Today's Blind Items - The Massage - Anniversary Month

Back in the day, these two bands were on tour together. One was just starting out and one was at about their peak. Neither one ever hit A list, although the one starting out, really came close. On the backstage rider for the more established band was a masseuse. Specifically a female masseuse. I had never seen it on a rider before, because usually bands or singers will have their own masseuse with them if that is something they need. When they have their own, there is trust and a relationship and you don't have a different stranger touching you in every city. I didn't hire one from a high end spa or anything like that, because they all wanted to charge per person and I was pretty sure that between the two bands and all the crew members, that I would be out some serious money. So, I found a masseuse who would work for a flat rate for a few hours and she thought she could get some serious tip money. I told her that although one of the bands was established, that this was not a stadium or arena tour and they might not have as much money as she thought. I wanted her to know that going in and she said not to worry. 

So, the day of the show comes and she has a massage table set up backstage in its own little area behind a curtain. Apparently most promoters didn't actually fulfill the masseuse part of the rider so both bands were pretty excited about it and not twenty minutes after pulling up a band member was enjoying a massage. About ten minutes after it started, the band member came out from behind the curtain in his underwear and ran back to the bus and came back with his wallet. Ten minutes after that he emerged again from behind the curtain and said he was finished. One by one, the members of the more established band went in behind the curtain until they had all been serviced. Well, that left the guys from the lesser known at the time band, and they were not getting paid very much for this tour. It was for exposure. They explained the issue to the masseuse who told them not to worry. She liked their hit song and said she knew the guys from the other band would be back and would pay her again. She serviced the up and coming band for free. The band was so grateful, if you look at the liner notes from their next record, there is a photo of that massage table.