TASTE OF CHAOS - Idiot Pilot Blog #2: Visions of Disorder/The Tour Van

And, of course, the most enjoyable pastime that you will always have handy is the conversation of those around you. On a truly grueling drive there will be points when you need to rely on each other to keep awake and thinking straight. Eventually, road games will start to sound like a better idea than you ever thought possible.

Now that you have something to do with yourself, keep these things in mind. Everyone needs to sleep at some point, so regardless of how cramped everyone is make room for at least one person to attempt snoozing (preferably a few people at a time, actually). Make sure to rotate at a set interval of time, and it is often good to organize who is going to drive in what order very far in advance, so that when 4 in the morning rolls around and everyone wants to kill each other you can be saved an argument. Most importantly, if it is at night you must always have someone stay up with the driver. Never let someone sit up all by themselves and try to stay awake.

But the only way to really prepare is simply to go out there and do it. If you are in a band with your friends, regardless of how successful, I implore you to hit the road. You will probably encounter drives unlike anything you have ever done, through mountains and snow and deserts with a broken air conditioner, but every minute will be worth it. Not only will you spread your music far and wide, you will create memories that will stick with you for many times longer than one outrageous drive.

Photo by Paul Turpin