“I’M ON THE ROAD TO GET A KIND OF FAMILY FEELING.”
Eventric recently sat down with well known tour manager Thomas Reitz, who has worked with music industry luminaries such as Luciano Pavarotti, Madonna, Nelly Furtado, and Rihanna. Thomas talks about how he “accidently” started in the business while working as a photographer in his native Germany, his close relationship with Luciano Pavarotti up until his death, and some tips on being prepared as a big-time tour manager.
How did you get into the business of managing tours? Give us an understanding of where you came from and how you got to be at this level.
Everything started as an accident. A friend of mine was a promoter and at that time I was in the German Air Force. He says, “Oh, you know a little English, can you help me to translate some of these riders. These events are getting bigger and I need somebody to help me to translate it.” The promoter liked what I did and basically that’s how I started to become part of the touring industry.
“I did all the scheduling, stage, and organizing. It was an unbelievable time. If you work with one of the greatest stars in the world and then see how the others adored him – that was something even more unbelievable.”
– Thomas Reitz on managing the “Pavoratti and Friends” tour
What year was this?
That was 1978.
After the Air Force I opened up my own business as a photographer and moved to Munich. Some of the promoters I worked with were saying, “Now you have your own business, you know accounting and things like that,” so suddenly I became an accountant and basically moved from production over to accounting and promoter rep.
Later on, one of these promoters needed me as a photographer for the first big show in Berlin with Luciano Pavarotti. I met Pavarotti and he ended up liking what I did with him. At that time his tour manager became sick and I helped out during a show in Munich. Two month later I’d been called to Zurich to again to help with another Pavarotti show even I had a previous booking from the same promoter to do the Genesis tour in Germany.
To do photography?
No, just as a tour rep. He said, “Don’t worry about Genesis; I’ll put somebody else on. I need you with Pavarotti because that’s the big money right now.” So I lost Genesis, Luciano’s tour manager had to leave Zurich because he was really sick. He had a brain tumor and a couple of days later he died unfortunately.
A month later I got the tour plan, and for the next 6 years I did my photography business while I was Luciano’s tour manager. And then we started with The Three Tenors in 1996, after the big success we had in Rome.
And that was huge.
And that became really huge. I was responsible for all 3 Tenors and the conductor and they all been already superstars I had to fly in to choose the right hotels, choose the right company for lights, sound, etc, make sure they had a private airport, because everything was private for them. Than after we did the Doger’s Stadium show in 1996 which was the biggest worldwide transmitted show the management ask me to move to California to help them to prepare a world tour with the 3 Tenors.
Did you miss the schnitzel and the beer?
Basically two or three times a year we had concerts with Pavarotti in Germany anyhow and I had schnitzel and beer.
[Laughs]
I have to say the work with Luciano became for me a full-time job. Even I was a part-time worker in the office, but on the other side Luciano asked me to do a lot of private stuff for him.
So you were almost like his personal manager as well?
Yes a kind of, his managers still did the contracts I did more the work outside of his home. He liked basically the German way of work , somebody who was tough enough and thorough enough to get things done. For his daily life he had a Peruvian assistant and an Italian physio therapist both of them being their for him 24/7.
And you took care of business?
Yes, for example Luciano decided to do the famous Pavarotti and Friends show. He put me in charge to put the shows together. He advised of the artists. He put me in contact with their management or the artist directly and I organized for each show – what artist performed and all the planning. I did all the scheduling, stage, and organizing. It was an unbelievable time. If you work with one of the greatest stars in the world and then see how the others adored him – that was something even more unbelievable.
Who were some of the artists that came along for that tour?
Elton John, Mariah Carey, Liza Minnelli, Sting, Bon Jovi, Joe Cocker, U2, James Brown, Queen, and many more. That was the most exciting time for me, for weeks non-stop on the phone making the shows happen – it was a great great success.
And then we continued with the Three Tenors. We had become very close to Princess Di, to George H.W. Bush, Nelson Mandela etc. I have great stories there and that’s what makes everything worthwhile to be in this business I would say.
Right. He was very active up until his death.
“He loved my little girl and she loved him. She pulled his beard when she was at the hospital with him and he got a smile on his face – even with the pain he had as soon as he saw my little girl coming in – that was the important part for him.
Family was one of the most important parts for him and that’s what I try still to do now with my other artists I’m on the road to get a kind of family feeling.”
Yes. He loved to perform around the world. I was planning our so called farewell tour and he was on vacation in Barbados. He called me 3 weeks before we were scheduled to go out , and told me he ha a big back pain. So I flew down there, picked him up, and put him in the hospital. The doctors told us that he had a huge infection in his vertebrae and the had to operate, so we had to stop the tour. It took nearly four months for two operations and he really wanted to give up, not the doctors nor we gave up on him and encouraged him that he can make it so he went to rehab. Then he calls me and says, “By the way, get everything ready, we can go out in 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks he called again that he is going the next day the doctor for a general check-up and we’re good to go.” The next day I got a call and could first not recognize the sad voice, it was him telling me, that he had pancreatic cancer.
