Echo Bloom – TOUR TIPS

This new set of Tour Tips was written by Kyle Evans, of the Americana band, Echo Bloom. You can check out his tips for being on the road, after the break.

1) Be prepared. Bring extra cables, power converters, strings, picks, tuners, capos, etc. Think of the potential points of failure for your rig – is there one cable that would crap out your entire rig if it failed? Bring a couple extra.

2) Simplify your rig so you can move it easily. Even if your 200 pound bass cabinet makes your band sound like a group of Norse gods, you will HATE it after a week on the road. Ditch the boat anchors and get something light and easy to move. If you’re a guitar player, put all of your pedal into a pedalboard and have a built-in power source so you have only one thing to plug in. It also makes keeping track of things much easier.

3) Pace yourself. Touring can test your limits in terms of personal space, sleep, and consumption. Give yourself time to recover so you can give good performances (that’s what it’s all about anyway).

4) Get your merch out there. Stand at your merch table after the show and meet the people that come out. Get pictures with them and post them on social media. It can also be helpful to bundle your stuff together so people can walk away with a few things at a lower price. We bundled together our album and it’s accompanying live album and gave people a price break – it ended up being our most popular item.

5) Document the crap out of everything. Touring has benefits to people initially as well as further on down the line. And when you think back at that time, you want to remember every piece of it.

Keep up with Echo Bloom on Twitter and Facebook, and check them out on tour!

Did you find these tips useful? Let us know in the comments below!