General Music Chat

Don't ever mention those fake-ass mental midgets who go by I.C.P. here again.


They should be deported, all of their recording should be scrubbed from existence, and all those who posses a recording of them should be shipped off to france.

Hey, the French helped the American Revolution and gave us the Statue of Liberty (and good food!). Send 'em to Afghanistan or Outer Siberia.

Don't ever mention those fake-ass mental midgets who go by I.C.P. here again.


They should be deported, all of their recording should be scrubbed from existence, and all those who posses a recording of them should be shipped off to france.

But I don't wanna go to france!

Don't ever mention those fake-ass mental midgets who go by I.C.P. here again.


They should be deported, all of their recording should be scrubbed from existence, and all those who posses a recording of them should be shipped off to france.

But I don't wanna go to france!

Or, you're gone buddy!

Age and safety go hand to hand. At 25 I did a lot of things I wouldn't think about doing at 50. Then again I could play all night and work all the next day and did that for a few years untill the family took precdense over what I wanted. I don't think there is any reward without a lot of risk in anything. I also think being safe all the time makes for a boring existence. My wife has played roller derby now for about 2 years and I've never been happier for her as she is doing something thats keeps her busy and happy. My music does the same thing for me and she has made o lot of sacrifice for me over the years , and would let me take off on a tour around the world with a band if I wanted. Theres a lot of danger in a 49 year old woman playing roller derby,especially for the younger girls when she's had a bad day,but she doesn't let that stop doing what she wants and I would never try to stop her.

If I were on a mission to spread a message like George you couldn't stop me from doing everthing in my power to get it out there.

Sometimes a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do !

Sometimes a man can think too much !

Then a women gets in the way !

Such is life !!!!!!

Then again I could play all night and work all the next day and did that for a few years untill the family took precdense over what I wanted.

I did the same. I was a lab tech for Zenith radio. I worked both jobs for months. Then I started falling asleep while I was standing up at my day job. I quit Zenith and went to playing music full time. I had good offers for Vegas and Nashville but I didn't want the commitment because I didn't want music to become a ball and chain.
So what did I do? I turned music into a ball and chain anyway, and for far less money and no fame.

Take it from someone who knows. Stupid is as stupid does. Youth is truly wasted on the young.

Fortune and fame ? Can't take it with you when you go . Your songs will last forever . Just gotta get em out.

Now I have to go to work !!

Mike, James Williamson stopped making music after the Stooges and became a VP at Sony making the big bucks. But he walked away from it when Iggy called. Was it the right decision? Only he knows that for sure, but history will remember him for his music, not for his work at Sony.

If Iggy called me I'd give it very serious consideration. Which shows I have become a wimp - there was a time when I wouldn't have even had to think about it...

Until my kids are completely independent, there is no way I would want to go on the road - I'd miss them too much. If I didn't have any ties, then I'd do it for the adventure, that is if I knew it would pay the bills while I was on the road Smile Otherwise, I'd be content (as I am now) with music as hobby - a creative release.

another well said bit there SirJamsAkov guy

I would tour in a hearbeat. That is why I work an 9-5 job in the first place. Plus, my husband probably expects that that part of my life is coming.

So yes, I would quit my job to go on the road.

Ive had a few offers, but there is no long term stability to it.

Im a rock star in my own neighborhood, so why do I have to go on the road.

How many of you commenting have actually done a 2-3-4 week tour. Do you really know what your talking about? At 18 me and one of my bands broke down in TX, near Austin and I sold an amp to get a bus ticket home.

No I wouldnt in a heartbeat even consider it, some of you have your eyes in the blue sky, a recording contract is only a loan, not money in the bank.

Good luck if some of you make it send me a backstage pass

No I wouldnt in a heartbeat even consider it, some of you have your eyes in the blue sky, a recording contract is only a loan, not money in the bank.

I think too many people grew up watching The Monkees and thought it was a documentary.

I haven't done the full blown touring thing yet, nor been "signed" to any label. But, I've known plenty of bands who have, independent and major labels. Even some of them were a bit delusional. I remember one time Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) got a big box of promo CDs that the 4AD/Elektra label weren't going to use. One of his other bands, Princess Dragon-Mom, run their own label, Time Stereo, operated by his bandmate Davin Brainard. Davin was all excited because they were going to repackage the CDs and sell them through Time Stereo for $3 bucks. Davin thought the CDs were free and I gave him a reality-check, "Uh, Warren has to pay for all of those. They aren't free. Nothing from the label is free." He got pissed at me.

