My son is touring

[Jim Andrew]

My son is following his dream, being a professional musician. He is a member of the band "the Boxmasters", and they are on tour right now. The amazing thing is, I like the music. Warning though, if you wear hearing protection in your shop, and attend one of their concerts, take hearing protection.

[daryl moses]

Good for him! What kind of music? Must be rock if you need hearing protection,lol.
My 15 yo Grandson is into bluegrass, he can play just about anything, banjo, guitar, mandolin, etc. He sure doesn't get his music abilities from me, bout the only thing I can pick is my nose.

[Phil Thien]

Awesome!

Their stuff is available on Spotify, should anyone be interested in taking a listen.

Wikipedia on the band:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boxmasters

[paul cottingham]

The Billy Bob Thornton box masters?
Cool.

[Phil Thien]

The Billy Bob Thornton box masters?
Cool.

Yes, if you click on the link I included, there is credit to J. D. Andrew.

[Jim Andrew]

Billy and JD write their songs together, and some are pretty good. It is basically 60's style rock and roll. One on their first album was Poorhouse. I think it is great. They aren't playing it on this tour. Think this is their 4th album. They have over 100 songs written.

[Shawn Pixley]

Good for him! I hope enjoys the tour. I found touring a bit tiresome. We traveled by bus and van. Set up and tear down each night. Motels all look the same.

[Dave Zellers]

Good for him! I hope enjoys the tour. I found touring a bit tiresome. We traveled by bus and van. Set up and tear down each night. Motels all look the same.

But do you wish you hadn't done it or do you treasure the memories?

I have no experience with it but I have a close friend who did it for over a decade and found reasonable success and then wisely chose to move on and embrace 'reality'. But the memories and chasing the dream are the real reward.

I realize I'm asking questions that you've already answered in your first 3 words...

[Shawn Pixley]

But do you wish you hadn't done it or do you treasure the memories?

I have no experience with it but I have a close friend who did it for over a decade and found reasonable success and then wisely chose to move on and embrace 'reality'. But the memories and chasing the dream are the real reward.

I realize I'm asking questions that you've already answered in your first 3 words...

I toured in three different ways. One, as a paid member of another's band (Jazz musician - PL. I will keep names out of the conversation. Like session work, there can be restrictions on what you can, can't and shouldn't say.). That was the easiest as they had money and organization. We toured by bus and stayed in hotels. The on-stage aspect was much more mechanical however.

The second was as an equal member of someone else's band. Less money, more work, but better enjoyment. We stayed in motels, had a daily stipend, did promo interviews and generally played small to mid-sized clubs.

The third was with "my" band. (We were a democracy but I wrote most of the material) we traveled in combinations of cars and vans, stayed in motels and at friends houses. Played medium sized clubs with other similar bands of the day. We were constantly promoing, radio shots (remember the college radio scene?), and doing record store appearances. Some made it big, others, not so much. It was the most work but also the most enjoyable.

I am glad I did it and would encourage others to do the same. It can be a tough life and much of your attitude about it is dependent upon how you get along with people and address the enivitable politics that exist in bands. I can write a dissertation on band politics. People always want the fame without the work that goes into getting there. I had a girlfriend once that loved that I was in a band, but had huge resentment of me needing to practice. Illogical, but there it is. So, yes I treasure the experience.

I hope the OP's son has a great experience!