Things I learned from – being a tour manager for a band

This week’s “Things I Learned” comes from a 15 year veteran of the music business. Tammy is a booking agent, publicist and writer and has learned a lot along the way including..

1. Be kind to the door guy or the bartender. He may be the talent buyer next week.

2. You can take the band out of the bar, but you can’t take the bar out of the band. 

3. An audience doesn’t hear your band. They hear the sound tech’s mix of your band. Don’t mess with the sound tech.

4. Carry extra food and water in case of van breakdowns. Especially if you’re traveling in the dessert.

5. Don’t put your name on the outside of your van. That is like a big neon sign for criminals pointing to all your valuable equipment. Hang a Baby on Board sign in the window. Throw a pacifier or child’s toy on the dash to theft.

6. A GPS will guide you into a questionable trailer park way off the highway in the middle of the night when there is a storm outside. 

7.Don’t put an open drink on your amp or monitor. Music fans like to dance and sometimes they’re drunk dancing and run into things. Like amps and monitors.

8. Even though a smokey, smelly nightclub doesn’t SEEM like a place of business IT IS. Make sure you maintain a modecum of behavior and keep away from illicit and/or illegal dealings.

9.Create Mutual Respect. It doesn’t matter if this is between you and the sound tech, you and the counter clerk at the convenience store or you and the Waitress at the IHOP.

10.GIVE SOMETHING MORE. Give a bonus, a free tee shirt, give something away at no charge at a show. Whether it’s a sticker, a smile or a birthday wish giving makes your heart happy and your soul shine.

Tammy Brackett is the author of:
Fifty Ways to Tour Without Getting in the Van– innovative tips and inexpensive marketing ideas to tour your music but not yourself
Backstage Pass: Book Your Band– A DIY guide to get your group from the garage to the stage

Tammy is a booking agent, music publicist, and writer and owns Moonstruck Promotions in Richmond VA.
Check out her blogs (and clients) at:
www.alunatunes.wordpress.com  
www.francisemma.org  
www.simplifiedmusic.com 
www.soldriventrain.com  
www.wrinkleneckmules.com 
www.theplayroomacademy.com