5 Questions with Tour Manager Eric Frankhouser

I've never met Eric, but I've heard stories about him. He seems like one of those TMs that has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. You could probably say something like, "I need 100 sticks of sidewalk chalk in an hour!" and he would have it there. He's a perfect candidate for The 5 Questions.

Question #1: How did you get your first job as a tour manager?

EF: Well…I was the drummer in a band. Spoiler alert! The band broke up! Since I had only planned on being a rock star for a living, I needed to source another set of skills to survive in the big bad world. I ended up attending South Plains College in Levelland, TX. SPC had an absolutely amazing Sound Technology Program. It was wild... this was a little town of maybe 10,000 people, and they had world class facilities for audio engineering. Remember, this is in the 90’s and not a ton of options for learning production existed at that time. Luckily, I was able to take the skills learned at SPC and get a job with Electric Ear Productions in Lubbock, TX.       

  The Electric Ear provided PA and Lighting for just about every artist coming through town, so I learned a ton about live sound and lighting while working there. I loved every minute of it. But, as more and more acts came through, I grew envious of the touring crew who got to jump on those buses. After about a year of working for the Ear, I decided to try and work my way into touring life.  

  I moved to Austin, TX the summer of ’93. Austin was the “Live Music Capitol of the World” and for a hick from Lubbock, it seemed like the promised land.  So of course, I spent most of my time there casting about with no real direction. About three months into that idyllic life I realized I was out of money and needed to find work. I had the names/numbers of two Artist Managers in Austin from contacts in Lubbock. I typed up two copies of a very inflated 'resume’ and mailed them out on a Monday morning. This was before cell phones/email/etc…I hovered by the landline phone in my apartment hoping for a call. On Wednesday morning the phone rang, and one of the Artist Managers wanted to meet me and I jumped at the chance. I had zero experience as a TM, but I was a very good FOH engineer, so I leaned into the production side of things during the interview. Fortunately for me, the Manager was looking for an audio engineer who could handle some TM duties, and was willing to train me up on the TM role. He hired me, and gave me a shot at my first touring gig. I met the Artist and his band the next day, and then flew to NYC on Friday. On Saturday, I was mixing him at Summer Stage in Central Park. It was quite the whirlwind intro to tour life. The Manager had very specific ideas about the How/What/Where/When/Why of touring and basically molded me as a TM. I continued to mix FOH and TM for the next 4 years, before becoming a dedicated TM.

Question #2: In 5 words, describe your first tour as a tour manager. 

EF: Exhilarating, Exhausting, Eye-Opening, Panic-Inducing and Life-Changing. I spent my first year on the road certain I would get fired every day I woke up, but somehow survived and 30 years flashed by in an instant. 

Question #3: What do you wish you knew about touring before you started touring?

EF: 1) That “No” is a complete sentence.  It is OK to say No. I was afraid to for many, many years before I learned how important that word is. As a TM, I pride myself on making the impossible happen, and I still do, but sometimes the answer needs to be No. 

2) GET OUT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM!!!!! For the first half of my career, I was so stressed out about being the TM, I worked through all of my days off. DON’T BE ME!!!  Look, you are the TM, so you don’t really get time off or to yourself, but get out of your room and explore around you. You don’t know for sure that you will be back. Don’t miss out. Find a way to balance work and time off for yourself. 

3) Get yourself to bed!  Sleep is precious, get in your bunk and rest up!  You have a long day ahead of you! 

Question #4: What do you do when the band is playing the show? 

EF: I think the three greatest words in the English language are “House. Lights. Out!” The moment when the lights snap out, the crowd roars and you put the band on stage is always the best part of my day. I always take a moment to appreciate the fans and the band for letting me live this incredible life. Then I head back to my production office and run through all of the logistics for the following day. Making sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed is calming and comforting to me. Being able to hit the bunk feeling good about your next few days is invaluable.  

Question #5: What’s something you add to the hospitality rider for yourself?

EF: A salad bar! With some pretty specific asks, like diced Jalapeños, and blue cheese crumbles. Trying to eat better on the road is my new obsession. Luckily, I am in a position where I can make sure that happens. FYI, the days of putting illicit drugs and clean underwear on the rider are definitely over! Not that I ever did that… 

Eric lives in Austin, TX and has been the TM for Wilco for the past 10 years. If you run into him in the wild, buy him a slice of pizza and ask him about his time with Lucinda Williams or The Eels and maybe he'll tell you some of his TM tricks!