The Key

Wendy Fonarow, “Indie Professor” over at The Guardian (and actual anthropology professor at the University of California at Los Angeles), has some dos-and-don’ts advice for bands about to head out on tour.

Despite the fact that most indie bands I know aren’t in any position to hit the road in a tour bus or make a habit out of staying in posh hotels (which makes her advice regarding tour-bus etiquette and hotel-room afterparties somewhat puzzling), there are plenty of helpful tips to be found here. (The part about being nice to the crew is a good one—Lord help any band that pisses off a venue’s in-house sound guy.) However, after hearing countless horror stories of touring bands having their vans broken into and all of their gear stolen—which can end a tour (and, in some cases, a band) very quickly—I was a little surprised to to see Fonarow neglect the whole “Protect your equipment from theft!” issue that has plagued acts such as Torche, Phosphorescent, and Maria Taylor in recent years. (Seriously, bands: If it can happen to Iggy Pop And The Stooges and Sonic Youth, it can happen to you; meanwhile bands such as Mae and Kill Hannah have had their gear stolen right here in Philadelphia.)

It goes without saying that you probably shouldn’t leave any equipment unattended in the van overnight—most music folks will tell you that if you’re not up to hauling all of your equipment inside every night, you should a) have someone sleep in the van with the gear and/or b) have the equipment locked inside a secure loft (preferably with the back of the van parked against a wall or telephone pole). But what you don’t hear a whole lot of bands talking about is renters insurance—which, as far as insurance goes, is one of the cheapest and most useful deals you’re going to find, especially for touring musicians.

In a nutshell, renters insurance covers everything you own from damage, theft, and a bunch of other stuff both inside AND outside of your home. Each year, when I renew my own renters insurance policy (which is less than $150 a year for full coverage with a $500 deductible), the first question I always ask is, “If I’m in a band that’s on tour and someone steals all of my music equipment out of the van, is it covered?”—and the answer is a definite “yes.” (Of course, they also say “yes” to my follow-up question—which is, “If I’m totally trashed while playing a show and I jump off the stage and land on my face and smash my Fender Precision Bass into a thousand pieces because I’m an idiot, is it covered?”—even though certain policies are hazier when it comes to incidental damage.) All it requires is proof of ownership (keep your receipts and serial numbers, folks!) and possibly a police report to help verify the theft. If you’re on the road and your stuff gets stolen, you’re probably not going to get a check in time to buy new equipment for the rest of the tour—but, while you’re busy trying to arrange loaners for each show, it should ease your mind to know that the check will be waiting for you when you get home.

Luckily, I haven’t had to worry about filing a claim due to stolen music gear. But I have had to use my renters insurance not once, but twice after getting into bike accidents that resulted in the destruction of personal property. (Two laptops and one bike.) So, like, I totally got a sweet new MacBook Pro and a Surly Cross Check—and all it took was the near-death experience of getting run over from behind by a sedan whose driver was too busy speeding to notice me in the same lane just ahead of him. (OK, so I also had to get eight staples in my head and suffer through a broken collarbone—plus pay the $500 deductible—but still: free MacBook Pro!)

Based on my own experience, I can say with complete certainty that the process of filing my renters insurance claim and getting reimbursed was significantly less painful than getting run over by a car. I imagine it’s also less painful than finding out someone has broken into your van and stolen all of your music equipment, then realizing you might never have the financial means to replace the thousands of dollars’ worth of gear that’s gone missing. —Matthew Borlik