So how
does a band go about booking a national tour? Well
no-one's saying it will be easy. For a start, if
you've got full time jobs you're going to have to
decide if you really want to have a crack at this or
play it safe - you're going to be doing this a lot to
get where you want to go. Your touring needs to
count, as there will be moments when you're tired,
hungry, loading a 4 x 12" into the back of a
transit at 2 am. You need to know you're doing this
stuff for a good reason. A tour is so much more
substantial than a gig. You can call it something, it
can have a reason for happening, and this in itself
will generate press. So where do you find the right
gigs and how do you convince the venues to book you?
Finding gigs is easy - look in the back of NME.
There's a well-worn circuit of small to medium pub
and club venues that nearly every known band has
progressed through.
It's
not unusual for bands with hit records to be still on
this circuit as there is a huge gulf between being
able to sell out a club with 400 capacity and going
into the city halls which hold 2,000 plus. These
venues include Bath Moles Club, Edinburgh Venue, Hull
Adelphi, The Barfly in London and Sheffield, King
Tut's Wah Wah Hut Glasgow, Northampton Roadmender's,
Brighton Zap Club etc, etc. You need to not only get
some gigs but also to try to string them together in
a sensible order geographically and earn enough in
the process to cover your costs. It's a tall order
and you might as well come to terms with the fact
that your first few tours will be a hard, skint slog.
Ring the venues and take anything you can get,
including Monday nights third on the bill or
whatever. It will probably take 20 calls to get one
gig.
Don't
give up - other bands will be packing it in all
around you because it's too hard for them, clearing
the way for those that mean business. Whatever you
manage to cobble together then call it a 'tour' and
concentrate on being so amazing that you will create
a vibe wherever you go. Even if you're playing to
three people you will be surprised how gigs can
become legendary, and a buzz can snowball around a
hot new band. Your early gig fees will be next to
nothing or actually nothing. These will increase with
your profile and pulling power. I'm talking about the
door take, not members of the opposite sex, although
more on that aspect of touring later... To save money
you may have to forget about B&Bs and crash at a
relative or friend's place. If there are five of you
in a band then one of you will almost certainly know
someone in most areas of the country. There are
usually enthusiastic fans of the band who are willing
to put you up, feed you (and sometimes sleep with
you!).
The
one aspect of the tour expenditure that you should
try not to cut corners on is food. Eating out twice
or even once a day can put serious holes in your
budget, but it's amazing how quickly musicians can
get ill on the road without proper nutrition or
sleep. Colds turn into flu, singers lose their
voices, gigs get cancelled and everyone gets grumpy.
Just one night sleeping in the back of the van can
take a week to get over. There are real health risks
to touring: drugs of all kinds, sex, booze and
partying potential are freely available even at the
lowest level. For the punters it's their one night
out of the week and so they want to make the most of
it - for you every night is party night, and it can
get out of hand.
Touring
should be fun, and when else do you get to play every
night in front of an audience? This is how bands get
to be amazing live - it just doesn't happen by
accident. Those of you who saw Ocean Colour Scene at
the Birmingham Music Live Show witnessed a great live
band with thousands of gigs under their belts.
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