Project Description
Interview with
Stage Technician and Tour Manager: Tom Kopecek
(Gotye, George Maple, Vera Blue, Gang of Youths, Mick Fleetwood, Cat Power and more)
Interviewer: Jemma Bird
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In the past, AMNplify has spoken to an array of incredible artists that bring us our favourite music, play our favourite shows and headline our favourite festivals. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the copious amounts of work that goes on behind the scenes.
Amnplify Interviewer Jemma Bird had the chance to speak to some of the hardest working individuals we know and gain a BIRD’S EYE VIEW of what their role in the industry is really like.
Stage Technician, Tour Manager, Company Owner and All-round Legend, Tom Kopecek, has worked in the music business for over 14 years. Tom had his start in the music industry working for instrument distributor Music Link where he ran the artist relations department sponsoring drummers for Pearl Drums and Zildijan cymbals. His first tour was with Dallas Crane for Big Day Out in 2004 and has since worked as a stage technician or production manager specialising in drums, guitar and play back for Cat Power, Gotye, Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, The Rubens, Holy Holy, MØ, The Preatures, The Veronicas, and more.
In the last 5 years, Tom has progressed as a Tour Manager for artists such as Gang of Youths, Vera Blue, George Maple, Mick Fleetwood’s Blues Band, The Veronica’s and The Preatures.
Tom also runs a merchandise company and case company, Tsunami Protection – that is widely recognised as the leading manufacturer of injection moulded equipment cases and are available for purchase HERE. Check out our interview with Tom below where he talks the highs and lows of touring, the specifics of his many roles and how he came to work with your favourite artists.
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What made you want to pursue a career in the music industry?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up in a musical family, I knew early that it was the career I wanted to pursue. I luckily landed a job at a company called MusicLink that opened many doors for me.
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Your first introduction to the music industry was working in artist relations at instrument distribution company called Music Link. In 2004, you began working as a stage technician specialising in drum teching. What does your role as a stage tech actually entail?
Essentially stage techs are there to make sure that the show runs as smoothly as possible, ensuring that the artist can walk out on stage knowing that everything is working as best it can.
This includes setting up the band’s equipment, servicing and fixing instruments before the show and doing repairs on the fly such as changing broken guitar strings, faulty cables, faulty amps, etc.
The stage tech will also help load the show in and out, help drive the band or band’s gear from show to show as well as helping out other crew members if required.
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Is there any difference in your role as a stage tech now compared to 2004 with updated technology etc?
Technology has changed the way bands tour a lot in the past 6 or 7 years. The major difference is the production software (such as Ableton or Logic) that has helped bands produce their music in new ways, which in turn has changed how they present their music live.
A lot of bands tour with playback systems now that recreate sounds that they’ve built in the studio that can’t necessarily be played with a live instrument.
As a tech I’ve had to learn the ins and outs of this software to be able to troubleshoot any issues that may arise during a show.
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In general, how many stage technicians are hired for a tour?
It depends on the size of the band as well as band’s budget, but most bands will hire just the one tech to do all the instruments with the primary focus being on guitars. I’ve toured with bands however that have hired up to 3 techs.
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Casual mid-tour 7/11 Hangs with Tom and George Maple
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Does your role differ when you are working at a festival or support slot opposed to a headlining tour?
It’s quite a different role when you’re on a support slot or festival tour, as you have to pretty much just “throw and go”. Most festivals or support slots give you about 20-25 minutes to set the entire stage and get everything tested before the band walks out. You do get ample time backstage to set up drums, keys and guitars but have very limited time once you get the stage.
On a headline tour, time is much more of a luxury as you generally have a few hours to set up the stage, test everything and dial in sounds before the band sound checks.
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In the last 5 years you have progressed into tour management from your years of experience on the road. You learnt from some of the finer points of tour managing from some of the industry’s best. Can you share some of these with us? How does your role as a TM differ from stage production?
Tour managing is a completely different beast to being a stage tech as you work a lot closer with the band, band’s management, travel agents and venue managers.
For me the key to being a good tour manager is to remain calm no matter what crisis is happening around you.
A lot of things can go wrong when you’re on the road such as flight cancellations, vehicle breakdowns, equipment not working or band or crew members getting sick or injured. I always try to have a plan B, C and D for any issues that arise. If the band sees that you’re stressed, then they will also get stressed which won’t help the situation. .
