From The Inside: Tour Manager Rory Romano

DSC06352
Just another day at the office w/ Rory!

Being a tour manager is a pretty thankless and at times invisible job in the eyes of the fans but the tour manager is every bit as important as the very band you are taking in. I recruited my good buddy and tour manager extraordinaire Rory Romano. If you’ve ever seen Epica, Symphony X, Kamelot, or even Fintroll and you had a great time and enjoyed the show, this guy deserves a pat on the back. Let’s get into Rory’s head a bit and find out just what it is to be a tour manager and how things go down on the inside.

How long have you been a tour manager?

It’s been about 12 years now that I have been tour managing.

=========================================

How did you get started in this side of the business?

After spending just a little over 10 years in the recording business in NYC, I was invited to tour with a band as their monitor engineer. Once I got a taste of the road there was no looking back. I made the full time switch to touring in late 2000.

=========================================

What was it that initially made you say, “I want to do this?”

Tour Managing was not what I had in mind when I made the decision to give up on a recording career. I was just not into the direction the recording industry was going. I did not want to sit in a control room staring at a computer screen for 10+ hours a day editing tracks together. When I first started touring I was either mixing FOH (Front of House) or Monitors for bands. The tour managing part of it came as a side effect of shrinking touring budgets and the need to double up on jobs. It was a good way to keep busy.

=========================================

So is there like a tour manager school you can go to?

I am sure some of the “music schools” have some courses that touch on this part of the business, but as far as if there are any schools that teach you tour managing, that I am not aware of.

=========================================

How does one learn the ins and outs of this job?

On the job is the way to learn this end of the business. The best way to learn would be to get on board as an assistant TM. I personally just watched what my tour manager did on a daily basis and asked questions. Then I started to learn about settling shows (getting paid the bands fee). This was one of the more difficult parts of the job to learn. If you don’t know what you are doing you can get ripped off by promoters.

=========================================

Who was the first band you ever managed and how was it?

Nine Days was the first band I got involved with as a tour manager. I first started out with them as their monitor engineer, then moved up to FOH and eventually became FOH/Tour Manager. It seemed to be an easy adjustment since I had already been working with the band for over a year.

=========================================

Give us a run down on an average day in the life of Rory Romano on the road.

I usually do not sleep much while on tour. I am up early, around 8 or 9, and going thru things for the day. Making sure we are all set for when we arrive for load in. I help the driver get the bus parked and then try to get him off to the hotel as soon as possible. Once load in begins and the crew is doing their thing I am generally running around sorting out all the other details needing attention. Making sure we have our hospitality, collecting buyout money, locating towels for people to shower, setting up the dressing room, figuring out where Meet n Greets will happen, just to name a few. On most tours I am also part of the production crew whether it be mixing FOH or Monitors. So when I am caught up on all the non technical stuff I attend to my stage duties getting monitors up and running. After soundcheck I focus more attention on the Meet N Greet (MnG) that will be taking place. I work with the local crew to help get all the VIPs checked in for the MnG. Once the MnG is over and I get doors open that is when I am able to really take my first breath and relax a bit. I will have some dinner and while the support bands are on stage, I work on some things for the next show such as reconfirming hotel, printing day sheets, sending out hospitality list to promoter. Then it’s show time. After the show is over I pack up my monitor world and then head to the production office to settle with the promoter. Once this is done I pack up my office and head to the bus where I like to unwind.

=========================================

What are some of the bands that you’ve worked with over the years?DSC07060

Epica, Symphony X, Kamelot, Saliva, Collective Soul, Kill Hannah, The Sounds, Finntroll, Michael Tolcher, Iced Earth, BoDeans.

==============================

Do you work with primarily metal bands?

The past few years have mostly been Metal but I am open to work with any kind of music. Most recent non metal TM work I have done was with The Bodeans. That was a great change of pace.

=========================================

Do you get a say so in which bands you manage or are you just assigned a band and off you go?

I am 100% independent. Yes I make the decision with whom I want to work with.

=========================================

Metal bands are notorious for being hard to work with. Is this just a myth or is there some truth to this?

I would have to say it’s a myth. Almost all of the metal bands I have had the pleasure of working with have been amazing. Just like with any family situation there can be some tension at times which is completely normal. I don’t really think you can say that metal bands are harder to work with than other genres. It really comes down to the people you are surrounded with.

=========================================

Who have you not worked with that you’d love to work with?

In a touring capacity I would love to tour with AC/DC but not sure if that will happen. Queensryche is another band I am seeking to tour with.

=========================================

Some would think that being a tour manager can be a pretty thankless job. What are the gratifications of doing what you do?

Yes it can be a very thankless job. Tour Managers have everyone coming at them needing something all day long. Where is this, where is that, what time is this, what time is that. It’s just part of the job and sometimes it can get irritating answering the same questions 5-6 times a day when the info Is on the day sheet or in the digital tour book that everyone in the band and crew have on their iPhone, Ipad, computer, etc. The gratification I get is when the trailer door is closed at the end of the night and the entire team did what was needed to have a great show. This is not about 1 person. Takes a team to do this on a daily basis and I have been lucky enough to have had some great touring crews to work with over the years.

=========================================

This job takes you all over the world. Is it more complicated to work with foreign venues and promoters than here in the states?

The only complications that come into play sometimes are language barriers, but other than that it’s the same job all over the world.

=========================================

What is the hardest part about spending so much time on the road?

Making sure all the bills at home are being paid. Thankfully for online banking this has become much easier to keep track of.

=========================================

DSC08241Are bus bunks comfortable?

I personally have no problems with sleeping on a bus. They are pretty comfortable to me.

=========================================

How many band fights to you have to break up on any given tour?

NONE – I do not get involved in the inner politics of a band. That is for them to work out!!

=========================================

Journey says that the road ain’t no place to start a family. Are you a family man and if so does being on the road make things hard?

I am not a family man. I made the decision years ago to not have any kids. For very selfish reasons I did not want the distraction of having to give up my life to raise children.

=========================================

What advice do you have to anyone looking to get into this kind of work?

Make sure this is what you really want to do and know what it takes to make it happen even with all the sacrifices.

 

Thanks so much to Rory for taking the time out to do this.  Rory will be out with Finntroll soon so if you’re at a show, go by the monitor board and buy him a soda or something!

Discover more from Southeast of Heaven

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading