Profane CVLT Column # 1
8 Essentials For Successfully
Booking A D.I.Y. Touring Band

CVLT Nation is proud to introduce a new series, entitled Profane CVLT. This series of articles from our Profane Existence brothers and sisters will be written bi-monthly for CVLT Nation. Profane Existence has a lot of interesting things to say, so check out the first in the series below, and stay tuned for more…

EIGHT ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESSFULLY BOOKING A D.I.Y. TOURING BAND
By Rob Hanna

Throwing a DIY show is something of an art form, and at times, a dying one at that. Being in a few bands that have toured, I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve played to an empty room in a strange town, being handed a sock full of loose change for gas money and a cold shoulder when it came to getting a place to crash for the night. There’s also the magical experience of having someone commit to booking a show for you, then not returning your calls or emails two weeks up to the gig, then arriving in town to find out not only that your show isn’t happening, but that it was never booked to begin with. With gas as expensive as it is today, many tour vans loaded with crusties, gear, merch, and inebriated roadies can run anywhere from $5-$10 an hour to drive depending on how efficient and well taken care of your vehicle is. So, for a band to get from Denver to Salt Lake City for example, which is about an 8-9 hour drive, you’re looking at a cost of $45 $90 just to get there in gas only. This of course doesn’t account for the myriad of other expenses incurred with lengthy road trips such as these. You can see where the sock full of loose change scenario becomes extremely problematic here, and if this is how your scene rolls you can guarantee that you won’t be seeing many touring bands come through your town. The whole point of touring for a band is to bring their music to a new audience, to make connections, friends, have fun, and actually spend time doing something they love, rather than the countless hours working to save up for such adventures. Unless you have a lofty trust fund or an exceptionally successful band, most of the costs of playing in a band and touring are incurred directly by the people making the music. Maintaining gear, purchasing shirts and merch, fixing a questionable at best vehicle, paying to record and release a record — all of these things cost ridiculous amounts of money. While there are definitely no guarantees in the DIY world, I firmly believe that people who commit to throwing punk shows should at the very least set a target goal for what they can raise at a door for a touring band. For example, when I commit to doing a show for a touring band, my bare minimum target for the touring band’s take is $100. So, for the local DIY venue here, which takes approximately $100 from the door to cover costs, I need to do my best to get at least 40 paying people in the door to make that happen. Honestly, it’s not that hard to achieve. Here are some guidelines to making your show successful, and maybe make a touring band want to return to your fair city or town.

1. MAKE SOME GODDAMN FLYERS — I know Myspace and Facebook are great tools for getting word out to people, and believe me I use them just as much as the next person. But the toys on the internet are simply not replacements for a trusty photocopied physical flyer, plastered all over town, in record stores, stuffed in the mailboxes of punk houses, stapled to drunk people passed out on couches, etc. Make two versions of your flyer, a large version for postering, and a small handbill version (usually printed 4-up on a 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper and cut) to pass out at other shows. If you are throwing a show in three weeks and you are attending a show this weekend, take a bunch of handbillswith you and cross promote your show. Chances are the punk show you are going to tonight will have many people there that would be interested in the show you are throwing later that month. If you live in a town like Seattle where there are millions of shows constantly, perhaps wait until a week and a half out from the show to put the flyers up on telephone poles around town (since they get covered up so fast). Hit every record store that will let you put up a flyer 3-4 weeks before the show. Distribute handbills and flyers to the bands on the bill and have them help participate in promotion. Leave small stacks of handbills in coffee shops, cafes, etc. The more actual flyering you do, the more people will know about your show. Myspace, FB, and message boards are a supplement to your promotion, and can be terrific in reaching people your flyers don’t, and vice versa. Remember, some people don’t use the internet. Crazy, I know, but seriously. SOME PEOPLE DO NOT USE THE INTERNET.

Read the rest of this epic feature after the jump!

