Touring Tips
A thread started on the IndieBiz list
stay at friend's houses. use someone's gas card. sell merch. LouisS19@aol.com
we usually hire 1 roadside motel room. The band & crew take sleeping bags and kip on the floor. The arguments over the bed are the only problem, and you've got the benefit of a secure and close place to leave the van/gear. Steve - sugarwood.webjump.com
during the summer, i usually camp. its dirt cheap (no pun intended) and there is usually a shower you can use to clean up. you just gotta watch your stuff. get the clubs you play at to feed you. don't eat fast food. it'll make you feel like shit and though it seems cheap, it really isn't. get your oil changed, fluids checked, brakes replaced, tires replaced (if needed), air pressure checked, etc etc BEFORE going on tour. That way you reduce the chance of getting a flat, crashing into a tree or having your engine blow up. your car burns gas most efficiently between 50 and 65 mph from what I've heard. Give yourself enough time to do these speeds instead of 80. Not only will you get better mpg but you'll avoid the $150 ticket from the Charlotte police. They get me every time. JRReichman@aol.com - jeffreichman.com
Bring sleeping bags and sleep at as many new friends apartments or houses as you can. Be sure to give a free shirt and CD to whoever lets you crash at their place. Buy 'em breakfast. For a $5.00 breakfast you'll always have a familiar face in the crowd and a comfortable place stay when you visit the town again. People remember the little things. If you have to pay for a hotel go the Motel 6 route. Cheap, clean, and you can sneak 10 people in for the price of one if you need to. Wexchange@aol.com
Bring a camping stove and 2 coolers. You can cut your food expenses by 50% or more, and actually eat better, healthier food. When I toured with my band, we almost never got lodging. Camping the whole way, or crashing with people met at the venues. You can become quite an expert at culling a place to stay if you put your mind to it. Don't be afraid to ask people at shows. jivetalkinrobots.com
If you like Nature, camping is the way to go - its a LOT less expensive than hotels and buying your food from grocery stores as much as you can and from restaurants as little as you can will also save you a ton of cash. And asking people at your shows if you can crash at their house usually works if you aren't near any good camping spots. My old band did a SE tour -about a month or so long- back in 96 that costed us around 250-350$ total - all costs for 3 people. To me thats amazing. But again i love camping a lot and our tour turned into a fun vacation getaway. -Nathan listen.to/butterflymessiah
Super 8 is also dirt cheap. You can get some kind of “membership” card from them that will let you cash checks, reserve rooms, and get a discount. Call 800-800-8000 (I think) to sign up. David Hooper - Kathode Ray Music -- www.kathoderaymusic.com “We make a living helping bands make a living...”
Yep. The card is free to get, they mail it to you, it's good for 10% off rooms, cashing checks, etc, and also can be used in lieu of a credit card to reserve rooms. Plus, Super 8s usually smell like much more expensive lodging establishments, and that's always good :-). Mark Scudder - mark@geminiweb.net
One of the things that we're doing to cut expenses is travelling by Winnebego. It's a lot less expensive than I thought it was. Thomas “TJ” Chapman - WildstyleRecords.com
I know a lot of bands who have purchased school buses for REALLY cheap. They're not exactly a high performance vehicle, but they'll get you there. Also take a look at the “airport shuttle” short buses. I've seen school buses for under $1000. In fact, I remember seeing one for $400 one time. You're probably going to need to get some work done on it for that price though. You could probably do the whole thing for under $2500. David Hooper - Kathode Ray Music -- www.kathoderaymusic.com “We make a living helping bands make a living...”
