Web-Exclusive: It's Called The Music Business with Damiera
Damiera vocalist/guitarist Dave Raymond tells us how to get in the van and leave the trailer behind.
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On a recent 10-week tour of the U.S., we got the vibe from most bands that pulling a trailer is expected these days. Well, I’m here to say, "NTR: No Trailer Required." Damiera drive a 2004 Ford E-350 15-passenger van, carrying two Gibson Les Paul guitars, two Gibson SG guitars, two Fender basses, two cable boxes, a Diezel VH4, a Mesa Dual Rectifier, an Ampeg SVT-Classic, a four-piece DW drum set, cymbal bag, hardware bag, 10-space production rack, two oversized Mesa 4×12 Rectifier cabs, two (yes, two) Ampeg 8×10 bass cabs and three bins of merch. Yet we have plenty of room and save a lot of money. You can, too. |
MONEY MATTERS
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MAKING SPACE
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FREE AND CLEAR
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"Pulling a trailer definitely kills your miles per gallon, and in a lot of circumstances, it can be more dangerous. Also, a trailer is a dead giveaway to police and thieves that you are a band. We’ve taken out all but two bench seats and built a ‘loft’ that most gear goes under or behind, and our bags ride on top of. When we sleep in the van, we have one person sleep on the loft, two people get bench seats, and one of us sleeps in the shotgun seat (not fun, we switch it up to be fair)."
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"We have been touring with a van and a fairly small-sized trailer for three years now. We store almost all of our gear in the trailer, and it greatly supports our health and sanity to have more space to stretch out and relax in the van. You can, and will, frequently encounter parking difficulties when you gig with a trailer-San Francisco is the worst-but fortunately for us, our bass player is a ‘trailer maneuvering mastermind.’"
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"You will definitely save a lot of gas and money by not hauling a trailer. We’ve done many of our tours without one. You’ll get very good at playing Tetris with your equipment in the back of your van and making everything work. On the other hand, the extra room a trailer provides bumps up the comfort level quite a bit. So the issue is a toss up and depends on the band, but it definitely can work touring without a trailer."
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"You don’t want a trailer that is too big, because your transmission will go if your van can’t handle the weight of the trailer. Another important note for new touring bands: There’s a learning curve for driving and parking the van, especially in tight places in the city. Give yourself time to properly navigate driving and parking the van with a trailer and without. Last but not least, do not pick up hitchhikers. The last one we picked up was packing heat. But that’s another story…"
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