In this day and age, bands are on tour 200-plus days of the year. Do you think many enjoy being out there for such prolonged periods of time, away from everything they know as comfortable or normal? Sure, it is fun having new experiences and playing in front of people every night; but there also is a dark side.

Bands are in the unfortunate position where they now have to tour in order to make a living. You wonder why your favorite band is doing a week long tour of the West Coast and no where else? THEY ARE OUT OF MONEY. Granted, not every band operates like this; but you would be surprised how many have to rely on these paydays in order to make rent, car payments and other odds and ends.

In my few years of working at a record label, I have directly heard from bands that a tour is not financially viable for them. On the surface, that makes complete and total sense. But when you peel away the layers and learn that their guarantee would be $500 a night and not even including what they would sell in merch, the story becomes a bit fishy.

The point I am trying to make here is that everyone should put a little thought into how and why bands tour. It’s not all fun and games out there and many times they are out there “working” in order to make sure they have a place to return home to. I think many of us have forgotten the harsh reality that is the touring business. Buy a cd or shirt directly from a band; it means more than you think these days.

The most obvious and valid gripe that I hear most people say about the “kids” today as to why the scene is different and has changed so much is the fact that history does not play a large part in the development of getting into punk, hardcore, metal or whatever you would like to call it.

Plain and simple – do some research; and this means YOU! I think anyone can gain a little more knowledge on why their favorite band sounds the way they do or why they cover a certain band on a B-side. All of this is really about investing time into something you are passionate about – the more you really dig in, the harder it is to come out unchanged.

If more “news” websites covered historical pieces or reviewed classic records (I know websites currently do this, but it needs to be more prevalent) then I think all of us would benefit. As my mother always said, “Do your homework!”