Tour life might seem glamorous and fun, but it ain’t for the faint of heart. Between the homesickness and long drives, there’s also the issue of where to rest your head each night. Up-and-coming bands cutting their teeth playing tiny gig after tiny gig don’t get to ride in a lux tour bus much less stay in a hotel room every evening. Instead, they get to crash wherever they can while trying to save up gas money. NWOBHM veterans Raven — who are gearing up to drop a new album, Metal City, their 14th LP overall, on September 18th via SPV/Steamhammer — have seen it all over the course of their 46 year career and have stayed at some pretty shady spots while on the road. We caught up with vocalist John Gallagher, who formed the band back in 1974 with his brother, Raven guitarist Mark, to get a look at what tour life is really all about, warts and all.
