Our resident rock legend Mike Po (The Press Kit: A Rock Band's Survival Guide) returns to Getsigned.com this week with Part #2 of his article on why bands need to play live to be self-supportive and how you can set up your very own indie tour. Bad food, cranky club owners, and indie music groupies await you here.

So, now you know WHY to tour. And I'm telling you that you CAN tour. Now, the real trick is just exactly HOW you're gonna tour:

We'll just assume that you're NOT Kiss. No tour managers, probably not even a manager, period--no light rig, no pyro (well, maybe just a little pyro), no video crews....This is gonna be your van, your band, and maybe (but not likely) some schlep to drive and help carry stuff. Back at home base, you're gonna need somebody to help book these shows, promote these shows, and be there to keep in contact via phone and maybe be ready with emergency cash for van repairs, bail money, and such (paternity insurance is still optional, at this point.) I'm not saying you can't tour alone, with no sort of support staff, but let's work on the best-case-scenario, here. We can also assume that you have a record to sell, but even that can be optional in this case--don't, for a minute, think that just because you don't have product to sell, that you shouldn't be out there promoting the band. In the long run, you know, YOU are the product that you're trying to sell....So, let's just talk about some nuts-and-bolts issues involving getting your show on the road.

First things first, somebody is going to have to obtain these gigs, book these shows, sucker some club owners into giving you a slot (I think you know the drill). Technically, this person is going to be generically referred to as the "booking agent," but depending on your situation this could be anybody--a girlfriend/boyfriend of a band member, somebody from the band itself, maybe more than one person, maybe your mom…Anybody who can secure you a gig, at this point. Or, maybe, if you're really lucky, this might be a bona-fide, qualified booking agent. As well, many medium-sized labels have in-house bookings available. And, wow, if that's--the case, then give 'em the calendar and let 'em work their magic. However, we know this probably isn't going to be YOUR scenario.

Still, investigate working with a booking agent, don't give up on the idea. In a perfect world, you could find an agent who will handle all of your bookings for you, sign a short, probably non-exclusive contract with you, who will charge you just a percentage of your show guarantees. In brief, if you're lucky enough to find a reputable agent who is willing to work with you, you'll be far, far ahead of the game. Essentially a booking agent is, well, an agency who represents entertainers solely for the purpose of obtaining live performance bookings. Could be just one person in an office, or possibly a larger staff, but the real magic is that they have the contacts--booking agents are highly networked folks whose phone calls get through to the right people. They generally have very good working relationships with owners and promoters all over their region, and are uniquely focused on what they do--securing live engagements for acts.

I'm sure that for most of you, trying to step out of town for the first time, a relationship with a pro booking agency is probably not terribly realistic. More than likely, I'm going to assume, is that you'll be handling most of the phone calls and mailings yourselves. That's cool, most artists do. You CAN be your own booking agent--it's tough work, but it will save you a lot of money. Are you up for that challenge? If so, after you read this article, go HERE, buy this book, read it from front to back, and you'll be on your way to booking nirvana.

I'll level with you--I can't think of anything I enjoy less than booking shows, particularly when trying to book an unknown regional act. The whole process of cold-calling a busy club promoter, to try to hype your band, is, well, a lousy deal. Think of it this way: club promoters get just about as many demo tapes as any record label, but a label can conveniently ignore your phone calls and send a polite rejection letter at their convenience. A club promoter, on the other hand, will generally have regular phone hours--even if just an afternoon per week, you can attempt to get them on the phone and give your sales pitch. In most cases, they haven't heard of you or your band, they haven't listened to the tape, they don't want to book you....Obviously, doing a random club mailing and following up with a cold-call isn't going to be the most effective method for booking your tour. You gotta be creative about this.

One thing to remember is that networking is the key to just about any aspect of the entertainment biz, and doing any amount of touring is no exception. You're going to need to pull strings, call in favors, promise favors--just about anything you can do to help book some shows. For example? Well, simply cold-calling the club booker is the most obvious way to try for a show booking, but again, probably not always the most effective. Consider this one, how many times has an out-of-town band opened for you, at one of your own local headlining shows? Were you nice to them? Did you hang out? You should realize that, while they were complete unknowns in your town, they might well be the hottest band in their own area. And, hey, surprise, maybe they have some pull over their local club owners, just like you do in your own town? We're talking about gig-trading here, folks. If you can befriend other bands, and learn to work together and not fall prey to petty ego clashes, then you'll find that other acts can be big allies when it comes time to do some regional touring. Open your floors to touring bands, and they'll return the favor when you don't want to spend precious touring money on hotel rooms. See how this works?

