If you are in the habit of losing your phone, or have nosey friends, don’t save contacts ‘of interest’ under their full names or band names. On the flipside, it’s a pain to have a phone full of ‘Dave’s ‘Danny’s etc. find a system that’s discrete and secure but makes sense to you. Also password protect your phone, don’t lose it, and back up your contacts.

A good hostess should always make visitors feel at home in her hometown or country and with that in mind, here’s a list of boring, but important phone numbers and information you should have saved in your phone

1. Cabs the main licensed cab company in your town, an affordable, reliable minicab firm, and in London, a private car company
2. Bars know which bars in your town have a late license (you won’t be starting your after party ‘til at least midnight), know which ones have a cover charge, know what the music policy is. It’s a good idea to have the following options - somewhere you can get trashed and dance, somewhere you can sit and drink and hold a conversation, somewhere cheap but not skeazy, somewhere the band can drink without being recognised. Don’t just look this up, party at these places.
3. Food This is paramount - boys must eat. Almost constantly. When a male’s blood sugar drops he gets grumpy and emotional. He will never connect this with low blood sugar so it’s up to you to gently point him in the direction of pizza. Trust us. Have the numbers, vague menus and prices and closing times of as many varied and reputable take aways as possible.
4. Shops For American bands, know where Topman/Topshop, Uniqulo and any other British fashion stores are, does your town have a good skate/street boutique? useful. For essentials and basics: Primark (socks, underwear, skinny jeans), American Apparel (shirts, hoodies), electronics stores (PC World, Maplin for laptop cables), phone stores (for chargers, broken iPhones), Boots (toothpaste, other intimate items), a good guitar store (leads, strings important stuff), a large supermarket (cheap alcohol, road snacks, late night *stuff* runs). Know the address and closing times.
5. Miscellaneous karaoke bars, free museums, tourist attractions, bowling alleys,  things that might break the monotony.
6. 118118 , Google maps: know how to get the most out of these services.

If you want to be a true control freak, you should hold this information for all the cities on the UK touring circuit (flip open your music magazine of choice to the live ads and figure out which these are). Heck, go nuts; extend it to mainland Europe. You never know when you’ll find yourself partying in Amsterdam, Paris, Hamburg…

Life on the road is a wonderful thing. Being chauffeured around, visiting new places, meeting new people – you can’t beat it. Whether you’re aboard a luxury tour bus or a in the back of the van, in LA or London, the touring experience is one we would recommend to anyone. Don’t be fooled by the glamour though, because like everything in the world, it has its ups and downs.

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