Support Touring Bands! Phosphorescent’s Lessons in Loss
I wanted to re-post the following as a service to Brooklyn's Phosphorescent and to offer my own op-ed addendum to this bizarre, developing story. Matthew Houck had his van and $40,000 worth of gear stolen on the eve of a national tour supporting his excellent new album, Here's To Taking It Easy (Dead Oceans) last Friday. Suddenly it all turned up two days later like nothing happened. I felt for Houck and his band, but just as happy that so much goodwill came his way as reported this week. It can't be overstated, yet again, the need to support your scene and not just in times of crisis.
Sadly, this stuff is nothing new — vans and gear and merch will forever be stolen from driveways and guarded garages all over the world as long as bands continue to tour and Brooklyn is no exception. Kids and road dogs alike will continue to trade tips as rites of passage — "keep one man in the van," "back it up to walls", "take what matters inside," "cover the thing with church stickers" and so on — and I hope that never ends.
It's all part of how we mythologize the road in the face of just how difficult its become if you're not a production like U2. Ted Leo had to clarify his own hilariously mis-reported "retirement" in an interview last week, and ended up touching on many of these frustrating points. Too much competition between bands and booking agents, with promoters fighting for attendance in their respected scenes. So much has been written about the touring lifestyle from far less warriors than Leo, but it's a fact that Houck spent years paying ahead and the outpouring of support shouldn't be read as a just another micro-financed miracle from sympathetic strangers. If bands stop touring this stops happening.
I'm sure his management and label were still scrabbling to replace much of what was lost by calling rental houses around New York, but that's the professional answer to a simple DIY problem. Musicians like Leo and Houck get by from the generosity and support of so many people and this was no different. However, it's tough not to see this as a mainstream peek into a dying underground scene.
The whole story reminded me of a book edited by Sara Jaffe formally of Erase Errata and Mia Clarke of Electrelane published last year called The Art of Touring (Yeti, 2009). It collects writing and photography from some notable names (Le Tigre, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Times New Viking, Devendra Banhart, etc), all dedicated to exactly what the title suggests. Jaffe ends her introduction with the following and I can't decide if it's a sentimental epitaph or a call to arms:
The Art of Touring is about the stops and starts, the brutal routines and incredible surprises, the celebrations and complaints that, sometimes despite ourselves, make us keep hitting the road
I'm glad Houck got his tools back. I just hope the cycle continues.
