datamusicata

I am on tour in the Pacific Northwest and have had little chance to get to a computer this week. I guess datamusicata is going to force me to buy a laptop, as I really want to post at least four times a week. Sorry for being so remiss this week. That being said…

Yesterday as I was riding on the ferry from Anacortes to Orcas Island for a concert on Friday night, I struck up a conversation with a stranger.  As it came out what I did, and the fact that I was doing a show Friday night in Orcas and then getting up early and catching a 7 am ferry back to Anacortes and then driving to Portland, Oregon (about five hours driving time from there), he wanted to know where I flew in and where I was flying out.

He thought that because Seattle was the big city in the area that I probably flew into SeaTac and picked up a rental car for the gig. If I had done that, then I would have to drive back to Seattle on Sunday and turn in the car and then catch the plane.  Or I could spend way too much money flying into every city and renting a car in every city.   Too time consuming and tedious for me.

From years of touring I have evolved what seems to be the easiest way for me to execute a tour. Keep in mind that I am a lone singer/guitarist/raconteur who travels without the benefit of road manager, sound man or crew of any sort. I do it all. As do many of you reading this, I am sure.

For me, I prefer it. I like the time alone and I like driving alone. I always work on songs (tho the satellite radio with it’s myriad choices is cutting into my creative time. I listened to classic radio plays for four hundred miles on Wednesday. I loved it and didn’t get a lick of songwriting done.)

But here is what I do to plan a tour. First of all, I try to book at least one “anchor” gig. This is a gig that pays enough to cover the bulk of the expenses; one place where you know that you will make some real money. I then proceed to canvas that area (in this instance, it was the Pacific Northwest). I called and emailed as many venues, societies and house concerts (house concerts.com, for instance) groups and individuals as I could and booked as many dates as I could.

By the way, most of the venues did not have the courtesy to even respond, but that’s the way of it, so I take no offense. As I’ve said before, it’s my job to get them to take a chance on me, it isn’t their job to even pay any attention to me.

That being said, I have noticed that the ones that do pay attention and do respond in a timely and professional manner are always better run venues with more of a constituency. It is almost as if the folks who aren’t that great at it are weeding themselves out of my process by not responding. It’s a blessing when these folks let you know early on how unprofessional they are.

I’ve run a club before and I’ve run a record label and whether you like it or not, it really is your job to check out every tape and pr package you get. And it is definitely difficult to do that in a timely fashion, so give them their wiggle room; plenty of time to respond to you. And most clubs book three to four months in advance. House concerts sometimes an entire year out. So you have to always be booking the future and accomodating their agendas.

To return to the topic at hand, after I have canvassed the area and located enough venues to fill the time allotted ( I don’t like to be out any more than fourteen days at a time, and ten is better. Two weekends and the week in between is ideal for me.   I also find that flying back in on a Monday after noon is better than a Sunday night when everybody is trying to get back for work on Monday).

Once I have all the cities, I book a flight into the last city on the tour. I fly into it the day before the first gig,. Also you can factor in enough time in the beginning to drive to that first gig and be rested enough to do a proper show. But notice I fly into the last city on the tour. That’s because at the end of the tour I am going to be tired and ready to be home. I don’t want to have to drive a long way when I am weary. I want to be alert and awake enough to be alert to traffic problems or danger and actually survive the tour.

So you see, by flying into the last city on the tour and picking up a rental car there, I have nothing to do that last day of the tour but turn in the car and fly home. No drop charges, no driving like crazy to get to some far off airport. And only two airports to deal with. The home one and the tour hub one. I dislike packing for airport security more than twice; once each way. And I carry one case of CD’s; one suitcase (with gear, clothing and personals in it); a guitar and a small carry on backpack.  That's it. 

When I get to the car at the airport, I unpack all my gear and put it in the trunk (except for my Collings guitar which goes on the seat next to me) and then the suitcase that I take into the hotels is light and easy to carry. It won’t be heavy again until that last day when I repack all my gear for the airport.   And I use the now empty (hopefully) CD box for stuff so the suitcase is a little lighter.   Try to keep it under their fifty pound limit.   No extra charge for overweight bags that way.

These things don’t seem like much, but together they make it a lot easier to tour. And that’s what you want. Ease of travel so that you can focus most of your attention on what really matters; why you are out there to begin with; …the show.