Betraying the Martyrs’ Aaron Matts: 5 Weirdest Places I’ve Slept on Tour

The-Pit-Filler-Image
Unsplash/Yvette de Wit
Published on:

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. Paris-based metalcore outfit Betraying the Martyrs are doing alright for themselves these days, but it wasn’t that long ago that the guys were staying in some pretty shady spots while on the road. We caught up with vocalist Aaron Matts to get a look at what tour life is really all about, miniature pigs and all.

1. Bomb-Proof Bunker

We played a show in Switzerland a few years back. After we were packed up and ready to head to our accommodation, the promoter simply took us down into the venue’s bomb-proof bunker where they had bunk beds for us all … We weren’t even mad — it’s an experience for the books!

2. Fan’s “Parking Garage”

We were touring in a van in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and this kid offered to have us stay at his place, saying we were going to party all night, blah, blah. When we got there, it was literally a parking garage with a tiny room and a makeshift bathroom fitted in there. Things got very weird that night. Needless to say, most of us stayed in the van.

3. The 74th Floor

On tour in China, I had had a few too many drinks the night before and woke up having no idea where I was. Opened the window to find that I was on the 74th floor of a building … I could have died from vertigo at that very moment!

4. My Dad’s House

If ever we’re not sharing a bus on a U.K. tour, we will try to stay at my dad’s place. There’s something very strange about waking up in your childhood home and leaving back out on tour. A very surreal experience!

5. Skinhead Farm

After a festival in Poland, we were taken to a literal farm to stay the night. There were miniature pigs running around everywhere and there was a bizarre skinhead party going on in the barn. That was a very, very weird time in our lives!