Life On Tour Part One #TourLife #LifeOnTour #BehindTheScenes

Answering a viewers email, I have worked quite hard recording several versions of this video not knowing how to approach this. I eventually rushed this together and ran out of time editing as I needed to upload before midnight when my current broadband service provider switches off my interweb! I'll upload more soon, but at this point I don't know when that will be. So please be sure to subscribe so you can help me build up my channel. many thanks for your subscription. Here is the copy of the email from Chris in Scotland. Thanks again Chris, I hope to finish your video very soon.

Here's a copy of the email if you didn't pause the video:

Good Afternoon Russ,

Thank you for your swift reply to my message on your YouTube video. I have so many questions so I will try my best to ask good ones and in a cohesive email. Firstly, I want to let you know a little about me and why I've made contact with you.

My name is Christopher, I have held a Category D licence since 2018. I have driven for Stagecoach, and currently drive for a local independent bus and coach company, where I drive buses on service work and 15m coaches on school contracts. I, along with many drivers at our company, feel disheartened about our working conditions and the way it is being run (for profit rather than what's best for passengers - buses in poor condition, not being maintained well etc). So, I have been looking at what other opportunities are out there for Cat. D licence holders. I've found there is so much more that I can do with my licence than service work, and I would like to experience new things.

On that note, after seeing their coaches in my local area again, I contacted a music band tour bus company that I felt was the best one (Phoenix), enquiring about their recruitment habits and what they look for. I got good feedback from them (get at least 4-5 years experience on continental tours with a reputable company, learn routes to main European cities), but there is so much they can't tel me about the role and what happens on the road. That is when I saw your video and realised that you have a wealth of experience in that exact role and I decided to contact you about it.

If you don't mind, I have some questions just to start.

1) A simple one to start: For someone like me, who has no experience with tour work, could you impart any advice as to how to get a foot in the music/event bussing industry?

2) I was informed that where I reside is not an issue for the company, and I can't seem to come up with a way that would work. I live in Scotland and the company depot, I believe, is in South England. How are drivers assigned to a job, and if they live far away, how do they get to where they need to be? I.e. if I was given a job, would I need to make my own way to the depot in England, then book on to my work? When assigned a tour, do you have a complete itinerary of  where you're going, who you're carrying and such things?

3) If a driver is joining a company, does he/she get assigned their own bus? I've often wondered who is in charge on the road. I would imagine it would be a combination of the Tour Manager and the Lead Driver, would this be accurate?

4) When you're on tour as the only driver of the bus, i) where and when do you sleep, ii) what do you do when the clients are performing (I assume the bus would be needing cleaned and hoovered) and iii) if you suffer a breakdown, or something on the bus such as wifi, fridges etc breaks, how do you get those repaired when you're so far from your depot?

5) How often are you away from home, or does this depend on the length of a tour? I know that sounds like a daft question - what I'm trying to ask is, if you finish a short tour, can you be given another tour right away?

Of course, I have many more questions, but I think I've taken up enough of your time already with what I've written. Thank you again for taking the time to talk with me, I really do appreciate your kindness. I am always looking to learn as much as I can and, well, who better to learn from than someone who has done it for many years.

Kind Regards

Christopher

Tour Life, Life On Tour, Band Bus, behind the scenes,