What’s a day in the life of Bartley McGowan like?

Bartley McGowan: First off, it’s usually long. I’m often the last to go to bed and the first to wake up. My day usually starts out by having our bus driver Steve call me about 15 minutes before we get to the venue. Crawl out of my bunk and get my bearings. Hop out when we get there and help get the bus parked where it will usually be for the day - try to get shore power (basically plugging the bus in so it can run the a/c, fridges, lights, tv, etc), if not we have a generator on that can run all that. Go in to the club and meet the local production folks that will be helping us out for the day.

My next job is to get Steve and any other band guys to the hotel. The driver has usually been driving all night, so it’s important to make sure he gets an early check in and gets a nice quiet room to rest during the day. Once I check in a few rooms, I am back at the venue checking with my production manager Sean to make sure things are going smooth on his end. He is the man for all things to do with the gear, the stage, and the killer sound the band has all night. My main duties are to get the band from show to show, get paid, and make sure everybody is as comfortable as possible and has what they need to enjoy their time away from home. While Sean is busy getting the stage and sound ready, I am making sure all our hospitality has arrived so the band has all the chips and dip and blue m&m’s they will need.

By around 5 or 6, the crew has gotten everything ready for soundcheck and I then round the band up from the bus, hotel, etc to bring them in for soundcheck. During this time I usually have a security meeting with the head of security to let them know what our photo, recording, video policies are and generally how the band likes things to go. After soundcheck, everyone is pretty much on their own to get dinner, hang out etc. My next duty then is to get the band on stage. I usually give Robert a list of all his old songs and some recent set lists about 30-45 minutes before they go on, so he can write a rough list of songs he might pull out that night. I then hand out the in ear monitors to all the guys and check with Sean to see when we are ready to go. When Sean and the band are ready, I walk them to the stage and they are good to go.

During the show, I usually stand by my guitar tech BJ to help with any unforseen emergencies, etc. I am the least technical member of the crew, but an extra hand is helpful if something goes wrong and I try to help in any way I can. During a quiet time in the set, I try to sneak off to the production office to settle up the show, so that’s one less thing I won’t have to do at the end of the night. After the show, I get the band back to the bus or their room and check to see if anyone needs anything - make sure we have some good food to eat after the show - and usually leave them to themselves. I then head to the merch area to settle up with the merch people, grab the merch and bring it out to the trailer.

Once Sean and the crew have loaded our trailer back up, I make sure Steve has gotten back ok. Doublecheck to make sure the band is all on the bus and it’s on our way to the next town and back to the bunk for a few hours of shut eye. The rocking of the road lulls me to sleep and it’s back up in the am the next day to do it all over again.

Photo courtesy of Red Light Management

Can you give RRFB fans an idea of the preparation that goes into every show?

Bartley: It really all depends on the type of show. If it’s a show where we are out with a Clapton or a Santana, then we are just an opener and we play from the exact same time each night. Tours like that run on clockwork and all the preparation was done weeks in advance. For tours like that, we usually have a tech day the day before the tour starts, where all the bands are there and we all show up with our gear and figure out how it’s going to work each night - where drums are going to be staged, how much time it’s gonna take for changeovers, etc. After a few shows, all the kinks are worked out, and it’s just routine after that.

The real preparation comes in before the tour where I have to arrange flights for 9 other people all living in different parts of the country, secure a bus and a driver we like for the tour, book hotels that are close to the venue, make tour books (which are basically schedules for what is going on every day of the tour), print out directions to all the venues and copies of all the contracts, etc. I am in constant contact with Sean to make sure we are always on the same page in terms of the plan and what we are going to do for days off, etc.

For example, in August and September we were basically in the middle of two tours at once. We were on the Music Builds tour with Third Day, Switchfoot, and Jars of Clay from Thursday through Sunday, but we were also doing our own shows sponsored by Bud Light where we were in a college town once a week. So we had to often times fly out right after the Sunday show to another town for our own show. Play our own show. Get the band home for a couple days rest and then meet up with the tour again. It was a little hectic.

Are there any surprises in store for the Halloween gig at the Charlottesville Pavilion?

Bartley: I don’t know yet. I did just book tickets for Calvin Cooke and Aubrey Ghent to fly in for the show. They are a couple of “sacred steel” players who came up in the House of God church where Robert learned to play. They have been playing the “sacred steel” longer than Robert has been alive, so it’ll be a real treat for the Cville crowd to have not one, but three steels jamming at once up there. Plus, it means your average RRFB fan will probably get to hear some tunes from the new album that the band has not really been playing with out Cooke and Ghent there. They did a lot of shows with us over the summer, but it’s always a great show when they pop up. Plus it’s Halloween, so who knows what else Robert has up his sleeve?

What is one thing about Robert Randolph that most of his fans would be surprised to know?

Bartley: I bet a lot of them don’t realize what a spiritual man he is. So many people associate his music with crazy sets at Bonnaroo or playing his own wild shows in packed clubs with girls dancing on the stage that they may not always hear just how positive a message his music has. He isn’t just about playing and getting the crowd going. He wants them to feel like they are part of something empowering when they come to a show - akin to the feeling one might get from church, but with more dancing and singing involved I guess.

I also understand you run and own Wahooptie Taxi Service in Charlottesville, VA. What is the Wahooptie, and how do you juggle everything?

Bartley: Wahooptie is a taxi and shuttle service that myself and my partner Joseph Mills started about a year ago. Both of us have worked in the music business for much of our adult lives (He is the Operations Manager at the Pavilion), so when we were both working a show at Starr Hill, we got to talking about an idea I had for a new kind of cab company and a few months later we got it all started with a 93 Lincoln limo I bought off a punk band that used it as their tour vehicle. We are just like any other cab company, but all our vehicles are painted wild colors and are more fun than your standard cab. They all feature bangin’ sound systems, tv screens, ipod capabilities etc. We do your average rides around town as well as private rentals for wine tours, weddings, bachelor/bachelorette parties, airport trips, football games - whatever you can think of.



It’s tough to juggle it all, but our busy times for both of us (the summer) is when the students are gone, so we have found a way to make it work so far. I try to drive more when I am home to make up for the time I was away and we have a few other drivers on hand to pick up the slack when we are busy with our day jobs. Check us out at www.wahooptie.com or give us a call at 434.249.TAXI

Want to see Robert Randolph & the Family Band on Friday? Now is your chance. Check out the details here.