Nothing like a little public humiliation when you screw up.
Obviously there’s a lot for an artist and their crew to keep track of when they’re out on tour. So keeping up with their credential, a small laminated piece of paper on a lanyard, is probably not always at the top of their mind.
But that credential is also pretty important. It gets them into the venue, gets them backstage…pretty much wherever they need to go to, you know, actually put on the show.
Sure, most people recognize the artists who are performing and aren’t going to make them show their credentials everywhere they go. But with all of the staff working these major concerts, and a different staff every night, there are probably people there who don’t recognize every single artist who’s performing every show.
So it’s important to have that all-access pass with you wherever you go, just in case.
But according to a recap of the events by Adam Lucas, Eric Church‘s team has a system in place for members of the tour who forget their credentials.
Tour manager Todd Bunch has been with Eric for a long time, so I’m sure by now he’s used to people forgetting their passes. With a traveling party as big as Church brings with him, it’s bound to happen from time to time. A crew member parties a little too hard before a show, rushes to the venue to get there on time, and realizes they don’t have that magic pass to actually get them into work.
Happens to the best of us.
So Bunch has a punishment of sorts for crew members who show up without their credentials: They’re given a temporary pass that says “I’m a dumbass who forgot my pass.”
And Bunch says he even has an 8.5″ by 11″ version of the dumbass pass too.
But an awkward situation arose during a recent stop on the Outsiders Revival Tour when it was opener Cody Jinks who showed up to the Ruoff Music Center in Indianapolis without his credential.
Bunch admitted that he wasn’t going to make Jinks wear the pass of shame – I mean after all, he’s the opening act.
But Cody insisted that he be treated like anybody else:
“Hey, I’m the one who forgot my pass.”
Talk about a team player.
Luckily Jinks made it into the venue (not that there was ever any doubt), and this weekend he finished out his run with Church on this tour by giving the crowd one hell of a show.
I was at the concert in Chicago, Cody’s last show with Eric on this tour, and not only was he the perfect fit for the crowd, but he also complimented Church and his team on being great people to work with (even if he did have to wear a dumbass pass):
“Eric’s entire crew has taken such great care of us. I’ve been doing this for 25 years. Their entire camp is as good as it gets. We’ve worked with some really big camps where that isn’t the case. I think it’s important to let the fans know that this is big business, and there are a lot of people involved. And it’s good to let a crew like Eric’s know that we appreciate it.”
First class all around from both camps. And after seeing the show they put on together this weekend, I wouldn’t be mad to see these two out on the road together again someday.
