We Are the Welcome to Night Vale Team and This Is How We Travel

Welcome to Night Vale is a public radio broadcast from a fictional American desert town where all the paranormal happens at the same time. This much-loved horror-comedy podcast touts several times a year, featuring special live episodes across the US, Europe and the world. We spoke with four members of the Night Vale team – tour manager and host Meg Bashwiner, host Cecil Baldwin, co-writer Jeffrey Cranor, and composer / musician / production manager John Bernstein (aka Disparition) – about how to film an art podcast on the road.

What does the tour look like to you and what is your role?

Meg Bashviner: We are currently doing our fifth concert tour. I started working as [tour manager] in 2015; I’ve been touring with the show since 2014.

I think it was a 55 day tour with over forty concerts in a row. This was my training ground for tour management. We had two cars, a minivan and a 22-foot Sprinter van with three or four rows of seats and a large cargo hold. This thing was huge. We all took turns driving it. I hated this thing.

Each of our tours has its own transport alchemy. There are tours that we do entirely by car, those in which we combine flying and driving, and sometimes, when we are in Europe, we fly and train. Previously, we also had to go by ferries – we went by ferry from Vancouver to Victoria.

John Bernstein: I play all the background music during concerts. I am also the production manager of the show. I also do podcasts, again purely in terms of audio production. I do voice acting and sound tracking, as well as editing all vocal work. And I end up doing a lot of work on the road too.

Jeffrey Cranor: I come and do my part of the job. As a co-owner of a company and a co-author of a show, I sometimes have to answer general questions. But for the most part on the tour, I’m just a guest actor.

Who are you traveling with?

Bashwiner: We need six people to do the show, and we can usually go up to ten.

How do you plan and book your trip?

Bashviner: I book all trips. I write everything down: I have all the information, frequent flyer numbers, passport data. When we plan our tours, I use Skyscanner to find out where and when the flights are going.

Do you have an affection for a travel brand?

Bashwiner: We love the Hampton Inn ; this is a very solid budget hotel. There are a lot of them, they are relatively clean, there is free breakfast and Wi-Fi and usually good parking. And they are all kind of the same. You know what bedding is, how the shower works, how to use the remote control, what you will eat for breakfast.

Bernstein: Sometimes we stop at a more beautiful place as a pleasure. Or simply because of some weirdness happening in this city. But overall, when we stay in mid-range hotels, the Hampton is by far the best of its kind in the world.

How are you going to tour?

Bashwiner: Everyone is responsible for their own things and what they wear to the show. Everyone gets one suitcase, a backpack, and maybe another bag.

[I have] a medium-sized hard bag. Medium, because when the big ones are fat they weigh over fifty pounds and you will fight the airlines every day, which is not cute. Tough because the bags get caught in the rain sometimes. In New Zealand, we waited for the plane and looked out the window, saw all the luggage go through it, and the pouring rain soaked the bags. But my hard bags were fine.

Then there are the goods. We deliver a lot of goods directly, but we also carry them with us. We also have Disparition musical equipment.

Bernstein: I have an Ableton Live bass rig. Everything works through a laptop that I have on stage. I use Ableton Live as my launcher for everything. So I have a laptop and a controller with a few buttons and sliders that I use to control the program. I have several cables and [other] components. Then I have either a mandolin or a mandola. I have everything set up so that everything that is important for the show can be taken with you as carry-on luggage. I am never separated from anything.

Cecil Baldwin: I have one Muji hard-sided suitcase . I love this thing – I think after 10 years I had to replace one.

I [also] carry a side bag with me, a typical hippie carry-on bag. And I alternate a backpack or sometimes a shoulder bag, just depending on the nature of the tour.

I also have what I call my show bag. This is another man, I’ve had this thing for ten years now, it’s perfect. This is a garment bag [from Linea]. Every show I’ve ever done with Night Vale has accompanied me to the show.

What’s on your packing list?

