We Are The Road Crew - A History of Roadies

We Are The Road Crew - A History of Roadies

Author: Curiouscast May 7, 2025 Duration: 30:29
There are plenty of thankless jobs out there…think about the people who have to work outside in all kinds of weather…line workers for power companies…garbage collectors… construction workers. Same goes for prison officers, nurses, teachers, and first responders of all types…i could go on, but you get the idea…so much needs to go on behind the scenes for us to be able to live our lives.  There are dirty jobs but someone’s gotta do it…for the most part, they do their jobs so well that we don’t even think about them…but if not for these people, society wouldn’t function.  Now let’s look at the music industry…the performers get all the glory, but we’d know nothing of them if it wasn’t for the massive support they get from people in the background.  That includes support staff at record labels and management companies,  publicists, assistants, and thousands of other positions that helps make the music happen.  One of the most important positions is paradoxically both visible and invisible…if they do their jobs well, they’re ghosts…but if they don’t, things don’t go so well…in fact, they may not go as well.  I’m talking about roadies, members of the road crew, the people who enlist in the army that’s necessary to put an act on tour…without their expertise, long hours, and willingness make sure everything always goes smooth, there would be no live experience.  They say that if there ain’t no audience, there ain’t no show…but if there ain’t no road crew, then their ain’t nothing at all. This is a history of the men and women who make live shows happen…it’s the story of roadies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over two decades, the Ongoing History of New Music has served as an essential audio documentary series, digging deep into the stories that shaped alternative rock, hip hop, and everything in between. Hosted by the legendary music historian Alan Cross, this podcast functions as a curated archive of musical culture, moving far beyond simple artist profiles. Each episode is a thematic exploration, connecting sonic dots across decades to reveal the hidden contexts, forgotten pioneers, and cultural shifts that define what we listen to. You’ll hear about the scenes that birthed genres, the technologies that changed production, and the personalities whose influence ripples through today’s charts. It’s less a linear history lesson and more an ongoing conversation about why music matters, delivered with Cross’s authoritative yet accessible narrative style. Tune in and discover the rich, often surprising backstories behind the songs and artists you thought you knew, gaining insights you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. This is Canadian broadcasting at its most inquisitive and enduring, making the Ongoing History of New Music a foundational listen for anyone curious about the forces that continually reinvent our sonic landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Ongoing History of New Music
Podcast Episodes
Stupid History 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:49
What do you remember from history class back in school?... Maybe a few dates and events…maybe the names some important people…and probably how dull a lot of history classes were. I remember being inundated with a bunch o…
The Surprising History of Glam Rock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:09
At its best, rock is a transcendent experience, something that takes us somewhere away from the ordinary, the normal, and the safe…there’s a huge fantasy element to it…done right, rock removes us from this universe and t…
The Rock Explainer 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:04
This is the fifth edition of an occasional series called “The Rock Explainer.” The idea is to explore the strange, unexplained, and traditional aspects of rock culture that don’t get enough attention and analysis… In man…
The Rise and Fall of the MP3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:10
The mp3 had a spectacular rise…the tech was everywhere…it brought music and the industry into the digital era. But like almost everything in this universe, it has a finite lifespan…it’s still with us and in many ways is…
The History of Concert Sound [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:38
Ever been to a concert and wondered "How do they make all of this work?". "How have I not gone deaf?" or "Why does the dude on stage wearing what looks like a pair of ear-buds?" Well we're here to answer those questions…
Legendary Gigs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:45
Maybe it was the first time you saw your favourite musical. Maybe they played a set list that you thought was perfection. Maybe you were front and centre and the singer crowd surfed right over your head! So sure...an abs…
The 100 Greatest Rock Moments of the Millennium So Far - Part 10: (10-1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:49
People who study such things say that the human brain—this folded lump of mostly fat—has a pretty good hard drive…the average adult brain has a capacity of about 2.5 petabytes…put another way, that’s 2.5 million gigs…tha…
The 100 Greatest Rock Moments of the Millennium So Far - Part 7: (40-31) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:22
It’s wild how so much in this universe is connected in ways we don’t understand…there’s something in quantum physics that Einstein called “spooky interaction at a distance”. Quantum theory says that you can have a partic…