GoFundMe Launched to Help out of Work Touring Crews

People in work all in facets of the metal industry are going to be financially hurt by bands’ sudden inability to tour — and that includes the hardworking men and women who populate touring crews (often known as “roadies”). Tour managers, techs, sound engineers, merch people… all the folks who work the thankless-but-necessary jobs to make tours and live shows in general possible suddenly have no means of income. It is, to put it mildly, a bummer.

So please take note of this new GoFundMe campaign launched by Frank Fanelli, former singer for The World We Knew, owner of CAT Clothing, and someone who makes his living doing various jobs on tour crews, including being a tour manager, a merch dude, and a LD for acts such as Black Veil Brides, JID, Pennywise, and Bam Margera.

Frank is now selling two new shirt designs, both based on a nickname, “Merch Daddy,” he received while working on the Vans Warped Tour… and he’ll “be splitting ALL the donations between everyone who can prove of the touring job they lost through the band themselves, the booking agents, or the management teams.” Already-confirmed beneficiaries of the money raised will include members of the touring crews for bands like Gojira, Between the Buried and Me, Cannibal Corpse, Deftones, Hatebreed, Zakk Wylde, and many, many more.

The shirts are twenty bucks each, but donations of all sizes are surely appreciated. The campaign will run only until the end of March, so if you can, please chip right now. It would be cool if you could help spread the word, too.

You can learn more from the below video, and donate here. Remember — without these men and women, the live shows we all love so dearly would never be able to happen. Don’t be shy about helping them out in this time of need!