Leaked Biffy Clyro rider reveals rock star excess

mike_l

Paul_C said:

mmmm, Mousteriser. . .

You're not supposed to eat it.

 

@-)

IanSavage

digitalscream said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

Seems fairly tame to me for a band at that level - some booze, some decent scoff and some accommodation...no mention of m and ms...

The M&Ms story actually makes a lot of sense when you understand why they did it - it's because they had some very specific safety requirements regarding the stage setup, so it was a test to see whether the venue's staff had read the detail of the rider properly.

I suspect that's what the 'single red apple' thing is about; it's almost a tradition now, something obscure but obvious-upon-entering-dressing-room which if present puts your mind at rest that the organisers have read the whole rider. 

I was once asked when tech-ing a Courtney Pine gig to pre-loosen the lids on the couple of dozen bottles of water that were distributed around the stage; sounded rock-star-wankerish, when I saw how much sweat he and his band put out it became totally obvious why. 

RocknRollDave

Who pays for the rider?

digitalscream

The Foos' one is a great example - look here

Note rule #4 in the instructions.

holnrew

RocknRollDave;394105" said:

Who pays for the rider?

The taxpayer. PC immigration gone mad.

Loobs

digitalscream;394113" said:

The Foos' one is a great example - look here

Note rule #4 in the instructions.

If this is real...

On the other hand, I don't find the BC one particularly excessive.

mike257

Hardly shocking for an internationally successful band at "massive festival headlining" level to request adequate catering and facilities for their touring crew.  Specifies for up to 40 people.  Off the top of my head there'll probably be at least: The three band members; two additional musicians; at least three (maybe more) instrument/backline techs; FOH and monitor engineers plus any additional sound crew; lighting, video and pyro crew; tour manager; production manager - that's easily 20+ people in the touring party without even having to think too hard about it.  Not exactly like they're dragging loads of "hangers on" around with them!

RocknRollDave said:

Who pays for the rider?

The promoter pays for the rider.  They're the ones making all the big money out of the extortionate ticket prices so I wouldn't lose any sleep over it

lustycourtier

IanSavage said:

digitalscream said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

 

I suspect that's what the 'single red apple' thing is about; it's almost a tradition now, something obscure but obvious-upon-entering-dressing-room which if present puts your mind at rest that the organisers have read the whole rider. 

 

Correct. If the brand of Chewing gum or apple isnt correct or missed off the Gluten free food might not be etc.

imalone

40 people is a bit surprising to those of us not in the business, BC are big, but not massive. The numbers aside, once you realise they're touring and this is what it actually takes to keep the crew alive and fairly presentable it makes sense.

What do all these people have against Evian though? (I see the Foos ban it too.)

lustycourtier

http://www.eonline.com/news/58244/why-do-stars-hate-evian-water 

holnrew

Evian is bland and boring, as well as expensive. I go for Tesco Value if I ever need water in a hurry, 17p for 2 litres, and it is from a spring too.

RocknRollDave

mike257 said:

RocknRollDave said:

Who pays for the rider?

The promoter pays for the rider.  They're the ones making all the big money out of the extortionate ticket prices so I wouldn't lose any sleep over it

Oh no, I wouldn't either. Just curious, is all.
I had imagined it was the band that paid for it all, but it makes more sense that the promoter picks up the tab.


I don't get why people are so surprised by riders..If you were having a load of guests over and you had never met them before, had no idea how many people they were bringing with them, what they ate etc AND they were performing and needed specific equipment...I think you'd probably want to have it all written down in pedantic detail rather than them just turn up and you go "I had no IDEA you needed a drum kit...or that there were 50 of you, I've only bought in two packs of sarnies from M&S and a multipack of Wotsits..."

digitalscream

RocknRollDave said:

Oh no, I wouldn't either. Just curious, is all.
I had imagined it was the band that paid for it all, but it makes more sense that the promoter picks up the tab.


I don't get why people are so surprised by riders..If you were having a load of guests over and you had never met them before, had no idea how many people they were bringing with them, what they ate etc AND they were performing and needed specific equipment...I think you'd probably want to have it all written down in pedantic detail rather than them just turn up and you go "I had no IDEA you needed a drum kit...or that there were 50 of you, I've only bought in two packs of sarnies from M&S and a multipack of Wotsits..."

Aye...and I'm guessing they've all come across the horrors of cut-price less-than-£1-a-head catering that are out there. Touring puts a lot of strain on the body, and shit food just makes it worse. From a personal perspective, though, I'm just very grateful when a venue surprises us with sandwiches and a beer or two.

Talking of which...has anybody here noticed an increase in the number of venues who offer bands free beer on arrival without prompting (in addition to any fee that's agreed)? Our last four or five gigs have involved either a crate of beer or at least two or three beers per member for every band on the bill. I questioned it at the last gig and the reply was just, "You guys aren't exactly getting paid the earth, so it's just a little something to show we appreciate the effort you put in."

