TOURING, TOURING
By George Petersen
WITH THE PLASA SHOW ON THIS WEEK IN LONDON, it seems somehow appropriate to talk about touring and I just finished reading Tour Book: How To Get YOUR Music on the Road, a new book by U.K. tour manager/live engineer Andy Reynolds. Yeah I know what you’re thinking… I’ve probably see a least of dozen books like this and they all sucked, usually filled with “helpful” hints (by someone who’s never toured), like “make sure to pack some extra guitar strings, batteries and drum sticks before you go on the road”—yuk!
But this one’s different. Reynolds actually KNOWS what he’s talking about, and the 464-page book focuses on the independent artist that’s surviving on gig merch, and trying to make ends meet by traveling by bus or van. It’s loaded with practical advice, hints, and tips on putting on a live show, including rehearsal, equipment, travel, accommodations, show booking and promotion, sound checks, contracts, taxation, working abroad and marketing.
It also deals with the mundane—yet essential small points that really make or break a gig, such as making sure the promoter/venue guarantees you parking space with an AC power drop for your RV/bus/van. Often it’s these little details that make all the difference, especially when you’re loading out at 3:00 am.
Tour Book: How To Get YOUR Music on the Road is also kept interesting with numerous vignettes and real-life scenarios, such as dealing with bandmembers issues, such as the problematic drummer that gets arrested while on the road. The show must go, on, so what do you do…??? At $29.99,this book will surely do a lot more for career than a custom guitar strap—and it’s probably cheaper, too.
The book published by Thomson Course Technology. For more details (and a 10% online discount), visit www.courseptr.com.
When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com and check ‘em out.
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December 17th, 2007 @ 5:55 am
This has been an entertaining read and I really picked up a lot from Andy in this book. I picked it up from a Barnes and Noble at the Grove shopping center in LA 3 weeks back and sped through it over the course of 3 days! There is an abundance of information regarding not only the business of touring, but also a chapter covering technical aspects and an explanation of equipment used and recording engineering theory. As both a tour manager and FOH engineer, Andy is able to explain touring more thoroughly than the many dry entertainment lawyers out there currently writing music industry literature (except for Don Passman and the Brabec Bros. of course!) I also enjoyed the international aspects of this book as Andy explains the differences between touring in the US and Europe.
My only gripe with this book was that it seems like it was rushed/ put together in a hurry. There are quite a few spelling errors that don’t necessarily detract from Andy’s credibility although it makes you wonder if an editor ever even went through the book. The copyright year is 2008 although I picked this title up in November of 2007, maybe a sly marketing strategy to keep the book looking current to potential buyers…The USD to English Pound conversion rates are also off although that is inevitably something Andy can not help! For the most part this book is extremely current and up to date.
Do youself a favor and pick this book up on Amazon for a good holiday read
-James Castaneda
Future USC Music Industry Student (Fall ‘08)
JSeanCastaneda@gmail.com