Tour Talk

1)How is an indie band suppose to invest in a tour?

2)Whats the best way for that indie band to make a profit out of that tour?

3)And last but not least: how is that same indie band suppose to get a steady fan base in each of the locations it chooses to play for?

I'll kick it off:

1)make a tight budget and provide the funds with band money

2)concentrate on sales at the door and on merch

3)get in contact with bands from your target locations and set up some gig swaps

any input is welcome.

thx
gigDoggy
http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/
www.myspace.com/gigdoggy

Dick Dale answers your questions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AJxc3Lxn4o

when i was on tour, we had a perdeum check everyday. we ate like kings and spent way over the amount we was to spend, that was a while ago. we had toured with t.l.c, R.I.P lisa LEFT eye LOPEZ. that was my little heart she was. i miss her very much. she taught us so much, and i lived with her for a long time.she helped me understand the rules of engagement on tour and in this industry.thats why i have her on my other web page, and refuse to upgrade wit all the fancy pimp my page jump off's. ( . /mrpressurepoint) is the page. read the bio and feel my other character. ive just reflected on so many seens in my mind as i was writting to you all.

i miss performing, it's a high no could match. i feel inside and very sad. 4 other reasons i wont speak on. peace 2 all the real artist out there. keep pushin good music

How to survive a tour?

SEPARATE ROOMS FOR THE MUSICIANS!!!

& lotsa groupies!

I toured a lot in the band that I was in from the mid 90's to 2002. We were indie and everything was self financed and all of us were broke!

1st you gotta have a reason to tour. If you already have an album out and you want to promote it thats great but if you don't have radio or other promotion in the places you want to tour you are wasting your time and money.

Plan your tour at least 4 to 6 months in advance and promote the places you are playing. Get a street team. Give kids some free stuff and have them flyer the crap out of national concerts in your genre of music constantly for a month before you play there.

Don't expect to live like rockstars. We were lucky to get a hotel room. Most of the time we slept on the floor of a band member's house. You gotta make real good friends with the bands you play with on the road because they will get you future gigs and let you stay at their house and use their shower. There were many times 5 of us slept in our broke-ass 1977 GMC Vandura with all of our equipment at a gas station or truck stop. We even got to sleep on the stage at a club we were playing at once. For a tight budget load up on canned foods, bread and PB&J.

It is very hard almost impossible to even break even if you are on a self financed tour unless you are extremely popular. Many clubs don't pay that much (if anything) and you'll be lucky if they feed you. To make money put on an excellent show, get in with a popular local band and sell as much merch as possible.

We got a steady fan base by repeat touring. We went back every two to 3 months and kept them updated with (now the old school technique) mailed newsletters. We sent them stickers and other promotional things. Another way to get a steady fan base is radio/internet promotion.

Self financed touring is not an easy thing at all. You have to be extremely dedicated and believe in your music to do it. If you expect to make a profit right away you better not bother. The whole idea of touring when you're an indie band is to broaden your fan base. Getting a bunch of people really digging your tunes is a lot more rewarding than getting money from a club. It is a nice bonus though.