The Good Graces – TOUR TIPS

This new set of Tour Tips was written by the indie folk band, The Good Graces. You can check out their tips for being on the road, after the break.

The Good Graces’ recent tour took us all the way up to Michigan, then back down to Mobile, AL, over just two weeks’ time. Over the course of 12 days, we racked up 18 performances, as many days we had an in-studio or record store appearance in addition to our show that night. It was a bit exhausting, I’m not gonna lie, but also the most amazing thing I’ve ever had the pleasure to do. If I had to do it over again, there are a couple of things I’d probably do differently. But, just a couple. There are a number of things I think I did right, so let’s focus on those!

1. Hire a publicist: This can be hard. It’s another expense, but at least for me, I thought it was well worth it. We are very DIY, and we embarked on our tour without the help of a tour manager. That meant a lot of the tour manager duties fell on me or one of my bandmate’s shoulders. So, it really left absolutely no time to promote the shows, and if you’re going to go through the trouble of booking them, they should be promoted, right? We were also super fortunate to get to open for a very well-known act (the Indigo Girls), but we knew in most all cases absolutely NO ONE there would be there to see us. We hoped to get a little buzz about our shows with them so at least folks would have heard of us by the time they were at the show. It definitely worked out for us, as several people mentioned reading about us, hearing us on the radio, etc.

2. Take care of yourself: Not just during the tour itself, but in the days leading up to the tour. We got word in April that The Indigo Girls wanted us to open for them in June. That gave us two months to prepare. Not a ton of time, especially for a band that is less a “band” and more of a collective, with members that come and go depending on the show. It was really stressful. It was a lot of work. It was made easier though, at least for me, because I took care of myself. I said “no” to anything that would be a distraction. I tried my best to get good sleep (that part was hard because my mind was always racing with all the things I had to do). I stopped eating dairy, because it’s tough for me to sing well when I do, and I was singing every day. I never drink much anyway, but I especially didn’t in the weeks leading up to tour. I did yoga every morning, and meditated for 10 minutes every day. All of these things contributed to me staying healthy and focused. Once I was on the road, I continued the good habits. I’d start my day with yoga, carrying over my morning yoga routine–even if for only about 10 minutes each morning. For our big shows with IG, there was a no alcohol backstage policy. This ended up being a blessing, as we all remained healthy and didn’t have to deal with wicked hangovers.

3. Bring something from home: I mentioned a routine in #2. When touring I think it’s important to bring as much of your routine from home with you as possible. So if you enjoy reading the newspaper every morning, continue to do that. This is assuming that your routine is healthy, of course. It’s also good to bring little trinkets or photos from home, something to help keep you grounded. Right before tour a good friend of mine gave me a framed cross-stitch piece that she made that said “Namaste all up in this motherfucker.” I brought it with me and put it out in our hotel rooms and dressing rooms to keep me centered and also to keep a sense of humor. Having it there every day also brought some consistency to the whole experience.

4. Don’t sweat the small stuff: Things are going to go wrong. It’s inevitable. People are going to get on your nerves. But in the scheme of things it’s probably not a big deal. For the time you are out there, you all have a job to do so there’s not really time for stressing about silly stuff. Just do it. Acknowledge and move on. It will be ok.

5. Make a tour book: We had loads of digital documentation on where we were playing, each venue’s contact info, our guest lists, etc. but I didn’t want to have to rely on my phone’s battery or connection to access it. I wanted it all at my fingertips at anytime. So I made a big-ass tour book, out of a white three-ring binder. Each day had its own page that said where we were going, how far we were traveling, contact info, guarantee or door deal arrangements, guest list requests, etc. All the hotel confirmations were in there as well. I also kept receipts and any important notes that might come up along the way, all in the big white binder. It came in incredibly handy.

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