As in, you are really excited and pumped to go, but it often turns out to require much more planning than you expected and the end result is that you are emotionally drained by the time you get home.
So, here's the Millennial Musician touring post!
There are so many, many resources online for you, so I've just compiled some of them and picked out the most important aspects to keep in mind.
While planning:
Plan well, plan thoroughly, and plan for the unexpected/unlikely, because this is your job. This is your fan-base opportunity, this is your networking opportunity, this is your art on the line! Here's a pretty straight-forward how-to on planning.
Budget every expense possible, and then add another 10% on top for the 'emergency fund'. If you don't use it, great, you've got that extra cash for another time. If you do need it, it's saving your tail.
Check the transportation well before you depart. If something needs fixing, better to find out a good six weeks before you hit the road.
It seems like this should go without saying, but have your showdates all planned and confirmed, and keep the communication lines with the venues open. Also, make sure you know beforehand what kind of payment you're looking at for each venue.
Staying healthy (and mentally sane):
First of all, make sure you've planned your days off. These are not 'oh, well, we're driving all day so that's free time'. No. Book a few different days where you are stopped in a location, and you can explore, curl up in bed with a book, or visit a museum. Many bands do five days of show, three days of travel, and every eighth day is an off-day. However, there's a lot of variation depending on the length of tour and the destination paths.
Eat well, get your sleep. Obviously.
Take walks and help with the equipment on-site to keep your blood moving.
Here's an article from The Strad on mental heath while touring.
Here's another good one on keeping yourself healthy.
When you're on the road:
Have a pre-planned driving schedule.
Bring some sort of entertainment; half the tour is working like mad, and the other half is waiting around until you start working like mad.
Be a good person. I've spoken to many professionals in the industry, and one of the tips that comes up very, very regularly is this: people will remember you simply for being that nice, professional person who was respectful to those around him/her, and was on time. Sounds crazy, but I've heard it enough to this point that I wholeheartedly believe it.
Always, always play your best. Even if the venue looks like it's full of hobos and drunks, you never know who's just around the corner, coming in for the next set, or wandering past outside the venue and might decide to step in.
Here're just some extra tips for anyone looking at touring in Europe:
Here's a nice article from a traveling site, written from Europe(firsthand, always good).
And one more on traveling in Europe.
Here's a list of articles written by touring musicians:
http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/artist-interviews/on-the-road-again-tips-while-touring
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/nov/02/indie-professor-touring-rules
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/15/travel-tips-from-touring-musicians/
http://bandzoogle.com/blog/advice-for-touring-musicians-nycas-on-how-not-to-travel
Here's some useful compiled tips on touring:
http://blog.musicinsidermagazine.com/2012/11/tips-for-the-touring-musician/
http://blog.discmakers.com/2012/01/tips-for-surviving-and-thriving-on-tour/
http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/5-big-tips-that-will-save-your-bands-tour.html
http://www.ourstage.com/blog/tag/top-ten-tips-for-touring-musicians
http://www.sanctuarylane.com/articles/touring-tips-for-musicians-on-the-road.html
Last two resources:
TourSmart is a site with a regularly updated blog on touring, while IndieOnTheMove lets you set up an account and will help you out with specifically what you need to start touring.
No comments:
Post a Comment