HAWK – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the alternative band, HAWK, give you their tips for being on tour. You can check out the feature, after the break.

1. Share the driving.
Matt: For the first couple of years Sam was the only one who drove. I actually only learned to drive after seeing Sam drive day in day out on tour. Driving isn’t that much fun but I couldn’t really relax with the guilt of knowing that I wasn’t helping out. My induction to driving came a week after I passed my test when I went to play a few shows in Germany. I was on the opposite side of the road with no speed limits… bags of fun.

2. Car games!
Julie: Name 50 no.1 singles. Name 30 cameo appearances in Friends. Name 50 actors who’s name begins with the same letter as the film they’ve starred in. When you start to get desperate there is also a game of naming vegetables in alphabetical order. They might sound boring but good car games are probably one of the reasons we’re still touring. They make the time fly and they are a really good way to blow off some steam and get a little mad at people, hopefully without things getting personal.

3. Packing!
Julie: This sounds like a pretty boring bit of advice but it’s actually pretty useful I think. Over the years I’ve learned the standard lesson of not bringing too much stuff. Trying to pack for every possible circumstance usually means that you have less space to actually sit like a normal human being, and in the end, you’ll probably find that you didn’t need half of the things you brought. Squeezing in a day to do laundry is a really good way to get away with packing light. When not driving, we’ve also made very good use of the extra seat policy that most airlines have. Instead of paying extortionate rates to have your instrument thrown in the hold, you can keep it next to you by booking an extra seat. This is usually hard to find on the airline’s site, but it’s often there. Obviously, only worth it if you’re seat is reasonably cheap. Last bit of advice if to double check the car before you set off. We recently drove out of Belfast having left our vinyl sitting on top of the car. When we took a sharp turn, the records were thrown all over the road and run over multiple times. We gave them all away for free, not knowing whether they would play or not! We haven’t had any complaints yet, thankfully.

4. Make an impression
Matt: The likelihood is that you’ll be coming back to the same places again and the more people you meet and talk to and make friends with the more people will be at the next show. When we put in the effort with even the smallest audience we always find that it has an impact on who comes back the next time. I remember reading a list of tips from an Irish journalist and music presenter, Una Mullally saying, “Don’t be a dick” and that is pretty good advice when it comes to talking to other bands, sound engineers and human beings in general.

5. Plan your Social Media
Julie: It’s a totally unavoidable part of being in a band these days, and when you’re on the road it’s important to keep people updated and keep your shows promoted. But there are a few things that you can do in advance that mean that you’re not stuck on your phone all day long, especially on the road where you mightn’t have good signal. (If you’re like me, you might also feel deathly pangs of nausea when you use your phone in the car!) Something that has helped me massively is scheduling important posts before I hit the road. This way you know that your fans are getting all of the core info they need, and any fun pics or funny stories you can post on the fly is a bonus! Pictures will also be your best friend here. People love to get a little insight into what happens backstage/ on the road / hungover at breakfast. So if you have all the important posts scheduled already, you can just crack on with the fun stuff!

Keep up with the band on Facebook and Twitter!