Another finer point I learnt was that each person that you’re touring with has a different personality and requires different levels of attention. Some band/crew members can fend for themselves and you don’t really have to worry about them being late for a lobby call or being at the venue on time and some need some extra coaxing…
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As a TM, you have previously toured with Gang of Youths, Vera Blue, Mick Fleetwood, The Veronicas, The Preatures and most recently with George Maple. How did you come to work with these artists? Is the process of being hired as a TM or stage tech consistent between each artists?
Every tour comes about in different ways. The most common way for me to be hired, is being recommended to a band by a manager or crew person. Sometimes I’ll meet a band on the road and click with them and we’ll work together down the line and sometimes I’ll reach out directly to a band that I really want to work with.
The best way of getting more work is to be good at your job and be courteous to everyone. Sometimes the support band of the band you’re tour managing or teching for, will end up getting big themselves and will call on you when they can afford to take crew.
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Does your role differ much between artists, specifically between those who have different sized audiences or different budgets for crew?
Yeah it definitely does differ a lot. Touring is very expensive so bands that have less budget will try to get crew members that can take on multiple roles.
The majority of tours that I tour manage in Australia; I’ll also be the stage tech on. It can get difficult dividing your time between both roles and I don’t think that you can do both roles perfectly at once but it’s the way the industry has gone.
When I’m touring with a band that has got better budgets, I can focus on doing that one role perfectly.
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Tom with Mick Fleetwood and Manager Blain Clausen
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What advice would you give an up and coming band when looking for a tour manager?
Pick a tour manager that you respect and most of all trust. A lot of bands will initially get their friends to tour manage them which is a great way to start. Sometimes the tour manager has to be firmer with the venue, band or crew to ensure that things run smoothly overall and you want someone that can crack the whip respectfully when required.
I’ve been fortunate to be on tours where the band and crew have mostly respected my decisions (even if that means calling a 4am lobby call to catch a flight after finishing load out a 2am).
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Do all tour managers have the same roles? Or are some hired for specific countries/runs of the tour?
Overall the tour manager’s role should remain the same, sometimes the band’s management will look after booking flights or working out logistics but the tour managers day to day on the road remains the same.
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How does your role differ when you are on a national tour run compared to an international tour?
There are a few extra things to know when touring internationally, the biggest one is ensuring that all the work visas are solid, there have been some horror stories of bands touring the US and getting 10 year bans for not having their visas in order.
Being across local workplace practices such as unionised venues in America and Europe is also a handy thing to know.
Another thing to take note of when touring internationally is ensuring the band’s touring equipment is listed on a carnet (temporary export/import document) which needs to be presented to a customs agent when arriving in a new country, if you don’t do this the band can be charged for import duties on equipment or merchandise.
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Being on the road is not your typical 9-5 job. How do you go about balancing your career and personal life?
Balancing work and personal life can be hard in any career but being away from home for extended periods can make things extra tricky. I’m very fortunate to have a very understanding wife. The way tours are structured these days in Australia you can be home for a few days of the week and then be out on the road for a few days. A lot of my peers have kids and manage to keep a great work/life balance; it’s those people that I look up to in the industry.
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Tom Backstage with Vera Blue
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In your roles, you also spend A LOT of time with the band and the crew. Is it sometimes hard to separate friendship from business?
Yeah it can be hard to differentiate sometimes. When you’re on the road with a band there’s always a great camaraderie between the band and crew. I’ve forged some really great friendships from touring, some which will last a lifetime. Other times you come off a tour and don’t really speak to the band or crew until the next tour. Sometimes you think that you’re better friends with band or crew than you actually are…
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You also run Tsunami Protection, a case company that is widely recognised as a leading manufacturer of injection moulded equipment cases as well as a band merchandise company. What influenced your decision to start these companies?
Both companies spawned from touring. Touring can be very stop/start and you can go months without getting any income from it.
When I started touring I always had the thought at the back of my mind that it wouldn’t last forever and that I needed to make a living when I came off the road. Starting a business is never easy and it’s been a challenge to juggle between the three but it’s worked for me so far. In both businesses I saw a niche market and just went for it. We’ve recently picked up a distributor in Australia for Tsunami and are hoping to have the cases featured in big retail chains soon.
