Privately owned and licensed separately from the trailer, maybe? It was a single axle day cab if that mattered. Not something I ever had to deal with. This was in the late 70s/early 80s if it mattered. I drove it all of the time picking up and dropping off equipment, never had a problem.
-D > On Jul 5, 2020, at 5:13 PM, Allan Streib via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > How did you drive a semi as a high-schooler? I thought you had to be 21 for a > CDL? > > Allan > > Dan Penoff via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> writes: > >> While it has been many years, in the summer in junior/senior years of high >> school and later before I was in tech school I used to drive a semi with a >> Landoll trailer carrying a 350kW generator set and cables to be used by the >> various tours as they went around the Midwest. A lot of the venues back in >> that time didn’t have adequate house power to run their whole show, so they >> would run the sound off house power and used our generator for lighting. >> >> I would often follow a given show for a week at a time, sometimes more, as >> they toured around the Midwest. We also had a standing gig with Market >> Square Area and the Clay Courts in Indianapolis for the same thing, so in >> some cases I would be doing it during the rest of the year locally, too. >> >> I was first in, last out. For a typical 8:00 pm show I had to be there no >> later than 8:00 am, sound check was usually around 2:00-3:00, then cool my >> heels until the show started. A lot of times we wouldn’t have everything >> struck at the prior venue until 2:00 - 3:00 am, which meant I might have to >> high tail it a couple hundred miles to the next venue, like maybe Louisville >> to Columbus or St. Louis, for example. Longer distances usually meant a >> travel day in between. Lots of sleeping in the truck. >> >> Some of the artists I toured with: >> >> Rush >> Fleetwood Mac >> Don Henley >> Stevie Nicks >> Kiss >> Foreigner >> Phil Collins >> Def Leppard >> Dire Straits >> AC/DC >> Journey >> REO Speedwagon >> Pat Benatar >> ZZ Top >> Heart >> Toto >> Kenny Loggins >> Steve Winwood >> >> I’m sure there were others, but these are the ones I recall. All I can say >> is that while it was fun, sort of, it made me realize what a crappy way to >> make a living it was. I had to carry a firearm because I always got paid in >> cash by the road manager before the end of the show, so I always had large >> sums of cash on me until the morning when I could deposit it if I could find >> the right bank where we were. I was not union, so at the union (IATSE) halls >> I had to have a union member “assigned” to me that made all the final >> connections and I pretty much just flipped the switch and made sure all was >> well. Once that was done I was free to hit the buffet if there was one for >> the crew. >> >> My recollections about artists are as such: >> >> Rush was the absolute best band to work for. They had a dedicated crew that >> toured exclusively with them, some of them having been with the band for >> some time. Food was excellent and they (Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson) were >> always very nice and came by before the show to thank everyone. Molson and >> cold shrimp were some of the regular things on the after show buffet, and >> they always had a “to-go” kit of food and goodies for everyone on the crew >> after things were broken down/struck. A good breakfast was out on the >> morning of the show, too, with lots of fresh fruit and good things to eat. >> >> Don Henley’s entourage was the worst. That was one of those “avert your eyes >> when the “artist” is moving through the wings and backstage.” A real douche. >> No buffet or food, a pile of order-out pizza and cooler full of generic soda >> was all they would put out, and it was rarely enough to feed everyone. >> >> Keep in mind that food is always provided by the venue/promoter and costs >> the act a minimal amount of money, if any, as it’s factored into the cost of >> the show and spelled out in the rider in advance. That’s the contract that >> says “no brown M&M’s.” So if a tour does a crappy job on food for the crew, >> it’s on the tour, not the venue. >> >> Understand that as a crew member you rarely see the talent. If you do, >> they’re moving through backstage from point A to point B with their >> entourage around them, so you often can’t even see them if you tried. The >> only ones I recall circulating backstage were Rush, ZZ Top and I think Kenny >> Loggins. They would often hang around and chat a little bit after the sound >> check. As I mentioned before, Rush would come around and thank everyone >> before the show. >> >> I really don’t recall a lot of details, as it was 40 years ago, but those >> are the ones that stand out. The rest were pretty decent because they >> recognized the value of keeping the help happy. It was still a crappy gig, >> but I got paid pretty well for the time, I think $200/day in cash. >> >> -D “Yeah, I’m with the band, baby” >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
