Dimmer Beach: Quite simply, a Bus Mom takes care of the bus when the driver is at the hotel during the day. Your bus is your house on the road, and just like you have to clean and stock your house with food, you have to do the same with your bus. I was a Bus Mom, and a damn good one (if I say so myself). There are three main responsibilities for a Bus Mom
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As underappreciated as the role may be, it is very important in the touring world to have a ‘bus mom’. The place would probably become a pigsty if someone were not there constantly taking care of it day in and day out. They are like a manager of the life of the performers. When things need to be clean – they’re on it, when people have to wake up at a certain time- that’s their job, and when a performer needs somebody to talk to and confide in at all hours of the night- they are there. As silly as it may seem, the life and the role of the quote on quote ‘Bus Mom’ is essential and very highly respected. I’d relate it to taking care of adult children, you have to keep them happy and continue to restock the beer. Plus, it’s a small price to pay when all of the ‘free stuff’ comes around.
So I have to admit that I have never heard of the “bus mom” before, but I think this article does a great job at outlining the position in a humorous way. It’s one of those things where there must be a group of people out there that are regular bus moms who love the article. I think it’s important to recognize and appreciate the people who take care of things that most people wouldn’t really think of when it comes to touring, like making sure the bus isn’t an absolute shithole. This article shines some light on that job, and also makes it seem decently fun when looked at with the right attitude. Chances are some of us are going have to fill this position at one point in time, and even if we don’t we should be appreciative of the people we meet who just make lives easier for us.
Though the Bus Mom does not seem like a very exciting job, someone needs to do it. There are always jobs that have to do the dirty work for everyone else and take care of everyone. We often take those jobs for granted and we do not think about them as important compared to the people working on things that are more recognized. Without all of the people in the “little” jobs, nothing else would be possible. They do not do their job for all of the thanks and appreciation, but they deserve that more than anyone else. They are doing the jobs that no one else wants to do or that other people complain about doing and consider chores. Bus Moms and other people like them, are the undercover heroes of an operation. No one would be able to work properly if they did not have food or drinks on the bus for a long trip.
I feel like jobs like this are so easy to overlook. It's so easy to forget that groups that tour are - at the end of the day - people with everyday needs and wants. Personally, I have never really thought of something as mundane as groceries in terms of a traveling show. And though grocery shopping and head counting sounds deceptively easy, I imagine that the rigors of the schedule a traveling production is subject to adds to the difficulty. Trying to track so many moving parts and people under such time constraints is a gargantuan tasks. Throw on top of that trying to adapt to each different location, and establishing some kind of routine that is applicable no matter where you go is near impossible. Even if a show is traveling exclusive in the US, there are different regional grocery stores and accommodations. If a show is traveling abroad, then the tour is subject to a whole different set of variations. Perhaps most importantly, a Bus Mom has to be able to assess and balance the wants and needs of the group. And that is no mean feat.
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