Bashviner: I have performance clothes and then “clothes”. On one side of the suitcase are dresses, makeup, hair and shoes. I believe in a place for everything. I collect and unpack my things every day. So I have different sections for different things and I know where to go every day.

I have bags in my bags. I have a laundry bag, one fromBaggu , bags that go into a little zip pocket. I put six Tide capsules in there. Do you know the bag that comes with new sheets? I use this for my shoes. I have my make-up in my bag and one of those roll-up toiletries that comes in a compact package. And then I take a folded clothes bag, so when I go to the theater I can just pack my dress, shoes, makeup and hair in it so I don’t have to take my entire suitcase with me. on the show.

I try to keep the shoes cute – I bring three pairs of shoes with me: trainers, show heels, and I’m a big fan of touring cowboy boots because they dress and dress down. When you’re loading and unloading a car and throwing suitcases and stuff on your feet, it’s good to be in cowboy boots.

Baldwin: Things like train travel you are going to pack differently than if you travel by plane. And you’re going to pack in a totally different way if you’re traveling by car, you know? Because you don’t have to worry about checks, liquid separation and the like. But if you are traveling by plane, you will need this side bag in case your luggage gets lost in Europe for a week. With this thing, I can have two suits, shirts, a pair of shoes, socks, some things that I need to perform, like tea bags for my voice or my backstage pass.

Bernstein: I thought a lot about the backpack I use to carry my audio equipment: I now have Ody USA . I mostly use backpacks designed for DJs because they have compartments specifically for laptops. They have a bunch of pockets. And they have a lot of stuffing in them. The backpack is important to me. Suitcases, real suitcases, I usually have so many things that happen to them that I just buy cheap ones. And use them until they fall apart. So I just go to the shops for 99 cents to buy my big suitcase.

Kranor: When we do a show, my outfit is usually jeans, nice shoes, a button-down shirt, a bow tie, and a sports coat. A bow tie is always good because it is more unusual than a regular tie and people say, “You look great.” I’m like, “This is great. A bow tie distracts me from wearing jeans. “

Another thing I made sure of with my suitcase is that I bought them in bright orange just because I know when my suitcase is out. It’s really nice to have a recognizable suitcase. Nice orange. When my suitcase pops out, I want to know it’s mine. I don’t like this whole workout like, “Oh, here’s another black video; see if Jeffrey Cranor is written here. “

What kind of snacks do you bring?

Bashwiner: When you are a tour manager, you should always have some food with you, because “starvation” is something you can prevent among your soldiers. I always try to have different muesli bars in my purse, sometimes fruit. I can give somebody a Clif bar, a Kind bar, or an Rx bar, we figure it out. I love the almond butter bags.

I try not to eat or drink too much on airplanes; it pisses me off a little. I’m just trying to drink water and eat a granola bar.

Bernstein: We definitely prefer group snacks. Many of us are big fans of jerky. We’re really good at making our welcoming riders so that we can essentially dine for free. We take things from the green rooms with us on the way, instead of buying travel snacks.

Crenor: Cliff Bars has been one of our behind-the-scenes teams for a long time. The Clif Bar was our green M & Ms thing, which was just to make sure people read your rider, so you add a very specific Clif Bar flavor to it. Usually, if they provided a single Clif bar, we knew they were reading it, but usually they bought us a box of them. They weren’t eaten, so we said, “Well, we paid for this, so why let them go?” After all, Meg has a whole drawer in the kitchen.

How do you have fun on the road?

Bashviner: I’m a podcast listener. We listen to a lot of podcasts while driving, I listen during training and on airplanes. I listen to the Bon Appetit food podcast, Radio Cherry Bomb, My Favorite Murder. Science versus is a good one-size-fits-all show that we can all listen to in the van – you learn a thing or two, it’s funny, it’s interesting. I just got into Sold in America, Serial Number, Reply All.

Disparish is a great navigator and has a great selection of music. Sometimes we do car karaoke, we play games with music – we start with a song, and the next person has to choose a song that is somehow related to that song.