Also remember that nightclubs certainly aren't the only place to play. College campuses are prime targets for ANY sort of exposure: college radio station-sponsored events, campus group-sponsored events, frat parties, private parties....They're all great opportunities for exposure, but also for income--campus-sponsored events almost always have a nice budget allotted, and are known for paying bands very well. If you're promoting a CD release to college radio, you should try to have the station put you in touch with How about local record stores? Many of them have in-store appearances from bands. Youth groups? Church groups? Block parties? Rent parties? Garage sales? Use your imagination here, people! Anywhere there's a gathering of any amount of people, and getting arrested isn't likely, you've just found a place to play....I'm not kidding, either--I once worked with a band who found themselves in a town with a cancelled gig, who ended up playing to a room full of folks at the local YMCA. Hey, you know, beats sitting around grumbling about it....

So, what are your options? I'd love to give you a magic answer that will cover every situation, but I just flat-out don't have one for you. This is going to depend entirely on where you are trying to play, and what you have to offer. We'll assume, of course, that you've already purchased my ultra-informative new e-book "The Press Kit - A Rock Band's Survival Guide"--makes a handsome gift, suitable for framing, order yours today---and you're going to be mailing out a package that you can be proud of. Clearly visible contact info, with your best material, press kit and clippings as applicable--no excuses, right? Beyond that, yes, being persistent helps--always follow up your calls, paying careful attention to the stated times when a promoter would prefer to be contacted. It might take a good number of return calls just to secure an opening weeknight slot, but, keep at it if the promoter sounds at all interested. The same rules apply here as with any other form of promotion--be polite, to the point, respectful of their time, and try to get your sales pitch across as effectively as possible.

There's more...

Whether or not a promoter is interested in your act is going to depend on many factors, but mostly depends on the "buzz," or rather, the lack of a "buzz," surrounding your band. For a small, complete unknown, out on their first out-of-town dates, you should expect (not surprisingly) to take whatever you can get--this most likely means that you'll be playing without any sort of contract or guaranteed payment, probably a weeknight slot, or as an early opener on a weekend. For a more-recognized band with a popular CD release with some regional radio airplay, then, it's probably a big step-up as far as bookings-- a booking at a larger venue, a brief, faxed contract with a guaranteed payment, maybe even such backstage perks as free beer and a meal (and, while we're on that subject, it never hurts to play at a club that also serves food--even with no revenue from the door charge, a free meal out of the deal could save an otherwise crummy evening). As far as "negotiations" with a promoter, again, it depends on the amount of draw your band has. For most acts, simply being allowed to come play at the club is the best deal you're going to get --money might be out of the question. At the very least, then, if simply being allowed to play live is what you're being offered, then follow up on it before driving out of town for the "big gig," call the club again. Double check that you are, in fact, still on the bill - have you read the archived postings on Getsigned.com's "Gigs from Hell" section yet? Scary!

A little more about clubs....Nearly every town has more than one place to play, with a certain pecking order amongst the clubs. You know what's out there, probably in your own town--the tiny venue where the unknowns play, the medium sized venue for established regional acts, the big-ass venue where whatever crummy flavor-of-the-month hit-band-that-you-hadn't-ever-heard-of-before-last-month will play about fifteen minutes before stealing your girlfriend....I think you realize that the smaller venues are going to be more accessible to you, and will no doubt have a more friendly booking policy. Larger clubs will be harder to get into, and I know that I don't need to tell you that, but it certainly wouldn't hurt you to take a shot at them, anyways.

Now, this really might be oversimplifying things, but the only reason that clubs have live music is that people would usually rather drink to a live band than to a jukebox. Either way, your job is really to sell beer, not to sell your band (at least, as far as the club owner/promoter is concerned). The more people in a club, the more beer a club sells, the happier a club owner is. As such, then, the only thing, and I mean the ONLY thing that, a club owner cares about, is whether or not your band can bring people into the club. And, better than that, if it's a local college pub with a built-in audience, then your band had better not be driving people away. Now, some clubs really are music clubs, with a certain image and style, with people who really care about the music, and some clubs are just beer halls with bands - in either case, even the most music-loving club owner isn't running a charity.

Granted, this has been just the most general overview of the process, but we're getting there. Next time, we'll talk a little bit more about just exactly how to work with the promoters to get the shows, and how to follow up with contracts and such, but more importantly--how to make the most of your shows while you're out there "on the road," and the ways to protect yourselves and keep everything running smoothly along the way.

See you all next time.
Po
 

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Website Back	Mike Po
	Mike Po was the founder of early '90s  influential indie-rock label, Limited Potential Records. Under Po's no-nonsense leadership, LimP Records signed and managed such acts as the Smashing Pumpkins, Brainiac, Catherine, Triple Fast Action, and more.   Po was one of the first music industry experts to contribute to Getsigned.com and his first column on Getsigned.com, "Rant! with Po" is still remembered fondly by many long-time Getsigned.com users. A native of Dayton, OH, he currently resides in Chicago with his collection of Swedish porn and SWEET records.
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