3 Aug 2019

Loren Gold: Our guest editor on Backstage Blog

Whilst The Who and their crew are taking a well-earned summer rest before the second leg of the 2019 Moving On! tour kicks off at Madison Square Garden on September 1st, we have invited The Who’s keyboardist and backing vocalist, Loren Gold to let you know how he and the other members of The Who’s touring band spend their days when the band is on the road. Oh, and check out Loren’s great photographs too!

Above photo by William Snyder. All other photos by Loren Gold

Loren Gold’s Backstage Blog

First off, I have to tell you – I love my job . . .

Nothing is better than waking up on show day, knowing you’ll be performing some of the greatest popular music ever written and recorded. I thought I would share a typical day with you Wholigans!

OK, so I wake up and immediately look for coffee. Nothing else matters in that moment!

Then it’s emails, news . . . then off to the gym. In that order.

Next, look for food! Eggs, any style with a green smoothie always works (I’m not a millennial!)

After the meal, I’ll walk around the city a bit, take some photos, and make some phone calls.

Back to the hotel, shower, lobby, get in the car and head to the venue.

Upon arrival, the very first thing the band do is inspect the guacamole – which is always on the rider! Somehow, I have become the designated guac expert, and everyone waits for me to take the first taste. “Well, how is it??” I either say “It’s shit!” or “Hmm, not bad.” I’m no expert, but somehow I’ve become a guac snob, haha!!!

After the guac taste test (followed by some fresh vegetable juice courtesy of Mr Starkey), we head to the stage for soundcheck.

When I walk on stage, the first thing that hits me is the thought of all the work the crew has done. They arrive very early in the day, on very little sleep, to make everything just right for us. My keyboards are set up, all ready to go, thanks to my personal tech Brian Kehew. I always glance over at all the guitars, where I’m used to seeing our good friend Alan Rogan. As most of you know, Alan passed away just before our last show at Wembley. I miss him dearly.

After soundcheck, we head off to catering for an early dinner. It’s a nice time to catch up with everyone.

After dinner, I head to my practice piano and work on my ‘Love Reign O’er Me’ intro, something I look forward to every night. I challenge myself to change it up a bit for each show . . . not just for myself, but also for my bandmates!

Some days, we gather around the piano and rehearse the background vocals, which I really enjoy. Even on songs we’ve been doing for years, I love singing a cappella and hearing those wonderful harmonies.

After practicing for an hour or two, I’ll get my stage clothes on and get ready for the show.

The show? Well, it’s always a rush, to say the least. Pete and Roger continue to inspire and amaze me. I’m honored to be on stage with them, and I savor the moment with everyone else. The fans are amazing. I look out into the crowd every night and feel that we are all in this together, just taking a break from any stress in our lives for a couple of hours.

That’s basically a run down of a Who show day. My days off? Well, you’ll usually find me hiking, taking plenty of photos, playing a round or two of golf, watching or listening to one of my favorite Bay Area sports teams, or having a nice dinner out with friends.

Now, where’s the guac?

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Read an interview with Loren Gold in the August edition of Punch monthly magazine here.