Touring is an integral part of being a musician. Given the substantial drop in record sales during the past ten years, touring is how most musicians make up for losses in revenue. But we’re not here to talk about the digital revolution, we’re here to talk about something far more personal — the homesickness that bands may suffer from while they’re on the road. What role does home play for bands on tour? How does it affect their relationships? How do they cope and adjust to the changes?
Participants:
Sandy Miranda, Fucked Up
Sandy Miranda (aka Mustard Gas) is the bassist for Toronto’s punk rock pride and joy, Fucked Up. The band took home the 2009 Polaris Prize for their album The Chemistry of Common Life.
Anna Barie, These Are Powers
Anna Barie is the lead vocalist for the noise dance trio These Are Powers. Hailing from Brooklyn, Powers are known for their ability to blend diverse genres and musical techniques.
Maya Postepski, TRUST
Maya Postepski is the percussionist for Toronto band TRUST. She also drums for Katie Stelmanis and performs solo as Princess Century. Though they haven’t been together for long, Toronto audiences recognize TRUST as a powerhouse in the electronic scene.
DJ Dopey
With his consistently innovative sound, DJ Dopey has quickly risen to the forefront of turntablism. He has had the pleasure of performing alongside Gang Starr, Kardinal Offishall, Kid Koala, DJ Q-Bert, and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Mike Duffield, The Diableros
Toronto’s Mike Duffield is known for his drum work with the Diableros. Although the band has undergone numerous line-up changes, their work has garnered them international critical acclaim.
On the Road Again
These are people that spend little more than 24 hours in a given city, for anywhere from six weeks to two years, with very few breaks. We may forget that these people also have families, friends, and homes. As exciting as touring is, the novelty of cramming a group of people into a ’93 Ford Taurus wears off relatively quickly.
Q. Some musicians have described being on the road as quite the arduous affair, being away from friends and familiar places. Do you find it difficult?
Anna Barie: There’s something inherently lonely about travel, even when you’re traveling with a group of people. I always feel like a sailor in a way, like you’re at sea for a while and you kind of come into port, and then you see all these places, and meet all these people. You take as much away from it as you want to but in a way you are always a stranger, and you’re always a visitor. You’re always on the outside looking in, even when you go places where you know people and have friends. It’s kind of interesting — you do it for a while and it’s like you’re a roaming tribe, meeting other bands on the road. It’s funny, [how] we go halfway around the world and we end up playing with bands we know from Brooklyn, and it’s really special.
Sandy Miranda: The most difficult thing about being in a band and touring is being in tight quarters with five other people at almost all times. My band — myself included — are a moody bunch, and while it helps that we’ve known each other for a decade or more, that fact can make things quite tense as well. The [intra]-band dynamic is difficult. We know how to push each other’s buttons and will often push them freely — a practice that I, personally, am moving away from, in the hopes that I would be left alone and free from the psychological torture we often place on one another.
Maya Postepski: I love getting away from the ‘daily grind.’ It helps you distance yourself from everything that is normal and lets you re-evaluate things and appreciate stuff you overlook. It can be really healthy to get away from people, even people you love more than anything… Seeing the world is the big perk of touring, and at the end of a day of sightseeing or driving through a country, you get to show the locals what you’re good at. It’s amazing to have a really fun show in a place like Luxembourg — hanging out with locals and chatting in broken English/German/French sign language. And that’s what you’ll always remember. I don’t really see what’s difficult about that. I mean, there are bad shows, yes. There are frustrations on the road sometimes, yes. But I think touring is supposed to push your boundaries a little bit. It’s like all your emotions get heightened and you’re really living and doing what you love. It’s incredible.
Mike Duffield: It really depends on a lot of things. If you are traveling in a van with enough room to stretch out, have relatively short drives and decent food and coffee is along the way, then I’d rather do that than anything. Without these things, I think it really gets just exhausting quickly. Oh, and you also have to be good about having empty pockets… and infrequent bathing. I personally haven’t had any nightmares, but I sure know some people who have!
Uhhh, this my shit, this my shit
Q. Musicians may look to non-material (memories or familiar spaces) or material goods (journals) to cure their homesickness. How do you combat homesickness?
Sandy Miranda: I always travel with everything I need to live for at least a month. The crucial things I bring are my computer, which enables me to work from anywhere, and a digital and film camera, to capture some of my experiences.
Mike Duffield: I really just need to get some alone time every day — bring a couple books, drink lots of water, and try to find a place I can stretch for a bit. Sitting in a van in one place for a long time wreaks total havoc on your body like nothing else.
DJ Dopey: In the past I’ve kept a journal and have written letters to my loved ones — even if I didn’t end up sending them — but I hardly do so anymore. I just find that it’s gotten a little easier these days, especially with all the technology — Skype video chat or iChat. Even if I’m halfway across the world, getting that five minutes every few days to chat face-to-face with the ones you love really makes a difference.
Anna Barie: When we visited Kensington Market it reminded us very much of home. It’s probably one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Toronto that we’ve seen.
Maya Postepski: Passport, iPod, sunglasses, sleeping bag, towel, earplugs, journal, GPS, lots of underwear, the least amount of clothes possible, and whiskey… I try not to connect too often, I used to call people more from the road, but now I don’t even bring my cell phone. I like being on a ferry to Denmark without having to check who is texting me. It’s a time to really disconnect. Yes, there’s always backstage time to do emails and all that, but I don’t like to have a phone with me that I’m always checking.
Let’s Go Home
Q. When you return from a tour, do you become more appreciative of the city you live in?
Maya Postepski: Yes and no. Toronto has a lot of pros, it’s my city and I love it. But it’s a bit scuzzy and the architecture kind of blows after you’ve been in Scandinavia for a little while… sometimes I hate it when I get back from tour, waiting for the streetcar forever, and not having a clock telling you when the next one is coming is annoying. I think Swiss people are very spoiled. I took trains in the middle of nowhere, and they were on time, to the second. That’s something I like a lot. But there’s also a lot of good things Toronto has that other places need to work on — ahem — cultural diversity.
Sandy Miranda: I am always happy to come home. I may not feel like I will when I go away, and it’s true that when I go away, I always look for ways to extend my trip. But when I fly into Pearson, and peer out the window to look at the city where I was born and grew up in, I am thankful to be home. Out of all the cities that I have visited in my life — and there are nearly hundreds, as beautiful or exotic as they may be — Toronto really is one of the most livable cities in the world.
Mike Duffield: For the most part, it’s home.
DJ Dopey: Yes! I always did love Toronto and after touring the world, I still feel like it’s one of the best places to be.
No Place Like It
Something important to consider is the impact that rock ‘n’ roll mythology has had not only on fans, but also on musicians themselves. The romantic assumption that life on the road is a drug-fuelled sex romp is — in most cases — a bit of a stretch. Cultural identity and familiarity end up playing a larger role than one may imagine. Whether it’s a diverse neighbourhood, or interactions with locals, this is when you become the most conscious of where you are from.
