# Organizing a small tour ?



## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

We're a punk rock / ska band , looking to do a small tour at the beginning of summer , just for the fun of it and the experience . How should we go about it ? We have a few people we who could get us a gig in some places , but is it possible to get gigs in places where we don't know anyone ?


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Put a press kit together and start looking for an agent. In that order. An agent will already have the connections you don't have, but he will need something to sell.:rockon:


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## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

What do you put exactly in a press kit? 
Is an agent really necessary for now ? We're looking to tour for maybe a week or tour before starting our summer jobs .


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## hoser (Feb 2, 2006)

scour myspace and other sites for bands in the areas you want to tour...contact them and see if they can help you out.


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Coustfan'01 said:


> What do you put exactly in a press kit?
> Is an agent really necessary for now ? We're looking to tour for maybe a week or tour before starting our summer jobs .


Well, I don't know how many gigs you could land in a week, maybe 3 or 4, and whether that would constitute a "tour". I thought you wanted to do some roadwork for a month or two. See the country. 

Here's another suggestion. Get yourself a gig and invite some club owners to see the band perform. If you invite 20, maybe 5 will show up and a couple will hire you.

A basic press kit would have photos, a bio of each member, set list, newspaper clippings if any, a CD with 3 songs on it... The point is, you're not likely to get hired on your face alone. Good luck!
:rockon:


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## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks for sharing your experience guys . 

Yeah , we'd love to tour for months , but the problem is , we're all students , and we need summer jobs , so we have to tour and get back before all jobs are taken , and get some money for the year . And I don't think touring pays a lot , correct me if I'm mistaken...

Also , why can't we play more than 3-4 gigs in a week ? It's impossible to get booked on certain days ?


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Coustfan'01 said:


> Thansk for sharing your experience guys .
> 
> Yeah , we'd love to tour for months , but the problem is , we're all students , and we need summer jobs , so we have to tour and get back before all jobs are taken , and get some money for the year . And I don't think touring pays a lot , correct me if I'm mistaken...
> 
> Also , why can't we play more than 3-4 gigs in a week ? It's impossible to get booked on certain days ?


No, not impossible. I don't know how many clubs are in your area and what nights they are hiring. The other factor is getting all the stars and planets lined up so you get work _each_ day of the week in the _same_ week in the _right_ week of the _right_ month.


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## Baconator (Feb 25, 2006)

The 'mini-tours' that I was involved with many moons ago when I was a university student were arranged through contacts with other bands. Opening shows are a great way to get around and get your name out there, but they don't do too much for the bottom line. If you're lucky you can arrange to split the night with bands in a few nearby cities on the condition that you reciprocate, but of course that requires that you can get gigs in your own scene. My bands was able to get a good number of contacts through the indie 'label' that we were involved with. Basically, the label was just a group of guys in Montreal that had a small studio and would be able to assist us with the basics of recording, releasing and distributing cds and give us a break on recording costs. With the technological advances in the last 10 years those types of studios are a dime a dozen and finding ones with more than a few bands linked to them is tough. Regardless of what you do you definitely need to get a basic press kit, demo cd and perhaps a basic website with some tracks on it. Good luck and have fun .


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## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks a lot for the answers . :rockon: 

One last question : Would it be possible for us to do a gig in the ottawa or toronto area , if we have a couple of songs in english , even though we're a french band ? We're not looking for money or anything , just having fun and meeting people .


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## nine (Apr 23, 2006)

Coustfan'01 said:


> Thanks a lot for the answers . :rockon:
> 
> One last question : Would it be possible for us to do a gig in the ottawa or toronto area , if we have a couple of songs in english , even though we're a french band ? We're not looking for money or anything , just having fun and meeting people .


Of course you could. It's just a matter of putting the legwork in to find a place that needs a band that particular night. Toronto has about a billion venues, so your odds are a lot better of finding a bill to get on. 

Organizing a tour- even a small one, is all about calling, calling, calling. It's nothing more than hard work and tenacity.


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## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

Is there anywhere I could find a list of venues , and is it preferable to phone instead of emailing ?


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Coustfan'01 said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience guys .
> 
> Yeah , we'd love to tour for months , but the problem is , we're all students , and we need summer jobs , so we have to tour and get back before all jobs are taken , and get some money for the year . And I don't think touring pays a lot , correct me if I'm mistaken...
> 
> Also , why can't we play more than 3-4 gigs in a week ? It's impossible to get booked on certain days ?


My daughters boyfriends band just completed a 3 month tour all over Canada and some dates in the US. They managed enough to get a pizza everynight and all slept in the van, I think there are 7 of them. By the time they paid all the expenses and fed themselves there was not a lot left over. Most of them dug the experience though and they sold a bunch of CD's


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