Touring - Get Out of Town!

Part 2

June 1, 1999

In the last installment of Touring, I tried to give you some helpful hints to book your tour. Now that you have secured those all-important gigs, how can you make them a success? The difference between a successful tour - one that gains you the respect of the club, the scene you are playing in, labels, agents, and the standard assortment of people you would like to get on your side - is the advancement. Just below your quality of performance, advancing the shows on your tour is one thing that you can do to make sure that you aren't playing for 10 people at the show you worked so hard to get.

So what exactly is "advancing"? Advancing a show is actually built from many components that you can implement into your tour and shows that can make it an effective endeavor. Street translation? Work hard and spend as much money and time as possible if you want to gain fans. Each agent or band that books a tour has some slightly different things they do to advance a tour, and you will develop a routine when booking a show yourself that will make it a great one. Until then, here are some to the things I do when I book a tour, and when you should implement this strategy.

Send out printed materials before the show

A simple poster design. The date and time for each tour stop would be written in the white space.

Chances are if you are reading this, you own a computer and can do basic graphics on it. Creating a generic poster, (see sample to the right) will save you money by letting you print the same poster in bulk, leaving a space at the bottom to fill in the date, time, and venue later. If you have a little extra cash, you can go to the same people that do posters, stickers, and other promotional items for the big boys (you know, groups like Motley Crue). T-bird Entertainment and printing in Reno Nevada (www.tbrd.com) prints passes, posters, and stickers for The New York Yankees, Meatloaf, The Warp Tour, George Straight, and the aforementioned boys. But just because they do big budget tours doesn't mean that they don't cater to local and regional bands as well. T-bird can do short run posters, backstage type passes (or passes for radio promotes with your logo or picture on them), and vinyl stickers.

Another company that understands the music industry is Disc Makers (www.discmakers.com). Specializing in CD and tape duplication, they also provide graphics services and poster printing. If you have a mailing list, you might consider sending out some postcards for the shows on the tour (see sample 2). By far the best color printing for postcards that are affordable comes from Modern Postcard (www.modernpostcard.com). For $95 they will print 500 postcards with full color on one side, and black and white on the other.

A possible postcard design to use in advancing your tour.

As soon as you book the show, send out posters and postcards to the venue, local radio stations, record stores, and the other bands on the bill. Make sure you include the other bands you are playing with on the information, as well as the date, time, and venue. Make sure that these people receive these promotional tools as far in advance as possible, and consider sending more to the venue about two weeks before the show.

Send out promotional materials

Make sure that radio station, record stores, local magazines, and local promoters receive a copy of your CD or tape well in advance of your show. Very few people will go to see you if they haven't ever seen you before or even played the city before. Follow up with polite phone calls to inquire about in-store performances or an interview at the station or for one of the local magazines. Realize that magazine lead times are usually far in advance. Don't call a week before the show and try to get an interview - try about 8 weeks in advance.

Oh S%#&!.... Where are we gonna stay? How are we gonna eat!

Hotels, transportation, and logistics can make or break a tour. Do it right and you can be living high off the hog even if you aren't a big star. Do it wrong, and you will have a broken down vehicle that takes you to a fleabag motel room next to an ice machine. The first thing you need to do is plan your route. There are several great travel/map programs on the market that will show you roads, directions, and local attractions and services available for the PC and Mac. One of the best is Tripmaker from Delorme (about $30 at most Comp USA's or computer catalogs. Going through one of the on-line information services like www.cities.com, a book source like the Let's Go series of travel guides, or a copy of the local phone book, find out what hotels are in the area you are traveling to. Also ask the venue if the have a negotiated rate with a hotel close to the venue. Many of them do, sometimes at discount rates.

Here are some guidelines for finding the best hotel/motel rates.

Stick with the major chains. The surroundings will become more familiar quickly and will trick you mind into not thinking your moving so much. Personally I like Marriott Courtyard or Super 8 for small budget tours. They are everywhere and are so predictable that the coke machine is even in the same spot in different locations.

Try to book a hotel that offers a free breakfast of some sort. Time is a big problem on the road, so if you can wake up to a free breakfast for the band or even some coffee and donuts, at least your day will start out good. Also a neat way to save money on the food bill.

Look for deals on the web. Webflyer (www.webflyer.com) has many last minute hotel specials and advice on how to get special deals.

Join all of the frequent stay programs and AAA or some other type of auto club. In addition to helping you on the road, automobile clubs and frequent stay programs offer many discounts on hotels and extra services that can come in handy on tour like late checkouts.

Transportation

If you have a van or truck...Great!. Make sure it is in good working order, insured for both you and the equipment, and have fun! But before you cram 5 band members and all your gear into a small box, look at some alternatives that might make sense.

RV Rentals

RV's or trailers pulled by a vehicle with some power can actually save you money in the long run. You can do several things with an RV that you can't do with a van. The most important thing is you can use it as a mobile hotel, just getting a room every three days for showers or using one of the state parks or commercial campgrounds as a facility for showers or laundry ( I prefer the "disposable clothing" method of laundry...12 pair of socks for $5 at K-Mart!). You will also be able to keep food in your fridge, and prepare meals in these moving homes allowing for healthy meals without the cost of restaurants for every meal. The comfort of a RV is well worth the money if you have it. Prices in the off season of certain markets can be as low as $300 per week. Check your yellow pages under recreational vehicles to see who rents them in your area.

Doing it in style

Ever wanted to travel on tour in your own tour bus? Well it's not as expensive as you might think. Tour busses can only be described as moving houses with all the comforts of home including satellite TV and massive stereo systems. Not to mention you will attract a lot of attention! There are several companies who rent tour busses with custom interiors. One is PacifiCoach (www.pacificoach.com). They range in price, but can go for as little as $1200 per week with a driver if you find a great deal. If you add up two hotel rooms at $50 per night, times a week, that's already $700. A tour bus is not for all budgets, but if you have been good boys and girls and saved your pennies, it can be the only way to travel and a dream come true.

A word about being responsible

Just because you are staying in a nice hotel room, a rented RV or at a friend's house, it doesn't mean you should give in to your primal instincts and trash the room, steal the towels, and create a nightmare for the hotel. Realize that if you are a successful touring band that you will be back and your reputation will precede you. Be considerate of all property that does not belong to you and treat everyone you meet with respect. It will pay off the next time you hit town with better rooms, more respect from people, and maybe even some new found fans of the band.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for part three of my series, Touring - Get out of town! In the next installment we will continue with the advancing of the show and getting ready to hit the road.

Kit Benge (kit@harmony-central.com) has written for BAM, The Rocket, The Chicago Reader, and gobs more. He has been a sound engineer, tour manager, booking agent, and personal manager for dozens of acts since 1978. Kit currently operates a public relations/event-planning firm, plays with lots of gear, and is rarely seen outside of an island near Seattle.