what my day looks like

6/26/08

A typical day for me begins as follows.

Wake up when the bus stops moving (about 7am). Go out to the common area, grab the bay key, grab belongings from under the bus, get changed, drink as much water as possible, and start unloading merchandise.

Before we got space on the merch trailer, i was having to find someone who made the lay out of the warped tour merch space. This was a pain because finding this one important person could take up to 10 minutes..and those 10 minutes are priceless.

Now that we have space on his trailer, things are a little easier. I get up, go out there, and begin loading off our materials and pulling up our hot pink tent where the “lay out space man” has already chosen our perfect spot.



Day by day it has been getting easier, and Tessa, my assistant, and i have been able to eat breakfast. Some days things have been so rushed we barely get to eat lunch.



Now even though most people think being a “merch person” is easy, layed back, and party all the time, they’ve got it all wrong. As i stated before my day begins roughly at 7 am. My day ends anywhere from 10 pm (on a good day) to 3 am. I try to get in as much rest as possible, however on days like today, where i have a day off in vegas and a pickin HUGE sweet suite at Planet HOllywood...sleep is obsolete.



Off days are priceless because you don’t have to hear questions such as:

*What time is Katy playing?

*What Stage is she playing at?

*Is Katy doing a signing?

*Where is the signing going to be?

*How much is that shirt?

Mind you, answers to all these questions are posted EVERYWHERE.
When I say everywhere, i mean everywhere. We have them posted on the poles ON the booth. We have people walking around with the posted answers actually ON them. Its pretty rediculous..oh..and i forgot one.

“Do you know where Jeffrey Star is? He has a pink tent.”

Its like seriously people..serious. just because i have a pink tent, doesn’t mean I know where all the pink tents are..and p.s. look at my tent. Its pretty obnoxiously obvious that its the Katy Perry Tent.

uff..

anywho. for now thats whats up. and for now. i’m going to have a pina colada..no a mai thai at the pool. cheers

Dry Heaves..and NO thats not a band i met

Pomona,CA

Apparently all Warped Tours go something like this.

*Mohawks
*streeks of fluorescent and black hair
*HEAT
*Vomit
*Blood
*Cool stuff!

And i got to see it all. Day 2 began unexpectadly. We arrived in Pomona the night before and waited an hour and a half just to be let into the gate. Our credentials (visibly known as the "laminated all access pass" hadn't arrived and the security guard wouldn't let us pass...( I mean seriously, would we really spend a pazillion dollars wrapping a large tour bus with someones face on it just so we can go to warped tour..i don't think so)

We finally got in and slept. 8:40 am i woke up looked out my plastic accordian curtain from my bunk and noticed i was probably late. I leaped out and Julia the tour manager looked at me with tired eyes and no words were exchanged...this was our OFFICIAL first day of warped tour.

After running around the Pomona race track, we found our necessary "directors" and staked down a space for our Merch. Little did i know it would be another 4 hours till we actually got up and running.

Because this is Katy's first tour, we have still been working out some kinks. For example, The doors for the tour open at 10 am. Our merch did not arrive till close to noon. Once we got the merch we hadn't received a price list and on top of that, i had no money for change! so here i was under a fluorescent pink tent with a lot of merch but no money and no answers for all the young punk kids.

It wasn't long till i felt my self with feelings i'd never felt before, but heard of the symptoms; i was dehydrated. I had not water and nothing to eat all day.

p.s. its 3 am and I have to wake up at 7 am...this story will have to continue later or you can ask me in greater detail. otherwise , here's an outline

*dry heaves (got them)
*vomit (did it twice)
*mohawks (booth behind us was giving them for fun...and to be on the radio)
*bright colored hair (is everywhere)
*blood...i saw that today! (in San Fran presently)

a Brief: Katy Perry is blowing up like mad..to the point that i'm on tour with her andi don't even get to see her.

b. i don't sleep and i apologize if you call and i don't answer. i literally wake up at 7am and sleep right now..

good night.

DAy 1. its only just begun

Its night. i couldn’t tell you which night because i don’t think i’ve lived off the name of days for a few weeks now, and i’m sitting on a bus. A bus filled with food, boys, and crass conversations. Where am I? I am on a painted “Katy Perry” bus. “MySpace + Katy Perry” splattered on the side, and i’m on my way to Warped Tour.

My day began at 7:30 am. With Tired eyes, i dreamed that all the things laying on my floor magically packed themselves and i could sleep for just a little longer.

I pushed myself out of bed, and started where i gave up the previous night. I had to stop and get to my list of unexpected necessities; Peanut Butter, strawberry necklaces, baby wipes ( yes..for the darear). My heart was racing as i thought of all the things i needed to accomplish as well as pack my own belongings.

My grandparents ( God love em) had nothing else to do today and decided to join me on the adventure of collecting random things on someone else’s expense. It worked out perfectly, considering the day before my steering wheel mysteriously began to smoke from the stearing column...the wires must have crossed and decided to go aflame...who knew!

As we hustled around buying odds and ends, i stopped every few moments, trying to grasp what i was doing. I was purchasing items that would sit on a bus, with people i’d never met before, but were all genius’s in the music department. Well okay, maybe not geniuses but, to me, they know and have been everywhere a person wants to be for music.

VIP, Top Venues, you name it, they were probably there, played there, passed out cold there. I wouldn’t want to compare my tales to something similar like Almost Famous..but ..its feeling pretty close.

I’m silent. Very silent. Observing everyone’s manerisms and trying to understand where my place is , and where it is not. Trying to understand the rules of the road, where to sleep, what to eat, what to say, who to talk to and who not to. I mean these people know what they’re doing. One of the guys dads was in a band (i haven’t asked yet which one) and has lived on these tour buses pretty much since birth.

Vocabulary has varied anywhere from Shwamp Ass to Bitch Creek. By varied i mean, new vocabulary. for example:

Shwamp Ass: obtained from being on the road, and being unable to use regular toilet paper on the private areas. Also obtained from humidity, and lack of clean underwear. Cure? Baby Wipes.

Bitch Creek: A beer found at some random plastic black bag giving liquor store.

Merch: ( I knew this one, but some don’t so..) short for “Merchandise”

Swag: Free STuff meant for promotions.

So that is the vocabulary today.

I hate to say it but i’m kind of shy about taking pictures and filming everything, but its pretty fantastic. i’m so nervous. i don’t want to screw up because i would love to have some other type of job out of this...but i’m definitely feeling a bit like me writing songs is going to be a problem unless i can get out of my shell for a moment.

2 more months. 8 weeks. I suppose i’ll take day one as day one, fold over the nasty comforter provided for me, and see what happens tomorrow.

good night.

pictures to come. don’t worry...i’ll be using my free “swag” from Myspace...yes..a camera. WHAT!