by Chris Castellanos
Hello, I’m Chris Castellanos, and I am a travelholic. Some call us road warriors, others call us crazy. I love the travelling aspect of my job just as much as I enjoy the playing. I love meeting new people, playing new venues, the air travel, car rides, the after-concert hangouts, and everything that comes with being a touring musician! Of course, it’s not always smooth sailing, and there’s a lot that goes into making your travel a better experience. With that, I’ll let you know the kinds of things that I personally do to make road life as good an experience as possible.
First, since we are all musicians, it should come as no surprise that my #1 rule for travel is to make sure that I am giving myself the best chance for success on stage at all costs. This means, whether it’s an audition, a one-time gig, or a full-blown tour, I make sure that my travel allows me to be punctual, comfortable, and as stress-free as possible. No, I don’t mean that every flight is first-class or that every hotel is the Four Seasons; but I do mean that taking a flight that departs at 6:00 a.m. and has a four-hour layover and which gets you to an engagement with only a few hours to spare is NOT worth saving a little bit of money. Why in the world would one jeopardize months of preparation for an audition? or sacrifice sounding anything less than their best on a rehearsal or show just to save some money on a flight?
It’s with this in mind that for a morning or early-evening engagement, if possible, I will almost always opt to fly in the night before. Even if this costs me a hotel for the night, I rest easier knowing that I am there already and don’t have to worry about unforeseen issues travelling on the day of the scheduled event. If my engagement is in the evening, I arrive as early as my schedule allows me that day. Since I live on the west coast, I almost always opt for a red-eye flight (an overnight flight usually leaving between 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.). I know that this is unpopular for many, but red-eye flights put you where you need to be early the next morning while building in time for any unexpected circumstances. I can get to my hotel, check in early, get some rest, and have plenty of time to get ready and prepare for whatever I’m there to do that night. Also, red-eye flights are almost always the last flight of the day, which means you can show up to the airport later and not worry about big lines and crowded terminals…and red-eye flights are almost always cheaper as well. Of course, if I’m flying east to west, there are no red-eye flights, so I’ll either take the last flight the night before (and bear the added hotel cost), or I’ll take the first flight the next morning.
I could write an entire article just on how to take advantage of airline frequent-flyer programs. As one who has flown around 150K miles annually for close to 20 years (and who is a proud charter member of Delta’s top-tier Diamond Medallion Program), one could say I’m a bit addicted. In short, I want to highly recommend that you join frequent flyer programs and start reaping the benefits that are available to you. If you take more than five round-trip flights per year, you should consider sticking to a dedicated airline and achieving status on that airline. Apply for a credit card that entitles you to benefits with the airline of your choice, such as free TSA PreCheck or Clear memberships, free checked bags, companion tickets, bonus airline miles, and maybe even airline lounges. If you have even the lowest tier status on most airlines, you are entitled to perks such as free first-class upgrades, priority seating, and access to a dedicated phone line that will put you well ahead of the general masses when it comes to getting anything solved if something goes wrong with your flight. For me, these conveniences are crucial on any trip.
Hotels, on the other hand, are somewhat less of a priority for me, where I am not quite as loyal. When booking a place to stay, I almost always opt for a website like Priceline or Kayak. I did have top-tier status with a major hotel chain for a few years, and while it was nice to accrue points towards stays, get a few free bottles of water and the (very) occasional room upgrade, the extra price just wasn’t worth it to me. The bottom line is that while a flight delay, a luggage faux pas, or an insanely long layover can totally derail a travel day, once I’m at the hotel, I have no need for extra perks. If the hotel is clean and the bed is decent, I am satisfied. I usually choose 3-star and above with at least a 7.5 rating on Priceline. On occasions that I need more room or more privacy than a hotel offers, I’ll look at Airbnb.
