I'm a 28 year old girl working in the music industry, and I write about how I became a tour manager through telling the story of what I've been through backstage in the last 4 years.
I grew up in a small city, and moved to one of the world's most beautiful cities to study translation and interpreting at the university.
Music has always been in the core of my life, and my closest friends in this new city were mostly musicians, music critics, booking agents and promoters. I had met them on IRC back in 1999, when I was 16.
I was a regular visitor of a chat room, where creators of my favourite heavy metal magazine and their close friends used to gather and chat.
One day I asked a promoter friend of mine if he needed any help on the upcoming concert, and he told me I could work backstage if I wanted to. I was just asking to ask, I wasn't even serious, but then I thought, why not?!
Right from the very first event I worked on, I LOVED it!
I worked long hours, reviewed riders, met crew and musicians at the venue, took care of them, and as soon as the house lights went off, and the crowd went crazy, I felt it was worth all the hard work. Watching the audience, the band, and thinking that I had a share on "this" was a great feeling. I became addicted to it.
I enjoyed travelling and going to major music festivals or concerts of my favourite bands in other countries, and I wrote reviews about my experiences in music magazines.
I worked on many international bands' concerts as backstage & hospitality assistant and band guide. In one of those events, I met a German production and tour manager. He said he needed an assistant and merchandiser on the upcoming European tour of an international heavy metal band, and asked me if I could join them. Of course I could!
It was an amazing experience.
Waking up in a tour bus, opening the curtain and seeing different landscapes of great European cities everyday was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me.
I learnt many things both by experience and observation on that tour.
In order to keep working with them, I had to move to Germany, but I wasn't ready to leave my home country.
So I came back, graduated from university, and started working as a freelance translator.
I was working for 8-10 hours everyday, at home, by myself, in front of a computer. And I hated it.
In this blog, you will read what happens next. I thought it might be a good guide for those interested in working in the music industry.
Here's How it all started
Thank you for visiting my blog, hope you enjoy it! :)
