. Because of the travel and setup time, the band has four structural stages, taking 3-days each to build as they leapfrogged across Europe last summer. “Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the film Spinal Tap is just a movie and not an instructional video,” says David Byran’s keyboard tech Bill St Amour.

The Bon Jovi touring crew usually leaves a venue about 2:30 a.m. with the trucks that house the drum sets, amps, and guitars that are used every night going to the next venue while the stage crew goes to the location Bon Jovi will play several nights later. As the Emerson, Lake and Palmer lyric says: “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.”

Steve Stoner

Check out this roadie reality from The Police road crew and Tour Production Manager: