Premier Rock Forum

Hello Electrical.

Many of you have much experience with shoe string budget tours. I am getting ready to go on my first.

What are the 'tricks of the trade,' for lack of a better term, that you have discovered? How did you eat healthy for cheap, how many changes of clothes did you really need, how did you keep from misplacing anger toward your bandmates when all form of rational descent thought vanished after a 13 hour drive that should have only taken 8?

Touring

1) You must have some form of transportation. My band drives a van that we purchased for a little over a grand a couple of years ago. Since then, it has criscrossed the nation several times (sometimes, barely). We have been forced to visit the junkyard while on tour to find cost efficient replacement parts. Last summer, our steering column shifting mechanism seized and we were forced to shift the vehicle manually. That means everytime it was time to go into a new gear, stopping the vehicle and having a band member get underneath the van and shift into reverse, back up, stop, underneath the van shift into drive, etc. = pain in the ass. We found a "new" old steering column in a rural Pennslyvania junkyard for $20, called a mechanic friend and sat on the phone all day while he talked us through the job. After 8 hours, our drummer was covered in grease from head to toe, the job was done and we finished the next three weeks of tour on a job that could have cost a $1000.00.

2) Food: Stock up on grocery store goods. Make sandwiches. Eat cereal or cereal bars, fruit, etcetera. When you run out of those goods and you're cruising down I-80 through Nebraska, the healthy option gets very slim. At that point, filling my gullet becomes the primary concern and the food is just a means to an end. Cheap becomes the priority. Taco Bells are plentiful. Ocassionally, you'll find a truckstop Subway. They are moderately priced and there are healthy options. Sometimes you swallow your eating ideals, shut the hell up, and eat.

3) Show $ :

Play some local shows to get a band fund started. The band fund is obviously used to pay for gas, but it's a good idea to keep additional $ in the fund to pay for oil changes and potential mechanical failures. Unless you are in a band with a well-to-do daddy who's purchased a new van, problems are inevitable. If not on this tour, the next one. I feel best when we leave town with $500.00.

Keep track of how much you make each night.

We have another general rule-of-thumb that if our band fund is looking good (there is over $400.00) and our show made more than $150.00, each band member is given $10.00 per diem - the band fund is looking good and the show made over $200.00, each band member is given a $20.00 per diem.

Getting Along: Have band members that you like and respect as people and who respect you. Chill the fuck out (drop the ego). Give up on some of your normal expectations. Plan on being tired, grumpy, and other people in your band not having the same eating preferences as you. Deal with it. Make the best of it. Keep a sense of humor. Try new things. Enjoy your surroundings, after all, who knows when you'll be there again. Appreciate little things. If you do, they'll cushion your disappointments. When you have a blow out with a band member, blow off the steam and quickly be able to apologize even when you're convinced you were in the right. Again, chill the fuck out.

That's a start.

A couple of suggestions off the top of my head......

Yes, grocery store stock. It will save sooo much money from 'eating out' every night or sticking to fast food which is so bad (in so many ways...hint hint..) that many days in a row. Keep a cooler in the van if you can.

Sell things. A lot of young bands I see go out with nothing to sell and therefore rely on show money to fuel the tour. T-shirts are really easy and cheap to do. Stickers pay for themselves fast. Tour only CDRs cost almost nothing...

If you can stay on floors/couches, do. If you do hotels/motels and someone in the band has a computer with internet (wi-fi) try prciceline.com or the other cheap deal sites to get good rates on rooms the day you are looking. I know of some bands that stay half price every night which is almost a better deal than staying on a friend's couch and buying him or her breakfast the next morning.

No band or music stickers on your van! Zildjian stickers and the like ATTRACT thieves. The better your van can blend in with it's surroundings in neighborhood in each town, the safer you are. So many bands have been ripped of in the past few years. When we go on minivan tours, we rent a very new van and tape black fabric to the inside of the back windows where the gear is. We also cover the gear with a blanket of that black fabric. With the tinted windows of newer minivans you can not even tell there is anything wrong. It looks very normal yet keeps gear out of site.

Before you leave on tour...mapquest, mapquest, mapquest!

