In my ever-growing quest to get people on the road, I have come up with a survey. Please, if you know a performer (NOT limited to poets) looking to tour or has toured, send this to them and have them respond to it as a comment or send it to me at ilikemike at g mail with the subject: "Completed Gigging Survey." I will use some of this information for a project later. I may also re-post this information on my website’s How-To page.
My definition of a bare-minimum tour: More than a week of continuous travel between a minimum of two states/provinces, with no less than five gigs performed, each one being at least 30 miles apart from the last, thus having traveled at least 150 miles with no return home during the tour. Anyone who has experienced this or more, please feel free to respond to the survey.
I am initially seeking a little more transparency in gigging (touring; traveling outside of your home region to perform for audiences) and to help debunk a lot of the myth with regard to it so that more people will consider it as an option with their poetry experience.
Here’s what I want to know from touring people and the people who know them well enough to answer each question factually. Please use the corresponding letter-number when answering if not copying over each question:
A. FOR THOSE NOT TOURED
a1. If you have considered touring, but have yet to embark on a trip, what has/is stopping you?
a2. What would lure you onto the road?
B. FOR ORGANIZERS OF POETRY EVENTS
b1. What poetry event do you organize?
b2. What do you look for in a featured performer/poet?
b3. Is their notability a factor in booking them? When is it not?
b4. What is your rate of pay for featured performers/poets?
b5. What do you expect from a poet professionally?
C. FOR THE CURIOUS
c1. What questions would you ask of an experienced traveling performer?
D. FOR THOSE TOURED
d1. Have you toured more than once?
d2. How long did your tour last? What is an ideal length for you?
d3. What type of venues did you play? How many?
d4. What year was your first tour?
d5. How many times have you toured since?
d6. How many tours would you say you broke even, lost money, or made money?
d7. What was your poetry, slam, comedy or music experience prior to your first tour?
d8. How many people have you toured with? Explain.
d9. What are your best memories from touring?
d10. Did you keep a job during any of your touring (was your tour during a break/vacation from work)?
d11. Would you tour again? What would you do differently?
d12. What was/were your primary method(s) of travel?
d13. What was your favorite venue? Which city did you enjoy the most? (May very easily be two different places.)
d14. What was your goal in touring?
d15. Would you consider a long-term career in touring your craft?
d16. Do you consider what you do on stage a craft?
d17. What has been your longest performance? (Marathon events and planned all-nighters not included.)
d18. Are you published or recorded professionally? Who released your product? (Not including any self-made merchandise.)
d19. Does this company support your tours? Do they promote you and your travels, gigs and appearances?
d20. What has been your longest gap between tours?
d21. How do you feel when you are touring? How do you feel when you are not?
d22. When is your favorite time of year to tour? Least?
d23. What was your worst experience on the road?
d24. Ever had to cancel a show? What were your reasons for doing so?
d25. Ever had a show canceled you were booked for? What were the circumstances for cancellation? How did it affect the rest of your tour?
d26. Ever been stranded in a town where you knew nobody? Why?
d27. What is your ideal tour? Explain.
d28. Where do you stay on the road?
d29. What’s your usually daily budget on the road?
d30. What do you carry with you? Your must haves.
d31. How many bags, including merchandise?
d32. Do you create your own merchandise? What do you make for sale?
d33. What are your average nightly sales? What was your biggest sale?
d34. Smallest crowd you did a full set for? Largest? How did they feel?
d35. Most surprisingly attentive audience? Reactive? Best?
d36. Most unexpected result from touring?
d37. Biggest learning lesson from touring?
d38. Longest stay in one place for a gig?
d39. How did you book your tour? Did people vouch for you? Have you vouched for others? Have you regretted it?
d40. What is the most money you’ve ever been paid for a performance? (ONLY if it is under $1,001, otherwise, just state "Over $1,001") Has this been consistent?
d41. What questions are you asked most on the road while touring by non-performers? New-performers?
d42. How many shows have you done for free? Why did you do them? (Not including product sales)
E. FOR POETS SPECIFICALLY
e1. How do you label yourself when seeking gigs to people who don’t know you, in your bio, or to your non-poetry friends and family? (Ex. poetry slammer, spoken word artist, Talky McTalkerson, slam poet, poet, funny poet…et cetera.) Why? Is this important?
e2. Do you use a stage name? If so: Why? Has is been a benefit? Has this hindered your ability to get published? Has it kept you from getting gigs outside of poetry slam? If you were offered a gig/publishing deal, but only if you were use your real name, would you take it?
