Tuesday, August 19, 2003

18.   nharmony@csranet.com asks:   What do you like to do on your days off from working with Jars?

BOBBY:
Well, if it’s a day off at home in Nashville and the weather is nice, it’s a toss up between a round of golf or a few hours out riding my motorcycle. If we’re out on the road, spending most of the day in the hotel resting up is always nice, but you have to get out some time. I typically take a bicycle out when we do a tour. I’ll ride that around and check out the area we’re in. I always try to make a point when in a new town or area we haven’t been to before, to check out what’s around. It’s a great way to see the country and see how different things are and can be from where you live.

17.   jarszone@aol.com asks: asks:   How many lights does it take to make Jars shine??

BOBBY:
Interesting question. That is an “un-asked” question that always seems to pop up when we are putting together budgets for our tours. Technically, I guess one big light will do. 4 lights would be better (one for each jar). But we always seem to end up with anywhere from 40 to 200 lights on any given tour.

16.   jarsofclay_phreak22@hotmail.com asks:   Bobby~ Do Jars make house calls? Nah... do they ever take requests as to a place to perform?

BOBBY:
ABSOLUTLEY! If you’ve got the money and the means, all you have to do is contact our booking agent.

15.   hastings@nbnet.nb.ca asks:   Hey can you tell me exactly how many people are in the official jars of clay fanclub?

BOBBY:
Due to a “changing of the guard” if you will, the exact number of fan club members is not known at this time. An estimate, however, of somewhere between 3000-4000 lifetime members has been provided to me by an excellent source close to all the fan club action.

14.  mail@teresagarcia.com asks:   What's some of the most important things you've learned from this experience as a road manager?
From, Teresa (June Jark)

BOBBY:
I can plan some of the most fabulous vacations since most of my job is being their travel agent. But, probably the most important thing that I have learned being a road manager is that when and if I ever have children I will be the best father out there. Why? Because, baby-sitting 6 musicians and several more crew members day in and day out, 24 hours a day, kind of makes having one or two children look like a walk in the park!

13.   paul.worth@fnf.com asks:   I was wondering how I could help promote Jars of Clay here in the UK. I would love to hear them on the radio, but do not know how to go about lobbying the stations to play them - would local radio stations here ever receive Jars radio singles?
Thanks.
Paul

BOBBY:
Paul, it’s pretty hard to get on mainstream radio here in the U.S. much less the rest of the world, but it has a lot to do with how much money and effort the record label is willing to put behind a particular record or song. Most record labels have a “formula” of how they promote a record. If it works and the single takes off great. If not, you may get one more chance with a second single, but after that, if the public doesn’t bite, then your chances are very slim on getting another chance. In Jars’ case, for the new record due out on Nov. 4th, our management company is working on a new mainstream record label to get the new CD on shelves and songs on radio. It is quite possible that radio stations in the UK receive our music, but if there is no “buzz” behind it, then it usually just gets shelved or thrown out. The best I can suggest, is to call your local radio station that would play Jars and start requesting to hear them. Otherwise, when the new CD comes out, you could possibly contact the record label and find out what their strategy is for UK and the rest of Europe and find out which stations have the new music.

12.   Gerbilover4@msn.com asks:   Hey, I was just wondering, who drives the tour bus?
C>~ Catherine

BOBBY:
We lease all of our tour buses from companies specializing in entertainment transportation. Included in the lease is a licensed bus driver. His work is done at night while we sleep on the bus, then he goes to the hotel during the day for his “good night sleep”. Once the show is over and everything is loaded back on the trucks, he is picked up at the hotel around midnight, brought back to the bus and drives us to the next city.

Monday, July 21, 2003

11.  melly60742@hotmail.com asks:   You look like you're contemplating some very deep ideas in your picture at Jarchives. Can you tell me what you were thinking when the photo was taken?
Melissa

BOBBY:
Why did I take this job? When will we be home? Why did I take this job? Is today the first day of the rest of my life, or was that yesterday...Can I put it off until tomorrow? Why did I take this job? How much longer until vacation? How many shows does this make now? How many more will there be? Why did I take this job....

