Tour Stories: Marnie Stern

What method of transport d'you favour on tour? Best and worst? What are yr top five tour bus entertainment items? Best music to soundtrack the journey? How do you reduce boredom in airport lounges/train stations/backstage?
“My computer though, by far is my top entertainment item! I watch movies, play games, work on lyrics, listen to music. I've gotten pretty used to waiting around in between shows, at airports etc. I usually do crossword puzzles, talk on the phone, or just sit. It's amazing how comfortable you can become not doing anything at all when you do it enough, and are used to it. I find it relaxing now.”

What's the strangest place a tour has ever taken you?
“A small town in Wyoming called Rock Springs where my gutiar got left accidentally and I had to ship it out to Austin, Texas for SXSW! The town was barren and there was one gas station, which wasn't open past 12pm. It was creepy.”

Please insert anecdotes from disastrous gigs here (especially technical problems or local misunderstandings).
“I've had a bunch of those. The last tour I was playing alone with my iPod set to backing tracks. You can imagine the difficulties when you are playing with a machine. A lot of times the PA would blow out and the levels were a total mess. But the best thing to learn from those shows is how to forge on without getting caught up in the technical difficulties. It made me a more resilient performer and now I can roll with the punches a bit easier and take anything that comes my way.”

The strangest mixture of main band/support band/fans?
“Oh God, I’ve played tons of bills with commercial pop punk bands and they their fans didn’t know what to make of me. I would finish a song and there would be silence.”

What's the weirdest crowd/crowd response you've ever had?
“Sometimes I get a couple of young dudes at the front of the show analyzing my gear, my playing. They've got a critical eye on me, watching every note I play, staring at my hands the whole show, and I always get a kick out of that.”