While on tour you are bound to embrace the kindness of others and occasionally crash at a stranger's home. The very problem with that last sentence is the word crash. Often times when musicians stay at someone's home that word is exactly what comes to mind - things end up broken, the house ends up looking like a trainwreck and there ends up being a stiff competition between how many ants the musicians brought in compared to how many beer bottles they left behind. You probably know this is not cool. After the jump we are going to discuss some basic rules of staying at someone's house that everyone should know and understand if they don't want word to travel fast around the Internet that you are a terrible house guest.
Rise Above
Often times on tour you walk into someone's home and it isn't exactly clean. This is not an open invite to be as much of a slob as the owner or their roommates, it is a situation you need to be better than. Just because you see a beer bottle on the living room table when you walk in, does not mean you add to the collection. It means that someone that lives their will eventually have to clean it up, but does not want to clean up your mess. This theory can be applied even when you are staying somewhere nice. If you want to be invited back to stay in other homes and not see nasty comments about your filthy habits all over the Internet, it would be advisable to apply the philosophy to leave wherever you go a little neater than you came into it.
Walking The Walk
Odds are you have no money to contribute to making the place you are staying nicer and are probably depending on the kindness of others. This does not mean you can't contribute a little labor and kindness. Below are a few simple things you can do to that will repay your hosts for their kindness to you:
As much as I don't think I should have to point this stuff out, from years of having musicians stay at my home and studio I know that I do need to say these things.
Often times on tour you walk into someone's home and it isn't exactly clean. This is not an open invite to be as much of a slob as the owner or their roommates, it is a situation you need to be better than. Just because you see a beer bottle on the living room table when you walk in, does not mean you add to the collection. It means that someone that lives their will eventually have to clean it up, but does not want to clean up your mess. This theory can be applied even when you are staying somewhere nice. If you want to be invited back to stay in other homes and not see nasty comments about your filthy habits all over the Internet, it would be advisable to apply the philosophy to leave wherever you go a little neater than you came into it.
Walking The Walk
Odds are you have no money to contribute to making the place you are staying nicer and are probably depending on the kindness of others. This does not mean you can't contribute a little labor and kindness. Below are a few simple things you can do to that will repay your hosts for their kindness to you:
- If there are dishes in the sink at anytime, just do them. This will probably take 5-10 minutes of your life and the small step of kindness can generate you back much good grace. Whether it is your mess or not, it shows you appreciate someone going out of their way for you when you go out of your way for them.
- If someone offers you food, offer to cook it. If there is anyone in the band with cooking skills this can be great to allow your host to relax a bit.
As much as I don't think I should have to point this stuff out, from years of having musicians stay at my home and studio I know that I do need to say these things.
- If you see a dirty toilet and you think there is any chance it was caused by your filthy band of traveling retards, clean it up! As gross as it is, I have had major relationship wars over a band that left my bathroom in shambles every time they stayed with me. It's not worth that becoming a story that follows you and getting to be known as "the streak."
- Make your bed. If you are kind enough to be given a bed to sleep in, at least make it when you are done.
- If you are are drinking or partying make sure you ask where a garbage bag is in advance. Start putting your empties in there as you go and in the morning ask where you can put the mess you created. Your mommy won't be there to clean it up when you are driving to the next town, so take some responsibility for your mess.
- If someone makes you a meal, do not allow them to do the dishes, even if they threaten you with bodily harm.
- If you are allowed to shower, ask where to put dirty towels. The floor is not the correct answer.
- If you are told to be quiet because someone needs to sleep, treat this as if you will be shot if you disobey it. I can't count how many times I have heard people complain about a certain band because of this. Your reputation isn't worth laughing loud and hard at another fart joke at 4 AM.
- If you make coffee throw out the grinds.
- If you make food, grab a sponge and wipe down wherever you made a mess.
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