The last thing I’ll say about travel is regarding car rental. I absolutely loathe car rental facilities and hate arriving somewhere after a long flight just to get on the crowded bus to the rental agencies and wait in a long line to be upsold on insurance and have hundreds of dollars put on hold on my credit card all for a strange-smelling, overpriced car. Now, I only rent cars on Turo. On my last trip, I got a brand new fully-loaded Audi Q5 SUV for the same price as regular SUVs from the car rental companies. I worked directly from the Turo app, chose the insurance rate (purchasing insurance not required), and was in direct contact with the person from whom I rented. I appreciate that I just showed up at passenger pick-up where someone met me, looked at my license, and gave me the key . . . and I was on my way. The process is the same for returning the car: I just set up a time to meet them at passenger drop-off and handed them the keys. I even get 500 Delta miles per rental!
Now that we’ve got travel issues out of the way, there is that little thing called practice. I live by the 12-hour rule on the road: I don’t let 12 hours go by without putting the horn to my face. Though this may seem a little obsessive, especially on long travel days, it’s doable and, more importantly, necessary to keep in shape for my shows with Boston Brass (which are particularly taxing). I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of practice mutes, but they are a necessity on the road (although I use them primarily as a last resort). I own no fewer than 7 different brands of practice mutes, but I have 3 favorites. First, I prefer to play with my Balu practice mute. It is quiet and more in tune than most of the others. But it is so beautiful that I can’t just throw it in my luggage and not worry about it being damaged like I can with my Yamaha Silent Brass. For longer tours, I will almost always have the Silent Brass with me because it is quiet, fairly well in tune outside of the extreme registers, and as durable as a tank (so I can just toss it in my checked luggage if I want). If luggage space is my concern for a short trip, I will bring my Okura practice mute. It’s not the same quality as the Balu or the Silent Brass, but it fits in my bell (even with the bell detached in the case) and is a real space saver that gets the job done for short practice sessions. While I use practice mutes in hotel rooms, in airports, and even on airplanes, I do everything in my power to practice without them. Most of the time, I will ask to use the conference room at a hotel, but if it is not an option, I will often practice in my rental car. It may be a bit cramped and uncomfortable, but I can still get time in on the horn with no mute.
While travel is a huge part of my life—and I wouldn’t trade my job with Boston Brass for any job in the world—it would be hard on home life if I wasn’t careful. For this reason, my colleagues and I have a rule of no more than ten days in a row on the road (unless we are out of the country). Typically, we are out for three days to one week at a time and then home for the same amount of time. At home, I want to spend as much time with my wife and two kids as possible, and I feel unbelievably lucky to make a living doing what I love and then to come home to give an equal amount of undivided attention to my family. This means that my daily practice sessions and arranging work happen before the kids are up, while they are at school, or after everyone is asleep so that I don’t take away from family time. On the occasion that I do take work outside of the Boston Brass, I make sure that it is something that is either very musically satisfying or something that I am performing with my wife (who is also a very busy musician). My serious advice here is that if you intend to travel or already do travel for a living, having a partner who is understanding of what it is that you do and why it’s important to you is incredibly important. They must realize, and you must be upfront about the fact, that there will be holidays missed and special occasions apart. In turn, it’s your duty to do everything you can to turn those into small bumps instead of large ones. For me, this means that if I’ve got to spend extra money on a flight to get home for a day or two between performances and see my wife, even if it would be easier and cheaper to just stay out on the road, I do it. If I’m leaving for a week and my 8-year-old has school the next morning, we stay up for a special night of movies and snacks and let him be a little late the next day. If I must burn some miles or cash to buy an extra plane ticket and a bigger hotel room to bring my 16-year-old daughter on the road so we can spend extra time together, I do it!
I’ll leave you with this in closing: being a musician for a living is a privilege. It’s a privilege that we earn with hard work and sacrifice. It’s difficult enough to put all the blood, sweat, and tears into winning a job, performing at your highest level, and rounding it all out by being a good colleague. Do yourself a favor and don’t make things harder by taking terrible flights, staying at poor-quality hotels, and being miserable in your travels just to save money. Life is about more than just the performance. At the end of the day, you will be much happier, play better, and have more memorable experiences if you travel right!
Simple Gifts, Boston Brass
Allemande from Partita no. 1, J.S. Bach