2. PAYING THE TOURING BAND IS YOUR PRIORITY — When shows turn out remarkably well at a venue, I like to kick down local acts for their trouble when I can. It’s usually customary for local bands playing a DIY show to assume that all of the available door money after costs goes to the touring band(s). Make this clear to local bands prior to the show, so there isn’t any confusion or misunderstanding when it comes to settling the door after the gig. You’d be surprised at some of the entitlement issues that can arise from not making this clear ahead of time. If you’ve incurred costs for food, PA, or flyers for the gig, try and budget that ahead of time, sometimes you have to end up making a little sacrifice. If you play in a band yourself, your sacrifice will pay you back when it’s your turn to be broke and starving on the road!

3. SHAKE DOWN THE CROWD — If you are throwing a show at a house or a DIY spot, and you are in charge of taking money, do just that: TAKE MONEY. Ask for a specific donation amount. Get a friend to help trade off running the door with you so you can take breaks and take care of other business (like kids spray painting your neighbor’s house). Don’t let all of your friends in for free for no reason, and if someone tries to tell you they don’t have anything, hassle them about the 12-pack of beer they are holding and keep pursuing it. I’ve had people initially tell me they are flat broke, to then telling me they only have a couple dollars, to then eventually forking over the measly $6 to support the bands. Remind people they are there to SUPPORT THEIR COMMUNITY.

4. RUN A TIGHT SHIP — Suss out a P.A., band order and time slots, door price, and communication ahead of time. Make sure bands show up on time with their gear and hassle them about it if they don’t. Try to keep bills down to 3 or 4 bands. If you have to have 5, try and get some bands to share gear. Book bands that have draw, and try and diversify the bill a little and get different people in there. Don’t wait until the last minute to get all your ducks in a row, it will make the show drag on forever, you may run past your noise curfew, and possibly have to cut a touring band’s set short (which sucks!). Make sure there is a spot in the backyard or in the house somewhere where the band can set up merch and sell it.

5. ASK AHEAD OF TIME IF THE BAND NEEDS A PLACE TO CRASH — This one is absolutely CRUCIAL. A lot of times, particularly if a band has toured a lot, they already have friends in various places they can crash at, but if this is the first or second time someone is coming to your scene, chances are they don’t really know anyone that well. Just as expensive as gas, motel/hotel rooms are a lofty expense that many bands can’t afford. It’s also a little daunting asking a room full of strangers if you can crash on their floor. If you don’t live in a place that can sustain a handful of passed out punks on your living room floor, try and find a friend willing to offer their place up. And don’t always try to pick the most fucked up party house you can imagine to put a band up.

6. DON’T COMPETE WITH OTHER SHOWS — If you are booking a show for a touring band, and you later find out your friend’s are doing the same, see if you can combine efforts and merge the shows. Sure, it may mean a local band or two doesn’t get to play, but one show with multiple touring bands will usually always be better than two sparsely attended shows on the same night. Money can get tricky in these situations, but as long as everyone involved knows what to expect ahead of time, they usually end up working themselves out. Or, at the very least, see if you can talk a touring band into changing their itinerary to accommodate a better show in your town.

7. MAKE SOME TASTY TREATS — When I can, I like to make food for bands, particularly if I’m putting them up at my place. Ask ahead to see what dietary restrictions people have, make a large amount of food and bring it to the show, or arrange it for the band to eat before or after the gig. You have no idea how much of a difference that makes, and how much appreciated it can be. This kind of hospitality is something a lot of us learned from the Europeans, who are virtually unparalleled in punk rock reception. Spring a few bucks and make dinner or breakfast for the band, they will love you and shower you with hugs, thank you notes, and merch.

8. DON’T BOOK SHOWS IF YOU CAN’T COMMIT TO THESE THINGS — Seriously. Just remember that all of this is cyclical. We are trying to build a community in a world growing increasingly intolerant of community. In throwing a show you are making an active effort to further your scene, to bring bands in and to keep them coming back. This is about strengthening a network, building relationships, and bringing scenes together. Bands talk to each other all the time, and if you give a great impression of your home turf to someone, it will most likely be communicated to other like-minded groups. If you treat a band like shit, don’t pay them, and act as if they are putting you out to do a show for them, they aren’t gonna want to come back, and will probably tell their friends that you and your town sucks. And who wants to live in a sucky town? That’s it for my rant folks. Now go out and flyer!

CVLT Nation would like to thank Profane Existence, Robert Hanna, Grim Kim & All of the Bands that travel the DIY Road!!!