RocknRollDave

digitalscream said:

RocknRollDave said:

Oh no, I wouldn't either. Just curious, is all.
I had imagined it was the band that paid for it all, but it makes more sense that the promoter picks up the tab.


I don't get why people are so surprised by riders..If you were having a load of guests over and you had never met them before, had no idea how many people they were bringing with them, what they ate etc AND they were performing and needed specific equipment...I think you'd probably want to have it all written down in pedantic detail rather than them just turn up and you go "I had no IDEA you needed a drum kit...or that there were 50 of you, I've only bought in two packs of sarnies from M&S and a multipack of Wotsits..."

Aye...and I'm guessing they've all come across the horrors of cut-price less-than-£1-a-head catering that are out there. Touring puts a lot of strain on the body, and shit food just makes it worse.

Indeed. And that of course extends out to every other part of the rider - including the sound system and any rented backline etc - This is not petty creature comforts, this is essentials.

guitarfishbay

I always find the language in such articles disappointingly loaded towards the repeating theme of 'these people might have more stuff than you, are you sure you're ok with this?  It might make you feel better about yourself to be angry about this happening (and it might increase our ad revenue if you send it to other people).  While you're at it, you might as well assume this is representative of all people you might associate with this profession etc'

This paragraph makes it hard for me to take it seriously.

"Despite being a three-piece, the band, their family and entourage wanted showering facilities for 40 people, 90 towels and around 60 items of furniture, including five glass-fronted fridges."

The use of 'despite' makes you think 'oh these guys are taking the mickey'.  So if there are 40 people, 37 of which have literally no purpose (especially the touring crew and family members) why aren't they all just sharing one towel, and one chair like normal people would?

So when you get to this section.  Are you supposed to get annoyed at them wanting a hygienically prepared breakfast?  Damn them and wanting food prepared in such a manner, damn them!  

"Catering requirements included the provision of a “good chef” to make “hygienically prepared” breakfast, lunch and dinner on site, served on china plates and placed on table linen."

"Among the food requests was “one bright, shiny, red apple. Perhaps a Pink Lady”."

Everyone knows Pink Lady apples are one of the most expensive types!  1 high quality apple per 40 people is an outrageous ratio.

--

It just feels like a non story to me, as discussed already by other TFB members.  I just felt it might make me feel better to get annoyed at the annoying article, for a different reason than they intended.

... wait a minute!? 

 

imalone

holnrew said:

Evian is bland and boring, as well as expensive. I go for Tesco Value if I ever need water in a hurry, 17p for 2 litres, and it is from a spring too.

Was just surprised by a universal hatred for it. Actually, by banning 'local spring water' the Foos are missing out on Ballygowan, which has got to be some of the best.

RocknRollDave said:
AND they were performing and needed specific equipment...I think you'd probably want to have it all written down in pedantic detail rather than them just turn up and you go "I had no IDEA you needed a drum kit...

Have heard Will Champion of Coldplay say in an interview that he doesn't actually own a drumkit, there's always just one there. (When asked if he needed one for practice he said something like, "200 shows a year.")

lustycourtier

I remeber TGP mocking John Mayer (I think) for requesting Nail clippers, files and Sports socks. Clippers arent exactly something jet set people can carry in hand luggage....

digitalscream

guitarfishbay said:

"Catering requirements included the provision of a “good chef” to make “hygienically prepared” breakfast, lunch and dinner on site, served on china plates and placed on table linen."

See, this is a perfect example of what these things are usually about (and the Foos' rider is more explicit about this) - it's not about the fact that they want fancy china plates and some expensive tablecloth. It's about the fact that they don't want knackered, chipped crockery (which are a bacteria hazard) etc. If you specify what you don't want, though, you'll end up with promoters looking for creative ways to save money at your expense. The only way to make sure you don't get crap is to be very, very specific about what you do want.

Perfectly reasonable, IMO.

guitarfishbay

digitalscream said:

guitarfishbay said:

"Catering requirements included the provision of a “good chef” to make “hygienically prepared” breakfast, lunch and dinner on site, served on china plates and placed on table linen."

See, this is a perfect example of what these things are usually about (and the Foos' rider is more explicit about this) - it's not about the fact that they want fancy china plates and some expensive tablecloth. It's about the fact that they don't want knackered, chipped crockery (which are a bacteria hazard) etc. If you specify what you don't want, though, you'll end up with promoters looking for creative ways to save money at your expense. The only way to make sure you don't get crap is to be very, very specific about what you do want.

Perfectly reasonable, IMO.

Yeah exactly.

I just read it as 'we'd like to be able to have nice and edible sit down meals between going to work'.  

Just like most other people would choose to do.

joeyowen

They have more money than most of us, they are clearly wankers