I saw a school bus in decent condition in my neighborhood for sale for 150$ and it ran really well. A local country band actually bought it and toured in it. As we're an electro-leaning duet our lwork van works fine for us. But for a 5 piece band with big amps and a drum kit a bus might be just the thing. -Nathan http://listen.to/butterflymessiah
I toured in a short airport shuttle bus for two years. It was by far the best option for a tour vehicle. The problem with Greyhound or Schoolbus conversions is that the break-down expenses are so exhoribitant that a band will likely go bankrupt from one mechanical failure. If you are to spend $10,000 on a Greyhound or Schoolbus be sure to have at least 5,000 saved for mechanical failure. A blown engine in one of those things can cost an arm and a leg. We converted our short bus with futons and storage space, and had no trouble travelling with 8 people and two dogs, a full PA with monitors and backline for a 5 piece band. And, oddly enough, the bus is for sale...... I think that of all of the decisions that we made as a band, the bus was by far the best investment. It cost us $6,000 to start and a couple 1000 more in repairs and conversion. But, we were able to tour extensively starting in our 6th month as a band. Anyone interested in purchasing a great tour vehicle, email me privately...... Phil Simon
We have some friends in a ska band called “Regatta 69”, from Chapel Hill, NC. Their front man, Brian, has been touring & living off the band since he was 16 or so. First thing he did was go to a government auction and buy a big tour bus for a couple of grand. Then Brian learned how to fix diesel engines - to save on the mechanical costs. When they're on the road, the band scores places to crash from the other bands they're playing with. They use the kitchen wherever they're staying to cook (beans & rice - woohoo!), and NEVER eat out. The band members buy their own beer, cigarettes, & other crap & the band fund does not contribute. If they can't find a place to stay, they crash on the bus - though I don't know how they cook in those situations.
Brian must be doing something right, because he's been living off of this for 10+ years now. He got married a few years ago, and he & his wife are both living off the music (she helps book their tours & manages the band business when they're on the road).
If you find yourself out of $$ on the road, try panhandling or selling CDs on the street. It's gotten us out of a couple of tight situations in the past. Also, to avoid post-tour debt, try using the link Kathode Dave posted last week about free long distance.
Some other tour tidbits:Avoid calling cards (especially ones that charge to your phone bill), credit cards, and unreliable transportation (it's cheaper to take 2 cars in good condition than 1 van in bad shape).
Teach your band members the wonders of communism.
Make sure everyone bathes daily, especially if you tour in the summer.
Get plenty of sleep.
Pack light. The less needless junk you bring, the less there is to be strewn across the van/bus, the less there is to step on & break, the less there is to annoy the neat-freaks in the band, and so on and so forth.
If you run out of clean clothes & have no place to wash them for free, remember it's usually cheaper to go thrift-store shopping than to spend $$ at the laudromat.
Buy cigarettes in NC, KY, and other tobacco states. Avoid buying them in NY, PA, NJ, and other northern states with high sales taxes. In fact, avoid buying ANYTHING in states with high sales taxes.
Sleeping bags are a must: obviously they're great when you have to camp or sleep on the floor, but they also save you from dirty hotel rooms & apartments you may crash at. Clean t-shirts make great pillowcases.
Avoid consuming large quantities of alcohol. It de-hydrates you, costs a lot of money, and tends to make everyone irritate each other quicker. I know some bands swear by tour-drunkenness, and I do not want to start a whole other thread about this. My experience has just taught me to steer clear.
Get AAA. The “get out of jail free” card you get will save your life if you get stopped for speeding by a pissy cop out of state. Trust me. Too many close calls.
Get a CD or tape player in your vehicle. By day 3 of your tour, the top 40 stations will begin to grate on everyone's nerves (if not earlier). If you can't afford to get one installed, just bring along a boombox & some batteries.
Be NICE to one another. I know it's tough sometimes, but when you're not in a bad mood, try to push yourself to be kind. It will go a long way when everything hits the fan & you lose your temper the next time.
When unloading your equipment, keep on person at the van, and one inside the venue keeping their eye on things. NEVER leave your equipment unattended, even if you think you can trust the people.
Unless you're late, drive the speed limit. The post about gas mileage being best between 55-60 is correct (unless you have a 4-barrel carb. or something comparable). Plus, one speeding ticket can screw up the whole tour budget.
Buy The Musician's Guide to Touring & Promoting. Take it with you on the road. It may come in handy if you need a last minute show, radio station contact, etc.
