In order to give The Roadshow-ers more behind the scenes information we are going to “interview” different people around the crew and let them give you a glimpse of what they do. First up is Michael Todd.
You’ve heard of Sound Techs, and Guitar Techs, well he is the Cotton Tech, at least that is what we call him. Yes that is right, his sole reason for being on tour with The Roadshow is to make sure you can get your official Roadshow merchandise. For that matter he only deals with the official Roadshow merch. He does not help with any of the other bands merch. Sound easy? I am not so sure it is. Let me walk you through a typical day.
His first step is to get tables set up for all of the merch. I know I said he only deal with Roadshow merch, but he does set up tables for everyone else. After that he carts in all the Roadshow merch and starts setting up his booth, a task that take more than 2 1/2 hours each day. He is able to vary up when he does the set up, but he gets the work done as soon as possible. Before the show starts he is also responsible for training the 5 volunteers he will get for the night. Everybody has their own way running the merch tables, and he must teach them his for the night. During the show he still has plenty of responsibility. He restocks the merch table as needed, gets his volunteers water, bathroom breaks or anything else that might come up. He also gives them the opportunity to watch different portions of the show. You may also spot him wandering around the arena selling various glow in the dark merch. After the show is over he still has about another 2 hours worth of work to do. He has to put all the merch away, make sure it is all accounted for and pack it away in the trailer, ready to start again the next day.
At The Roadshow this year we have plenty of official merch. There is a unisex t-shirt, a girls t-shirt, a unisex sweatshirt, beanies, tour buttons, tour stickers, flashing guitar magnets, flashing mouth pieces, l.e.d. sunglasses, and glow in the dark necklaces. Make sure to stop by and see Michael Todd the Cotton Tech for all of your official Roadshow merch.
