Waking up inside the tour machine, and looking towards the cockpit. Curtains make it feel more homely. In the front, you can see the Full Wave Rectifier Laboratories Tour Machine modifications, that are implemented to all FWRL tour vehicles before they hit the road. A wide variety of extra gauges to display readings of all vital functions of the engine, are a necessary addition to any vehicle which is going to be driven across entire continents non-stop. It can prevent damage from occurring by showing the road crew early signs of trouble, which can usually be fixed on the side of the road. There's an array of switches to control all electrical systems, plus several auxiliary lights, to make the Tour Machine driveable in all kinds of weather and terrain. Then there's a CB radio, to communicate with other professional drivers, a must have for all responsible motorists. Finally, in front of the passenger seat, there is a custom FWRL audio amplifier, hard-wired to a hi-fi Cassette Tape deck, with extra RCA and 1/4" Jack inputs for connecting other music sources or even having a full on band practice in the back while the van is on the move. On the shelf between the seats, you can see phone chargers, passes, maps, notes, and a CO alarm, since we use gas and wood heating in the van overnight.
The Tour Machine somewhere in France, in a very picturesque layby where band and road crew spent the night.
The Tour Machine again, this time somewhere in rainy England, staying over in someone's land after yet another hot gig.
What it looks like in a rather cramped Tour Machine. Beds and things everywhere. Approximately 2000 lbs of music gear, plus clothes. The orange glowing thing is a gas heater, used to keep the crew warm overnight. We have since fitted a wood burning stove, which turns out to be cheaper to run and can keep the van cosy and warm even when the outside temperature is -5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yet another one of the Tour Machine, this one is in the mountains of the Czech Republic. You can see some of the payload in the back. Why so many pictures of the tour machine? Simply because it is the most vital aspect of the logistics of a Jesus is Angry tour. More and more experimental musicians nowadays are just touring with a laptop as their sole "instrument". It is quite easy to do it like that, you only need a backpack, and then you can catch flights to all the gigs, or even hitch-hike, or use trains. Not much to worry about. Some artists feel complete doing that. But Jesus is Angry is doing something entirely different. It is not really a common sight to see bands nowadays performing on vast arrays of hand-crafted analog modular synthesizers, real vacuum-tube driven spring reverb tanks suspended from lighting racks, monster-sized 60's mixing desks, full-size drumkits, vintage vacuum-tube instrument amplification, massive pedalboards with all-analog hand-crafted and selected vintage effects, smoke machines, custom light shows, video projections, analog modular video synthesizers, and setting up a mobile record store at every gig, featuring a grand selection of insanely good music from all over the world. You know why you don't see this every day? Because it's fucking hard to do!! Most people nowadays just won't bother. Why bother when you can just do most of that with a laptop? Well.. Because it's not quite the same. A laptop can never pack the immense quality of sound of dedicated vintage analog circuitry, put together with love and care, in a process taking decades to complete, or the punch of a real flesh/blood/bones drummer beating the seven bells of hell out of a BIG MOTHERFUCKER drumkit. In a laptop performance, the audience will not be showered with the sweat of a guitar-man going crazy, and will not be endangered by splinters of wood flying towards them after the bass player smashes his bass into oblivion. They will not be able to witness the sheer complexity of analog modular synthesizer systems, where all sounds have to be patched and dialed in by hand at every gig, with no presets or safety nets. It takes a whole lot of musicianship and dedication to pull off a gig with real instruments. But it takes more than most are willing to give, to organise the logistics of such a tour. It takes an extremely capable vehicle, to transport the sheer weight and volume of all the music gear, along with the band and road crew, reliably, to gig after gig after gig across vast distances of varied terrain, sometimes through politically unstable regions, other times through extreme weather, and always against the clock ticking away towards the next gig. It takes highly trained drivers to keep that rig running for endless hours, and skilled mechanics to maintain it. It takes inventive electronics engineers to keep all the music gear running smooth and sounding great. It takes fearless tour managers to keep the touring crew alive throughout the entire tour, in all kinds of weather, in all kinds of weird places, and to make sure all the paperwork is in order and all the bureaucratic procedures are followed to the letter. It takes one hell of a booking agent to book all the gigs and make sure the costs of the tour are met, and that the spaces can actually fit all our gear and their electrical installations can take the strain. Finally, it takes a whole lot of muscle to lift all of the aforementioned 2000 lbs of gear in and out of the van, up and down stairs to the venues, in and out of the van again, EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY!! So here, our dear audience, is where all the difference is. We go the extra mile. We provide quality entertainment, once only matched by multi-million dollar artists backed by multi-national monster record corporations, and nowadays not even matched by them. We go where others don't. We dare to be different. We dare to care about quality. Full Wave Rectifier Laboratories and Jesus is Angry rule the road. Go to the next Jesus is Angry show near you. Buy a Jesus is Angry record, or any record put out by FWRL, or go to any gig organized by FWRL. Your life will change forever.