Print off a list of all your contacts, including your mailing list, and keep it with you. If you get in a bind, try contacting someone in the area & see if they can help you.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. We've done three tours in the past 3 years - the first one we lost money on, the second we broke even, and the third we made money on. You will get progressively better at making your tours successful as time goes on. It just takes a lot of hard work, patience, and perseverance.
michael fleet (adam) adam@kidpowered.com http://www.adam.org/
Beyond Motel 6, there are several chains that will offer business discounts if your band is incorporated. We have secured many great hotel discounts with chains such as Comfort Inn (who also does sleep and some other smaller ones), Red Roof Inn, and several others. Call their 800 numbers and ask for corporate discounts. Additionally, always try to work the venues for rooms. Most of our national touring acts have been able to secure rooms or deals when they're on the road. Many venues are being increasingly helpful with supplying rooms or some sort of accomodations for their acts. Other clubs have prearranged deals with hotels and get help to get you discounts directly through the club.
We just had a terrible tragedy with a band from DC that we help book for that was returning home from a show on Wednesday. Some of the guys decided to find a room but two of the guys wanted to head home that night at 3AM. The drummer fell asleep and the sax player didn't make it. Always be safe in the end; it's worth the extra money to make it home alive. Ari Nisman - Degy Management Services, Inc. www.degy.com- ari@degy.com
Tons of tips from John of SmokStik...
About protecting your van...
Well, I've been touring the US for about 15 years and this subject is always high in my mind even when we are at home. Hope that this helps!!!
1. The keep your van and trailer ugly and non-descript thing is great advice. Not too ugly though, you don't want anyone to notice it for any reason. No stickers, no signs, etc.
2. We always park our stuff within eyeshot when there is gear in the vehicle.
3. Try to do load-ins and load-outs as quickly and efficiently as possible. Don't give the whole neighborhood a chance to check out what's in the van. Always close the doors between loads if possible.
4. As said before, cover windows somehow to obscure inside view.
5. Never leave ANYTHING in the van when you are not around. No luggage, CD's, money, shopping bags-- NOTHING! Keep your luggage small and simple. If you have to keep stuff in the van, try to arrange for a cubby-hole to put stuff in so that it can't be seen in the vehicle from outside or inside.
6. Don't have an in-dash stereo and a pile of CD's visible that might attract the common smash- and- grabber. A detachable face stereo and a pocketed CD case that is easy to stash will work fine.
7. We ALWAYS pull our easy to carry and expensive stuff and bring it in to the room or place where we are staying plus we ask for a ground-floor room where we can see our vehicle from our room. Another trick (which may just put your mind more at ease) is to park with your back doors facing wherever you are so that you can always see the easiest way to get stuff out of your vehicle.
8. Another thing that you can do is buy a few bike chains and chain your cases together in the van and at the club. It keeps everything together and just might discourage an amateur (or drunk) thief.
9. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR GUITARS WITH YOU!!! Get shoulder bags for electric instruments and always keep your instruments with you or in a safe place. You don't want to keep them in a very hot or cold van anyhow. You also shouldn't keep them in a place where they would need a hard case because that is just asking for trouble. If you have to ship or fly the instrument that is another story but in a van keep those things at arm's length!
10. Get insurance! It is possible to insure your gear and the few hundred dollars that you spend won't be much to replace a $1000 piece of equipment.
11. Write down and memorize a list of everything that you have with you. Don't leave a club, hotel or crash-pad until you zip through your list. Mine goes like this: box, box, cab, cab, bag. I go through that everytime I load out. 5 simple words to double check if you have everything.
12. Be careful when strangers help you load-in/ load-out. They may mean well but make sure that you direct them as to what goes where and keep an eye out just in case.
13. Consolidate your gear as much as possible. I use two SKB racks for my amps, preamps, etc. I got a drum hardware bag big enough to fit all my pedals, cables, etc. Sometimes it is good idea, however, to split one big item into two smaller items to save your body some wear and tear and to help avoid possible injury to you or the gear.
14. Try to pack and unpack your gear the same way every time! >From your cables and pedals all the way up to the van. That way you can make sure that you don't lose something. (like leaving your wah pedal on a stage in Kenosha!)
15. Sometimes a parking lot or garage can be a little safer than parking on the street but I still don't like to leave stuff in the van.
16. DON'T EVER TRUST ANYONE ELSE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALL YOUR STUFF UNLESS YOU ARE PAYING THEM!!!! No one is going to be as concerned about your gear as you. The more beers and whatever that get involved in the equation the better your chance of having someone leave your $1000 worth of cymbals in the club or on the street.
