My first solo tour

In the middle of July I was to be in Kansas for a wedding. 'Be on tour' has been on my mind for the past 5 years, and has recently made it to my official Goal List in the past 2. Seeing as though I needed to venture back home anyhow, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. Being a starving artist I figured that I could book paying gigs along the way, sell merchandise, and therefore break even. So I would book it, promote it, play it, and sell it. The plan was perfect! I was excited to say the least, but as with all stories, time proves to come with some massive edits to my perfect fantasy plan.

I began to prepare in April by asking my friends who have been on tour questions and asking for contacts. I mapped out my route and the dates which I'd be in each location. By May, I found myself sending out emails on my prepared list, and also from lists found on the internet, such as http://www.onlinegigs.com/. After the first week of writing emails, I realized that it would be best to have called first, asked for names, and touched base before I shot out emails like a bandit on a shooting spree. So I began to do that. Some people had no idea what I was talking about, but mostly people were very helpful. I would say with 10% of the venues I contacted I was playing phone tag.

Once the emails were sent, it was the waiting game. I would touch base with them each week and a half and see how things were coming along. Maybe my tact is a lot better than I thought, because I managed not to annoy anyone. In each city along the way back to Kansas, I contacted about 30 venues. The phone calls were twice that (and sometimes more), and the emails were twice that as well. Lots of dead-ends, no responses, wrong numbers, broken email addresses, "you need a draw", and lots of "we only do full rock bands". But the one that killed me most was, "we'd love to have you, but we can't afford to pay artists". Playing in Los Angeles, all I kept hearing was about these magical venues outside of California that pay. If you don't know, it's tough for original music to make decent money out here in L.A. unless you get a consistent head count of 30 people and more. These are usually reserved for the hot-chick bands, or the main-stream indie rock scene. The conclusion was that maybe I was going about this whole thing the wrong way, but it was the only way I knew so for the time being I plunged head first.

When it came down to it. I booked none of the venues I contacted initially. Even the ones that said they would love to have me but couldn't pay, because at this point with all the waiting, late June had crept up on me like the crazies on the Venice Boardwalk. There was no time to contact media for promotion and the odds were (if there anything like the venues I know) foot traffic isn't that booming unless there's proper promotion or there's a band there that has a huge following. So, I went to plan C (which occurred to me after racking my brains for a while). I had completely over- looked a perfect music-friendly place where people would for sure be there ready to enjoy and buy music: Borders!

Surprisingly, to my misfortune, there are tons of Border's that don't have live music! I sifted through and ended up booked through some very friendly, and helpful folks in Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The only promotion I could do at that point was contact the local publications and get on their calendar. This process was quick and easy and it was the least I could do (but the most, considering the time-frame at this point). They turned out to be great shows, and yes, people were very receptive and I ended up selling some merchandise! Also, I made some new friends along the way. Some of these people said the next time I came around they'll get me in contact with people and venues they know that would be perfect for what I do. So it begins.

In the end I consider it to be a more of a roadtrip than a tour, but I now have insight. I have more of a handle on what I'm suppose to do. People are very helpful, you just have to ask the right questions. I imagine it's the same with most things: just keep going until you find the right path. Luckily I had a friend to travel with. My buddy and I had an amazing time seeing good friends along the way and some breathtaking sights. Definitely a wonderful experience.

What's next? Portland tour!

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