Touring w/ a Band: A Handy Conclusion w/ A. Sinclair

The early part of our month featured a lot of great writing from our friend Brendan Bond in A. Sinclair.  In his section titled “Touring w/ a Band” he went on about his experiences as a musician traveling the country.  He asked is he could add his final thoughts, and so here he is.  Look for Brendan to go on the road with Grape St. and his own solo performances soon. 

A Handy Conclusion

I have returned to my home. I’m back in my house, back at work, back trying desperately to repair the financials that were nearly irreparably rent asunder by this trip. After all the questions that I hope I’ve raised about the efficacy of embarking on a tour, the whole experience seems to have been rendered moot by the whitewater currents of everyday life.

This, of course, is not the case. Though it sounds cliché, these experiences will last me the rest of my life, and are invaluable to a pursuit of a career in the arts. I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be a musician, about what it means to be professional, and especially about what it means to make art in the face of being broke, in the face of miles of distance, in the face of indifference. All valuable!

I’m not really sure what I wanted to get across with these diary entries, other than to unmask the monotonous true nature of tour; looking back, though, I wish I had spent a little more time reflecting on the big picture, on the fact that I’m pretty lucky to be able to travel and play music and get paid for it. An alternative life in the arts sometimes seems indefensible, but it’s not (entirely)! We’re all just sacks of blood and guts spawned on a rock that’s hurtling through space anyway, why shouldn’t we just do what we want?

I guess it’s time for thanks. Thanks to my bandmates for the tour experience: Mike St. Clair, Michael Kingcaid, Aaron Sinclair, Jud Johnson, Ben Lance, Michael Booher, John Winsor. Thanks to Nathan at Austintownhall for letting me write what I wanted. And thanks to you, dear reader, for putting up with these entries over the last few weeks. It’s been fun!