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If you’ve wondered what it’s like to work backstage for some of today's most popular musicians, then here’s a peek:
Being a personal chef for the caliber of bands and artists I work for seems like it would be one of the most glamorous jobs out there. Actually, it's a lot like being on a car camping road trip. As a crew member, I usually travel from place to place on a tour bus.
Resembling a large RV, tour buses are outfitted with bunk beds, a kitchenette, a restroom, two hang out lounges, and up to 12 bus-mates. In case you're curious, I sleep very well on a moving bus.
My kitchen gear, on the other hand, travels on a semi-truck. At each location, the entire kitchen rig gets loaded off the truck, moved to the chosen spot at the venue, set up, used all day, and then packed up and loaded back on the truck at the end of the night.
Venues are extremely varied in size and amenities. They include stadiums, arenas, theaters, amphitheaters, casinos, fields, parking lots, and parks – pretty much anywhere you can set up a stage and put on a show.
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Depending on the venue in which the band is performing, the kitchen roadcases can be rolled into a variety of spaces and set up for the day. The kitchen can be set up anywhere from a tent outside, to an arena locker room or a theater chorus room. I've loaded into hotel rooms,
hallways, port-a-cabins, parking lots, fields, another performance space inside a larger venue, even the side of the stage. Occasionally, I get to set up my kitchen in an actual kitchen. One thing for sure, no two days are ever the same.
Check out the gallery below to see a variety of kitchen configurations:
If I'm working outside, weather can be a huge factor. Torrential rains can really put a damper on food production (pun intended). Some days are so hot, I swear I could fry an egg on the asphalt. Conversely, it could be freezing cold. Some days there’s no running water. Electricity and lighting can be limited. Decisions have to be made quickly, such as where the dishes get washed up. This can end up being in a bathroom sink, using a garden hose, or a car ride away. Making do with the situations at hand and being able to keep a cool head is essential, just like when you're camping.
Home is where the heart is and I'm responsible for ensuring that the band have a
comfortable, familiar setting even when the venues are changing daily. Locker rooms, green rooms, tents, and trailers all get transformed into dining and hangout rooms, wardrobe/ dressing areas, rehearsal rooms, and workout spaces. Configurations are different depending on each band's needs and what’s available at each venue.
Below are some before and after shots of band dining room and kitchen transformations:
If it looks chaotic, that’s because it is. My days are long and fast paced and go something like this:
It all begins with an early a.m. walk through the venue to make dressing room assignments, ie, which rooms work best for kitchen, dining, wardrobe. Next, it’s time to go grocery shopping, which can be an hour’s drive away. In my absence, rooms are transformed with the necessary furniture and given ambiance. Upon returning to the venue, groceries are unloaded and organized while I cook a late breakfast for the band. The work continues preparing lunch then dinner, and before I know it, the show happens (and no, I don't have time to watch the show). During the show, aftershow meals are made, everything is washed up, put away in it’s proper places in the cases, and finally loaded back on the truck.
Showers are taken, usually in a locker room. By now, it’s well after midnight and finally time to get back on the tour bus to create menus and grocery lists for the next day. By this time, I’m usually enjoying an adult beverage, which I often doze-off with in my hand. It’s time to hit the bunk to get a few hours sleep, head on down the road, and do it all again the next day.
"Dishwasher"