10.  lhickernell@bridgewaterumc.org asks:   Hey, Bobby-- I want the folks in my community to find out more about the AIDS crisis in Africa and the Blood:Water Mission. How do I find out if it's possible to set up an information session with Jars of Clay when they are in my area?
Thanks,
Lynn Hickernell

BOBBY:
Thanks for your interest in Blood:Water. To set up an interview with Jars, please contact our Manager, Janet Weir. janet@nettwerk.com

9.  Bachchamp@aol.com asks:   Hey Bobby, I was the band runner for jars at big splash in federal way washington back in May. My name is Matt. You probably dont remember me. Is there anyway to become a roadie with jars? I just thought it would be a funny question to ask.
Peace, Matt

BOBBY:
Matt, unfortunately we are not hiring at the time. Keep driving those streets of the Northwest though, and maybe you can be our runner again when we come back up there!

8.  Paul.Worth@fnf.com asks:   Bobby, Do Jars have any plans for international touring in the future. I'm a fan who lives in the UK and would love to see a full concert Live - I got to see them at Franklin Graham in Perth, Scotland a few years ago, but that was too short.

BOBBY:
I think your wait may soon be over. 2004 looks to be one of the busiest years yet for the Jars. There are no UK dates on the books yet, but we do plan to visit your former penal colony of Australia in January. There are very loud rumors of us doing several European dates later in 2004 as well. Keeping watching the website...

Monday, July 13, 2003

7.  Elkid56@aol.com asks:   We hear you are a golfer. What's your handicap?

BOBBY:
I would actually say that I am a handicapped golfer. I play for fun when I can, but I don’t get to that often. And when I do, it’s usually with friends doing the same, having fun! As they say...there’s nothing like ruining a good walk by playing a round of golf!

6.  shortstop556@aol.com asks:   What's been your favorite tour out of all the ones you've been on?

BOBBY:
Probably my favorite tour with the Jars was my first in the fall of 1996. It was my first tour ever, and the memories will last for a long time. The most fun and exciting tour, however, would probably be our International tour to Singapore/Australia/New Zealand back in January of 1998.

5.  nharmony@csranet.com asks:   Bobby, are you a musician? If so, what instruments do you play?

BOBBY:
I have been known to play the drums from time to time.

4.  kjmelendez@PEACE.GORDON.EDU asks:   Can you tell us a couple stories about the guys being silly?

BOBBY:
I can’t really pinpoint any certain circumstances at this moment, but they are always kidding around and being silly. I mean, you have 4 guys that play instruments for a living and have never had a 9-5 job. How serious can they be? There is one instance, however, that I can recall that will always be a funny memory. On our fall ‘97 tour they were stranded on the side of the interstate due to the Blizzard of 1997 in Colorado. The National Guard came by in Hummer’s rescuing people including the jars guys off their bus. They were dropped off at a Conoco gas station where they ate hot dogs and stale nachos for two days while a stranded Mariachi band played music for all the other temporarily homeless travelers!

3.  kjmelendez@PEACE.GORDON.EDU asks:  Are the guys really as sweet as everyone says they are?

BOBBY:
I have been working with them for seven years now. There are several opportunities out there, but I always stick around. They are very good guys and even better bosses.

2.   mattodmarkrocks@yahoo.com asks:  Hey, Bobby. How would someone go about becoming a tour manager or production manager? Is it a job you would recommend?

BOBBY:
Usually it’s more of “who you know” than “what you know.” There are no Tour Mgr. or Prod. Mgr. schools. You basically learn as you go or from mentors. In my case, I started out on the very bottom as a drum tech and just worked my way up learning from other tour and production managers and making contacts with everyone I could as I went. Also, living in a city where there is a big music scene helps as well. I live in Nashville which makes it a lot easier to find a tour or meet other people in the music business. I only recommend it if you are a strong leader, don’t mind being away from home for weeks and months at a time, (I am currently in Orlando, FL right now and it’s 2:00 AM) and can handle eighteen hour days with only six hours of sleep before waking up in another city only to do the same thing all over again!

1.  jan.hart@mchsi.com asks:  What's on the inside of a tour bus? Are there beds?

BOBBY:
A tour bus, as you can imagine is our “home away from home.” It typically has everything, including the kitchen sink! There are typically twelve “bunks” on standard tour bus. And they aren’t very big either. If you never get a chance to step on a bus, there is always the internet. You can “look inside” a tour bus at the following websites. www.pyramidcoach.com and www.musiccitycoach.com