Tom Nicol. Co-Founder TS Tours, 28.

How did it all begin?

 I fell out of a record deal at the age of 24 and found myself skint and in the need of finding ways to pay the rent.  I initially went to work at Scottish Gas for 2 months & absolutely hated it. It was a kick in the backside to get back involved in the music industry.

Before becoming a Tour Manager I set up a Splitter van company with two others, as there was a severe lack of reliable splitters north of the boarder. This was my way in to the industry; it led to working with management/labels/agents. From there I started telling people I was a TM and a good one, they bought it (fools!).

Joking aside I had a lot of firsthand experience of TMs that looked after me so I benchmarked their methods managing a band on the road which I then put into practice.

What does your job actually entail?

To summarise it, it’s mainly dealing with getting unreliable, flakey, troubled types (bands) from A to B.   Ok so there is more to it than that.  Here (in no particular order) are some of the jobs a TM must deal with whilst on tour.

Pre production

Planning organising the tour before you set off, this involves booking accommodation/tour bus or splitter/backline.
You also need to advance to each promoter your channel list/stage plot/rider. You will also have a budget to work towards and not go over!

Day Sheets

During pre production you fill in your tour book with all the necessary info i.e. venue postcodes/journey duration/venue specs/press and radio. 
Each day you need to print up day sheets and put everywhere the band will be (mainly the dressing room).  Be warned, depending on which band you are working with you may get asked the same questions several times a day such as: “Tom, what’s the wifi code?” or “Tom, what time is dinner?” or “Tom, what’s my face look like again?”.

Timings/travelling

Touring is all about being on time. You need to schedule journey times and then some. If TOM TOM (not me, the GPS device) says the journey is 5 hours you make it 6.5 hours to account for traffic/toilet breaks etc... You never know what could happen on route.
If you are travelling on a tour bus this brings different set of rules, a bus is great as you travel over night and wake up at your next venue which is great. However as the TM you need to deal with the extra tour member - the driver! They have very strict hours and depending on the size of venue may need to drop you off and then pick you up which can be difficult as the driver is on a taco graph so once they have dropped you off they must have 9 hours off and 48 hours off every 7 days.

Varying role
A tour manager’s role can change varying on the size of the tour. If you are doing 500 capacity every night you are likely to be on your own so you deal with everything. If you are on a bigger tour you are likely to have a production manager that will deal with the show/logistics and you concentrate on the band only.

Politics
Bands are volatile and being cooped up in the same space can cause friction.   Your job is to see these situations arising and diffuse them before it all kicks off and next thing you know is your bassist has broken his tech’s nose when he meant to punch out the singer.
Never get involved in arguments; diffuse them and never bitch with the bands. I often have to stick up for the band’s manager when on tour as that’s who they point the finger at first when things are going wrong.  Remember it was their manager who employed you!

Accounts
It is imperative you keep a tight grip on the money spent/received on the tour.  Accounts are very important and should be updated daily to avoid losing track. I tend to run two spreadsheets cash spent/received and money spent on the bands credit card. You need to keep all receipts and submit them to the bands accountant at the end of the tour.

What are the most important skills in your job?

 Being organised and authoritative but easy to get along with and patience is key! 

What challenges do you face?

 New ones every tour, in the last 4 years I’ve had band members try to steal boats, get kicked out of hotels... I once had to bail a guy out of a strip club after maxing his credit card. I’ve even had to deal with bands walking off live TV shows. That might appeal to you, or scare you! I’ve worked with a few ‘naughty’ bands, but on the flipside some bands are perfectly well behaved.  You encounter many stressful situations but this makes you a stronger TM and helps you deal with similar problems in the future.   Whatever happens you know you will get through it so always tell yourself that.

What was your first job as a tour manager?

 My first job as a full time Tour Manager was working with a band from New York City called The Virgins.

Of the artists you have worked with who are your favourites and why?

Minus the Bear, these guys have been around for close to 10 years so know the touring routine inside out. Had I been working with them 10 years ago, when they were highly charged whipper snappers, my answer may have been very different.   They have been my favourites for so many reasons but the main reason is their ‘work ethic’ is spot on, they are hard working, never complain when times are tough and they all look out for each other and their crew (very important!). 

Are there any artists or companies you’d still like to work with?

 I would like to work with Radiohead and their Management Company, or Kylie of course. 

What tips would you give to a young person wanting to get into to the industry?

Brass neck yourself into situations that will benefit your career and worry about how you’re going to do it once you have the job secured!

Do not be afraid to stick your neck out there are thousands and thousands of chances that work in the music industry. As long as you are not one of the clueless chancers you will do just fine!