Monday, October 28, 2013

Eating Good Food While On The Road | Digging Deeper To Avoid Junk Food

Eating on the Road
Our van pulled into the parking lot of the bar we were scheduled to play in.  We had just arrived in the teeming metropolis of Rockford Illinois. It was another band road trip, and it started with a show in northern Illinois. Actually the suburban Rockford outskirts were more "teeming" than the downtown club we just rolled up to.  It was warm for a mid October evening. We had the windows rolled down, so it was easy to hear the woman standing against the building when she said "Oh no, a van full of f-ing hippies!"  It's never good when the first patron of the club you are about to play in has something really bad to say about you. Still, we laughed it off and started to unload our instruments.

Rockford happens to be the home town of our guitar player, although he had not been back for many years.  He was surprised at the amount of development out in the suburbs, but not surprised to see that the metro area was dark and quiet. We got to the club with plenty of time. Once we unloaded our gear, we went off to find food. Once again, we found ourselves in a pizza joint. It's become the norm for our band to eat pizza. I wonder why that is? I must say that my other bands would find themselves in the same situation. What town doesn't have a thriving pizza restaurant downtown? Even the most desolate of city centers seem to support at least one Italian restaurant.

Our guitar player had been in this place before.  In fact, he remembered it well, and told us a few childhood stories as we waited for our food. But this post isn't so much about food, as it is about being on the road. One thing that I have come to realize is that the food you eat can dictate how you perform. Yes, pizza is just bread, cheese, meat, and a bit of sauce. It's not the best food for energy, but I have had far worse. These days, I actually bring along some cooked pasta. It can hold up pretty well for at least 12 hours without refrigeration.  It's got just what you need for energy too. When in doubt, boil some noodles! It may be boring food-wise, but the rest of the band will be jealous when you find yourself without enough time to find food in the neighborhood.

Avoid The Junk Food Before Performing

I had a drummer friend tell me to "Look for the second place" when it comes to food while on the road. What that meant was that it's easy to find the junk food.  It's very easy in fact. But it can be worth the effort to dig deeper, to take another 10 minutes to find a much healthier alternative.