Life as a touring musician is often the opposite of glamorous. You sleep in a different bed every night and wake up in a new city every morning. Looking for creative ways of bringing some comfort on the road can make a big difference to the touring experience. And most musicians have a list of essential items they just can’t tour without.
Luke Doucet is no stranger to travelling, whether on his own or as part of the duo Whitehorse with his partner Melissa McClelland. He’s turned the act of packing into an art form:
[audio: Luke Doucet shares his packing list]
Once Doucet arrives in a new place with his 27 essential items, he does what he can to make it feel a little bit more like home.
“If I get to a hotel that has a nice closet with hangers, I’ll actually unpack as if I live there even if I’m only there for 14 hours,” he explains. “Just because it’s nice to hang your clothes up and let some air out. Suitcases are, you know, that’s a big pile of stuff. I don’t like piles of stuff. I like to pretend that I’m a dignified, mature human being who lives like a normal human where you hang your shirts up. So I pretend.”
But when it comes to delivering great performances, there’s no pretending there.
Vancouver beatboxing hip-hop poet C.R. Avery has an entirely different take on what constitutes essential touring items.
[audio: C.R. Avery packs light]
Whatever approach to packing you might take, you certainly can’t fault Avery for putting the song first. Whether he’s paying tribute to Charles Bukowski, riffing on the life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau or reminiscing about a motel “50 miles out of town,” Avery’s careful attention to the art of poetic songwriting always delivers.
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