In early February, Logic kicked off The Incredible True Story World Tour, or is it is colloquially known, the TITS tour. Spanning two months and 40-dates in North America alone, the TITS tour would prove to be a grueling endeavor not only for Logic, but for his entire team.
The TITS tour marked the first tour for videographer Justin Fleischer. Fleischer’s mission was to capture footage of Logic before, during, and after shows and then edit it down into videos for fans to watch. When he wasn’t sleeping, he was working.
Shortly after the tour ended, HotNewHipHop spoke with Fleischer about the bus setup, Logic’s daily routine, and the ups and downs of life on the road.
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FLEISCHER: Logic is a genuine person. He says what he means, he means what he says. And he really cares. He cares about his fans, he cares about his friends, and he cares about his family. He’s not spending money on cars and clothes and material things, he’s investing in himself. He’s wise beyond his years. He’s extremely conscientious about how he moves.
There’s that whole hilarious meme, “I don’t fuck with nobody.” In reality, he fucks with what’s important. He’s not wasting any time, and he’s solidifying himself right now. He sees the bigger picture.
Bus Life
On the TITS tour, we had three buses and a box truck. One bus was Logic, his wife on occasion -- she would come on and off the tour -- his DJ, Rhetorik, his producer, 6ix, his boy, Lenbo. his main photographer, Nick [Mahar], his security, and maybe like one or two other people. That was the Logic bus. With his main squad. And then there was the crew bus. Lights, sound, merch, tour manager, another dope photographer, Greg Berg, and me. Then there’s Dizzy [Wright]’s bus. He opened every show. Incredible artist, incredible person. And then there was the box truck, carrying extra weight that we weren’t allowed to carry.
I miss [the bus] so much. I literally got back to New York and couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t dark enough, my space wasn’t small enough, it wasn’t moving. When I was on the bus, it was in constant motion. I was sleeping in a coffin. There was exactly enough room for my body, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was perfect. It was like a cocoon.
We had a lounge in the back where you could go and kick it, edit, chill, blast music. And then there was the sleeping quarters. Ten total bunks. Two three-stacks and then two two-stacks. And then the front lounge. The front lounge is where the tour manager does his work. It’s a little more business-oriented. And beyond that was the driver.
Our driver was the fucking man. John from Kentucky. He was a stand-up individual, solid driver, super fucking kind and kept us safe. That’s the main thing. He got us to every stop on time and safe. Thank god.
Recreation
We had days off. A lot of the time on days off, we would just kick around the hotel and the parking lot. Pittsburgh, after an incredible show -- one of the best shows of the tour -- everybody congregated in the parking lot at 2 AM we just started throwing footballs and frisbees. Everyone was out there, even Logic, tossing the football. My man Rhetorik hit the full parking lot football into a basketball hoop. Incredible, we have the footage.
We went go-karting. Logic came and went racing at the go-kart track in Buffalo, New York. He went to Cheesecake Factory with us, he went to Best Buy, he walked around the Mall of America with us. People know who he is, people would come and give him respect. Because Logic is such a respectful person, he gives respect, he gets respect.
One time we were in an Uber, Logic had the driver going for a while talking about how he was in a rock group. Logic likes to fuck with people. He likes to fuck with his fans. He would put his phone up to a window and Snapchat his fans. They couldn’t see him and he’d do a voice pretending to be them. He has a lot of fun. As much as he likes to say, “I don’t fuck with nobody,” he has fun.
Beyond that on days off, we would just kick it. It was just a solid group of individuals. We really didn’t need much. We became really tight, really solid, like a family.
A lot of guys played this game called Settlers of Catan. Mostly sound and lights and security. This was not a prototypical fucking rap crew. There were some nerds. They were going ham on the nerd shit. Nerds are awesome.
One more thing you need to know, we had a group text, everybody from security to merch to Logic. And we’d just roast each other. I’m talking about memes for days. Like crazy fucking roast sessions.
Routine
When we got into the flow, there was definitely a routine. For me personally, as the video guy, it’d be real simple. Every night, bus call was around 2 AM. An average of eight hours to the next city. Upon arrival, we’d just get right out and get back to work.
You start off 9 AM, 10 AM. We would arrive at the venue. I’d scope it out. I would set up shop in the green room and edit between 10 until 1 or 2, doing 15-second clips from each show in addition to a weekly vlog of about 10 minutes. In addition to whatever other special requests the label had.