How many of you commenting have actually done a 2-3-4 week tour. Do you really know what your talking about?

That was my question John ... 3 pages back

Touring ... living on the road sound so cool and it is if you're on a well funded, organised ... but few of them are. Most are under funded, sleeping in a van with 4 other guys on top of equipment, pooling money together for gas to get to the next gig, eating sh*t food (cheap) so you have gas money to get to the next gig, driving endless hours, getting no sleep (and not because you're a party animal) and hoping that the van doesn't break down and leave you stranded

A typical tour day

-get up at 8am, have breaky and coffee, get on the road by 10am
-drive 2 to 6hrs to venue ... if you arrive too early you sit around a wait.
-load in, setup and sound check ... all venues want you setup and sound check before their clients arrive, so you have to be done by 5pm.
-get one room (if you can afford one) for the band (3 to 5 guys)
-have supper (again cheap food)
- sit around and wait for start time.
-play 2 to 3 sets ... (you could be playing to an empty room or a full room where nobody is interested in what you are playing or the room could like what you are playing ... you never know it's a crap shoot ... but you have to put on a stellar performance just the same)
-finish playing somewhere around 1 to 2:30am and try and get to sleep by 3 to 4am
-fight with manager for your money ... you seem to alway get less than agree amount
-try and get some sleep with a bunch of guys snoring ... farting ... coffing ... you get the idea.
-up at 8am and repeat.

-if you get a down day (no gig or you are booked in to a venue for a weekend) well there's always laundry to do ... and more siting around and waiting.

The days of booking into a venue for a 5 day stint (tues to sat) are long gone. Most tour now a days are one night stands ... and they can have some long legs (miles) in between venues, so it could cost $150 per day or more in gas to get to the next venue. If you don't have a van you have to rent one (1200 a week or 170 a day). Meals say $20 each a day. Room $50 for a coachroach infested room.

So you need a guarantee of said $400 per venue (good luck on that for an unknown band) to break even and you haven't paid any band members. You may sell a bit merch ... but do count on it.

The thing that gets to me the most (besides having a asshole or some primamadonna on tour with you that bitch about the tour or anything else that come to mind) is the waiting around ... it seems to be endless. You are not in you home town where you have friends to BS with ... you are a nobody in a no-name town (you don't know anyone other than you band mates) with no personal space (because you're living in a van) ... like I said it take a certain personality to live on the road but we do it because we love the music ... but really ... it's a young mans game.

Ive had a few offers, but there is no long term stability to it.

Im a rock star in my own neighborhood, so why do I have to go on the road.

How many of you commenting have actually done a 2-3-4 week tour. Do you really know what your talking about? At 18 me and one of my bands broke down in TX, near Austin and I sold an amp to get a bus ticket home.

No I wouldnt in a heartbeat even consider it, some of you have your eyes in the blue sky, a recording contract is only a loan, not money in the bank.

Good luck if some of you make it send me a backstage pass

I would indeed do it in a heartbeat, but remember I ain't no kid. I know when and how to decide on a wise tour. I am not going to just up and go. I am not going to start a tour with no money. I am not interested in a recording contract...you don't need one to record.

This is the stuff that I've been wanting to hear about, the gritty truth! I'll take as much as you're willing to give me!

I already have it in my head, that when/if I hit the trails, I'm going to be tapping most of this money out of my bank account. I don't want to have to wait for someone to loan me the money, only to pay back with interest. I know that rude people are all over the world, so that's expected. Merchandise sales will have to go back in the tank. That merchandise that I just sold was paid for by the band to have made...etc.

Just trying to condition myself so that I don't go into shock over anything. I'm green, or as they say in The Outsiders...gold.

One thing I've read has me thinking: Shouldn't you get an accountant to send your money to rather than your manager? That's what I read about touring musicians anyway. I know most people can't afford it(me included). Also, aren't you better off with getting a booking agent before you hire anyone else?