WELCOME, STUDENTS!!!! COME IN THE BUS, GUS!!

Most fans have never been in a band bus, and chances are they never get to see inside one! Recently on the US tour, I thought it would be cool to show everyone what a tour bus looks like. We lease two buses that we swap according to availabilityy and travel on. Whichever we get doesn't matter, as they are brother and sister, I also feel!

The first area you walk into is the driver's area. Little cupboards full of cleaning supplies, tools, bus parts and the driver's secrets. Once I saw a driver take a screwdriver and remove a panel above his chair and pull out a concealed pistol. No one in the bus treads into the driver's territory. We do sit on the chair by the door but that's it. The rest is forbidden.

Passing through the sliding door, you enter our home on the road. Spacious couches, satellite tv and a table. This is where the peops chill, watch movies or play numerous game systems. It's pretty much the centerpiece of the bus. It grows into the kitchen area. In Europe, the buses have small fridges but in America we get to enjoy a full-size refrigerator with a freezer. I have rarely had a cookstove burner in a bus. Questionable! Microwave and a sink with warm water completes the first room. Of course all the nooks are filled with cupboards and drawers. On a Soulfly bus, it is always stuffed with food. I am the Walmart Queen of Bus Shopping and I make sure everyone has snacks, soups, fresh fruit and coffee.

The bathroom is in the hallway as you enter the sleeping area. 12 bunks with real mattresses rule! Bunks have a lot more inside them than a person sleeping! Under the bunks might be your bank; your secrets are safe under the mattress! Along the wall, at your feet and under your pillow are all great storage areas too! The only hazard area is the floor with its never-ending shoe pile. Everyone trips over the shoes as they walk through the hall at night! Second mystery is who the f#@% is turning the AC so low and freezing your hide off when you sleep???

The back room is called the Manager's Room. Most people don't know that and I heard it so long ago that it may now be a name reserved for bus owners to use as a reference. This is Max and my cave. He gets one side and I get the other. We fight over the closet space in the back, lol! By the end of the tour it's pretty well stuffed back there! I always have my bookwork in a case on the floor and I get the shelf area under the TV. It is really a cooler but we never use it.

And that’s our road home!! Keeps us safe, allows us privacy and much needed sleep at night. Only one problem... my bed at home doesn’t sway through the night!!!! Lol

Class dismissed.....