We’re stoked to hear that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced an upcoming U.S. tour – especially since they haven’t hit the road here since 2007. So far just six cities have been released, kicking off in Charlotte, NC, on January 25th – will you be part of the crowd?
If you’re in a band yourself, touring is a great way to get your name out there and of course, do what you love best – play music! But it’s also something that takes a lot of planning. Take a look at these 7 essential tips to consider before planning your tour!:
1. Make sure you have written at least one album. Not a couple of songs, an entire album; you’ll need a lot of songs for your shows. Plan on having enough material to play a 45 minute to hour-long set, plus one or two encore numbers (think positive – you want those encores!).
2. Save up money for a few months. Each person should have enough money to pay for his/her own food on the tour and the band should have some money to get started off with – you will need gas for the van, some upkeep money for oil, transmission, brake fluids, etc., and sundry money for sundry needs – maybe one of you will get a cold, and need some NyQuil or something. It’s best to be prepared with more than you think you’ll need.
3. Come up with a route or plan for your tour. Plan which town/city you would like to play on which days. Try to plot a route that makes sense, i.e., try to make a circle rather than playing in one city one day, traveling 150 miles to the next city the next day, and then doubling back to play back in that same starting city the day after that! Instead, try to book two shows in City #1, a day apart, and then travel on to City #2, 150 miles away. Make sure all of your band members are available during the entire time allotted.
4. Search for contacts in each city you hope to play in. The best contacts are local bands that play in the area and venues. Send the band/venue/promoters in each city a message asking them to check out your band and let them know that you are interested in playing a show with them/at their venue on such and such day. You can’t always get a show on the day you are looking for and sometimes have to change your route or find a different venue to play at. Of course, make sure you aren’t playing on a night when another, bigger band is in the same town. (i.e. If you are an AC/DC tribute band don’t play in Denver on the same night that AC/DC is in Denver, because no one will go to your show).
5. Write up a contract for promoters and venues. You don’t need to hire a lawyer to write it up, just use common sense. Make a form with spaces for venue name, address, phone number, load-in time, sound check time, show time, and pay. This works both as a means of making sure you do not get screwed over, and also is useful as an itinerary. That way you have a contact sheet for every show and know when you need to be there, and other important information. Send these contracts through e-mail or regular U.S. Mail to each venue or promoter you have arranged a show with. Have them fill it out and send it back. Keep all of the forms they send back for use as an itinerary and also to make sure things go the way they were agreed on.
6. Make up a flyer for each of the shows with the venue name, show date, address and what bands are playing as well as start time and send them to the venues/band/promoters you are playing with. Sometimes promoters or other bands do this for you and send the flyer to you. Either way, make sure it is up on your MySpace and website, if you have one. If you’ll be playing a large number of dates, you may want to make a template poster with a big blank spot to write in the date, time, location, and cover. Make sure your website is on the flyer, so you don’t have to write it out.
7. Get merch made and CDs pressed. If you only have a demo or a three song “EP” you can still get them pressed and labeled packaged inexpensively. You can also do it yourself; it doesn’t really matter, just as long as you have them available to sell/give out on tour. If someone hears your band and likes it but can’t get a CD, odds are they will not remember you. Make sure to include your band name, a track listing and a website/MySpace URL so that they can find you online.
Start planning these things and you’ll make some great headway on organizing your band’s tour. However, you may also want to keep one thing in mind: Plan for making zero dollars. Most bands just starting out are lucky to just get a gig with a bigger name band – they rarely get paid. You do it for exposure (to get your music out there) and because you love it – not because you have to make a lot of money doing it. But keep doing what you love and who knows? Maybe RHCP will open for YOU someday!
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Suzy S.