Wake up. Coffee. Writing. (Or meetings.) Yoga. Coffee. Food. Soundcheck. Workout. Writing. Show. Food. Bed. That’s what my day looks like on a bus tour. It is healthy-ish, but not. It’s not sustainable for really long stints, even with days off. Obviously, this is just my schedule and everyone does it differently, but the “coffee,” “food,” and “show” are pretty universal. Days off aren’t quite enough and a little too much at the same time. You can’t fully rest up and most folks agree the day you come back lacks a little of the solid energy, and you wobble just a little, even if only
It's very interesting to get a peek into the life of a musician, touring or not. Thank you, Neko, for being generous with your revelations. I appreciate you as a person and as an artist.
I have wondered how you manage the sleeping part! I've had the healthy eating and various exercise regimens down for years, but not the equally important restorative sleep. Reading that you love sleeping in a moving vehicle helped me see how and where you're able to fit it in with everything else some days, along with the work, writing, responding to people responding to your writing and the ever-important time as an artist and a human to be still and watch and observe, which your writing and observations show you clearly do.
Two of the biggest disruptions in routine for me have been the two layoffs in my life and the switch from full-time work in an office to full-time work from home (work from anywhere, really). The former was initially shocking, then exhilarating and then demoralizing, destabilizing and anxiety producing - especially when I lived in a city with a very high cost of living. It's hard to let go and be free and create when you're more concerned about staying in your apartment or home, remaining highly employable, etc. "A Room of One's Own" and all that - it's a real thing.
I've been working remotely full time for my employer since March 11 - when we were all sent home after WHO declared COVID a public health emergency. My employer has left it to employees to decide whether to return to the office and how often.
A good percentage of my colleagues actually miss the structure and social interaction the office day provides. I don't. I quickly found my own structure or lack thereof to be more rewarding. I discovered birding, I now take periodic walks in my neighborhood, I spend a full lunch hour on a run, and I get to work from the East Coast where my partner now lives for weeks at a time. I wouldn't want to give any of this up for the rigid office structure.
But the entry and re-entry that you and a few others here describe is unique to your own situations and both illuminating and understandable.
Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your life on/off tour!
Thanks for the lovely invitation you always leave to share, I struggled with depression and anxiety for years and a lot of it was diabetes related. I have kicked insulin by dietary control but the routines I built to get through the get up work get home eat sleep and repeat. I started to use asmr and meditate and bring back writing and music to my life. When we get invited out it is my first instinct to see that as a no, an interruption. I have to balance because I'm a shitty friend otherwise. I guess deep in my heart I am a hermit.
I am a professor. Each beginning and end of a semester represents a re-entry of sorts. Figuring out how time works; how the days are structured. Each semester seems a different pace and each break creates a sense of floating through time without the rhythm of the semester. All this to say I feel what you have written in my body. Sending ❤️.
As a highly sensitive person -- I always enjoyed departing for work around 4:30 am. Seattle, a usually congested place, is quiet and void of other humans. I liken it to the feeling one has when exploring a museum recreation of an 'old world' town or the like. It almost feels fake without the traffic and overstimulation that massed bring to the day. One of my favorite feelings in the world!
I deal with change by compartmentalizing as much as possible and accepting the change the best I can...never easy. Moved to rural Montana to resolve this conflict :)
So relatable. I work writing contracts of various lengths, and usually there’s a month or two of unemployment between them once they end. I wish so badly I could make the time feel interesting and own it for myself to explore and create, but as a creature of habit and routine, I sort of shut down and get withdrawals for the structure I had previously felt cursed by. By the time I get through the depression that I always have when I go through changes and start to feel like I can enjoy myself, I inevitably get offered a new contract. 🙄
When I travel, I bring my own tea, tea pot, water boiler, and tea cup. That gets me to noonish without having to fret over breakfast and allows for my normal routine.
That tangle. Job like. But an artist. Takes a unique disposition. You are able to balance well. If one commits to art that structure becomes the compass.🙏🎶. And here we thought it was all about the show.
This is a great piece. I also love hearing about touring performers. It sounds romantic but I know it can be incredibly tedious and frustrating at times. What are some of the great thing about travelling through Kansas on a bus at 2am? You have told anecdotes about the joys of truck stops and fringe erotica publications. What are the joys now? Beyond Corn Nuts.
Hell. Id KILL to have a structure or a schedule to feel withdrawn from. Homeless 2.5 years now and life consists of pretty much a perpetual flatline. Sadly, my songwriting's dried up. Line or two here or there but nothing in full, but hell, at least I've my prior output from 1985 - on. Still proud of that. And can even still grin at select past efforts when rereading. Also have seen where I can do teeny rewrites and hone.
On early social security two months now, so hoping some small manner of financial stability will aid and assist to fan some embers of creativity,
Oh, and Spotify continues to be a godsend. Sampled most all music sites. But Spotify's Numero uno! Never ceases to amaze me how I can find my fave and truly obscure bands posted. Lost hundreds upon hundreds of albums in the eviction, so it's damn cool and calming to again experience endless multiple eargasms!
