| Another job that is often overlooked
but is vital to a successful musical event is the Artist Services
person. He or she provides the clean dressing room, fresh towels,
cold natural spring water, Chinese take-out food and often a motherly
pat on the back to the performers before and after the show. Larger
national recording acts tour with their personal chefs and butlers,
but the majority of smaller bands trust the promoter’s staff
to make their visit to the theater or club successful.
The actual requests are detailed in tiny black and white print
as a portion of the contract between the band and the promoter called
a “rider”. This literally means that the food and hospitality
requirements are added to the main agreement that allows the concert
to take place. Some music groups have a very simple paragraph that
asks for a clean and safe room to change clothes and warm up before
the show. Others, and for obvious reasons I will not reveal any
names or places, demand only red chocolate M&M’s in a
crystal candy dish or seventeen portions of Steak and Kidney Pie
along with warm English ale. The Artist Services person would meet
with the show’s promoter to read the rider line by line and
begin to plan for a budget. (By the way, musical entertainment is
a business designed for profit, so gold covered cherries in champagne
glasses may be subject to negotiations!)
In addition to the food and drink, the staff person has other roles
such as tour guide, (“Hey, where is the nearest comic book
store?”) costume assistant, (“Do you have any safety
pins? My belt just broke.”) bath room monitor, (“There’s
no more toilet paper in the dressing room.”) cruise director,
(“Where are all the cute girls (guys) in this darned city?”)
and crisis manager. (This is the last time that I let my drummer
eat hot dogs with raw onions before we start the set!”) As
you can see, the job is often underpaid and requires eighteen tons
of patience and the ability to handle stress. It is, however, a
good way for a beginner to learn the backstage operations of show
business, and the biggest perk is meeting the entertainers face-to-face.
The Artist Services worker doesn’t get to see much of the
show, except possibly during sound check when the band needs a new
bucket of ice and some fresh towels. Moreover, this unsung hero
or heroine may be one of the last to leave the theater, as there
is cleaning up and storage that takes place well after the house
lights come back on. I must emphasize that without this important
task, there would not be a concert. The road manager or tour manager
is responsible for assuring that his musicians get every item that
was on the rider, and that includes all the details such as “
a Persian carpet, a 100 watt standing light fixture and a brown
or tan sofa.” I haven’t even described the flower deliveries
from adoring fans, the bottle of Scotch that is cleverly hidden
in a towel for between-song drinks, the crew food so the stagehands
are fed on time, the sixty gallons of herbal tea to soothe sore
throats or the display of local news stories about the event and
the performer that get posted on the bulletin board near the dressing
rooms. (“He’s getting older but can still rock and roll…”)
Whether you’re a stage technician, a musician, a ticket holder
or a promoter, take a look during your next show and see what magic
the Artist Service person is performing to make things go smoothly.
From a warm cup of coffee to a cold turkey sandwich, details are
important. Say “thanks” to one of the backstage staff
helping the artists to feel at home.
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