17. GET A DOLLY! Get the kind that converts from straight hand truck to a pushable dolly. This will save alot of time as well as body (and gear) wear and tear. We use a Craftsman model that works really well. A great investment!!!
18. IDIOT CHECK!!!! Always do a final sweep of the club, your room, etc. Look under beds, in drawers, behind stages. etc.
19. NEVER leave your gear unattended in a club. ALWAYS put all your gear in the same place.
20. ALWAYS make sure that you lock doors and secure locks. Don't make it any easier for someone to get to your stuff.
General Touring Tips:
I would start working on an itenerary and contact list about 4 months ahead of time. Do your research in each area that you are going to play to find and contact all your press, radio, retail, promotional and club people. Chances are good that you won't know who is going to write for you, play your stuff, book you or promote you until the last minute. The more contacts that you have in hand the better. Also remember that timetables differ drastically. A club owner may (if you are lucky) check out your package in a few weeks while press or radio may put your stuff behind the stove. Ideally all of these factors need to coincide.
ALWAYS KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF YOUR CONTACTS IN SOME SORT OF DATABASE!!! Even if you are using notebooks make sure that you document each contact separately. Make sure that you have correct addresses, phone #'s (including fax #'s), contact names, frequencies, call letters, office hours, etc., etc. Also document each and every call and mailing and make sure that you date and describe each one. You'll be really glad that you did in the future. Trust me!!!
Touch base with these people occasionally and put them on your mailing list so that they remember you. Alot of industry people will get packages from people that don't follow up or keep in touch. They end up being forgotten or lost in the ever flowing stack of packages.
The Musician's Guide to Touring and Promotion and The Musician's Atlas are two great examples of touring resources .
Gigswaps are a great way to get a foot into a new scene.
We have been gradually working our way out of Boston in an ever-increasing circle. We started at an hour away, then two and so forth. I always try to get openers for local or better known regional acts when going to new clubs. Playing by ourselves in a strange town is usually a waste of time unless it is a political move to help get us into a better playing situation in that area.
Some college airplay, a blurb in the paper and a good review in a local zine will probably equal about no people in a new area. You really have to combine that stuff with finding a few people that will come check you out and tell their friends. I try to establish relationships with the people that I talk to out of Boston as much as I can. Get them interested in you as a person if nothing else.
It might not be a bad idea to pick a few cities at first. Work a budget that will allow you to stay in each area for a few days before your show and spend two whole days checking out the city and trying to meet people. Go to places where your crowd might hang be it clubs, cafes or basketball courts. Make friends, hand out flyers, poster, try to arrange some on-air interviews, stop by the club that you are playing at and try to talk some people into coming to see your show. Meet some folks in bands in that area and network with them. Get a feel for the city.
It is virtually impossible to get a buzz rolling in city if you show up at 5 for load-in and head for the motel or back on the road at 2am if you don't have a promotions machine behind you (i.e. money).
Don't play in an area that you don't plan to return to. These things take time.
If your music can work acoustically or fits into the singer-songwriter vein get a list of Border's Books stores. They make great tour fillers and you can make $75- 250 for a couple of sets. You can also sell some product.
College gigs are the great equalizer for touring. If you can get a few well-paying college gigs to help boost your budget a little it can really make a tour a little easier on the pocketbook and make some crappy free gigs in the cities more dealable. Don't ever trust the SAC kids to promote your show. Get there early and bug the crap out of them and give them posters and stuff. Try to work the campus and get a buzz going. Give stuff away, have a wet t-shirt contest, whatever it is that will pique kids' interest and get them to your show. (and hopefully buy a t-shirt and a CD)
If you play out of town alot and you can hook it up and you are really serious you should look into getting a credit card account. I was out on tour last fall with a girl that had one and she sold alot of stuff that way. It might be a little pricey at first but if you are serious and you plan to play alot it could very well be worth your while in the long run.
For singer-songwriters, blugrass, celtic etc. many areas also have coffeehouse series that run during the school year. They usually do one or two shows a month that are held in Unitarian churches, YMCA's, etc. It is a good way to make at least $250 or so and you can guarantee a crowd of at least 30 or so people with crappy promotion. They usually promote the shows themselves and they will many times ask for 6 or so CD's and kits to send to local press and radio. (These are not to be confused with playing cafe's for tips- another option) These are usually booked 6 months to a year in advance.
