Jerry Fitzpatrick has been in the musical industry for close to 30 years in a role typically unappreciated by the general public. Fitzpatrick has been a bus driver for some of the most popular musical acts of our time ranging from The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and for the last 12 years he has been Dave Matthews’s bus driver. Fitzpatrick recently decided to chronicle his life by writing a book titled, Tales from the Trails of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Bus Driver. Here he talks about the process of sharing story and a bit about his life on the road. For more information or to purchase a copy, “visit the Cowboy Buddha Publishing website:”http://cowbudpub.com/.

Jerry, just so everyone has a little background about you, how long have you been a bus driver in the music industry, and what got you into the business?

I’ve been a driver for nearly 30 years. The first few years, I drove trucks, hauling gear. The rest of the time has been spent behind the wheel of custom-lease coaches. I had thoughts of being a “trucking tycoon” before I started driving coaches. Rules and regulations in the trucking industry, deregulation of the industry and the “safety” re-regulation by the government led to many frustrations with trucking. At the time, the coach business wasn’t falling into any transportation categories so the rules were different. That, along with my persistence to work around the live music and entertainment industry, is what got me into the business.

Who is the first person you started driving for?

I first started working “one-offs,” meaning I’d work a regional show for a band that wasn’t on tour. I worked those shows for a local production company from Little Rock, Arkansas, where I lived. I drove the truck, helped stack speakers and pull cables, adjusted par cans and did whatever needed to be done. Several of the first tours I traveled with were Peter Tosh, Mickey Gilley, Air Supply and Barbara Mandrell. The first band I drove in a tour bus was a country band named Atlanta from where else than Atlanta, Georgia. *

Getting to book, Tales from the Trails of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Bus Driver, what made you want to write it? How long did it take to write?

I wanted to create something from nothing in a fashion similar to how those I work around create every day. After a summer tour ended, I had a long stretch at home. During the fall and winter months from October to March, I sat down in my home office every morning to write. For the rock ‘n’ roll stories, I looked through my old itineraries, which are filled with dates and notes, and the memories came flowing back.

The entire process of writing and editing and learning about the publishing business took three years. Lots of help came from Jillian McGehee in editing and getting my work into book form. Going into the project, I thought it would go faster. In my line of work, I’m used to things going by quickly, from the miles to the tours. I did enjoy the process of writing, though, so much so that I am trying my hand at a fiction book.

You make it clear early on in the book that it is not a “tell all book” so what can readers expect?

I wanted to share some unprecedented rock ‘n’ roll stories to entertain the reader, but I wanted a focus on my life experiences as well. The personal stories that led me to my career seemed like a different kind of life than by most people I know. How I got here and why the job fits someone like me were important aspects for me to share.

Readers can expect to learn about the industry from my perspective, especially from the transportation side of things. It’s not a big party; it’s a big job with huge responsibility. I literally have the lives of my passengers in my hands. Readers can also be expected to giggle, smile and scratch their head from tales of life on tour.

Readers might be surprised to see one of the themes of your book seems to be redemption, why did you want to focus on such a serious topic?

I think there are a lot of folks like me, who tried to figure out life with the minimal resources and guidance we were given. I didn’t have the ideal upbringing, and I longed to escape my surroundings and search for my own life meaning. It’s a message to others not to give up on searching for the best life possible for yourself. Searching has its detours. Getting around them is important to moving on.

Even through all of my rebellion and hard times, I maintained a self-honesty and integrity. I knew there was something better out there. I had to keep searching. I used to think searching would lead to some sort of meaning in my life. I realize now that the meaning of my life was in the searching. My searching led me through some detours. Those detours led me places where I could be forgiven and learn how to forgive. The trying times during my youth ultimately redeemed me from a downtrodden life so that I could be successful.

In the book you talk about your time in the Marines and then the time you spent in jail, looking back at that time in your life what did you learn?

At that time in my life the Marines Corps turned out to not be for me, but I’ll never take for granted the organizational skills and self-discipline I learned during my enlistment; much of which benefits me working in this business. Being a Marine also helped me gain self-confidence and raised my self-esteem. On having experienced jail, I learned that I didn’t want to be caged like an animal my whole life and, that choice was completely up to me.