The hardest part for me was really to be there for his last performance, for his funeral and take him to his grave – it was the hardest part I had to go through in my whole life. He became one of my best friends, as well as a mentor and boss. We talked every day. I had a daughter a year later than he had his last daughter and we compared our kids. He loved my little girl and she loved him. She pulled his beard when she was at the hospital with him and he got a smile on his face – even with the pain he had as soon as he saw my little girl coming in – that was the important part for him. Family was one of the most important parts for him and that’s what I try still to do now with my other artists I’m on the road to get a kind of family feeling.
So after Pavarotti how did you find your next gig?
I got in touch with the people I knew from working in rock n’ roll. A good friend of mine said, “Are you available and do you have some time?” I said, “Yes, absolutely.” And he said, “Come to the Garden tomorrow. There’s a meeting.” So I went there. And the next week I was on a plane as the new site coordinator for Madonna.
So I was back in the saddle. Then another friend referred me to Nelly Furtado. They were looking for a tour manager and so I went there and did the full Get Loose Tour with Nelly – and Nelly became my second family.
Yeah, she’s fantastic.
She’s absolutely a lovely lady I have to say and I love her daughter. Unfortunately she liked to be a little bit more at home than on the road and so that was 2005 and 2006. And then on 2008 I got then a call from Rihanna’s management saying, “We’ve heard some great stuff from you from the Nelly camp. We would like to meet you and see if you can help us out” And it worked out that they wanted me for Australia.
Right.
We just finished the Rihanna tour in Europe and in North America. We have now one more show going on in Hong Kong this week and then most probably next year going back out…I think February to Australia, and maybe South America.
On the Rhianna tour in Europe I used the Eventric Master Tour software for the first time.
So let’s talk a little bit about Eventric. How are you using the software? How did you find the new software and how’s it working for you?
It helps a lot. I think the new interface and the overall look of it I like. The map where the venues where you can see right away what’s going on – that’s all very good. We have now a little bit more of the accounting stuff.
So are you using all the parts of the software? Are you using the schedules and are you using the printing, the mobile parts?
I use basically everything.
Are you using the new mobile Master Tour apps?
Not yet. I just learned about it and I have it now on my Blackberry but haven’t actually used it yet. I will try that next week hopefully to work on that one, but that is a part that will work for sure, especially for bands and people like that that like to get everything on line. Right now I make a PDF and send it to everyone, the call sheets, the day sheets and stuff like that.
Let me ask you this question – what do you think makes a good tour manager?
Preparation I think is the key issue. But again to say what is a good or bad tour manager it’s very hard to say that because again it’s a very personal thing. If there is good chemistry going on and you do your job right – I would say 80-90% of all the tour managers do a good job – if they don’t it’s not that they are a good or bad tour manager, maybe the chemistry was bad.
I would say these days the younger people try to compensate for a lack of knowledge or lack of experience with toughness. That doesn’t work because if you deal with the locals in the wrong way – you’re lost.
In the position of tour manager you have to sometimes step up to the plate and defend the artist because you’re the first person they want to talk to – if anything happens with tickets or whatever you have to go out and talk to people. If you act like a punk maybe that’s not the right way that people will respond to you.
An important part is to get people to play as a team. You can be the nice guy – and that’s how I introduce myself – I’m the nice guy until something goes wrong and then you don’t want me on the other side because I can be a pain in the ass.
Right. You mentioned that preparation is important.
Have a good back-up team and trust the people – especially the vendors you’re working with. Get them to understand that your job on the road is hard and you need them as full support – not only from 8 to 5 and they’re gone.
Call and ask, figure out what’s going on at the venue. If you don’t know it make sure you will know before you go there. That makes a good or bad tour manager. My obligation is to call up and see if the numbers are correct. Yes, Master Tour has a lot of venue information in the database – but what I’m saying is you call your promoters, you send the e-mails out and then you send your advance team.
And yes – on the road everything can happen in a heartbeat. But then you have your phonebook ready and know who you can call saying, “Okay, I know a guy who lives close by here, he helped me ten years ago; let’s see if he’s still in the market or still at home.” That’s where the experience comes in.
Wrapping up the interview but I thought I’d ask you a question about the food. How do you not gain 50 pounds on the road?
You want the real answer?
Yeah.
Tour in the U.S. then you’re not gaining weight. Tour in Europe you gain weight.
[Laughs]
In the U.S. unfortunately you have the in-house caterers and most of the time the basic food is macaroni & cheese, hot dogs, and burgers. In Europe for example all the catering companies you travel with them, they are on the bus with you. For three months, four months along you travel around Europe and they are with you and they are taking care. They are going shopping. They are making sure you have different kinds of foods.
I assume of all the tours you worked on Pavarotti had the best food.
You know the man himself taught me how to cook.
All right. Well Thomas thank you very much for being a customer of ours and for taking the time to talk to us about your career, your experiences and your professional tips while you’re out and about Hong Kong.
You’re welcome.