If I’m not driving, I download Netflix or Amazon. And then there’s the awful reality show we watch when we get back to the hotel.

Baldwin: I don’t really like podcasts. I love my Netflix, I have Amazon Prime for TV shows. It’s always fun on tour when there is a TV show that two or three of us are watching because you are wasting time on the tour. So when you have shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race or Symphony Sanders, I really loved Castle Rock when it hit Amazon. You’re just so honey, today is Tuesday, you know what that means! We can watch this TV show after the show ends.

Bernstein: For some reason I cannot fully master the e-book. So I still need to set aside some of my suitcase for a few paper books.

Kranor: I have an Amazon Fire so I can turn on Netflix and download some stuff. On my last travels, I downloaded all of the Haunting of Hill House and watched it. Sometimes I do this, and sometimes I just re-read any book I am going to.

[Nintendo] Switch is really good if I know I’m going to be away for a long time. I bought this last year when Joseph and I took a book tour. I’ve played Zelda so much. I’m just beside myself with how much I played Zelda.

How do you find restaurants on the road?

Bashviner: We stop for lunch every day for at least half an hour, and I always choose a place in advance. My rule is no chain restaurants and there should be something useful on the menu. I am researching this and trying to mix it up. I am also trying to balance the situation at the regional level; in the south I’ll make sure we have a barbecue one day. I’m a big fan of vegan and vegetarian restaurants because they are usually cool, fun and local.

I think sometimes with rest stops it can feel like you’re not really out of the way if you’re eating at a McDonald’s food court on the side of the highway. If you go the extra mile, you can feel like a human in a place that is not a hotel, theater, or gas station. Get healthy food, have a cup of coffee. (We like certain truck stops: Love and Bucky stops in Texas.)

The Night Vale tour has a bit of a wellness vibe; we eat healthy foods and exercise. We’re a little older to tour! You must take care of your body when you ask as much of it as we do.

Baldwin: Mag is really great at finding healthy, natural and plant-based cuisine for us. There is nothing worse than getting in a van and thinking, “Okay, we still have three or four hours left and you just hung over with McDonald’s hamburgers knowing that you have at least eight more hours of work ahead of you.”

What’s your arrival ritual?

Bashwiner: When I show up at the hotel in the afternoon, before I sit down and go to my computer, before I do anything else, I change into my gym clothes and go to the gym. If I stop for a second, I will completely lose momentum. It’s hard to convince yourself to do this. But once you’re done, shower, and drive to the venue, you feel like a million dollars.

Baldwin: We usually have one and a half to two hours hotel time before we have to go to the soundcheck. And at that time, I have a playlist that I call my sleepy playlist, which is many varieties of Tibetan / Buddhist chants and relaxing ambient beats that I can play in the middle of the day, take a 45 minute nap, Nothing more, nothing less. Wake up, take the hottest shower I can take. One of the things I’ve learned to spend money on is this really great smelling body soap. Because when it’s three, four in the afternoon, and you were in a van or on planes and airports, and in this very sterile, recycled atmosphere, without moisture, you need to start removing that side of my brain that is associated with travel, and awaken the acting side of my brain.

Bernstein: I usually use the time for training or swimming. And change, that’s all. But I find it really useful. Especially after a day in the car.

Kranor: When I get to the hotel, I usually unpack my things. Then, if I have time and a hotel in the city, I usually go for a walk. I’m usually looking for … a coffee shop. Trendy coffee shops are usually found in a part of the city where there are many old shops, galleries and maybe theaters or something like that. My touring job is less stressful than Cecil and John’s, so I’ll just take a little walk. I’m not particularly grumpy.

What’s the best meal you’ve had on your trip?

Baldwin: I’ve probably eaten two of the best meals in Charleston, South Carolina. [Coast Bar and Grill] is one of the best seafood restaurants I’ve ever been to. Very trendy but perfect. And then the last time we were in Charleston, after the show, our group went to [ Smoke BBQ ]. I spend a lot of energy on stage. So after that I said, “I want protein, and I want it now!” And I want it in huge quantities! And this barbecue place was absolutely amazing. For example, grits and cheese, shrimps and grits, pork sandwiches, beef brisket that just fell apart, oh it was so good.

