Black Coast guide us through some of the items that they simply cannot hit the road without in our latest edition of Tour Essentials.
The Van
“Well for number one it’s definitely gotta be the van Aka Black Vabbath. Without our trusty steed we ain’t going anywhere fast – also it’s got all the mod-cons a band needs. Bunks, tv, PS2 and lovely diesel heater. Everyone who sees the van is blown away. It’s an essential, we talk to so many bands who constantly struggle to get around or with renting vans. Literally, if you are serious about being a touring band then buy a van. It will pay for itself in 12 months of good touring.”
Phone Chargers
“I guess 99% of bands would pick this one. Imagine touring and not having a charger then every two seconds someone saying ‘can I borrow a charger cable?’. Like imagine going out on tour and not taking a charger or a plug. We have a culprit in the band but I won’t say a name.”
Shower Essentials
“You never know when or where your next clean spot is gonna be so always be prepared to rush a shower. You can’t be picky when it comes to it either, god bless them golden service stations, but if needs must. I think we may look at one of them shower bags this year what ya hang on the back of the doors and just bung cold water in. Crikey – on one tour Scott actually had a shower in a stream lol. Straight in, no messing, boxers on. Mad man.”
Toothbrush And Toothpaste
“Toothpaste is again like the phone charger – end of the day or start of the morning, there’s always someone scabbing ya for a slither of toothpaste. Bruv it’s like £1 from Aldi haha! Don’t forget them things because absolutely no one wants to smell ya shit breath first thing, or all day for that fact.”
Weed
“Oh gosh how could you do a list of tour essentials and not put weed on. It’s amazing that some people can’t survive without it haha, but you gotta make sure that the weed smokers are well equipped for the tour or they will cause you more trouble than the 21 year old van you’re driving haha.”
Lord Of The Rings
“It’s become a Black Coast tradition now to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy on tour… or, in fact, at least once a day we will watch it. We also literately listen to the LOTR soundtrack as we are driving. After you’ve had ya head blasted off by metal all night you just need to hit the road and whack on ‘Concerning Hobbits’ haha but yeah It’s essential. One can not go on tour and not watch the battle of helms deep at least once a day!!!”
Photographer
“You wanna capture all them great times together as a band and mates. We are lucky that we have two very good friends who come out with us – Joe Berisford and Luis Lopez – on our tours/shows and get the cool moments. Being in a band isn’t just about music; it’s about making memories, good or bad, and getting them on pics is great. Also if you don’t take a photographer out on tour with you to capture all them social media posts, did the tour actually happen?!?”
Ear Plugs
“When you’ve been driving all day and then played a show, you want nothing more than to just get in your bunk and sleep but there is nothing worse than a snoring drummer at 3am or cars rushing past the van at screaming speeds. You always know who hasn’t had ear plugs in the next day cause they look like death and then say Matty kept me up all night haha.”
Air Freshener Spray
“That van becomes a different beast by day two or three into a tour and if you’re struggling to find a shower, geeeeezzz it starts to smell a bit rotten haha. Everyone tries keep their shit together in the van. We normally bring one set of day clothes and one set of gig clothes. You gotta keep them gig clothes in a sealed bag. Cause them things are gonna stink holy hell. Yeah get plenty of spray and anti-bac wipes. But Scott is a super clean freak – he’s like Kim and Aggie in one and gets crazy at mess in the van so he just normally blitzes it when everyone is out haha. We ain’t selling this touring as fun are we haha.”
A Book
“Lastly bring yourself a good book as well, cause most the time your day consists of being stuck in a van for many hours and signal dropping in and out as you trek up and down motorways. We don’t have windows in the back of the van so we get a bit of cabin fever. I think all of us in the band read a lot. Joe and Birdy are very into their spiritual stuff, Chaz reads lots of poetry, Scott and Matty are both true crime heads. But it’s always nice to get some reading done and give ya brain a good exercise during those Glasgow to London drives.”
Black Coast will appear at Bloodstock Festival this August. Check out their upcoming tour dates here.
