Puppet Rebellion – TOUR TIPS

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

1. Don’t be ill
If you’re doing a gig – no matter how big or small – chances are that you’ve traveled a fair distance and spent quite a bit of time to get there. The fans and the other guys in the band won’t be happy if you’re suddenly unable to play for any reason, so you have to suck it up! I felt terrible just before a gig once, after we’d all driven halfway across the country. I felt exhausted like I was going to throw up and I was freezing cold, even though it was the middle of summer! I couldn’t let everyone down, so I went on stage wearing a big winter coat, with nothing holding me up except for my bass, and I just about managed to finish the set in one piece. I don’t think anyone else in the band realized how much of a hero I was that night, but I can guarantee they’d remember if we’d had to cancel the show!

2. Know how to play your songs before you get on stage
We played a gig during halftime a football match in our hometown of Manchester once – with video of us on all the big screens inside the arena – when a band member (whose name I won’t mention here) completely forgot how to play half of one of our songs. It’s not the best way to come across in front of thousands of potential new fans.

3. Don’t expect your bandmates to sympathize with your personal struggles
(See points 1 and 2, above)

4. Personally get as many people to your gigs as possible
Some gigs are busy, some are a little quieter. If you’ve got 5 contacts on Twitter who live near a city you’re going to be playing in, then send them a DM asking them to go along! 5 people, with +1s, at the front of the stage, who know all your songs and are jumping up and down excitedly, can make a massive difference at a gig full of people who’ve never heard of you. Also, they buy you drinks.

5. Take wet wipes
Gentleman’s wash/whore’s bath – whatever you want to call it. Wet wipes are amazing.

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