One for the books

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Here’s the second installment of my young person’s guide to touring. Last week, we established that you (the band) have already released your record, found distribution and have actually made the leap to purchasing a van. You’re all set up, so what next? Well, now it’s time to pick up the phone and start…

Booking: In Canada, most of the booking is done by the big three companies—Paquin, S.L. Feldman and the Agency Group. Although their monopoly is rapidly diminishing due to American agents getting their feet in the door of Canadian markets, they still manage to carry quite a bit of weight with promoters. If you’re just booking your first tour, it’s unlikely that these three companies will open your unsolicited packages without a heaping amount of “buzz” on your band, but don’t let that deter you. At the level of Quebec, local booking agents like Preste and Bonsound are more apt to check out your MySpace page, but they aren’t gonna get your Ford Econoline from sea to shining sea, so just keep them in mind for your Quebec dates.

Although it’s rough out there (as you will soon find out, when you try and get a promoter to phone you back), it’s also easier than ever to get your CD directly into the hands of clubs or promoters. Most Canadian venues and promoters are listed on www.stillepost.ca in their respective city’s resource section, not to mention on Web sites like Book Your Own Fucking Life or Smashing Lumber that are just chock full o’ contact info (more on this next week).

Clubs and promoters aside, there is also the DIY basement-show scene, which is thriving right now. These shows are of course all ages and are largely grounded in the punk scene, but are usually open to eclectic bills and forgiving of bands that don’t sound like, uh, Pig Destroyer. Go directly to Book Your Own Fucking Life for the basement shows. Before you get on the phone, pay special attention to routing, because if this is done wrong, you will kill your tour, your bandmates and your gas budget. Just get an atlas and do the math, or pick up a copy of Exclaim! and take note of the routing and venues of likeminded bands that are advertising their cross-Canada dates.

Once the promoter has had a chance to check out your MySpace page, try to negotiate a guarantee with a point system that will cover “overages” (payment after your guarantee and expenses have been met). This will help you with your budget as well as force the lazier promoters (there are a ton of them) to actually make posters and generally do their job—because now they have something to lose. Door deals (you get a portion of the door to share with other bands on the bill, usually after they pay the soundman, etc.) are unavoidable, but try to keep them to a minimum as this is probably your first tour and you probably won’t make enough to fill the tank, and there are a lot of promoters out there who are just straight-up dicks.

Next Week: promoting your tour, the cold hard facts
and how to deal with snoring bass players
Jonathan.cummins@gmail.com