ABOUT OUR MISSION
Hey all! My name is Frank Fanelli. I sing for a band called The World We Knew, own a clothing company called CAT clothing, and most importantly, I make a living on the road behind the scenes working with artists and bands as a tour manager, merchandise seller, LD, and more. I’ve been touring all over the world for the past 14 years but right now I’m at home in Florida doing my best to try and enjoy this downtime because as many of you know, our business is practically crumbling at our feet as we speak due to the epidemic.
Hundreds of tours have been canceled, venue & crew personnel are out of jobs, clubs are shutting down and most of us don’t know where to turn. As I strongly encourage fans to continue streaming music and buying new merch from your favorite artists due to cancelations, I’m also giving you an option to help out the crew members and roadies that help bring the shows you love to every city you see these bands in.
Honestly, if there’s one thing I know how to do pretty well after all these years, it’s how to promote and sell a funny t-shirt concept. So here’s the deal...
In 2018 when I was working on the Vans Warped Tour, a friend took a ridiculous picture of me that can only be described as a similar pose to Jack drawing Rose in Titanic. I was soon called the "Merch Daddy" by someone on social media which sounded hilarious, so I decided to utilize that moniker for a t-shirt that I eventually sold a few hundred. Fast forward to the global pandemic, I figured I could bring back the "Merch Daddy" craze to raise some funds for the crew I currently work for on the road. I brought this idea to my best friend Tatiana Danielle, who thankfully didn't think I was crazy, and she was willing to partner up to utilize her expertise behind the scenes, and we were off to the races!
What’s crazy about this endeavor was that we only HOPED we’d be able to raise $10,000 or so so we could help a few of our close friends in the touring world. Since then, it’s kind of taken on a mind of its own. By the end of the next payment round, we will have helped aid over 400 different crew members worldwide.
We started FOR THE NOMADS by splitting ALL the donations between everyone who can prove of the touring job they lost through the band themselves, the booking agents, or the management teams (Contact us through this page). We can't promise to fix all of the touring crew financial troubles, but if we can help chip away at rent, buy groceries, feed/our children, pay the phone bill, etc - then we feel good about helping our peers.
Please help spread the word and donate what you can! We want nothing more than to take this unexpected downtime and turn it into a positive, so let’s put forth our best effort to make a difference in some lives instead of panicking. Thank you for your consideration, and don’t forget to wash your damn hands!
Frank Fanelli & Tatiana "Tater" Danielle