Very insightful and a great glimpse into touring life (as I could imagine). The discussion around schedule hit home for me. I am a creature of schedule and habit and I have found it to be healthy (most the time) for me. When the schedule gets thrown off life can feel shaky. That photo looks like either shipping docks in Seattle or Tacoma...
Wake up. Coffee, Drive to set, Shooting (or principal photography), Drinks/Dinner, Bed. Repeat. Sometimes we can sneak in a run, yoga, (or @ current location soak @ hot springs). Days off are for sleep & recovery, sometimes exploring the area, but never enough recovery & rejuvenation. It seems like a crew member or "talent" on a feature film has a similar lifestyle?
Last September I finally switched over to doing weekly time blocking at ten minute intervals (only 18 potentially awake hours each day), accepting that I wouldn't adhere strictly to it but that I needed to previsualize the flow of the days and always have something to fall back to in moments of daily uncertainty where stress would creep in. I was kind enough to myself to plan along the lines of where I needed to be when, not specifically stating how I would use that time.
Instead of always complaining about not having enough time to do x, y, or z, I preplan and track it all and adjust weekly if one area is lacking in accomplishment. Plus I do it 100% analog with colored pencils, so every day I get coloring breaks to chill out and status. My friends tell me that it sounds great only because I live alone and don't have to adapt to other people. Probably true.
After 13 years or so of unforced retirement, I have thought back over my life, and the thing that I miss most -- particularly about the Army for 23 or so years -- is the lack of an imposed structure. The Army was simple -- up early, work out hard, shower, grab coffee, work until lunch, work out again and maybe eat something going or coming, work until 6PM, go home. Rinse, sleep, repeat. Anything that disrupted that was hateful. Working for 14 or so years after retiring from the Army provided some structure although not so agreeable. Deciding that if worked any long for sociopaths and psychopaths I was going to explode led me stop chasing work; I developed a routine, but it was more subject to change. The years as a caregiver for my wife had a structure were largely like the nonworking retirement years. When she passed, I found myself in a new phase. Having to build structure while maybe taking more time to screw off...but, even that has patterns and something emerges.
It's possible that having to conform to a more or less externally imposed structure makes you more human. Not something I want to believe but I may also be a case study proving that thesis.
My work tends to swing between times when my days are all jammed with meetings, and times when I have time to do “real work”. When I’m in meeting mode I get very interrupt-driven, reactive: if I actually do find myself with a block of open time, it’s hard to use it to do something productive, I just kind of sit there waiting for the next interruption. Takes a while to switch gears.
It's very interesting to get a peek into the life of a musician, touring or not. Thank you, Neko, for being generous with your revelations. I appreciate you as a person and as an artist.
I have wondered how you manage the sleeping part! I've had the healthy eating and various exercise regimens down for years, but not the equally important restorative sleep. Reading that you love sleeping in a moving vehicle helped me see how and where you're able to fit it in with everything else some days, along with the work, writing, responding to people responding to your writing and the ever-important time as an artist and a human to be still and watch and observe, which your writing and observations show you clearly do.
Two of the biggest disruptions in routine for me have been the two layoffs in my life and the switch from full-time work in an office to full-time work from home (work from anywhere, really). The former was initially shocking, then exhilarating and then demoralizing, destabilizing and anxiety producing - especially when I lived in a city with a very high cost of living. It's hard to let go and be free and create when you're more concerned about staying in your apartment or home, remaining highly employable, etc. "A Room of One's Own" and all that - it's a real thing.
I've been working remotely full time for my employer since March 11 - when we were all sent home after WHO declared COVID a public health emergency. My employer has left it to employees to decide whether to return to the office and how often.
A good percentage of my colleagues actually miss the structure and social interaction the office day provides. I don't. I quickly found my own structure or lack thereof to be more rewarding. I discovered birding, I now take periodic walks in my neighborhood, I spend a full lunch hour on a run, and I get to work from the East Coast where my partner now lives for weeks at a time. I wouldn't want to give any of this up for the rigid office structure.
But the entry and re-entry that you and a few others here describe is unique to your own situations and both illuminating and understandable.
Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your life on/off tour!
Thanks for the lovely invitation you always leave to share, I struggled with depression and anxiety for years and a lot of it was diabetes related. I have kicked insulin by dietary control but the routines I built to get through the get up work get home eat sleep and repeat. I started to use asmr and meditate and bring back writing and music to my life. When we get invited out it is my first instinct to see that as a no, an interruption. I have to balance because I'm a shitty friend otherwise. I guess deep in my heart I am a hermit.
Safe travels Neko.
I am a professor. Each beginning and end of a semester represents a re-entry of sorts. Figuring out how time works; how the days are structured. Each semester seems a different pace and each break creates a sense of floating through time without the rhythm of the semester. All this to say I feel what you have written in my body. Sending ❤️.
