What do I know?
By Thomas Nicholas
I’ve read the other articles on here and found them helpful and entertaining. This is not one of those articles. I have only been touring since the beginning of 2007. My experience is limited, so I’m gonna power through this. I’ll share a few tidbits on what I remember of the last 150 shows…
Gig sharing:
Want to play in a city, far far away? Pick a place where you have some friends, preferably a musician friend. If that’s not possible then use a social network to find a musician in that city. Ask them to help you book a gig in their city and you’ll do the same in return.
Never Stop Learning:
Take lessons. Don’t just take a lesson 1 time, that would be like going to high school for 1 day. (Which I think I only did half of that)
I get it, lessons can be expensive. Can’t afford to pay for them? Then barter for it. Trade a service for a service.
Do whatever you need to do, just take lessons.
Why? Because I believe that we need great musicians and singers in this world and even the best of the best still take lessons.
Travel and Gear Safety:
Need to fly somewhere with your guitar but you don’t want to gate check it? Make sure you check the size of the plane when you book your tickets and don’t fly US Airways. It’s surprising what a smile can get you as opposed to an argument. Flight attendants are people too.
By the way, I think the best place to shop for flights, hotels and rental cars www.sidestep.com
Always Promote:
I’ve made the mistake of booking a show that I was told would be heavily promoted. They promised a packed house and when I arrived … crickets.
Unless, you are just trying to get some live gig experience you always have to go the extra mile to promote the concert yourself.
Best place print flyers www.nextdayflyers.com
Don’t want to spend the dough? That’s why we have myspace, facebook, reverbnation, ilike, purevolume, sonicbids, imeem and twitter and you tube … use em. 🙂
Distribution:
I have been using TuneCore to digitally distribute my albums. For $20 you can reach all the major digital distribution outlets, including iTunes. Sign Up for a free TuneCore account, save 30% on first distribution
Well, I warned you. This was just a few tidbits of info that you probably already had in your back pocket. If anyone has a different perspective or experience on any of these subjects, please comment. As I mentioned, I have a limited experience. I am hoping to help those with less experience and to get help from those with more.
www.ThomasNicholasBand.com
www.Twitter.com/TINband
www.myspace.com/ThomasIanNicholas
www.facebook.com/ThomasIanNicholas
