No Blackout Dates

Touring in a rock band is one of the most fantasized about – and widely misunderstood – lifestyles in the modern world. While everyone thinks it's all backstage parties and endless excess, the reality is far more down to Earth, though no less interesting. Dan Aid is here to set the record straight on tour life, having been around the globe with the punk rock band Authority Zero and toured with other acts as well.

Show Notes

Touring in a rock band is one of the most fantasized about – and widely misunderstood – lifestyles in the modern world. While everyone thinks it's all backstage parties and endless excess, the reality is far more down to Earth, though no less interesting. Dan Aid is here to set the record straight on tour life, having been around the globe with the punk rock band Authority Zero and toured with other acts as well.

Among other highlights of road life, Dan recalls sleeping in a rodent-infested squatter flat in Germany, which is actually a step up from sleeping in the van – no one likes to crash on those long, hard bench seats. He also discusses what he loves about touring, and why it’s so hard for many musicians to get off the road, when it’s the only life they’ve ever known. If you’ve ever played in a band, wanted to play in a band, or even just attended a concert and wondered what that guitarist’s life was like off-stage, this episode will fill you in on what you’re missing.

In Hot Takes, Tim and Eben whether Duty-Free shops are bullshit. They also discuss whether airlines are actually justified in their bag charges (actual hot take here) and whether war museums inappropriately glorfy war.

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What is No Blackout Dates?

No Blackout Dates, hosted by Eben Diskin and Tim Wenger, is the official podcast of Matador Network and provides a truly unfiltered and honest look at the world of travel and adventure. Join these two travel writers each week for completely raw stories from the road that any responsible editor would (and has) cut from print. They talk about what it’s like to travel for a living, introduce you to the wild characters they’ve met along the way -- from astronauts and flight attendants to Amsterdam sex workers -- and expose a side of the travel lifestyle that Rick Steves doesn’t want you to know about. No Blackout Dates introduces you to the beautiful, bizarre, and batsh*t crazy world of travel!