Meet Rick Marino.
For a guy who goes by the nickname “Balls,” he’d better have earned it. Rick Marino has lived enough for a hundred nicknames.
A rock ‘n’ roll tour manager for 20 years, the native Angeleno spends his free time checking out truck stops while the buses are gassing up.
While he’s traveled the world with the likes of Bad Religion, Jimmy Eat World, Ryan Adams, Tenacious D, Mars Volta, Pete Yorn, Cat Power and Band of Horses, the cruel irony is he doesn’t get to see much of where he travels.
“On a tour bus, you can’t go sightseeing,” he says.
So, when Rick’s not on tour, he hits the road for a good journey. “I’m not an extreme adventure person. Just show me a dirt road,” he says.
Part-explorer, part-foodie, part-ball buster, Rick has driven thousands of miles in his Ford F-150 FX4, complete with chrome skull door locks and a constant supply of beef jerky.
He’s a self-proclaimed “remotist” (i.e. he likes sparsely populated beaches and roads) and “hotel snob” with a sky-high level of curiosity and a really good sense of direction.
“An unlikely cross between a mob heavy and Baby Huey, Marino is a blur as he multitasks.”
Bob Mehr, Phoenix New Times
His work can be seen in USA Today, DESERT magazine and The Desert Sun, and he’s the host of “StateXState,” airing on the Planes Trains + Automobiles (PTA) network, part of Delta’s in-flight entertainment. He also hosts a travel series about the state of Texas on Country Music Television.
Born in L.A. and raised in Arcadia, Calif., Rick grew up in his dad’s welding shop in Hollywood. A love for food drew him to cooking school in 1991.
He started a record label in Silver Lake before Silver Lake was Silver Lake. Short stints in film and TV followed, but in 1998 he fused his passions for travel and music to become the tour manager for L.A. punk mainstays Bad Religion.
When he’s not on the road, you may find Rick making furniture, or designing and building recording studios for the likes of the Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Nick Lachey and Dangerbird Records.
So why the testicular nickname, you ask? It's a reference to his homemade meatballs and red sauce.
Get your mind out of the gutter. You animals.
Selected press
PTA Bolsters Executive Ranks as Digital Travel Network Takes Flight, Variety
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles is initially focusing on producing programming that appeals to the young and modern traveler. Its series include “StateXState,” with veteran music tour manager Rick Marino.”
What Band of Horses Eats on Tour: Nopalito, Local Joe, Balls, Eater San Francisco
“How do you decide where to eat when you're on the road? Well we have a tour manager named "Balls" aka Rick Marino who I refuse to eat without. His nickname comes from his never-ending search for meatballs. He can just walk into a place, smell it and make the decision if we will eat there.”
Ryan Monroe, Paste Magazine
“Band of Horses’ tour manager, Rick Marino, introduced Monroe to producer Chris Testa (Dixie Chicks, Jimmy Eat World) and his own musical baby came into existence. The two bonded over their love for Los Lobos and hit it off.”
Brave New World, Phoenix New Times
“Onstage in the Glass House's main room, Jim Adkins is conferring with road manager Rick Marino. A genial, if slightly intimidating, figure -- an unlikely cross between a mob heavy and Baby Huey -- Marino is a blur as he multitasks: consulting with Adkins, chatting up an equipment rental company and directing a crew of sound and light techs.”