Re: Connecting to fanbase / Touring / some encouraging figures

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, Matt Davignon wrote:
> ...and if my math comes up with 80 to 200 people, imagine how it
> calculates for you folks who have actual talent and/or charisma!
In Tao Chemical,   I figured out that if 100 people came to see us in 
each city we played in
(mostly ever big city in Northern California on a consistent basis) that 
we could break even.
We figured that we could make a living doing it if 200 people did.

Now, that was a long time ago and we depended on either being able to 
drive home to sleep
or staying on someone's floor......which is a big caveat.

I think it's vastly harder to do now and also, we had a lot of press and 
radio 'buzz' about our project
which was theatrical new wave that helped out considerably.

****************************

One last thing I wanted to mention on this thread which really hasn't 
been mentioned.

My experience is that good fans are the key to getting more good fans.

I have found that if you ask people to help you out (including really 
busting a hump to get you gigs,
put you up for free or get out the word) that they frequently are VERY 
enthusiastic about helping out.

So many musicians feel that it is presumptuous or 'entitled' to just 
brazenly ask people for help but
I've found that if you don't,   you just can't succeed.

Most musical scenes are what I would call 'small villages'.    Not 
unlike a small village,  everyone knows everyone
in certain scenes.

As an example,  I know everyone , practically, in the Indie Pop,  the 
Goth/Industrial,  the Noise, the World Music,
the Experimental/Avant Gard and the Jazz scenes in Santa Cruz.

if someone I know contacts me in any of those scenes,  I can generally 
help them put the word out and , usually,
try and get them a gig.

I have learned, because I"m good at getting people gigs,  to ALWAYS 
broker a deal that says,  "if I can get you a gig,
I expect to have you get me a gig where you live,  if I tour your way."

To me, this is only fair.       It may sound a tad Machiavellian (sp?) 
but I find that otherwise,  I start resenting
helping artists to get gigs if there isn't at least a tentative 
willingness on their parts to reciprocate.

All of this takes time and that time should always be respected,  imho!

Rick Walker

One good thing about this community is that you can trade putting people 
up and booking gigs for them
in exchange for putting you up and having them book gigs for you when 
you tour.