Steve Lambrick joined the Trooper road crew on August 19, 1992. His long-time association with the band and his role as Merchandise Manager (a.k.a. T-Shirt Guy) has given him a great deal of knowledge and experience with life on the road.
Nice guy that he is, he generously gave us a look at a typical day in the life of a Trooper "roadie"...
Drag my sorry ass out of bed, hit the truck, get coffee! The time we get up and hit the road differs every day. It all depends on how long the drive is, but we shoot for a 2 pm arrival every day, give or take a coffee stop.
As far as amusement in the truck... horseshoes! No, just kidding. Driving, playing navigator, figuring kilometers to the next town, routing etc.
When we get there, we check the boys into the hotel, get to the gig, check out the venue, find the loaders, and flip the truck (meaning unload). Then we block the stage. The way we do this, I stay at the stage and wait for the gear to start rolling to the stage. What hits the stage comes on right away - don't like to move things twice! Then all the gear gets put in place, wired up into running condition, and Mike and the house tech mic and cable the stage. I go count shirts from the night before and set up the merchandise booth and get it ready for that night's show. Once I am done there, I go back to the stage to help Mike do a line check [make sure all cables are connected properly ie: the channel labelled "mic 1" is connected to the correct microphone] and ring out monitors [make sure that the monitors (speakers facing the band so they can hear themselves) are at least not going to feedback.] Then I go have dinner, nap!, shower, and go back and do the show. After the show, Mike and Chuck tear down and I take care of the autographs at the T-shirt booth. Drink some beer, then retire to the hotel, and get ready for another day on the road.
For you technically-inclined fans out there, here's some more detail on the approximately 1500 lbs. of gear they move around:
Typical Gear List (always changing)
2 100 Watt Marshall 1970's Super Lead Amplifiers
Full set of drums (Gretsch)
& new Sabian cymbals
kill lights (blinders.. sun is
shining)
Full keyboard rig -
Roland D50
- an AKAI sampler
- Korg M1 keyboard
Full bass rig - Ampeg 1975 SVT Amphead
- 8x10 (this means 8 ten inch speakers) Bass cabinet
- Fender jazz bass
- WillFred Custom Bass
Ra's mic stand because he bends it during every show
left handed custom made Morgan acoustic/electric guitar built by master craftsman David Iannone. It's a Venetian Cutaway Dreadnaught.
That's a lot of stuff that has to be working properly! The odd time things get damaged in transit and the guys have to improvise, but the show still goes on.
I am happy to say in seven years with the boys that we've never had a show that has never finished. Once we went to Two Rivers, Quebec (where we waited for seven hours), where we didn't do a show and we didn't get paid. Then again, Kim Mitchell and Lee Aaron didn't either.
Since then, there's been the High River one and the Fredericton Fiasco. Fortunately, unscrupulous event organizers are few and far between.
Okay, so that takes care of the
gear and the venues. But what's it like
dealing with the crowds and the fans - particularly the.. uh... more
"assertive" ones?
I am really lucky when it comes to that, because whenever someone wants to
get to the band I tell them "Come say hi to the guys after the show at the
T-Shirt booth." Then if they want to get at the band they can, and I don't have
to deal with the bribing.
And like we heard from one-time fellow crew member Chuck Prudham, the most common lie you can tell these guys is: "One of the guys in the band said I could." So you might wanna think of something more original.
Something else the crew hears all the time is the songs, and they often find themselves humming or singing along.
All the time after about 700-750 shows now. I have not got bored yet. There's always new things in the show, whether it be a prank, joke, song. They keep it interesting.
What has touring with the guys taught him?
I've learned a lot of trivia about the band. More or less when, where, how and why!
'K.. so when, where, how and why is backstage Trooper different from backstage with other bands?
It's a party, laughs, and jokes. Like they say - here for a good time, not a long time. It's a lot of fun. The best thing is we get paid to do this... laugh, joke, party!
And he should know. He's also worked with:
Darby Mills, Pat Conroy, Chilliwack, Headpins, Prism, Long John Baldry, McLean & McLean, and a ton of Top 40 bands through the '80s. Since 1982, 17+ years in stage lighting, some audio, stage and merch manager
and met celebrities including:
Dan Ackroyd, Gary and Blair McLean (McLean & McLean), Joe Clark, Michelle Wright, and lots of other bands (April Wine, Colin James, etc.)
What's Steve's advice for anyone wanting to be a crew member?
That you must know your stuff, practice your stuff, try to meet as many people in the 'biz as you can. Then prove yourself to whoever you must. When you do finally get in with a band, give 'er 'til you're satisfied that you've done a good job.
When he's not on the road with the guys, you'll find Steve working construction and other audio/light gigs.
In the Fall of 1999, Steve left the band to pursue a full-time career off the road. After seven years and hundreds of gigs with the guys, he won't be forgotten. Thanks Steve.