And then around 4 everyday, there would be a meet and greet where Logic would meet fans who had signed up for the VIP experience. I had to catch all that. First he’d do one with a group of 150 to 200, answer questions, do a soundcheck for them, Q&A. Then he’d do a 50-person meet and greet, shaking hands, taking photos. I’m talking about an hour, an hour and a half every day. BEFORE the show. Then, after that meet and greet, which would be done around 6, I’d grab some food, start catching behind the scenes footage pre-show.
I’m not supposed to be visible on stage. It’s a hard balance to find. Because you need the shot, but you don’t want to get Travis Scott-ed. You want to be discreet, but you need your shot. So it’s finding that balance. Staying in the shadows as much as possible.
It was a learning curve. I’ve shot a lot of shows before. But never on the stages like this, never in this element, never in this role. I had to learn. I have to credit to my guy Nick Mahar, who has been on seven tours. Incredible photographer, incredible director and DP.
The food situation
This was my first tour, and it was a struggle staying nourished with healthy food. I would seek out the quality options. I would go on Yelp, look for ratings. In Pittsburgh, I had a famous hot beef sandwich. Primanti’s. In Philly, we had cheesesteaks. Toronto, jerk chicken. Vancouver, it’s their version of shawarma, I forget what it’s called. I would find the local cuisines to the best of my ability. At Austin, we had a show at Stubb’s, so we got to eat Stubb’s barbecue. Powerful. Very powerful.
Our tour manager – we called him Mom --- he would look out. He would make sure that on the rider there were some healthy options. He would order Jimmy Johns for us. We’d at least get like a sub or a salad instead of a burger.
Logic works with his team to come up with a rider. One thing I’ll tell you is, he did not go crazy. He asked for what he needed, he got it. Definitely Peanut M&Ms, Junior Mints, and beyond that, it was just like cheese and crackers, veggies, fruits. Naked juices. Just basic shit. He doesn’t drink or smoke, he kept it to simple requests.
How Logic rolls
Logic loves video games. He was definitely out there balling out there on the system. PS. Not Xbox. On the record, he says fuck Xbox. We went to Playstation headquarters, they blessed him. He’s loyal to Playstation.
He loves Rubik’s cubes, he loves kicking it with Lenbo and Rhetorik and 6ix and the whole squad. He loves chilling with his wife. Oh yeah, and he records on the bus. He had a setup, it was a really nice mic and a mixer. That’s where he records a lot of his shit. He doesn’t explore much beyond the bus, the green room, and the stage. Those are pretty much the main spots for him.
A lot of times, Dizzy and Logic would kick it with each other and play each other their new music and vibe out. Obviously, Logic doesn’t smoke weed and Dizzy is constantly smoking weed, but they would have a great respect for each other and a great dynamic. Logic’s motto is peace, love, and positivity, so he only rocks with people with that mindset. Dizzy has that mindset. It’s the perfect 1-2 punch.
Concluding thoughts
Early on I got sick. Really sick. I caught a bad flu and a lot of us did. That got real messy. It kills your energy, it kills your motivation. That said, when I got better after being sick, I felt like eight times as good, because I was on the road, not sick any more, feeling great, and moving. So then I didn’t hit another wall ever really after that. That being said, it was my first tour, so it might have just been beginner’s luck.
But honestly, overall it was an incredible experience. I was tired, I was working, editing, on my days off I would edit for 12 to 14 hours in a hotel room by myself. But it was worth it for me. I wanted it. It was worth it because it was something exciting, it was something I wanted.
One of the most incredible experiences of my life was bringing my parents to the show in Portland, Maine. It was my dad’s 66th birthday. Logic briefly heard me mention that before the show. He brought me on the stage to shout out my dad on his 66th birthday. And the entire crowd sang happy birthday to him. That meant a lot to me. My dad literally said it was the best birthday of his life.
Listen, man. I’ve been in New York for 11 years. I was starting to get a little bitter. A little stagnant. A little cooped up. This is one of the biggest and most diverse cities in the world. It’s incredible. I love New York. I needed to get out. I got out. I saw the country, saw Canada, I met incredible people. I learned a lot about my craft. I improved. I just feel like it was progressive in every way. In every way, it was a positive step for me to take.
Follow Fleischer on Instagram and check him out on his website. He is currently on the road with Logic on The Endless Summer tour, for which you can buy tickets here.
