on tour in snow Eileen's houseI have a folder for just about everything. Since musician life can feel chaotic, I suppose having a folder for everything just makes me feel better, more organized. I label my folders using a label-maker. Makes me feel like a pro. My files are color-coded. Here I am holding a yellow one which means I am holding a tour file from 2013 (the 2013 concert info were put into yellow folders—this year I am using orange for 2015 concert dates.) What’s in the orange folders? Gig info: name/address of venue, concert contract, emergency numbers, plane tickets, directions, hotel confirmations, rental car info, those sort of things. Some touring musicians put together a touring “book”. I worry about having a book for a tour—what if I misplace it? With one folder per show, if I misplace one folder, I don’t lose the info for the entire tour. Everything is backed up at home with “agentman husband” who is a phone call away, and that comes in handy, because now and then my GPS tries to kill me and I need advice.

I should go through all my folders and recycle their contents. But I can’t. My entire touring history is in these—concert programs, newspaper articles, where I stayed, notes on the piano I played. These folders remind me that my life has been one long and wonderful tour.

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