Home Away From Home

For entertainers, their bus most generally becomes their home away from home.Some entertainers say they dread the hours they have to spend on their bus, moving from show to show.  For others, life on the road is just second nature and an extension of their daily lives.

Look at Willie Nelson, whose bus is pictured here.  Willie, who will turn 79 later this month practically lives on his custom buses all of the time. It's been his way of life for nearly 40 years, and where he feels "at home."

Other singers are only on the bus when they have to be. Think about it. Sharing a bus with your band mates, tour manager and others, makes for cramped quarters at times. Some of the more established entertainers have multiple buses. They have their own private bus, and then have separate buses for band members and other crew.

I learned that many entertainers don't actually own their buses and lease them. That happened to be the case when Josh Thompson was in Quincy last month. His bus is leased for a company in Nashville that not only supplies Country entertainers with a ride, but many other singers that you are familiar with, when they embark on a tour.

Check out Hemphill Brothers.  They are the bus supplier to the stars. On their site, you can see a roster of clients that they provide buses to.  Until I read their client list, I never knew that Tom Hanks actually needed a tour bus. We're not talking just your average, run of the mill tour buses. Oh sure, they have those, for up and coming singers.  However, some of these buses are "blinged out," with custom features that the entertainers ask for.  Some include custom baths, marble floors and even basement areas, where they take the storage area underneath the passenger area, and create playrooms for entertainers' children, when they take them out on tour.

So, the sky and your bank account are the limits, when it comes to customizing your home away from home. But then again, when you spend two hundred days or more away from your real home,  you might as well travel in style.