Bernstein: There is a [place] called Yellow Deli – they have delicacies in quaint little shops all over the world. We enjoy stopping at their deli in Oneont, New York. They have really good chili and corned beef sandwiches. And they are a kind of religious sect that runs this place.

Kranor: [In Sweden] Joseph [Fink, co-creator of Night Vale] found this great restaurant: Den Gyldene Freden . This is the oldest restaurant in Stockholm – it was founded in 1722, so it is an awful old restaurant. Joseph and I bought dinner for everyone and had the most delicious meal ever. We all had a night to relax and be with each other, and we didn’t have to think about traveling the next day or performing that night. The food was impeccable, it was classic Swedish food, so there were definitely meatballs and, what are they, lingonberries? That was the moment when we all found peace together for a couple of hours in this really, very beautiful restaurant. People say that I am always chasing this. When I’m really nervous, I say, “I’m going to go back to Den Gyldene Freden.” This place was awesome.

What are your favorite travel apps / technologies?

Bashwiner: We use the Master Tour program and mobile app. It has everything a tour manager might need: accounting, goods, per diem, crew routing, venue information, promoter information, guest lists – everything a tour manager has.

Then everyone on my team has the Master Tour app, and they can see what the schedule is for the day, what kind of hotel it is, what kind of place it is, what it looks like tomorrow, what are the distances, is there a washer / dryer, all their information about the flight. There is a chat function, a guest list function so they can add names to the guest list … all they have to do is find it. It is very good! When I first started, I collected all this information by email every day, but now it’s all from the very beginning of the tour.

Baldwin: My favorite is Snapseed, which is a versatile photo editing tool. So you’re not just using the same Instagram filter. To be honest, it’s important for me not only to take pictures, oh, look what cool things I do! It’s also true, six months later I might be like that, oh my gosh, remember when I was on the other side of the planet?

Bernstein: I use something called Lug Loc, which is a luggage tracking device and service. This is a Bluetooth device that also connects to cellular networks. And I just throw it in my bag. And then I can look it up on my phone and find where my bag is.

Cranor: [I always use] FlightAware : you just dial your airline’s flight number and it tells you a lot. First, for a flight on the day you are going, it will tell you where it is leaving from and where it is going. It will show you the flight plan, so it will show you your route as well as the approximate actual flight time. It will also provide you with a complete history of that particular flight and how long it took each time.

Another application I use is SeatGuru , which [will show] you a map of every plane of every airline. You can tell him your flight number and he will show you the entire map of the plane. You push the seats and he tells you, “Don’t sit in this seat. There is no window next to it. It’s offset from the window. ”Or“ This seat … doesn’t look like it, but it’s at the bulkhead, so don’t sit here. You have extra legroom, but you can’t put your things, and you won’t have a TV, ”and the like.

What do you buy on the road?

Baldwin: I met for a while with a guy who works with the Japanese mission to the UN. He taught me the importance of omiyage . If you go on vacation wherever you go, you are expected to bring small gifts with you from where you have been. So if I were to go on a West Coast tour and we were staying in San Francisco, I would bring Ghirardelli or Sees Candy or whatever is very typical of the West Coast. I try to do this and look for these things along the way, so it’s a lot of fun.

I was … in Helsinki and I picked up this little guy, he looks like a little brass head. It’s perfectly round, just like this lovely thing. Every time I see it, it looks like yes! The splendor of Scandinavian design.

Kranor: I like to wear cool patterned socks, so I almost always buy socks on the go if I see something cool. Now I really like stickers – I stick them on suitcases. Stickers with things are really hard to find, so I usually look for them. You arrive at the airport and think that this is a classic image: the traveler’s suitcase is covered with stickers with all the places they have visited, but as a rule, they are not taken to airports …