Traditionally, that’s a question that’s never been in need of asking, for all tour schedules big and small were always written by the booking agents representing the artists and bands. Yes, for every Bob Dylan, for every U2 and for every Motley Crue, there’s an agent struggling with chronological plot lines, character development and resolution as he or she attempts to write the perfect tour itinerary.

But lately several agents have been accused of “phoning” their itineraries in, or rehashing past concert schedules and then passing the results off as new routings, leading many industry critics to openly speculate as to who is actually coming up with the date-city-venue prose that concert fans so dearly love.

“Writing a tour itinerary used to be such a solitary profession,” says Joe Gillis, the legendary tour itinerary author / booking agent responsible for such great schedules such as Led Zeppelin’s 1976 routing as well as Pink Floyd’s legendary 1975 epic appearance calendar. “But today’s booking agents are much more concerned with the glamour of itinerary creation, and often leave the nuts and bolts work of actually crafting a daily list of cities and dates to assistants and researchers.”

To be sure, most current concert itineraries still have the appearance of being written by their agents of record. The Judas Priest schedule still has the take-no-prisoners, rock ’em / sock ’em attitude of the band’s early years, and the latest Bruce Springsteen routing still contains the honest, working-man ethos as exemplified by such cities as Cleveland and Detroit. However, there are whispers that certain dates, if not the entire schedules by acts such as The Moody Blues, Drowning Pool and Lifehouse, might have been “ghosted” by silent itinerary authors in exchange for cold hard cash and a promise to keep their lips buttoned while the agents of records take credit for the routing masterpieces that bear their names.

“It started with multiple night engagements at the same venue,” says Gillis. “In these instances, agents would often let their assistants fill in the date/venue dynamics needed for successful two, three or even four night run at a Madison Square Garden or a Staples Center. However, for some extra punch in the routing, many agents started turning to routing consultants, otherwise known in the biz as itinerary doctors, in hopes of jazzing up the complete schedule with a couple of big action scenes or perhaps enlivening a couple of dates with some gratuitous sex and violence.”

While most consultants will not admit to their efforts, thus perpetrating the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality often associated with itinerary ghosting, perhaps the best known routing doctor is the man whose work supposedly includes the current schedules for Green Day, Mudvayne and Moby. However, while Quentin Tourentino refused to return our phone calls, he has definitely made his mark on today’s concert scene.

“Yeah, Tourentino says he doesn’t ghost itineraries, anymore,” says Gillis. “But look at that routing for Ozzfest and tell me if that doesn’t have all the trademarks of a Tourentino itinerary. Especially that Ohio / Michigan / Wisconsin run during the first week of August that just drips with snappy dialogue, ingenious bloodletting and incredible pacing. Heck, if that’s not Tourentino, just shoot me and drop my body in some has-been movie queen’s pool.”

Are today’s concert routings actually created by assistants, consultants and itinerary doctors instead of the booking agents of record? Furthermore, should these ghost routers be recognized as professionals in their own right, or should they remain in the shadows as they silently plot a multiple night stand in San Francisco, or a delicate run of one-night-only appearances throughout the fly-over states?

“Concert audiences don’t realize that someone sits down and actually writes the tour itinerary for, say, Nine Inch Nails or Brooks & Dunn,” says Gillis. “They think the band makes it up as they go along. However, on the other hand, more and more agents are farming out the grunt work, like slotting a one-off in Des Moines or Omaha, thereby forgetting that old concert biz saying; ‘there are no small dates, only small commissions.'”

Coming up later this week: Computer Generated Itineraries? Join us as we look at the routings for Coldplay, Avril Lavigne and Jewel in an attempt to distinguish between dates that were written by human hands from those created via the magic of CGI. Stay tuned.