1. The very first thing you are going to want to do when planning your band’s tour is get a AAA (American Automobile Association) membership. This is very simple to do and costs roughly $85 per year. Included will be cost free towing within 100 miles of the pick-up point. It doesn’t matter if you are driving a $600 piece of shit or your daddy’s range rover—this is going to be worth it to you. If you plan on doing any significant DIY touring in a motor vehicle you WILL run into car troubles at some point.
2. Protect your ears. Sure modern medical technology seems to have a cure for just about anything these days….BUT if you damage your ears there is going to be no way to reverse it. Trust me, hearing loss induced tinnitus blows. If you too much of a wus to wear earplugs in public then make a tough statement by wearing some heavy duty aircraft or gunshooting earmuffs. Noise rocker Vice Cooler (XBXRX/Hawney Troof) has been doing it for years and no one doubts his badness. Plus, if you are going on a true DIY tour you are likely to sleep in some unfortunate and noisy environments. It will be nice to be able to tune everything out.
3. Talk to as many people as possible. People love to hear stories from traveling bands and, if you are gracious, some will likely offer to house and feed you. Listen when you are talking to new folk. You will find out about all sorts of fun local treasures. If your goal in touring is to spread the word about your band, making real personal connections is the best way to do it. Each person you meet is likely to be in some way connected with at least one or two hundred friend and acquaintances. Give them a reason to tell their friends in other cities to come see you play.
4. Don’t just play big cities. Folks in big cities have seen everything and are hard to impress. Play as many small towns as you can. They will appreciate you more.
5. Tour with good people. If someone in your band drives you crazy they are likely to drive the people you encounter on the road crazy too. Don’t risk damaging your band’s reputation. Opt for a reduced lineup if you must to avoid touring with douche bags.
6. Don’t drink and drive. Duh. You don’t want to have to drive half way across the country again in a month and a half to take care of a DUI. Plus…killing your band in a van crash is not going to get you any good press.
7. Don’t drive when tired. Sleep in the van if you must. And never let a stranger drive the van. Even if they seem cool. Trust me on that.
8. Make sure your tour van’s stereo is in good shape and you have plenty of music. Load up with CDs and fill your mp3 player/ipod. There are long stretches of road in the US with nothing but top 40 Country. Forget to bring music and you will have tunes about pickups and highschool prom queens stuck in your head for all eternity.
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