As I explain in the book, shortly before I was to be released from jail, I was accidentally left in the rice field, where we worked during the day. I could have easily escaped, but instead, I started walking back. A guard stopped after noticing me as he was driving by. He was shocked I hadn’t tried to escape. I was done running and didn’t want to mess up my chance at being released and starting a new life.

Jerry holding his collection of passes from the tours he’s worked on over the years.

Something you touch on in the book is your relationship with different people such as the relationship you have with your father who was absent most of your life and the relationship you had with your abusive mother; what made you want to divulge those aspects of your personal life?

It’s the true story of my life as a youth. My mother was abusive as some other mothers are and have been. My dad was absent as others were and are now. Some of the bad decisions I made were the result of those parental dynamics, statistically speaking anyway. At one point as a young adult, I was about to jump off a bridge when a cop stopped me. It’s the fate of what is and isn’t supposed to be. That cop stopped me from jumping, but looking back, I believe my integrity and desire for a better life kept me alive through all of the hard times. I have no regrets for writing the truth. Time has passed. It’s up to me, those things don’t matter now.

What has been the funniest thing or most interesting story you have from your time on the road?

Funny is as funny does. I’ve had so many experiences that have evoked laughter and fun times. In the book, many of my stories from the road are laced with humor. In the book I share rock-star quirks to funny fan tales. Girls who tattooed my phone number on their arms thinking it was the number of the star I was driving. It’s hard to name which is the funniest.

A few days ago I stood on the old stage in the Baltimore Arena. An arena that opened in the mid-60’s. In its day it was one of the most modern arenas to be built. Not so much today. The Beatles, Stones, Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis, Jr., Zeppelin, and hundreds of others had stood right where I stood on that stage. I’ve taken dozens of artist to that building. It’s the arena where I first held my second wife’s hand. We met while on tour. She was a professional wrestler and her wrestling group headlined there. Funny is in the daily observations of life disrupted when the circus comes to town. Interesting is traveling with the circus.

You have driven such artists as Aerosmith, The Grateful Dead, Courtney Love, Emmylou Harris, Eddie Murphy, and currently you drive for the Dave Matthews Band. Who has been the most exciting to drive for and why?

I have driven on those tours and many others and have had exciting times with all of them. Sometimes I’ve transported stars, and sometimes it’s been the crews riding in my coach. There has been good and bad excitement transporting both. Driving is driving. I’m approaching 2 million miles of safe driving. I’ve been back and forth and round and round America and Canada. Much of today’s entertainment is the constant imitation of others. It seems there is little new excitement to be had in the replay. The excitement requirements and status have changed through the years as the inevitable pressures of age, traffic and career start to take effect.

For many entertainment events, the only thing that changes is the name of the town the bus stops in. They present themselves every night at the exact time in the same location on the stage, night after night. It doesn’t matter if the stage is in Tucson or Toledo. The daily issues of travel, the people met along the way, the bumps in the road that you hit and go around, the cheer of the crowd. That’s where the fun and excitement can be found.

Any advice you would give to someone who is interested in getting into this business? Most people would think you just drive for a few hours each night and then you get to see a lot of free concerts. Is it really that easy?

The average driver will drive 40-60,000 miles-plus during a touring season. The average driver will service generators dozens of times, vacuum, mop, make beds, clean toilets, be responsible to repair broken every-things, and whatever else that gets tossed into the mix during the trip. When at the show, the sound of the performance is all around. No need to stand and watch it night after night. Drivers look at the clock, anticipate departure, possible obstructions, weather and traffic and consider other responsibilities. If you are a crew driver the opportunities to see the show are few. Show time is rest time. No one wants to see their driver when they’re supposed to be sleeping for the next run. If you are a band driver then you are around the show nearly every night.

For the entertainment tour coach driver, government rules and regulations have taken the fun out and decreased the opportunity to make increased wages. The paperwork load has quadrupled and there is no new compensation for it. Many of the new government safety and log book issues pertain more to the trucking industry than our specialized type of business and there is no lobbying representation in DC to set the record straight. There is much discussion of how the Entertainment Coach Leasing business will even survive in the future. The tour bus business is not like the pirate days of old anymore. No more living like pirates on land yachts living the mantra of “Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll.” The business end of the business has taken over the romance of the job.

Your book is obviously much more than just stories about rock n’ roll, so what would you like readers to take away from your book?

I would like them to come away with more knowledge of what really goes on in the touring industry. If I make them laugh or inspire them, all the better.