You just finished your EP. You’ve got enough songs to fill a forty-minute set, and are ready to hit the road. Before you and your band squeeze into a chock-full van for two weeks, ask yourself if you are ready to tour. Do you have the financing for gas, lodging, and food? Have you scheduled enough shows to make it worth it? Does your band have enough web presence to bring in fans outside of your city? These are all valuable questions. To help you get ready for your first tour we put together a list of tips to help you along the way.
If you have eight bucks in your pocket, you probably can’t go on tour. Fortunately, there are ways around this. Try sites like kickstarter.com. See if you can crowd-source enough money to head out for a week, and play non-stop. If this isn’t working, put off your tour for a few months, work on some songs, and save up enough cash to have a tour. Going broke isn’t fun.
Before you can jump in your van and hit the road, you need to know what venues you are driving to. Every city in your route doesn’t have to be planned, but you should have a good idea of where you are going. Pick a few cities, book those cities, and fill in the gap along the way. Have your EPK ready, and submit to gigs along the way. Look for basement shows you can play. Reach out to local bands in the cities you’re traveling through, and get their advice. They know the scene and can probably introduce you to the right people. Use your social network.
Shit happens on tour. You leave the music on and kill the battery. You lock your keys in the car, or maybe get a flat. Stuff like this happens when you are driving from city to city. Invest the $80 bucks and get a AAA membership. You don’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with a show to play, and have to fix a flat in a loaded van. Get AAA to do it.
Now that you’re your tour is planned and you are ready to go, it is time to let people know. Create a Facebook event for each show, and promote the hell out of it. Let your fans know on social media, search out local music blogs and have them write about it. Call local radio stations where you are going and ask them to give you a shout out. Do everything you can to get people through the door. Playing a new town for three people isn’t ideal. See whom else you are playing with, and reach out to them. The more people there the better. Don’t go on a whim; make it a point to promote your shows.
Before you head out, make merch! Print t-shirts, burn CDs, make cassettes, get stickers, anything that you can give out or sell to new fans bring. This is good for two reasons, one fans have something to remember you by, and two extra cash is huge on the road. Do not leave home without merch!
The most expensive part of touring is the lodging. This is why you hear about so many bands crashing on floors, or sleeping in vans. Motels are expensive, and hotels are gaudy. There are plenty of ways to lodge on the cheap. Try sites like couchsurfing or airbnb to start. It may be hard to find a pad for you and your four band-mates, but give it a shot. Another viable choice is to crash with the bands you are playing with. Hit them up beforehand and see if they got some couches or floor space. Remember this as you pack your vanM. Bring pillows and sleeping bags or air mattresses. Be ready to camp out, and sleep where you can.
Everyone wants touring to be one big party. Play a show, get hammered, and stay up all night; rinse and repeat. But, sadly, your body isn’t going to last. You shows will sound like shit, and your attitude will plummet. In order to survive your tour, make sure to take care of yourself. Drink lots of water, and get enough sleep. Good food is going to be hard to come by. There is a good chance you will be living off fast food for a few weeks, so make sure to eat healthy when you can. Stop at grocery stores, and trust the locals. See where they recommend and eat there. Fourteen Big Macs in two weeks is not diet you want to live off of. Tour life is rough; it is all about hoofing it and making it through, but make sure to take care of your body when you can. It will make things a lot easier.
Each town you play leave a mark. Even if there are only ten people at your show, make sure to talk to them after you play, and give them some merchs. Stickers are great swag. They are cheap, and people love them. Bring a pad of paper for a mailing list. Grab their email address and name. When you get back home send them a message with a link to your Facebook. Any fans you gain on the road, you will want to stay in contact with. This will be huge the next time you are going through that town. If those ten people bring their friends, you have twenty people, and the next time forty. This is how touring works.