I don’t like having to get dressed and ready in the mornings. It’s exhausting to have to pick out what I’m going to wear for the day. On top of that, I usually still end up thinking I look like shit after looking through my clothes fifty times. I suffer from decision fatigue. I can’t decide on what to wear, so I go through everything and then just pick something because I can’t stand it any longer. But I found a real cure for my brain touring with Emery. I do something that you might not expect. Hell, you might think I’m crazy.
I sleep in my clothes.
Every night on tour. I sleep in my clothes. Day clothes. Show clothes. All clothes. Yes, even the same ones I wear on stage and rock out in.
Now let me answer some of those questions that immediately popped up in your head:
Q. Aren’t your clothes sweaty and gross?
A. Actually not really. We learned a long time ago that if you get off stage and take your sweaty clothes off immediately and hang them up to dry in the bus closet, your clothes don’t dry very well at all. In fact, often times they are still wet the next day. Now that is gross. You do not want to put on a cold, wet from sweat, show shirt before you go out on stage in Omaha. Also, even if they do dry they often will have white spots all over them due to the salt from your sweat crystallizing on your black t-shirt. But, if you will wear your clothes for an hour to an hour and a half after the show, they dry and actually look pretty good. As weird as it sounds, it’s almost like a salty wash for them. Now I will admit it’s nowhere near washing machine clean, but clothes a couple hours after a show don’t smell and look great!
Q. Why would you need to sleep in them?
A. Well like I said I hate decision fatigue and honestly I like waking up and just hopping right into the day. We usually park our bus in a Walmart parking lot or truck stop. I like just waking up, putting on my shoes and I’m out the door. Even when I’m at home, if I have an early morning, I lay out all my clothes the night before and I am able to be out the door in less than 10 minutes.
Q. Isn’t it really uncomfortable?
A. Nope! Ha! This could be subjective, but I don’t mind at all. Half the time it’s cold on the bus and my clothes give me an extra layer of warmth. My clothes are also nice and warm since I wore them all night so I don’t have to put on cold clothes. It can get very chilly on the bus and when you have to wake up at 5am to drive nothing is worse than a cold bus and even colder clothes.
You only have so much space for luggage so we pack light. That’s why I have also learned to bring great quality clothes with me that I can trust to last. If you only have 3 shirts with you you want them to make it through rocking out on stage, riding down the road, and yes, sleeping through the night.
So here’s the last thing I’ll say. If you look good at night, why not just carry it over into the morning?
