The realities of touring are quite different to the rock and roll stories that have been recounted time and again. For Brit session drummer Robin Guy touring means a relentless schedule of learning setlists, adapting for multiple gigs, fitting in with new groups of people and very little sleep. His last couple of months have proven eventful and also educational to him as a player. Here he gives us a warts and all look into touring with Rancid's Lars Frederiksen.

"Hi Robin, it's Lars, - my drummer just broke his arm and I need you to finish our tour - can you do it?"

It's every drummers dream to get called out of the blue, let alone from a high profile musician, with a mission of mercy.

I said yes in an instant, and then checked the diary...

Lars Frederiksen is one of the guitarists and singer songwriters of Rancid, he's also written & played for Dropkick Murphys and has other bands such as Lars and the Bastards and The Old Firm Casuals. If you are familiar with any of these bands, you will know that he doesn't write rubbish songs and I think it's safe to say I am a fan of his work.

I recorded some tracks with Lars (& Steve Whale from The Business) almost a decade ago, for a project called The Masons (apparently due for release on Epitaph records, hopefully in the next decade...).

Fast-forward to Aug 2014 and I was already booked on a tour - filling in for the drummer (Joe Lewis) of a band named Control. I'd recorded a couple of their albums and played shows in the past and they were main support to The Old Firm Casuals. I was to do the first half of the tour playing in Control and was then going home to mow my lawn and pay bills.

I was looking forward to a well-earned rest as I'd just come out of a hectic teaching schedule, headlined a stage at Guilfest with Sham 69, gone to Frankfurt with Control, gone straight into the Freddie Gee Drum Academy 2014, up to play Rebellion punk fest and then out on this tour... so when I was woken up a couple of days before it all started with the phonecall from Lars, it all changed again!

I was instructed to "go buy the new record on iTunes, I'll email you the setlist, make a playlist, learn it. Oh, and Robin, I don't want any of that Mötley Crüe shit - we're a punk band..."

I said "ok, no problem, but I will be wearing a bandana, I sweat a lot!"

That seemed ok. I think Lars was under the impression that all I did was show off and twiddle my sticks, which, if you have studied some of my playing, in some situations and gigs could be fair comment, but this was a great challenge to step up to - learn 18 songs with little or no rehearsal whilst on tour with another band, don't spin sticks, play like the drummer on the record (Paul Rivas), don't 'Robin Guy' it up, nail it down and deliver the goods, save the tour.