Don’t be stingey or cheap with your merchandise on the road. Make sure you give a T-shirt or CD to the booking agent or manager or the person at the club that took care of you and paid you. Think of it as cheap advertising. Maybe that shirt will be worn at another good show or around town. Maybe that CD will be played in the club on other nights. If nothing else, it is a gesture of thanks and that usually goes a long way.

Never bring store bought CDs on tour to listen to in the van or on a CD player. Most times they will get scratched in the van, lost, damaged, or even stolen. Always burn copies on CDRs so that if you loose one or it gets messed up, you are only out the price of the CDR (which is pennies).

Being friendly helps across the board. This one seems like an obvious one but it is often over looked. Same for job interviews (and life in general), why would someone want to hire or work with someone that is unfriendly? Everyone you are going to be in contact with (agents, label people, club owners, bartenders, soundmen, music writers, etc) is at work. You are just part of their workday. Being friendly and pleasant and easy to work with is often so appreciated (and out of the ordinary) that it could lead to better positive relationships. As a booking agent at a club, I often worked harder to help bands I really liked and that were nice than say a band that was pretty good but a bunch of jerks. I felt good about doing something nice for people that were nice. Also, treat the soundman with respect and friendship. He or she can take the time to make you sound really good or phone it in and let you sound as weak as the WB's Wed. night lineup. Again, these are all people that in some way can work for you (putting up posters, trying to get press on your show, helping with collage radio play, etc) so treat them with respect and make them want to do a good job for you.

My two cents...

dont forget:

-sleeping bag
-pillow
-toothbrush
-towel (most commonly forgot and most missed item)

great advice so far. my old band had a shit beater van like LSBD and it was a mess. now we have a much nicer van and im very happy about that. however, that means coming up with that cash (or getting a loan) to buy it.

the clothes thing depends a lot on where you stay and how often you get to shower. i like to shower as much as i can - others in my band i wish would shower more often. i usually go out with 2 pair of pants, as much underwear as we'll be out and that many, plus some extra tshirts. (cuz being a drummer, i get shirts real gross and sweaty after playing)

for heathy eats arby's market fresh sandwiches are also good. in general though, it's pretty hard to live anything resembling a healthy lifestyle on tour. maybe if you play some kids basement a crusty punk will make you some vegan dish that would be horrible at home, but is the best thing when your hungry and broke. a lot of bands do the grocery store thing, but it's never worked for me. space is tight enough as it is, and i get so pissed when the van starts smelling of rotting food that someone dropped behind the seat and accidentally forgot. maybe sometimes a trip to the store and just enough sandwich materials for the one meal, but also often time is too tight to do that.

my bands have never done per diems, it all goes back to the band and at our discretion the band will buy a random meal or two, or pay for a hotel if needed - but there are always bills mounting everywhere that need payment.

also it helps if everyone acknowledges that at some point in the tour, you're gonna wanna punch everyone in your band, and that's totally ok - and just deal with it in a healthy manner. it helps a lot to go take a walk by yourself and just decompress from seeing the same 4 faces over and over. that usually doesnt set in till at least 2 weeks though (well, that depends on your band). you dont all have to be a happy family doing everything together at all times. you all need your personal away time and space too - so just take it and move on.

make sure you have good merch too. if you play a crap show to 10 people, a few people buying a couple shirts or something can make the difference of covering gas the next day.

all of this is much easier if you genuinely like the people you're in a band with, which i'm lucky to be in the position now that i do. also try and do some walking around the area when you get to your destination, it can clear your head and get you some excersice after being cramped up in the van, and gives you a better feel of whatever city you're playing in.

also wanted to add that ipods are the best thing that happend to touring. no more cds, now we have 2 ipods and thousands of songs. nothing to get scractched or destroyed. and yes, make a tourbook before you leave mapquesting directions from venue to venue for the entire tour. also have an atlas in your van. in this tourbook include every confirmation email with promoter/venue contact info, load in times, guanatee info/etc. get a 3 hole punch and put it all in one of those trapper keeper binders. get phone numbers for everyone you might possibly need associated to whatever city you're in.

nick92675 wrote:also try and do some walking around the area when you get to your destination, it can clear your head and get you some excersice after being cramped up in the van, and gives you a better feel of whatever city you're playing in.

Such a good point. Seeing the cities and towns and stores and museums makes it so much more enjoyable. I love to play and tour but a week in a row of just seeing the insides of the van, smokey clubs, and fast food places makes me depressed. Seeing and smelling and walking around and taking in the new places you are visiting is one of the best part of touring and can keep your mind healthy. It reminds you that you are really lucky to be doing what you are doing.