Make sure that you put together a well-lit, attractive, sturdy and portable merchandise station. Don't make people have come looking for your stuff. This is very important!!! Merchandise sales can double your earnings on tour!!!
You can also work some friends and family in various cities to help you to promote your shows. They are usually eager to help and they can be good for a free place to stay, too. Offer to take them out to dinner or mow the yard or something in return.
Bring extra product to put in stores and lots of posters!!!
Put together a paperwork system to keep track of your CD's on the road so that you know where they all go. We document where each and every CD goes so that we can see where we are selling and make sure that we are following up on promo copies.
John Kiehne - SmokStik mail@smokstik.com http://www.smokstik.com/
How do you all avoid getting the bad slots and empty clubs?
By large and far, having an empty club is somewhat unavoidable. As Dave Hooper has said once, they had a show that looked like a sure winner have an empty house because it was the night OJ was on the loose in his Bronco. Getting bad slots is easier to avoid by simply being more choosy - have some sort of standards as to how low you can go with time slots when booking a show, some standard as far as who you will and won't open for/play with, where you will and won't play, etc. and stick to it. Dignity is a thing that may lose you some worthless leads and petty cash in the short run, but it will make a stronger impression on your friends, fans, and the people you do business with. Basically "know when to say say 'no' " - something most bands don't know. But still, venues will weasel you into crappy slots and is unavoidable, but preventative measures help an awful lot to prevent this.
Is this part of what bands should expect in their first tour?
Most first tours suck. If the band members have already had some success and are business savvy from previous band experience, then you may pull it off well. But if its the first touring experience for the band members (not just with this band, but ever), then it will probably be a tough trial by fire. Kinda like a rite of passage. Many acts don't have to play live at all to experience the success they desire, but these folks have other trials that are as daunting.
I'm sure that flyers and zine promotion can only take you so far, or..maybe not.
It depends on the act and the target audience. If you are in a goth band and put some ads in some goth zines and rack up press, you will have some good turnouts if you book in "goth friendly" venues and make the "goth community" in the places you play aware of your presence. The same pretty much goes for punk, rap, and Dance. Funk and Country have it a little tougher and Alternative and Hard Rock groups have the toughest time because of the saturation rate (there are more alt bands than alt fans in some towns) and lack of dedication to the "scene" (there are no real set niches and no solid sense of community). So rounding up people for a show can be improved by effective Micromarketing.
And, is it worth it to reach regional booking agents at the beginning of your first tour if you feel you have an absolutely worthy package?
This depends a lot on your contacts and the impressiveness of your act. Being able to draw crowds is impressive. Being able to promote shows exceedingly well on your own is impressive. Amassing tons of great reviews is impressive. Having radio playlists is impressive. Also, the smaller booking agencies especially, won't work your act if they don't like your music. And although a lot of people may argue me on this one, even huge national agencies will work with a completely unknown artist if they absolutely love your music and feel you are capable (attitude-wise) of working in higher pressure situations. If you are 100% objectively convinced your stuff is good enough and you have the time and resources to thoroughly research your regional agencies, I'd say your chances are very good. But this stuff works at every level in the biz. you could half ass it and wing it and mail out packages too - heck it may even work - but I'd never recommend that to anyone.
Is this realistic?
Anything can happen. The entertainment business is a lot smaller than people think it is. you can walk down the street and bump into someone who can change your life for the better, but you have to have the right attitude and still not be a sucker. If you read in a trade mag that Smashing Pumpkins need an opening band (an alt rock band described eerily like your alt rock band) and you bump into Billy Corgan and his girlfriend at the movie theater and he raves about how much he loves that rad shirt you're wearing - it would be in your best interest not to act like an idiot. Same thing goes if you meet anyone who may have an interest in your career. By choosing to be a professional original musician, you are choosing to work in a socially oriented field. That means being social is a job requirement (for 99% of us anyway).
Nathan Davis Butterfly Messiah http://listen.to/butterflymessiah