[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1423561644' post='2686232']
My one and only big tour was as a classical musician.... 18 days, 2 rest days, sometimes 2 gigs a day in venues between 2000 seater and 5000 seater, school visits, media following us, overnight sleeper trains, some sightseeing (but not much), live TV performance to an estimated 30 million people. Through China, aged 15, in 1989 (giving away my age now ).
Back in the day where there was no mobile phones and we had to arrange in advance a telephone call back to Wales so our parents knew we were OK!!
This is where my earlier story about the restaurant comes from!! It was my introduction to sake!
This tour was by far one of the best experiences of my life and I am godmother to my "roomies" children and godmother to another of the girls children and am in touch still with most of the gang!!
Couldn't do it now though
I rather like gigging on Saturday nights exclusively once or twice a month. Any more than that and I'd keel over with my full time job
That said to set up the full show does take around 4 hours!! And around 2 hours to take down again!! Back in 1989 I was a little diva that just opened up her Oboe case and got ready to play, 5 mins max!!
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What orchestra were you in - National Youth Orchestra of Wales? I was in that! Around the same sort of time too though I didn't get to go on the China tour.
However, I did get to tour Holland with the wind band and ended up buying a very fetching leather cap from a lovely shop on Valkenburg...