Check out this Quick Six Q&A "On the Road" Edition to find out a little bit about what touring life is like for Ralfy Valencia, bassist for Pitbull. Watch the video or read the transcription below.
- What's your must-have food and/or drink on the road?Favorite food or drinks while on tour? Foods a tough one, just cause it's always changing. We're always at the mercy of the catering from each venue, and sometimes it's great, sometimes it's okay and sometimes it's avoided all costs if you want to live. I'm also trying to eat cleaner now, so that makes it even more challenging. I will say that a new sweet treat or dessert for me is eating dates with peanut butter and honey. It's awesome and it tastes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup without the sugar spike and shame. For drinks, coconut water hands down - Harmless Harvest Coconut Water. It's organic. It's delicious. I'm not affiliated, but if you're down, I love to drink it before shows, after shows, it's hydrating and the rest of the guys in the Agents are also in on it now too. So we were able to double up our order for our rider for this upcoming tour, which makes me very happy.
- What is a memorable moment/story from the road?A favorite moment or story from the road? There's a ton. I mean, obviously like we're all over the place and I'm with a crazy bunch of people that we we have a lot of fun together. A big one for me was, a few years ago, we were in Azores, Portugal, and we were doing a show, I think it was a festival called Concert for Earth, and it was inside of a dormant volcano, alongside of Sting, The Black Eyed Peas, Stone Temple Pilots and Bush. And I was able to watch Bush and STP just crush it from side stage, which was huge for me because I grew up listening to these guys and it was an epic, nostalgic moment for me. So yeah, that one goes down in the books for me.
- What is the most underrated tour city? Most underrated tour city? I'm gonna cheat and be biased and I'm going to say Ketchikan, Alaska. We've never toured there, we've never performed there. But we should. And I hope we make it happen because there is no other city on planet Earth that is like Ketchikan. They have an abundance of eagles, killer whales, whales - all sorts of beauty, majestic nature, beauty that's there. The people are awesome. I have family there and I miss it very much. And I hope we get to make that happen, because I know that we will be very well received if we do a show in Ketchikan.
- What's your favorite venue green room and why? There's a bunch. I mean, Gilford is awesome. But there's one, I think it's in Maine. I think it was like the Maine Savings Amphitheater, if I'm not mistaken. That was awesome. And we had a blast there. They have a par three chip and put if you're into golf, they have go-carts that go all around the venue. They load up everywhere with Super Soakers and Nerf guns and just a bunch of fun stuff for the talent and the crew to do. And then after the show, they throw an epic after party with like a DJ, and they bring in all of these vendors and the catering is delicious. Like whoever is handling hospitality at that venue is doing something right. And they deserve a lot of flowers.
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Is there something you always bring with you on tour from home to remind you of home? Something I bring with me from home on tour that reminds me of home? I worded that weird, but whatever. I bring a lot of crap with me. I'm a pretty nostalgic dude, so I have, like, a bunch of little trinkets and just I take more stuff with me than I should. But for this tour, I'm taking my grandparents on tour with me and let me show you how.
I got pick guards, custom pick guards, made for every one of my basses with my grandparents on them, just so I could have them close to me and take them around the world with me. And I think that's just kind of one way to keep my family close to me while I'm not with them.
- What is one surprising, not-so-obvious challenge of being on the road? Surprising or not-so-obvious challenge of being on the road or being on tour? Obviously not being around family and friends for major milestone moments like birthdays, weddings, etc. is really tough for me and for the rest of the of my peeps that are on the road with me. But I'll say one of the not-so-obvious ones is prioritizing rest. As I get older, I realize that I need to prioritize sleep more. I don't need to go to all the after parties. I don't need to party and drink. And I just got to take better care of myself so that I could be my best self at every show. And if you just party all the time and don't sleep, it's going to have a wear on you. So I'd say that and eating clean is tough.
Yeah. That's about it. I love you guys. Bye.