Hey, I resent that! One little known fact about my colleagues and I is that we don't usually appreciate being called roadies; we're stagehands. The ones who travel with an act are members of a road crew. A "roadie" is someone who gets a really shitty job on a really shitty tour for the sole purpose of saying he's been on tour.
An example of someone like this is a 19-year-old kid that signs up to be a slave on Warped Tour. I can't remember what the actual title is for the position that these kids get hired for, but it's a slave position. They work 18+ hours a day on shitty logistical projects like setting up tents and directing traffic in the backstage lot, under the sun in 100+ degree weather, they travel in overcrowded buses, known as slave ships due to the fact that there are people sleeping on every available square inch of area on the bus, including the floor, and the only pay they receive is the privilege of being at the show every day.
The only instance where the term "roadie" is appropriate is when it is used when referring to someone who has been touring for 30+ years. Then it's more of a term of respect than an insult. Up until he retired about 2 years ago, I used to work with the guy who was the original driver/road manager for Jefferson Airplane. The guy had been on tour on and off since the 1960's. He qualifies as a roadie. The lighting designer for the Greatful Dead, although he no longer tours and now manages his own lighting company, toured for over 25 years with the band. He's a roadie. Keith Richards' guitar tech, who is the same guy he's had since the 70's, is a roadie.
I'm not sure if this makes any sense to you, but that's the way we see it.