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What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of the Gotye touring crew since 2007. When “Somebody That I Used To Know” became a global hit we did some amazing things. In the space of one particular week we played Saturday Night Live, Coachella, went number one in the US and sold out our first arena in America. That was a pretty good week…
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What has been your biggest career blunder and how did you deal with/ overcome that?
That happened only last year. I was dipping my toes in the lighting world operating lights for Gordi when she supported Gang Of Youths at Festival Hall. I definitely don’t claim to be a lighting person but after trying it a couple of times, I decided to step up and do the show. Gang’s lighting guy set up a page for me on the desk with some scenes and I just pushed buttons in time with the music. Things were going great when all of sudden I pushed a wrong button and managed to trigger the opening scene to Gang’s show. A projection came up showing a message of support for aboriginal rights followed by an incredible pre programmed strobe show. I panicked and ran backstage looking for someone to help me switch it off leaving the strobes going… Definitely not my finest moment…
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Tom Running Playback for Cat Power For Latitude Festival in the UK
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What’s something that people would be surprised to know about your job?
Backstage is one of the most boring places that you’ll ever find yourself.
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What advice would you give to someone who wanted your gig? Any unexpected pros, or cons?
Everybody can see the pros to touring. Being around live music constantly, Seeing the world, meeting great people and being a part of something that brings joy to many people.
There are a few cons though…
My advice to anyone wanting to get into touring is that if it’s what you want to do, commit to it. It’s not something that you can do half heartedly as many people rely on you to be at the top of your game.
One of the biggest cons to touring has only recently had a spotlight put on it and that is mental health. Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are a huge issue in the touring industry. The work is very stop/start and your emotional state can go from high to low quickly.
For me one of the biggest struggles has been not earning a steady income from touring alone. I tell people that touring is a lifestyle choice and not really a sustainable career path.
To “make it” in the touring game you need a thick skin. Sometimes you’ll nail a tour and think that you did a great job but the band may move on without you for whatever reason. The key is to not over analyse it and if you feel that you can do something better, put it into action next time.
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What’s your favourite part about your job?
My favourite things about touring have changed a lot over the years. Initially it was the excitement of leaving your everyday life to go out and see the world (and getting paid to do it) as well as meeting interesting people from all walks of life.
These days I get satisfaction from being more creative with the shows that I tour with. From designing and building drums that light up with Vera Blue to building a mirrored set with George Maple. Having more input with the creative of the show brings me more job satisfaction.
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Lastly, just for fun – what’s the most memorable tour story you can tell us about?
I won’t say too much but it involved Mick Fleetwood, a stripper pole and a $10,000 bar tab…
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Tom and Crew with Gang of Youths
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10 Questions with Tom Kopecek
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What’s your favourite swear word?
It would have to be fuck, replace um with fuck.
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What was the last musical thing you did or created?
I was working on a DJ mix for my friends wedding this morning actually!
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What was the last thing that you felt uber proud about?
Most recently, getting married but from a work perspective I would say the George Maple tour. From conception to finishing, it was amazing. I kind of built the set and mirrored risers for the tour and just with all of the video content. It was a really tricky show to build in the spaces that we had with the dancers and the size of the set but I was really proud of how it all came together.
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What was the last thing that you really regretted?
Turning down the opportunity to work with Kendrick Lamar as part of his touring crew – I’d probably still be with him now!
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What period of your life would you like to relive?
The Gotye touring period, when things were super big. It was a one off experience, not many bands get to experience that world wide hype of a song. So that was good, I would probably relive that.
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What period of your life would you not like to relive?
I guess my late teens early 20’s and trying to find my place in this world – that wasn’t fun.
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What’s one subject people take too seriously?
At the risk of being chastised, I guess political correctness. I am very aware of the world and people’s choices and I am very respectful of that. I think the Facebook police need to stop piping up when they feel the need to argue certain points.
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Is there a quote you find yourself going to most?
A quote? Oh shit, no not really. Actually, I guess for touring ‘it is what it is’.
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What is one thing you would take a bullet for?
My wife. Oh and if my cat was in the room, my cat as well.
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What makes you cry and why?
The fear of losing my wife.
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If your life was to follow the plot of a movie, which movie would you choose?
I guess it has gone the way of ‘Almost Famous’ but given the choice. Can I choose a TV Series? ‘Brooklyn 99’. Specifically, Jake Peralta haha.
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