Reexamining the Relationship Between You & Your Career with Lighting Designer Graham Rolak

Tomas Wolfe is an audio engineer who has toured with artists such as Rune The Jewels, Lettuce, and Baby Keem. In this episode we discuss his path from unpaid intern to touring pro, the things he learned from facing the COVID industry shutdown, the importance of starting the conversation on mental health in your community, as well as some other great nuggets around resilience and taking risks. You can find him on Instagram @tomaswolfe --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Lotje Horvers is a Tour Manager who has worked with artists such as Fever Ray, Robyn, Röyksopp, M83, and The Knife. She won the 2020 Women in Live Music "Tour Manager of the year" award, has been a frequent panelist throughout the pandemic, and sits on the committee of the Tour Production Group. In 2021, she launched the non-profit Backstage Pass, aimed at improving diversity and inclusion in the Dutch live music industry. In this episode, she shares how putting on shows as a teenager led her to pursue a music management degree and into concert touring. We also discuss why it’s super important to look after your mental health when filling your calendar, the role that diversity and inclusion play in the touring world, and how keeping in touch with new friends can help you give and receive professional opportunities in the future. You can find her on Instagram @lotjetm. Download the TPG Mental Health Charter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Joseph Farriella is a Tour Manager, Production Manager, and Tour accountant who has worked with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Toni Braxton, Orianthi, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Chromeo, The Ataris, Simple Plan, and Matchbox Twenty, among others. In this episode, we discuss the state of touring going into fall 2021, how touring has changed over the years, and the importance of being financially responsible in the touring industry. You can find him on Instagram @ponyboy_productions. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Rachel Pfenning Hales started her career touring around the world with the Black Eyed Peas, and then, with Lynyrd Skynyrd. She has spent the last several years working at one-of-a-kind Rock Lititz helping with various touring rehearsals and building up the live event culture on campus. She has also maintained a passion for writing about the live event industry and beyond. In this episode, we discuss Tour Book, which explores a show day in the life of roadies in the live event industry, and how the book can help crew and their friends and family understand what really goes on in a roadie’s day-to-day life. We also discuss the importance of asking questions and listening to the answers in order to make sense of a non-traditional career path, especially if you want to work out on the road. You can find her on Instagram @rapfenhales About the book: "It's show night. You've bought tickets and are waiting with your friends. The lights drop. The darkness swells in anticipation. A collective cheer grows. A breath of silence. Then, that first chord screams from the speakers. Lights flash to flood the stage, radiating as the concert comes to life. We are there, too, in the dark under the show, behind it, and above it. Each prop or cool trick, every costume or scene change requires the hidden help of someone behind the scenes. In a few hours, you will have gone home, but we will still be here, tearing it all down. We will pack up the gear, load up more than a dozen tractor-trailers, and head out to the next city." --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Suzi Green is a Tour Manager and Naturopathic Nutritionist who has worked with artists such as Wolf Alice, Placebo, Katie Melua, PJ Harvey, Marina Diamandis, The Chemical Brothers, and James Blake. She is the creator of The Back Lounge, a support group where touring professionals have come together throughout the pandemic to share their experiences as well to prepare to get back on the road in a healthier and more sustainable way. She is also a member of the Tour Production Group which looks to make touring a friendlier and more inclusive place. In this episode, we discuss the magic of going on your first tour, getting back to work after experiencing burnout, how the illusions of being on tour contrast with reality, how The Back Lounge came to be, as well as ways we can bring wellness on tour. You can find her on Instagram @suzigr & @thebackloungetouring and also at healthy-touring.com Read Suzi's Pollstar feature here. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Jim Runge is an award-winning tour manager who has worked with artists such as The Black Keys, Lil Dicky, Major Lazer, Imagine Dragons, Lucinda Williams, the Replacements, Chase Rice, and a long list of others. His 30+ years of entertainment industry experience has brought him to nearly every major venue and festival in the US. His career has taken him from promoting punk bands in the early '80s to managing large-scale tours. He is also a co-host and co-producer of Tour Management 101. In this episode, we discuss the importance of mentor/mentee relationships, how to stay connected to “the real world” while on the road, being a working parent, nurturing a culture of respect, how it feels to be so close to returning to the road, as well as crisis management while on the road and the toll it can take on our mental health. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Justin Press is a tour photographer and podcaster who also provides tour security services through Silver Spear Security. He is the co-host of the Making Waves Podcast and the Scatterbrain Podcast. He is also a contributor to the radio industry magazine, Max Alt Rock. In this episode, we discuss why following up is so important, how he got his first taste of the Security world with In This Moment, the role podcasting played for out-of-work touring folk in 2020, how he stays connected to the Shiprocked community of fans, and why physical fitness is incredibly important for the touring community. You can find him on Instagram @justinpress_photo. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Jim Digby is a Production Manager and Tour Director who has worked with artists such as Linkin Park, Enrique Iglesias, and Backstreet Boys among many others. He is the Co-Founder and President of the global nonprofit Event Safety Alliance. He is also one of the founders of Show Makers, a platform that was developed to share industry content, facilitate conversations, provide thought leadership, and showcase organizations that are dedicated to the live events community. In this episode, we discuss how self-reflection can help you understand who you are and what role can play in this world, the importance of prioritizing 'the human' behind the work above all else, the value of becoming an empathetic listener, how Chester Bennington's (Linkin Park) death by suicide opened his eyes to the underlying mental health difficulties that were closer than they appeared, how Mental Health First Aid training shifted his perspective on leadership, and how to invest in yourself in order to be equipped to care for the humans you work with. You can find him on Instagram @digbyjim. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Graham Rolak is a lighting designer who has worked with artists such as AFI, Deftones, Primus, Papa Roach, Incubus, At The Drive-In, System of a Down, and The Neighbourhood. In this episode, we discuss what it has been like living through the pandemic, reexamining the relationship between you and your career, the value of live performances for fans, artists, and crew, as well as the importance of prioritizing transparency and collaboration over competition. You can find him on Instagram @grahamrolak. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support

Sai Hanif is a tour director and production manager who has worked with artists such as The Wallflowers, Cage the Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Walk the Moon, Gabriel “ fluffy” Iglesias, X ambassadors, and Capital Cities. He is also the creator and owner of Masters of Maple Drums and Ghost Tech, a tech company that aims to solve the health and safety challenges of touring during and post-COVID pandemic. In this episode, we discuss how the world has changed and how important it is to stay on top of and ahead of the health and safety challenges that COVID has brought us, including how to keep your crew and artists’ personal information safe. You can find him on Instagram @ladrumguy and at MyGhostTech.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thetourlife/support