Nicole Nelson – TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the folk rock artist, Nicole Nelson, gives you some advice for being on the road. You can check out the feature, after the break.

Almost all of my touring is done solo, and while crossing the country all by my lonesome means there’s no one else to lighten the load, I’ve learned some tricks along the way that make it just as doable as traveling with a full band.

1.) Know Your Limits
When in the planning stages of a tour, it’s easy to forget that you and your band aren’t superheroes. It’s exciting to challenge yourself and try to pay some dues along the way, but keep in mind that no one benefits from taking it to the extreme. I tour alone and have to be especially careful to plan enough time to eat, sleep, and travel between gigs. That being said, I’ve been on runs where I was bored and missing out on opportunities because I was overcompensating for runs when I risked falling asleep at the wheel. Find a balance that works for you, and remember that your fans aren’t going to be any more thrilled than you are when you’re rolling in tired, hungry, and in need of a shower. Extra Tip: I’m a huge fan of the car nap. If I’m worried about falling asleep at the wheel and it’s still daytime, I’ll chug a Red Bull, pull off into a public yet somewhat empty parking lot and take a 15-minute nap. You’ll wake up just in time for the caffeine to kick in.

2. Check and Double Check
Nothing’s worse than realizing you booked the wrong Holiday Inn and instead of one block away, you’re a two-hour drive from your gig. You know what else sucks? Not realizing there’s a time change and you’re going to be an hour late to a show. These are idiotic mistakes, but when you’re planning a tour, small details can slip through the cracks—it’s a huge undertaking. I find myself checking over and over again that I know what day it is, where I need to be, and how I’ll get there. I have a physical copy of my itinerary, a day-of contact number for each gig, and anything else I might need. Just keep checking and checking. No one needs to know how many times you pull over to make sure you didn’t pack an empty guitar case.

3. Stay Healthy
Unhealthy food, jacked up sleep schedule, sitting in the car all day – not only can touring make you feel terrible, it makes you much more susceptible to illnesses that’ll end your run in a heartbeat. I pack healthy snacks and try not to eat anything different from my normal diet. I’ll also book a hotel 10 minutes farther from my gig if it’s the only one with a gym. I up my vitamin C intake and travel with a humidifier/essential oils to strengthen my immune system, and if I’m not playing, I’m either sleeping or driving. A tour without the party may sound boring to most musicians, but here’s some tough love: if it’s not worth giving up a few nights of partying to play a great show, touring may not be for you. I also have healthy home-made meals in the freezer ready to go, because who wants to come home to an empty refrigerator?

4. Standardize Your Packing List
My standardized packing list is my best friend. No, organization is not very rock ’n roll, but it has changed the way I travel. Having a list of everything I need to pack cuts my packing time in half, ensures I won’t forget any essentials, and completely alleviates the stress of, “I feel like I’m forgetting something.” Find the last list you made when you were packing, type it up, and test it out on your next run. Trust me: you may just find packing to be almost bearable.

5. Stay Flexible
I’ve gotten a call from a venue wondering where I am because they wrote down (and confirmed) the wrong date. I’ve had a tour turn into a miserable money-pit due to situations out of my control. I’ve had friends ditch last minute and leave me couch-less for the night. There’s just something about touring that attracts small disasters. The best advice I can give is to stay calm (and kind) –it always works out in the end. Make sure you have contracts in place that protect you if a venue makes a mistake, cancels a show, and you lose $600 on the flight you booked. Make sure you can say “when” on a tour that suddenly takes a turn for the worse and ends up losing you time and money. Add a date or two when someone in the crowd wants you to stay another day and play a house show. And lastly, have enough space in your budget for a cheap hotel room if something goes awry, because it will, and if you can stay flexible and look at it as part of the fun, you’ll be alright.

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