Roadtrip like a Rockstar

“ROADTRIP LIKE A ROCKSTAR”

Written by Richard Stupart
MATADOR NETWORK, AUGUST 2012

A session with a South African musician / road trip master.

The roadtrip experience is an unavoidable product of dozens of choices, only some of which are ever under your control. The car, the company, and the space you move through. Whether your journey ends in happiness or homicide can rest on questions as small as your choice of music.

How do the people who do it all the time do it so well? Matador spoke to South African musician Shannon Hope about surviving time on the road.

Flask of coffee
Rocking soundtrack
Pillow (so it feels a little like home)
Mapbook (I’m old school that way)
Hands-free kit so I can safely stay in touch

I tried doing a roadtrip once with a soundtrack of new music I hadn’t had a chance to listen to before. I thought I’d finally have the time to work through some new artists, but I ended up spending a lot of time skipping tracks, which is not ideal when driving. I have my entire music collection with me when I’m roadtripping (modern technology rocks!), and I switch between some of my favourite bands, and new obsessions which change from time to time. It would definitely include some Muse, The Black Keys, and Skunk Anansie.

I’ve been touring solo for the past three years and I quite like the independence, but I would love to start touring with a band sometime soon, and alternate between the two. As far as rules go, I’m a bit of a nervous passenger so I’d probably insist on still doing all the driving, but other than that, I’m pretty easy-going. Rules have no place on roadtrips!

I love driving the Garden Route and through the Overberg. It’s such a beautiful part of the country, and I’m always discovering a new little town hidden along the way. I’ve had some of the best roadtrips and shows in that part of the country.

The first national tour I did in 2009 stands out as a highlight because it was my first solo adventure around the country and everything was new and exciting. South Africa is such a beautiful and extensive country to tour through, and I’ve been lucky enough to take a new route on each tour as I discover new platforms for my music around the country. Each tour is so different to the next, and they’re filled with both highs and lows. It’s a pity to experience all this adventure on my own so I would definitely like to do a tour with more people sometime soon.

I prefer leaving because of the feeling of anticipation and excitement of what’s to come, and it always takes me a while to settle back into routine when I get home after long road tours.

I plan ahead because I usually book shows along the route of a roadtrip, and now that I’ve done a few trips around the country, I have usual spots that I stay at that I know are safe and comfortable. My roadtrips are usually working tours, but I’m hoping to do a holiday roadtrip soon that isn’t planned because that’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

A fully kitted out tour bus, complete with chaffeur, band and a built-in studio, lounge and bunks in the back, so we can jam in the back while touring from one side of America to the other. I’ve always wanted to do a road trip across the States, and a touring road trip in a tour bus would be a dream come true for any musician!