Tips for tour and life

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I've learned how to do most things by doing. Figure it out as things go and just do my best. So it doesn't surprise me how much I'm still learning, especially with how fast the world changes along with the music industry.

I'm thinking about going back on tour (more on that later) so I've been thinking of the ways I've made it easier for myself in recent years. A lot of what I've changed is applicable to wider life things, too. So even if you're not getting in the van anytime soon, maybe these things are useful!

1. Just make the information easy: Put everyone's names and pronouns on your stage plot! This seems like a no brainer after it occurred to me. No more being referred to by your instrument. No more house sound person misgendering you because how the fuck would they really know. But this also works for just putting your pronouns on other things (if it feels safe to do so), noting when you typically answer emails in your signature, putting your email address on your website, etc. Don't make people work for the obvious info.
2. Taking it seriously is hot: Only hire friendly people for merch - If your merch person doesn't smile or make conversation or just looks at their phone the whole time, why are you even bringing them? It's a direct reflection on the artist and their ability to welcome people to the table can be the difference between coming home with money and not. If no one in your crew is stoked to do this, find someone who is. This goes for anyone you're working with on anything, really. If you're attitude is "meh" about what you're doing - whether that's a hobby, your art, helping a friend paint their apartment - wtf are we even doing?
3. Hire remote help: Have a friend help you tour manage from home. I've never actually done this but absolutely could've used the help years ago. While we were struggling to find experienced people to help with logistics on the road, most of the time they didn't even need to physically be there. I could've delegated the part where we negotiate things with venues, find places to stay, and figure out van call to someone at home. See above point about making it easy. If you want to learn more about ways to outsource random shit to make your life easier, The 4-Hour Workweek talks about it to sociopathic levels.

If you are someone looking to make touring easier, I made a Notion template for tour management that I think is pretty cool. I got tired of dealing with a million different spreadsheets and apps while trying to keep tour logistics organized. I created a dashboard and database for each day of the tour lets you track everything in one place - show dates, venue info, day sheets, all that stuff.

The cool thing is you can easily generate and share day sheets with your crew without having to subscribe to expensive software. It's super simple to use, even if you're not a tech wizard, and it works with the free version of Notion.

Whether you're in a band or tour managing, it could save you some headaches. If you're a newsletter supporter, your discount code works on this, too. It's $20.

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