311 | Laminated All Access Pass

311 Backstage pass

311 Backstage Pass

The Laminate - The backstage pass, the Talisman and the Punter


At any concert, one of the most coveted items are backstage passes. Every fan, of any band, wants to get closer to the artist(s) and their entourage. Radio stations and fan clubs have contests and winners often get "after-show" passes, which allow them into the backstage area, only after the show has finished. The band members need identification to move about from their buses to the dressing rooms and the stage. In between the band and their fans there are all manner of entourage, support staff and security who work hours before and after the concert and need access and passes.

Some bands that I have worked with like Guns 'n' Roses used to hold elaborate after-show parties which would last for hours after the music was done being played. In fact on the stadium tour that G'nR did in the late nineties with Metallica and Faith No More, there were several semi-tractor trailers on the tour, that converted into dance floors and one that would fold out into a hot tub patio. Each night after the show, hundreds of friends, fans, industry types, radio station employees, contest winners, touring personnel and local strippers, would get to know each other, and the bands better during themed parties. Sometimes the themes were toga parties, or Hawaiian nights, and there were circus shows, and beach parties. Elaborate was the goal, and that tour (for me) topped them all. Most concert productions, and their after shows, are more understated affairs.

Other than the "after-show" pass there are many other levels of backstage credential that concert production companies rely on, to keep some semblance of security around the working crew and the artists. Some passes are laminated, some are stick-on cloth. The artwork is often beautiful, related to the current album, or startlingly irrelevant.

There are various types and styles of tour passes chosen by a band and their production company before most tours start.

Laminated Types:

"Artist" for the band members (these are very rare, most bands use the same "ALL ACCESS" laminates that their road crew and management use.)

"All-Access" which allows for complete access to any part of the venue, including the stage, and usually reserved for the band and their traveling crew.

"Guests"- Often given to family members of the band, and family of the crew. This pass may allow complete access to the venue, catering rooms, dressing rooms, and the stage.

"VIP " reserved for record executives, some radio station employees, and other local promoters. These allow for restricted access to many parts of the backstage areas, but normally not the stage, or dressing rooms.

"Support" Often a designation given to the warm up act and their management and crew. These passes almost never provide sufficient access to the opening band, and are constantly being contested by the band and their crew because sometimes over zealous local security misunderstands where, and when a support act is allowed to be.

Sticky Cloth Passes types:

"Working Crew" These are normally given to the local, non-touring stagehands, which the production company employs at each venue for the day. This pass normally allows complete access to all areas including the stage, all day.

"Photo" Allows for limited access to the front of the stage and side stage during the first few songs of the concert only. Given to photographers, who are normally allowed to shoot photos only during the beginning of the show and hopefully before the performers get too sweaty or their clothes or makeup too disheveled.

“Catering” Given to the local kitchen crew.

“Security” Provided to local security.

The surprising thing is that most of the time, once backstage very few people are asked about their credentials. Unless someone is very obviously in the wrong place, or acting inappropriately, they can walk around the backstage area, unquestioned. Part of the reason for this, is that there are people working for many different facets of the production , venue, and facility. If I see someone that I don't recognize, I'd assume that they work for the local crew. If the local crew sees someone that they don't recognize, they assume that they work for the traveling crew. Especially early in the morning, the skeleton security crew has not yet been given the “pass list” which describes and pictures all of the various credentials which will be used during the day. One reason for this is to limit the possibility that a local person could take the pass list before the event, and print counterfeit passes. In fact not until the day of the show does the touring staff manager decide what color/code the local sticky passes will be for the day, for this very reason. Additionally at some point before show time, the passes for the aftershow are determined, dated, and sometimes further altered by hand with letters or numbers indicating that they are being used only for that particular day. On one 311 tour that I was a part of, the daily passes were routinely garnished by the production staff with cryptic random words like “tulsa” or “retnup” (which backwards spelled “ a slut” and “punter”) The band was never consulted nor apprised as to the meaning of these letters.

During my early days on the road, there were times when I would be in a town where there was another show happening, and I could walk right in through the backstage door, with a laminated pass from a completely different show. In Las Vegas one year, my wife and I drove a rental car into the parking lot of an outdoor arena where the Grateful Dead were performing, by simply flashing a lanyard full of laminates to the parking lot security guards. After parking our car near the backstage entrance we headed for the nearest door. From across the parking area, a local security person could be seen waving frantically to us. Figuring that we had been caught, we began heading toward him, excuses racing through our heads. As we got closer to him, we understood him to be saying that we had missed the backstage door and that to get backstage, we needed to go the other way! We thanked him from a distance and headed right backstage. On another tour when we were traveling by car, while driving between cities, we heard on the radio that Paul McCartney was playing a show in a town we were passing through. On a lark, we pulled off the highway and headed for the venue. Again, with nothing more than a pile of laminates from various tours around our necks, we drove right backstage, entered through the artist gates, walked right to the front of the stage and sat down in a VIP booth. When approached by a local usher we hesitated, and smiled. She offered to bring us champagne, and we graciously accepted.

The moral of these stories is that much of the laminates magical power lies in the way in which it is worn. One of the easiest ways to misuse an illegitimate laminated pass is to walk confidently toward a security person and ask “which way is the production office?” Since the production office is where the whole show is run, anyone without business there would be a suspected fool to venture toward it needlessly. Simply by seeming to have pressing business at hand, and a laminated pass around ones neck often was enough to be directed politely toward the general area, whereupon one could easily fake left and dodge right into any less secure portion of the venue. If anyone approached to challenge your presence with a “may I help you?”, a confident reply along the lines of -“Sure, why don't you run along and get me a bottle of water” could be enough to deter them from asking further questions. Of course once backstage, it'd still be quite difficult to successfully end up partying with the band. But if one simply wanted to use a clean bathroom, get a free beverage, and see a free concert, a laminated pass goes a long way toward being the magic talisman of the rock 'n roll world.

This laminated pass is from the 2006 311 tour. It was worn by me rarely during this tour, and has very minor scratches and evidence of light use. There were approximately 100 of these made for the production crew, and is therefore very rare. While I don't recommend that you use it for anything other than as a prized part of your collection, I can neither confirm nor deny that, with the right mindset it could get you into some very interesting places.

~E. H00K