When you’re a touring band of as many as Family and Friends, you might want to have road life down to a science. This Athens, Georgia based troupe of seven makes full, joyous indie rock with the folk chug of the Head and the Heart and playful percussion that conjures up the likes of Paul Simon’s Graceland – emotive, free and perfect for the summers of our adult life where it’s not all ice cream and beachside romance, but more complex experiences layered with moody downs and the occasional freewheeling sugar high. Check out their touring essentials below, and catch them at Musician’s Corner tomorrow.
– Team L/S
Nashville Five by Family & Friends :::
Performing music, the open road, and sharing memories across the vast expanse of this floating rock with some of your closest friends while making new ones all the same…the often-romanticized notion of being in a touring band is as American a dream as apple pie. It really doesn’t get much better than this. That being said, while an open-mind and welcoming attitude is important when on the road, it’s equally so to be as prepared as possible. Thus, we’ve compiled an in-depth, exhaustive list of the top 5(ish) touring essentials we’ve found Family And Friends can’t do without.
1) Two Drummers — If you are anything like us, you can hardly keep up with your drummers whereabouts at any given time (especially during load-in or load-out). So to head this problem off at the pass, we bring two along with us everywhere we go so that they can keep up with each other. Also, if we leave one of them behind then we always have a back up!
2) Game Boys — In the 21st century with the Internet at our fingertips, it is easy to sometimes forget what real technology the 90’s brought to our lives. So while Alejandro has a soft spot for Clash of Clans on his iPhone, Ryan relies on his Game Boy to help him pass his time in the van while he isn’t sleeping or eating ice cream.
3) The Perfect Playlist — Luckily since Alejandro has an iPhone and Spotify, it is extremely easy for us to pull up different playlists and music on the road. Our perfect playlist that we have found fits every occasion from somber, sleepy car rides in the rain to exciting cruising in the sunset laughing together at Tuna’s hilarious dad-joke-comedy is a never-ending loop of Los Lonely Boys’ Heaven. There is nothing that brings people closer than the resounding chorus of “¡Vamanos!” Or simply asking Tuna, “¿How far is Heaven?”
4) Lotion — Sometimes after a long, hard day of playing with your best friends you are sitting up at night thinking about all of the great times you have had together. The night wears thin, and you find yourself imagining other things. This is when you realize, it has been about 2 whole days since you last lathered your hands in lotion! Sure, it is simple to forget the small things like this, but desperate times call for desperate measures! You grab out the Sea Island Cotton hand lotion that your mom gave you before you left for tour, and lather it on thick. Make sure you rub it in deep so that you don’t get scaly, ashy looking skin.
5) Cold Brew Pitcher — Since we all work in coffee shops, we tend to get cranky when we go without our caffeine. While you are on the road you have to make sure to be prepared to go long stretches of driving without passing a single coffee shop, and gas station coffee will make you just as sad inside as Where the Red Fern Grows. To head this situation off at the pass, we bring along a cold-brew pitcher and make sure that we always have fresh iced coffee to sip on.
Lockeland Springsteen 
Haha! What a fun band. Seem like a bunch of fun loving people.