On July 17^th, I went to the TD Bank North Garden, where I saw my old friend and Fleetwood Mac roadie/partner, Chris Adamson. Chris is John Mayer’s production manager. Another friend, Ken Helie, is John’s tour manager. When I became ill, Ken replaced me on Chris Whitley’s tour and worked with him until just before Chris passed away. John Mayer has some of the best road people in the music industry looking after him.

You’ve probably heard Chris. He’s the voice of Pink Floyd’s “If you don’t eat yer meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?” Or you may have caught him in 1974 on the legendary Steely Dan tour, when he introduced the group with a tongue-in-cheek, “Ladies and Gentlemen, from Los Angeles, California, at great expense to the management, you may like them, personally I don’t… Steely Dan!” On the last Fleetwood Mac tour, he was the recorded voice informing the audience about the venue’s safety procedures.

Despite his cheekiness and British humor, Chris happens to be one of the most sought-after production managers today. His road experience, knowledge and work ethic make him a valuable asset to any tour. Clubs, college gyms, concert halls, arenas, stadiums—Chris has seen them all. When I first worked with him in 1969, he was the best van packer in the business. He could pack an English Ford Transit quicker and better than any other roadie. Back in the day, we both toiled for Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, packing all the band gear and our then cutting edge WEM sound system in transit vans, carrying no lights at all. We installed airplane seats in the van, and the band traveled with us and the gear. Later, after an all-nighter when I drove through a round-about, up-ending the “Keep Left” sign, the band decided to travel by car, and Chris and I drove the transit. We’d get to a gig around 4pm, set up, line check, and play that night. Chris and I were the production managers, tour managers, tour accountants, publicists, personal roadies, sound men, monitor mixers, guitar techs, drum roadies, drivers, and chief cooks and bottle washers.

Today Chris has five busses, seven semi trucks, and 30 crew members plus drivers to oversee. The production trucks carry the band’s gear, sound, lights, multimedia, staging, wardrobe and catering. The band does not travel with the gear. Each venue has a 9am load in, 4pm sound check, and an opening act, Ben Folds. Today touring has not only sound and lights but also video artists who create the multimedia seen on the screens that serve as a backdrop for the show. John’s sound engineer is also John’s studio producer, something you don’t often see in live venues.

Chris is from Hull, on the coast in northeast Yorkshire, England. He remembers throwing down Newcastle Brown Ale with a bricklayer from Hull who became David Bowie. After 40 years of touring, the man still has a passion for the road. He has looked after “The Herd” (Peter Frampton), Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty, and John Mayer among others, but his favorite band is Dinosaur Smelting Foundry. When he’s not on the road, his passion is his new horse farm in Virginia, where he lives with his lovely wife, Michelle.

These days Chris will tell you the work is hard, but the network for gigging is losing good people to old age and illness. It seems every time we talk, someone we know has passed on. My advice to all of you: go see a concert that has the old-school running it. The road is a tough teacher. There is nothing, and no one, who can replace the experience and knowledge you gain from working on the road. When the old guard goes, production and concerts will feel their loss. If you go see John Mayer, send a note backstage to Chris. More than likely, he’ll come on stage and tell you all to settle down.

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