THE CREW

First let me begin this installment by saying that I may have totally contradicted myself in my last writing. I made a big deal about how silly this whole Imus frenzy is, complaining about how making it the only discussion in town represents a problem in selectivity with the contemporary media. I also drew a comparison to the media frenzy surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's untimely death - a subject which I also chose to undertake . However, in attacking these subjects in my own blog, I merely added to the overblown dialogue, rife with stupidity and redundancy. I apologize for my lack of subtlety, and will try to think my rants through a little more carefully in the future. Thanks to my lady for pointing out this discrepancy. She's smart.

Today's subject is the crew of the "Twilight in the Fearful Forest Tour." On our last tour in Europe, the crew changed from venue to venue because of the fact that we weren't employing a full crew to take care of the behind the scenes business. We were a party of five including Nuno, our tour manager, whose responsibilities included driving the van, dealing with merchandise, settling up with the promoters for payments, and other book-keeping duties. James has taken on the tour management responsibilities for MBD this time, and therefore has a whole lot on his plate. On this foray into the world of the road, we have had the privilege of seeing the same faces every day, and therefore have been able to witness firsthand the level of professionalism that happens on this scale of touring. Kong is the leader and overseer of the crew, holding the title of tour manager/producer, and essentially making sure that everything runs smoothly. Kong's real identity remains unknown to all but a chosen few, so he is known to us simply as KONG. He is a large man, smiley when the opportunity arises, and has an affectation of a big teddy bear. He runs a hot-air balloon business when he's not running tours, which lends a vague eccentricity to his demeanor. Next is Rich, who runs the house sound system for the Decemberists. This is a pretty high-profile job, considering the Decemberists stature as an "it" band, and he does it extremely well. I kind of had Rich pegged as the quiet type, but in Raleigh NC he opened up and drank some booze with us, displaying his sweet side and his extremely uplifting laugh. I've also gotten into the habit of giving Rich a big hug right before we play. He gives AWESOME hugs. Next is the "systems tech" on the tour, Justin, who is as much a wizard as he is a pro. Justin's main job is troubleshooting all of the electronics, including the main sound console, monitor mixing console, and the lighting board (i think). This is a job which I cannot even fathom having, because my actual technical knowledge of the electronics involved in a big tour like this is absolute NIL. Seriously. Sometimes i ask Justin how things are going, and he'll spout off a string of electronics issues, including problems with the grounding, signal distribution, and other jargon-like terms that I have absolutely no idea about. I just respond with, "yeah....of course.....yeah that sounds tough....." Justin has also taken on the job of doing the sound for the MBD opening set, and has done a phenomenal job with it. He says that it's the most fun he has during the course of the evening. He's also become the prankster of the group. Since he's from Ohio and Shara is from Michigan, that whole rivalry thing has lent itself well to shenanigans. In Knoxville, he pasted in huge letters OHIO across Shara's monitor, as well as a couple of OSU stickers on her wurlitzer. Good times. In St. Louis, Shara fell onstage at one point in our set, and the next day Justin bought her a pair of "no slip" sneakers, which he surreptitiously placed in our dressing room. VERY well played.

The next member of the crew is Rick, the Decemberists' guitar tech. Rick may have the most active role on the crew, seeing as each member of the Decemberists plays at least two instruments, and Rick is responsible for making sure each instrument is working well and in tune. Colin also tends to break strings, which means Rick has to quickly change them, tune them, and get the instrument back into Colin's hands. His "office", as he calls it, is full of feng shui (fung shway?), and includes a workbench, worklight, and stool. Rick also loves to quote the movie "super troopers", a fact which makes him very dear to my heart. Marcel is the next facet of the crew. He does the monitor mixes for the Decemberists, and also has one of if not the best sense of humor of anyone on this tour. At his station, he has a picture of his gorgeous young son in the middle of the mixing console to remind him of home, and his desktop image on his computer is a similarly cherubesque image of the baby. When I first saw the picture, I asked him, "Is that a 2004 model." He replied, "no, 2003. I got the athletically gifted package for a couple extra bucks. He's fully equipped." Marcel also loves to quote Dave Chappelle stand-up lines, like the whole "grape drink" bit. Last but not least is Stephen, the lighting designer. His tour nickname from Marcel is "cuddles," a tour nickname he received in Boston after an all-day bus cuddle session with a lady he had picked up the night before. He's been also very enthusiastic about working with MBD and the Decemberists, and has been a total sweetheart night to night. He and Justin will even be hiking it out to LA after Coachella to do the sound and lights for the MBD show at the Troubadour in LA. If you make it to the concert, say what's up to the both of them, because they are both totally nice dudes.

The job these guys are doing is phenomenal, and they represent the real work in this industry. They are experts in their fields, and are functioning on a level of extreme professionalism. The point I need to make here is that these are the people that the make shows happen, without one moment in the spotlight. All we as performers do is show up, get our stuff out, and play. True, this is a different type of expertise, but it requires a lot less total work and effort than the stuff these guys do every day. My first experience in touring came on a Linda Ronstadt tour in 2002, as the lowest rung on the crew ladder. I got to meet a different set of crew dudes, equally as amazing and fun, and found out how cool this whole thing is and how much fun it can be. I'm extremely thankful and appreciative of the efforts of these guys, as well as the efforts of our new merch girl, Katie, and have come to love the crew as friends and colleagues.

Not too much to report on our last three shows. Business as usual has been the word of the day. We are now more than half way done with the tour, and the dates have been ultimately flying by. Soon, we will make our push westward, leaving the midwest, northeast, and the dirty (durrtay) south behind. I will report back soon.