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"What did the band Poison install in their tour bus in the mid-1980s to turn pleasure into profit?"

for the answer click 'read more'  (:

If you are a UK or EU passport holder you can travel and work throughout Europe without restriction. However to work in many places outside of the EU you will need a VISA and possibly a WORK PERMIT. The most obvious example being bands and crew working in the USA.

The sadness of the tragic loss of a hugely talented singer and songwriter at a disgracefully early age is in no way diminished by it's seeming inevitability and historical precedent.  At 27 Amy Winehouse was the same age as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Cass Elliot, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Kurt Cobain when they died.

As well as raising questions about the association between fame, talent and addictive self destruction her death also brings under scrutiny the systems and people who supposedly nurture, care for and profit from the careers of the talented and vulnerable. 

Her music and force of personality will be sadly missed shining as they did like a beacon in a fog of manufactured musical mediocrity.

Andy Corrigan FTTS

Live and Unsigned talks to The Agency Group’s Geoff Meall

Geoff Meall talks to Live and Unsigned about how to make it in the music industry. Geoff is the director of one of the world’s leading booking agencies, The Agency Group. Geoff is one of the most well known music industry agents in the UK. Like many agents, he started his career in live music as College Social Secretary at Oxford Polytechnic before taking the step into the booking agency world.

Based in the UK, Geoff is responsible for the London arm of the international Agency and books some of the biggest acts in the music industry. He’s worked with the likes of Muse, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Doves, Funeral for a Friend, Super Furry Animals, The Zutons and The Pogues.  click here for the full article on Live and Unsigned.

Hi. I'm trying to find a splitter van to take to Belgium- 15/16 july. Tiger Tours don't have any. Do you have contact details for Aloha or any other London based firms? Many thanks, Paul - Yaaba Funk

Hi, Roger, Aloha is on 07970458509 or try Val on 07774750416
Good luck.  Best FTTS

Hi Guys, wicked website may i add, really learnt alot from this.  Im currently TM/GT/Backline for a band STATES OF EMOTION, who are doing big things this year, and im looking for a good multi guitar rack between 6-8 guitars, and have about 100-150 quid to spend, Any ideas?  Most of the ones ive been looking at that are custom Pro ones, run from about £300+ and are a bit excesive for a splitter bus tour haha, but i do want one thats in a flight case of some sort!
Regards Rishi

Hi Rishi,
Try the usual, Ebay, here's one http://bit.ly/g9i9MQ and another with a buy it now of £150.00
Good luck with your band.
Best FTTS

Hi.  What are the vital things a Guitar tech should have in their kit?

Hi Jon,  Thanks for the question;  Depends on what kind of show it is, but...
1 An accurate tuner, most techs like Petersons www.petersontuners.com/ But this may be snobbery!
2 A towel or something soft to lay the guitar on when you are changing strings + duster to wipe down guitar neck after show
3 A string winder
4 A pair of snips for cutting off string ends
5 A torch, even a naff head one so you can see what you’re doing

I think those are the essentials but you will end up with lots of other bits like;
-Leatherman or other multi tool
- Hex keys for bridge adjustments
- Strings in popular sizes
- Selection of picks
- Spare jack leads
- Spare fuses
- Practice amp and headphones
- Couple of guitar stands
- Multi meter
- Duct and pvc tape
- Sharpies
-Notepad
+ Whatever other bits you find that particular clients need!

for more roadie replies click here...

So Lady Gaga is the latest in a long(ish) line of artists that have their mum and or dad around either as a manager or as in her case to keep her on the straight and narrow.

However she should probably be careful as the precedents are mostly not promising and maybe bear in mind that one of the reasons that people get  involved with music is to get away from their parents.

Some examples from the pages of rock’n’roll history;

1 Jackson 5; Joe Jackson the family father was their manager and notorious for his tyrannical behavior.  Michael claimed he received beatings and abuse from his father and could not really have been described as happy or well balanced. 

Thanks to the good people at FTTS, my son and I enjoyed a night at the O2 Arena to see Elbow’s latest visit to the capital. This was my first visit to the O2 and I was really impressed with the layout and organisation of the venue, especially as we’d driven down from Leicester. I much prefer smaller venues, but having arrived in good time and fortified ourselves in one of the onsite restaurants, this showed promise.

As we took our seats, we were treated to a ‘chamber’ performance by the Elbow string quartet, playing some beautifully arranged versions of some of the band’s songs whilst sat on a small stage set into the standing area of the arena.

Next up was the support act, the Irish band Villagers, who in turn haunted, provoked and enchanted. Their often eerie tunes had a filmic quality for me - shades of Hitchcock, Tarantino and, once or twice, unexpected visions of Russ Meyer scenes! I remember thinking that, whilst enjoyable, it would probably be better listened to at home in the comfort of a large armchair, with a glass of something Irish and warming in the hand, rather than the then sparsely populated O2.