Razer – TOUR TIPS

Arizona hard rock band, Razer, have written a set of helpful Tour Tips for you guys to learn from. You can check them out after the break.

1. TOURING IS A BUSINESS, TREAT IT AS SUCH. This is the first and foremost rule that even many bigger bands tend to forget sometimes. We all got into music out of some love for it or it’s lifestyle BUT the minute you decide you’re going to try and “make it”, whatever that is to you, it becomes a serious business and needs to be treated as such. Touring is fun but at the end of the day you’re trying to improve the business of the band and that has to come first. So be smart about it and go out prepared! There are so many things that can go wrong touring (more so than right, especially early on in a band’s career) and in the music biz in general you literally pay for your experience out of pocket and nothing can drain that pocketbook quicker than wasteful spending or simple unpreparedness. Plan your tour well and stick to your game plan while out, make sure you can stay within your budgets, have emergency funds ready in case of disaster (you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere trying to play a shit hole club for a week straight to earn enough money to get your van fixed and move on – this truthfully happens), and don’t overextend beyond your means, even if that means you don’t go as far or tour as long as you want to. Success in the music biz, whether you want it to be or not, is a marathon and not a sprint, live to fight another day!
2. HAVE YOUR TOURING VEHICLE SERVICED AND READY. If you’re not having the luxury of touring in a bus where things are handled then you need make sure your van/truck/etc. is in good working order and properly serviced before you ever step out of the door. I know you’d rather spend your money on music gear, booze, chicks, and about a million other more fun things but nothing can eat away profits while out on the road like mechanical breakdowns. In Razer we keep our vehicle is top shape and the costs of preventative maintenance far outweigh the costs of being reamed by a backwoods mechanic in Bumfuck, Wherever, because you didn’t want to spend the money on servicing before you left for tour. And having good spare tires (yes plural) for both the vehicle and trailer are a must!
3. GET CONTRACTS FOR YOUR GIGS. I say this to all the bands who are young and deciding they want to go trekking across the country “on tour”. As the director of artist relations at Krank Amps I’ve seen tons of bands come thru the Phoenix, AZ area and want to stop by the shop to check out gear, etc. And I’ve heard hundreds of stories how they’re barely making $100 a show and they didn’t count on getting stiffed, cancelled on, or bumped at numerous dates. If you aren’t using a known booking agent and doing it yourself at least try to cover your ass as best as possible before you leave. Clubs that won’t do a contract are suspect and while the chances you will have the resources to sue a club over a broken contract are slim at least if the club is reputable enough to contract the gig lessens the chances you’ll get boned over.
4. TRY TO EAT WELL AND REST. Nothing can make a tour a bigger bummer than to get sick and that starts with eating right and getting sleep. I’ve always been an athlete and am very much into a healthy lifestyle of eating right and working out and in Razer and well as when I tour with Marty Friedman I try to eat as healthy as possible to avoid the crappy feeling/side effects of eating fast food. Better food is better energy thru the day and onstage that night, plus it keeps your system in better shape to fight off the inevitable bugs/viruses that can get you. And while it’s not always possible try to get as much sleep as you can, again you have to think of yourself as an athlete where decent rest is key to a good performance. And performing well is really all that matters to anyone watching your set…
5. SOUND GOOD! Sounding good live is the #1, foundational thing every band should strive to do before anything else. From years of experience in not only touring but also the amp business it’s also the one thing a lot of bands overlook. This doesn’t mean just performing good, this means actually SOUNDING good. I’ve found even when a band looks cool and performs fine on stage to the common listener bad live sound usually = “they suck”, which is making all that hard road work mean nothing. Bigger bands even suffer from this, and while they may get a free pass from their fan base for sounding crappy live, new bands trying to make an impression don’t have that luxury if they want people to “get it”. If you don’t have your own sound guy on tour (which most bands on a van tour don’t) you may not be able to control how a house guy mixes your set but you can certainly give him a hand in making the job easier by having gear is up to snuff and sounding great. If your amp needs to be retubed before going out do it, change your strings and drum heads regularly, have plenty of spare cords, batteries, etc.,…generally take care of your gear on tour, it’s your tools of the trade. Have a good tuner!!!! Nothing sounds worse and has people going to “they suck” land than being out of tune. I’ve heard from some bands too how they just can’t afford better gear, and while in this economy I get that, it’s also counterproductive to go out and sound like shit live because you’ve spent all your cash on everything but decent gear. This goes back to tip #1, it’s a business and before you book that tour invest in upgrading your tools to a competent touring level.

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