SHIFTING GEAR
RICH ECKHARDT
Gearing Up For Europe
Preparing for a seven-country tour of Europe
is not a common practice for many musicians. However, it is an undertaking that I
have faced a number of times in my career.
In 1994, I conquered Europe with the R&B/
roots rock band Fish Heads & Rice. With David
James on vocals and bass, Walter Ferguson
on the Hammond organ and the late Stuart
“Stu Train” Brower laying down the back
beat, I was given the daunting task of assuming guitar duties after Memphis great Gary
Talley (formerly of the band The Box Tops) left
to pursue other interests. While in Europe,
we performed in every cramped club from
Big Mama’s in Rome to the barely inhabited
tourist town of Terschelling, a 15-mile-long
island off the coast of The Netherlands. We
anchored those dates with two festivals in
Switzerland and a once-in-a-lifetime appearance at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy.
Our travel planning was simple. We rented a
van in Milan and the four of us trekked across
the continent spreading the good words and
music of the Fish. On that tour my gear setup
was also quite uncomplicated. The only guitar
I brought along was a 1984 Fender Strat Plus
with a Sunburst finish. Gearwise, I brought
along a Boss tuner, Ernie Ball volume pedal
and a couple of cables to hook everything
up with. Our backline consisted of a make-do-with-what-they-give-you approach, even
though at most venues I remember being
able to score at least a Fender Twin Reverb.
After tweaking and playing through several
different Twins night after night, I did discover just how much individual character each of
these amps really did possess. My tone was
formidable, but varied each night. I remember one particular show at the Conga Club
in Bellinzona, Switzerland, I played through a
two-channel Ampeg amp marked “Channel 1:
Guitar,” and “Channel 2: Accordion.” It was
an experience I’ll never forget.
This winter, for the first time, Toby Keith is
spearheading a major tour of Europe. We’ll
be performing in England, Scotland, Ireland,
Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. This
tour across the pond is a bit more difficult, and
considerably more involved. Although our crew
is stripped down to 30 essential people, they all
need to be fed, housed and flown as we travel
to all of our European destinations. Thankfully, I
haven’t had to do any of the leg work involved
in booking transportation or rooms, but there
has been a great deal of preparation on my
part to make sure that all goes smoothly at the
shows. Due to space limitations, I’m not able
to bring my normal arsenal of guitars. We went
back and forth on the actual number that I
needed for the show to not suffer and decided
on my three main axes—my U.S. Masters Super
T Tele, my PRS McCarty and my Gibson ’ 58 Les
Paul Reissue—plus my hollowbody singlecut
PRS and Jerry Jones 6-string bass, which is a
must-have to pull off one of Toby’s biggest hits,
“Should Have Been A Cowboy.”
All of the guitars will travel in trunks that will be
ground transported from gig to gig. We’ll also
be taping a few television shows in between
concert dates, and to pull that off I’ll have to fly
some of my guitars separately from the pack.
Here in the States most airlines are cooperative
about that, and only a few airline personnel
have ever insisted I check my instrument when
I show up at the gate with it in a gig bag. The
musicians union has an official agreement with
the FAA that allows musicians to bring their
instrument with them on board as long as it fits
in the overhead compartment. However, it’s
often at the discretion of the airline personnel
(and what kind of day they’re having) whether
they’ll allow it onboard the plane.
Personally, I carry a copy of that agreement
with me in all of my gig bags, although I’ve
never had to present it. My strongest argument has always been that if there is a lack
of space in the overheads, wouldn’t it make
more sense to accommodate my fragile and
expensive instrument, and gate check some
of the carry-on bags filled with clothes and
toiletries instead? When I do carry my guitar
onboard I make sure it’s my only item, which
does strengthen my position when I need to
play that card. Knowing that the airlines are
a bit stricter about bringing guitars, for this
tour I’ve also taken the precaution of putting my McCarty and my Super T inside ATA
flight cases, so that I can fly them to these
television dates safely in the belly of the
plane. The only other gear I’m taking with
me will be my Roland GT- 8 pedalboard. My
guitar tech had a case that fits it quite nicely,
so it gets to travel in style on this trip. Now
that my gear is packed and ready to go, I
just have to be sure that my passport is up
to date, and that I have enough minty-fresh
toothpaste to last until I return home. I’m all
set to tour the world!
Keep Jammin’…
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought-after guitarists in
Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put him on
stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler of Aerosmith to
Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing lead guitar with Toby
Keith. His latest CD, Cottage City Firehouse is available online
at CDbaby.com or at richeckhardt.com