Thank you so much for the responses. They all hit home in ways I was hoping for.

Thank you Electrical Audio; always so much help.

I can't really add too much more, as everyone has put really good and practical ideas out there. I just wanted to emphasize that you will more than likely get tired of talking to the same four people for the whole tour, so bring some solitary diversions. I prefer puzzle books, as I don't have to concentrate that hard on them, but they keep me busy.

Also, if you have CDs, try to hit some local record stores. Some will buy them outright, and every little bit helps as you know. I wouldn't depend on this, though.

If you don't have a place to stay, make sure you say something about it, like "We need a place to stay tonight, so if you have room, we'll make you breakfast" before you leave the stage, that way everyone in the room gets to consider whether or not you can stay at their houses, not just the few people you meet afterward.

If you have a choice of places to stay, always stay with the gay couple. They have a cat, and their house will have cable and be tidy.

When you crash at someone else's house, do your own dishes. This will be remembered years after a free CD or T-shirt is forgotten.

If you intend to fuck a lot of women on the road, take pictures or notes or something, because if you don't remember their names on the next trip, they can cause a big scene and it's weird. I've seen it happen.

Never eat fast food if you can help it. Go to Dominick's and get some rolls and cheese and make sandwiches. Or go to a mom&pop restaurant. The fast-food places on the highways of America are even more decrepit and depressing than those in our towns. It only takes a minute longer to avoid hours of pants-shitting and nausea.

Sell merchandise, give thanks for free. By that I mean your T-shirts represent dinner money. Don't waste them on "swag trades" with the opening band you can't stand and don't want to be associated with. Or the club sound guy. Thank them and be nice, but if they want to trade T-shirts, say "we need to sell those for travelling money, and we're running low." Otherwise, you just spent $5 (or lost a potential $10) for a T-shirt that says "Mack Daddy's Pub and Ribhouse -- home of the famous doubleburger!" or "The Fuckinators -- Tri-Cities Rock and Roll" on it.

Okay, that Fuckinators shirt would be worth it.

i forget what exactly they're called but i think it is "Baby Wipes" or "Wet Naps" but yeah...bring those and leave them in the van...very helpful for helping out with cleaning up on a long drive...

make sure that you always keep an empty bottle of Gatorade or OJ or whatever for somebody to piss in if you're far between rest stops...it comes in handy...

one of the nice things about playing the more DIY punk venues is that they will have dinners prepared for you (typically Vegan or Vegetarian) but when you play crappy bars and stuff, you're out of luck.

much love,
andyk

this is the best post ever.

russ might as well shut the site down...it doesnt get better than this...

andyk

steve wrote:If you don't have a place to stay, make sure you say something about it, like "We need a place to stay tonight, so if you have room, we'll make you breakfast" before you leave the stage, that way everyone in the room gets to consider whether or not you can stay at their houses, not just the few people you meet afterward.

If you have a choice of places to stay, always stay with the gay couple. They have a cat, and their house will have cable and be tidy.

When you crash at someone else's house, do your own dishes. This will be remembered years after a free CD or T-shirt is forgotten.

If you intend to fuck a lot of women on the road, take pictures or notes or something, because if you don't remember their names on the next trip, they can cause a big scene and it's weird. I've seen it happen.

Never eat fast food if you can help it. Go to Dominick's and get some rolls and cheese and make sandwiches. Or go to a mom&pop restaurant. The fast-food places on the highways of America are even more decrepit and depressing than those in our towns. It only takes a minute longer to avoid hours of pants-shitting and nausea.

Sell merchandise, give thanks for free. By that I mean your T-shirts represent dinner money. Don't waste them on "swag trades" with the opening band you can't stand and don't want to be associated with. Or the club sound guy. Thank them and be nice, but if they want to trade T-shirts, say "we need to sell those for travelling money, and we're running low." Otherwise, you just spent $5 (or lost a potential $10) for a T-shirt that says "Mack Daddy's Pub and Ribhouse -- home of the famous doubleburger!" or "The Fuckinators -- Tri-Cities Rock and Roll" on it.

Okay, that Fuckinators shirt would be worth it.