Hey guys... I’m going to be tour managing for a while with my good friends in Hey Monday. I’ve never done tour managing before, but thought I’d give it a shot and have some fun touring the world. Has anyone had any tour managing experience? Any advice/tips would be awesome. I’m still going to keep my freelance going on the road, as well as keep Carraway going, so no worries about that..
Even if you have no advice I’d love to meet some Empteer’s at the shows! Let me know if anyone’s going to these shows...
(tour dates below in comments)
16 Comments
ryanmiller said 3 months ago
Aug 14 2008 6:30P
The State Theater w/ The Cab, The Hush Sound, Steel Train, The Morning Light
St. Petersburg, Florida
Aug 15 2008 6:00P
The Culture Room w/ The Hush Sound, The Cab, The Morning Light, and Steel Train Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Aug 17 2008 7:30P
Jack Rabbit’s w/ The Cab, The Hush Sound, Steel Train, The Morning Light Jacksonville, Florida
Sep 11 2008 7:00P
Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon San Antonio, Texas
Sep 12 2008 7:00P
The Marquee w/The Cab, This Providence, A Rocket To The Moon Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sep 13 2008 7:00P
Bottleneck w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Lawrence, Kansas
Sep 14 2008 7:00P
Slowdown w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Omaha, Nebraska
Sep 16 2008 7:00P
The Black Sheep w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sep 18 2008 7:00P
Icon w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Pocatello, Idaho
Sep 19 2008 6:30P
The Venue w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Boise, Idaho
Sep 22 2008 7:00P
Club Underground w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Reno, Nevada
Sep 23 2008 7:00P
El Ray Theatre w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Chico, California
Sep 24 2008 7:00P
Downtown Brew w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon San Luis Obispo, California
Sep 25 2008 7:00P
The Exit w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Fresno, California
Sep 26 2008 7:00P
Jerry’s Pizza w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Bakersfield, California
Sep 27 2008 7:00P
Karma w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Victorville, California
Sep 28 2008 7:00P
The Rock w/The Cab, This Providence and A Rocket To The Moon Tucson, Arizona
ChristianTW said 3 months ago
I booked and tour managed a few tours back when I was 19-21....
Be organized. Spreadsheets, contact lists, etc. You can never have too much info on where you have to be, how much you’re supposed to get paid, how much merch you’re selling, etc.
Make stops at the bank as often as possible. People steal shit, especially cash.
Make sure you have cell phone, email access as often as possible.
Be prepared to baby sit 4-5 dudes who want to get wasted and stick their weiners in underage girls every night.
When something goes wrong, it’s always your fault. Don’t take it personally.
ryanmiller said 3 months ago
hahaha, thanks for the advice dude!
Fueled By Caleb said 3 months ago
hit me up...I have a couple people you can talk to about it.
doublej said 3 months ago
Make sure your "good friends" know that you are there to work and sometimes you can’t be friends. and keep your cool, and keep control. Its easy for chaos to occur in a 12 passenger van.
if you stay at someones house, be respectful and leave it cleaner than it was when you showed up.
MOST IMPORTANT LISTEN, DO AND RESPECT what ever the headliner says, if they say to put your merch in the back alley. then that’s where you are selling merch for the night.
OH AND DONT BE LATE!!! EVER!!!
and have fun, you are going to meet people you will know for the rest of your life.
justinryan said 3 months ago
It’s cool you are friends, but be their tour manager first. Make sure they get up on time, make sure you are at the venue on time, make sure they aren’t douche bags. Make sure they get paid! and do everything that doublej said, too.
Cole said 3 months ago
yea- i have had to drive a promoter to the atm before. but it looks like you will be on a pretty legit tour and wont have to worry about super shady promoters. just the normal shady promoters.
oh and keep tons of books of expenses, merch counts, gas, guarantees and shit super organized. last thing you want to happen is run out of merch or run out of money.
Elks said 3 months ago
I wish that tour was coming to MN...
godsloadedsociety said 3 months ago
wake up first, make sure you’re on time, load in quickly and get off stage just as fast. keep track of everything you sell, keep a running balance of your financial situation. oh, & have a blast, like doublej said, you’ll meet some people you’re going to know for the rest of your life.
Birdie3431 said 3 months ago
or GA...
tinaATL said 3 months ago
oh hey thats really cool!
i want to do that for a living.
SIGHHHHH
Cole said 3 months ago
good luck making a living out of it. its kinda like a vacation from real life.
DrewGliever said 3 months ago
wooo Reno! I’m just south of reno, like 40 minutes away. I’ll see if I can make the date!
and as for advice, ALWAYS HAVE A MINIMUM. Make sure you get just the right amount of money for that stop to cover gas, food, all that good stuff.
fiftyeights said 3 months ago
agreed.
the only bands that really get rich are the ones with the 11,000 (at least) a night tour package gurantees.
Birdie3431 said 3 months ago
wait! their myspace says theyre coming to atlanta but it doesnt say it on your list.. whats up?
ryanmiller said 3 months ago
i wasn’t allowed to post the academy is/we the king dates when i made this thread. they weren’t announced yet. but yes, i’ll be on those too (including atlanta)