Thor's list is gold I will add one thing.If you need a place to stay ask on stage. I would highly recommend saying you can not stay at a place with cats, I hate to say it, but some cat people are just not clean, and there is nothing worse than having to stay at a cat piss home. As soon as we got someone in the band that allergic to cats our digs on tour got better.Also if you see fruit on tour buy that fruit and eat the hell out of that fruit and download podcasts, they are a great break from non-stop screaming white dudes you will be listening to.

tidalcast wrote:Any advice on promoting in cities we're visiting for the first time? Any on getting shows around the Chicago area specifically? That was one place we were looking to play this time around that we didn't manage to get into.Yeah, that one is easy, you are on here, find a band that you want to play with on the board and ask them to set up a show. It is that easy, there are no bands on here that are not stand up people. Try to play the BBQ if you can, you will meet the best people in the world. The end.

I've never done it, but I've read many threads here about it. This book adds some interesting things I haven't read here. Dude that wrote it has a similar, but slightly different perspective since he's from New Zealand if I remember right.http://www.alowhum.com/diy-touring-the-world.html

along those same lines, take care where you put guitars in cases and other heavy stuff that can slide forward in an emergency stop. If you don't have a steel/heavy wooden divider between the cargo area and the passengers, you could get a lethal knock on the back of your head when one of your guitar cases comes flying forward. Boxes of LPs are goddam heavy as well, and can hurt people if they get loose. A handful of tie down straps, and a few D-rings screwed or bolted to the floor or walls of the van can help secure small heavy and slippery cargo.

dontfeartheringo wrote:Also, here are some tips on staying alive while driving in what may be substandard vehicles late at night:1. The driver must be sober: Like, really sober. If the driver has even had two beers and everyone else in the van falls asleep, he s going to be just a hair more relaxed and likely to fall asleep. Hotel rooms aren t that expensive compared to van accidents.2. Stay in the right lane except to pass: Two reasons- 1. You get an extra fraction of a second to react if someone crosses the median, and 2. Every now and then some drunk asshole comes down the wrong side of the highway. They ll usually try to look sober by keeping right on what they think is their side of the highway. 3. If you can follow a semi-truck at a safe distance, do it: If someone crosses the center line and hits the semi in front of you head-on, you live to tell the story. It s that simple.4. That said, stay out of packs: Stay out of big clumps of drivers. One person in a car digging for their phone to find something better on Spotify can start a chain reaction accident. Cutting down on the number of other drivers around you cuts down on the odds of a bad driver taking you out.Chicago specific -Over the course of the last year or so, there have been quite a few accidents(some where folks were killed) where a driver wound up on 290(Congress downtown) going the wrong way. Obviously, someone headed the wrong way at fifty-five is incredibly dangerous.Please try to expect the unexpected. This goes double after one am.

We did a lot of night drives. A lot of really terrible night drives. Last time we drove at night the van crashed and we were only an hour from home. No more night drives. Don't drive at night.Other than that, the less people at the show the more effort you should put in to it. Some of the best shows I've ever played have been to less then twenty people. One time we played outside of Boston to like 5 people, not including the other bands who hated us...it was probably the best show we've ever played. Ha!

bishopdante wrote:It is, in my opinion inadvisable to do the splitter van design, where you put all the heavy equipment in the boot, with all the weight hanging out over the back axle. Much better to get a fully-seated van, pull out the middle seats, strap all the gear down properly there to the existing seat fixing points, putting passengers in the back.I was thinking just this. Not based on touring, but from doing a lot of moving.

Alternately, if you are a member, go to your local AAA office with your itinerary and they will create a custom map in booklet form for you. Ask for the North America Trip Planning Service.

Stay home and light a pile of money on fire instead.

the Classical wrote:Other than that, the less people at the show the more effort you should put in to it. Some of the best shows I've ever played have been to less then twenty people. One time we played outside of Boston to like 5 people, not including the other bands who hated us...it was probably the best show we've ever played. Ha!I really have nothing but contempt for bands who put in less than their best for small crowds(sadly, I know some people that do it). We put on just as hard a show for 5 people in Baltimore as we did for 50 this Friday in Boston, or 100 in Iowa(I was shocked to see that many people in a room for some local bands and an out of towner they didn't know).We're back and taking stock of everything, fixing what we can and moving forward even more prepared than we were. The advice in this thread and the links you guys have given is definitely being digested, I'm just taking time to make sure I don't half ass my responses to anything. I talked to my drummer about it though, and we'd absolutely love to play the BBQ next year, if you guys would have us.