As a highly sensitive person -- I always enjoyed departing for work around 4:30 am. Seattle, a usually congested place, is quiet and void of other humans. I liken it to the feeling one has when exploring a museum recreation of an 'old world' town or the like. It almost feels fake without the traffic and overstimulation that massed bring to the day. One of my favorite feelings in the world!
I deal with change by compartmentalizing as much as possible and accepting the change the best I can...never easy. Moved to rural Montana to resolve this conflict :)
So relatable. I work writing contracts of various lengths, and usually there’s a month or two of unemployment between them once they end. I wish so badly I could make the time feel interesting and own it for myself to explore and create, but as a creature of habit and routine, I sort of shut down and get withdrawals for the structure I had previously felt cursed by. By the time I get through the depression that I always have when I go through changes and start to feel like I can enjoy myself, I inevitably get offered a new contract. 🙄
When I travel, I bring my own tea, tea pot, water boiler, and tea cup. That gets me to noonish without having to fret over breakfast and allows for my normal routine.
That tangle. Job like. But an artist. Takes a unique disposition. You are able to balance well. If one commits to art that structure becomes the compass.🙏🎶. And here we thought it was all about the show.
This is a great piece. I also love hearing about touring performers. It sounds romantic but I know it can be incredibly tedious and frustrating at times. What are some of the great thing about travelling through Kansas on a bus at 2am? You have told anecdotes about the joys of truck stops and fringe erotica publications. What are the joys now? Beyond Corn Nuts.
Hell. Id KILL to have a structure or a schedule to feel withdrawn from. Homeless 2.5 years now and life consists of pretty much a perpetual flatline. Sadly, my songwriting's dried up. Line or two here or there but nothing in full, but hell, at least I've my prior output from 1985 - on. Still proud of that. And can even still grin at select past efforts when rereading. Also have seen where I can do teeny rewrites and hone.
On early social security two months now, so hoping some small manner of financial stability will aid and assist to fan some embers of creativity,
Oh, and Spotify continues to be a godsend. Sampled most all music sites. But Spotify's Numero uno! Never ceases to amaze me how I can find my fave and truly obscure bands posted. Lost hundreds upon hundreds of albums in the eviction, so it's damn cool and calming to again experience endless multiple eargasms!
Very insightful and a great glimpse into touring life (as I could imagine). The discussion around schedule hit home for me. I am a creature of schedule and habit and I have found it to be healthy (most the time) for me. When the schedule gets thrown off life can feel shaky. That photo looks like either shipping docks in Seattle or Tacoma...
Wake up. Coffee, Drive to set, Shooting (or principal photography), Drinks/Dinner, Bed. Repeat. Sometimes we can sneak in a run, yoga, (or @ current location soak @ hot springs). Days off are for sleep & recovery, sometimes exploring the area, but never enough recovery & rejuvenation. It seems like a crew member or "talent" on a feature film has a similar lifestyle?
Personally speaking, I felt release. And I fucking l love it! (Personally speaking) Thanks for asking. 💜
Last September I finally switched over to doing weekly time blocking at ten minute intervals (only 18 potentially awake hours each day), accepting that I wouldn't adhere strictly to it but that I needed to previsualize the flow of the days and always have something to fall back to in moments of daily uncertainty where stress would creep in. I was kind enough to myself to plan along the lines of where I needed to be when, not specifically stating how I would use that time.
Instead of always complaining about not having enough time to do x, y, or z, I preplan and track it all and adjust weekly if one area is lacking in accomplishment. Plus I do it 100% analog with colored pencils, so every day I get coloring breaks to chill out and status. My friends tell me that it sounds great only because I live alone and don't have to adapt to other people. Probably true.
After 13 years or so of unforced retirement, I have thought back over my life, and the thing that I miss most -- particularly about the Army for 23 or so years -- is the lack of an imposed structure. The Army was simple -- up early, work out hard, shower, grab coffee, work until lunch, work out again and maybe eat something going or coming, work until 6PM, go home. Rinse, sleep, repeat. Anything that disrupted that was hateful. Working for 14 or so years after retiring from the Army provided some structure although not so agreeable. Deciding that if worked any long for sociopaths and psychopaths I was going to explode led me stop chasing work; I developed a routine, but it was more subject to change. The years as a caregiver for my wife had a structure were largely like the nonworking retirement years. When she passed, I found myself in a new phase. Having to build structure while maybe taking more time to screw off...but, even that has patterns and something emerges.
It's possible that having to conform to a more or less externally imposed structure makes you more human. Not something I want to believe but I may also be a case study proving that thesis.
My work tends to swing between times when my days are all jammed with meetings, and times when I have time to do “real work”. When I’m in meeting mode I get very interrupt-driven, reactive: if I actually do find myself with a block of open time, it’s hard to use it to do something productive, I just kind of sit there waiting for the next interruption. Takes a while to switch gears.