Touring: the sound situation

Touring is a very different activity from just playing gigs in your hometown though. So you need to be adequately prepared. The first bit of preparation is to manage your expectations of what it will be like and how successful you can be. The last thing you need is to hit the road with unrealistic expectations and then come home and give up because it didn’t go as well as you’d planned.

 

Any artist leaving home and going on tour needs to be well prepared. You also need to have money in the bank to bail you out should anything go wrong. Remember that no matter the hype about you in your hometown, things can be very different just a hundred kilometres down the road. Do not ever assume that just because one town loves you that everyone is going to. For your first couple of trips out of your hometown, you are probably going to be accepting door deals, which means you cannot rely on that money to get you around or to pay for any of the costs that you will incur on the road. In other words, don’t go touring until you know you have enough money to pay for your food, transport and accommodation before you leave.

 

This is where your networking and marketing skills will be the most important they have been to you so far. In order to reach out to a whole new town and its scene, you need to ask for help from the friends you have made in the industry. You need to find out where is good to play, what their normal deals are, and how good attendance is for out-of-town bands. You need to be in touch with the club owners, the sound guys and the local music press long before you get there to make sure that everything is sorted out and that they are in fact expecting you!

 

Sound

 

If you have never played outside of your hometown before, the issue of in-house sound might never have occurred to you. Some venues provide a sound system as part of their infrastructure and others don’t. When considering touring for the first time ever, you need to ascertain where you are going to play and what the situation is with sound. Often if a venue does not have its own system, it will have a local person who brings in a PA. Talk to this person. When playing for the first time in front of a new crowd you really need to make sure you get it right. Each show in a new place is like your first ever show all over again: you must pay excellent attention to detail and make sure you leave the best possible impression.

 

Because many venues don’t have in-house sound systems, many bands contemplate hiring or buying and touring with their own PAs. Make sure you talk to other bands who have played the venues you are targeting and find out the cost of hiring a sound rig, who is good or not, and what kind of sound you can expect. Go in there prepared.

 

It is normal for bands to tour with full backline: that is, with your own instruments, amplification and drum kit (if you use one). If other bands are on the bill with you and you can’t travel with that much gear, you will need to negotiate directly with the other bands to sort out the sharing of equipment. This is crucial. Do not rely on the venue or the sound guy to sort out your backline. Either bring your own or talk directly to the people whose equipment you want to use.

 

Next week: Touring, the costs and marketing

 

Originally published in David Chislett's One, Two, One, Two: A Step By Step Guide To The South African Music Industry. Download a free copy of the book at www.davidchislett.co.za.