Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

My band got a message that we are wanted to play in British Columbia in July, for some sort of bike rally, supposedly pay all our expenses and everything.

Of course the downside is someone will have to drive a total of 5000 miles to get the equipment there and back. thats around 80 hrs of driving

GOt to dig a little deeper into this one! LOL

jw123 wrote:My band got a message that we are wanted to play in British Columbia in July, for some sort of bike rally, supposedly pay all our expenses and everything.

Of course the downside is someone will have to drive a total of 5000 miles to get the equipment there and back. thats around 80 hrs of driving

GOt to dig a little deeper into this one! LOL

Maybe you could lease similar equipments from a local source up in BC... I/E PA. Amps... Just wondering...

Fly or just forget it.

I won't drive to the other coast or equivalent just because they want you to play.

Perfect planning prevents poor performance.
Go over the whole cost of the trip, that should be enough to dissuade you.

That is semi-crazy, but doable if they're willing to pay the cost of your travel and accommodations. You can always rent gear there so don't even consider driving. But that is a beautiful place, if you can combine it into a vacation it could work out really well. Good luck!

Paper most of the time these kind of things turn into a clusterfuck, LOL, Im going to wait for some more documentation to follow up on.

I would assume that PA is provided.

Its one thing to do a gig a couple of hundred miles away, but we are talking a 5000 mile round trip.

Probably just want us to play for beer! LOL!

jw123 wrote:Paper most of the time these kind of things turn into a clusterfuck, LOL, Im going to wait for some more documentation to follow up on.

I would assume that PA is provided.

Its one thing to do a gig a couple of hundred miles away, but we are talking a 5000 mile round trip.

Probably just want us to play for beer! LOL!

IT's nice to be wanted, but not at your expense !!!!!

Who do these people think you are if they don't want to pay correctly to get you to play. (and for 5K miles, it'd be expensive..)

John, when we played Vegas recently we found it is actually cheaper to rent everything than it is to transport all your gear to and from the venue. Things I learned were, get them to pay the extra $20.00 both ways for your ticket to early board. That way you can carry your guitar and pedal board onto the flight southwestern the guitar DOES fit in the overhead compartment. Never check your guitar as the airline baggage handlers WILL damage it. There was one company in vegas that we rented ALL equipent from. This must be done very early on in the process.

Makes my back ache just thinking about it.


I'd have to quit my job. I could not string enough days off together to even make that feasible.

Yikes! Sounds cool, and hectic all at the same time!

SirJamsalot wrote:Yikes! Sounds cool, and hectic all at the same time!

That's it exactly!

jw123 wrote:Paper most of the time these kind of things turn into a clusterfuck, LOL, Im going to wait for some more documentation to follow up on.

I would assume that PA is provided.

Its one thing to do a gig a couple of hundred miles away, but we are talking a 5000 mile round trip.

Probably just want us to play for beer! LOL!

Just got back from driving from Dallas to Seattle to LA and back again in 2 months. It's not so bad, and that time of year will be great in B.C.

But I'm sure you can rent from the Guitar Center in Seattle, or maybe even find a band at the festival who will loan some gear. If you decide to do it, let me know and I'll get some friends up there to check into that for you.

J-HALEY wrote:John, when we played Vegas recently we found it is actually cheaper to rent everything than it is to transport all your gear to and from the venue. Things I learned were, get them to pay the extra $20.00 both ways for your ticket to early board. That way you can carry your guitar and pedal board onto the flight southwestern the guitar DOES fit in the overhead compartment. Never check your guitar as the airline baggage handlers WILL damage it. There was one company in vegas that we rented ALL equipent from. This must be done very early on in the process.

Going into BC might require getting on a "puddle-jumper" (small plane) where there is no choice but to check your ax.

Take pictures of everything before you give it to them so there will be no question they caused the damage. Airlines do not give you the value of your guitar when they break it, so it would be best if you had a Calton case (made in Canada) to protect it. Those aren't cheap.

Just curious, how did they find out about your band?

Passport(s) Required to travel to BC from USA

Bob I have marketed our band thru all sorts of channels for bike events over the past 4 years, someone got a hold of one of our packets and loves us, weve done a few local bike rallys, but nothing like this, honestly looking at my calendar and other committments I dont think Im gonna pursue it very hard, in my band I tend to be the one to take care of everything, and going across the border and all the ins and outs of this type deal, I think I would rather do some more closer to home.