e3. Ever toured with a group? Slam team? Duo? What were they called and do they/you still work together? Was this easier or harder than gigging alone?
e4. Have you competed in poetry slams? If so, has your involvement in poetry slam hindered your ability to book readings/gigs? Has it been a benefit?
e5. How do you view the relationship between poetry slams and being a touring poet?
e6. Do you enter into poetry slams or competitions anymore? Why or why not?
e7. Do you prefer open mic or poetry slam features? Give details.
e8. Do you view yourself a professional poet? Why?
e9. Who are your biggest influences in writing? Performance? Touring? Humanity?
e10. What are your short-term goals? Long-term?
e40. Are you a bad-ass Bay Area rapper?
———
Word to the road nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 3 November, 2009 at 1:19 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged bands, comedians, expanding, gig, gigging, poets, professionalism, shows, survey, tour, touring, touring quest-ionnaire!, Travel. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
OMG_AWESOME!
This reminds me, as well as coaching Dain, most recently, that I was gonna write up a thingamaflatchy about hosty things.I lit up with “B”
I love that you are feeling querious.
Yes! I qualify! I are touring poet.
B. FOR ORGANIZERS OF POETRY EVENTS
b1. The Mesa Poetry Slam, and occasionally helping out with Black Pearl stuff in Tempe.
b2. Some performance history (a Nats or regional stage is generally good enough for me), that I at least know of the person in question, that the person is not known for being Apollo-esque (for instance, Dakota Darkhorse would never be let into a venue I run to slam, much less feature)
b3. Define notablity. As much as I love the big features, the national champs and such, it’s more fun to book people who have a rep as a decent person and have a unique voice rather than a national champ who’s a dick.
b4. Anywhere from $35.00 to $100.00.
b5. Respect the venue, respect the other slam poets with as much respect as they get, that they put on a show that they’re going to be proud of afterwards.
C. FOR THE CURIOUS
c1. How do I go about getting a college gig?
D. FOR THOSE TOURED
d1. Yes. Sort of. By your definition, I’ve toured only once; by mine, the same tour had 3 distinct legs, only one of which didn’t use Arizona as a central hub.
d2. 9 days, or 4 weeks (depending on definition). If I ever did a big one, probably 30 days is all I could handle living out of a car.
d3. Coffeehouses, restaurants, bars.
d4. 2008
d5. 0
d6. If you’re counting just travel expenses and books, broke even. But I did a lot of touristy stuff, so lost money.
d7. All slam, all the time. Local features, regional and state slams, featured at Bowery once before.
d8. 0, although I did travel with my girlfriend.
d9. Cafe Deux Soleis in Vancouver was my largest ever solo show (meaning largest crowd that I performed a set for solo). Nerve-wracking and oh-so-rewarding. Traipsing around Baltimore for the day with Teresa also pretty fun.
d10. Yes, and I took vacation time.
d11. Maybe – but honestly, I’m more interested in world travel than poet travel.
d12. Plane to the first destination, then rental car for the big leg.
d13. Each was very different, each had its own charms. Hold a knife to my throat, Worcester or Seattle or Vancouver. Favorite city: Baltimore. Seattle might have been it, but I went into a wicked depressive hole that day, and that tempered it badly.
d14. Spread the Gospel of Jesus. Wait, no, not Jesus… Satan.
d15. Noooooooo.
d16. I do. I call it “poetic satire”.
d17. 40 minutes, Boise.
d18. Nope.
d19. N/A
d20. N/A
Part 2 (did I really write 6500 characters?)
d21. In the times I spent away from my homebase and not with someone I know… lonely. Not sure the second question applies to my experience, because that would be a f’ing novel.
d22. Summer. Winter.
d23. Trying to sleep at the White House hostel after the Bowery show.
d24. Yes. Southwest cancelled my flight.
d25. Nope.
d26. Nope.
d27. 1 week on, 2 or 3 weeks off. Hit a region of the country, slam the hell out of it, go back to work, make money, and then do it all again.
d28. Sometimes the organizer’s house, sometime the hotel.
d29. Depends. Blew like $300.00 in Vancouver one day (went whale watching), spent maybe $5.00 in Salt Lake.
d30. Laptop, iPod, cigarettes, trenchcoat.
d31. 1 (2 if you count my messenger bag I use to cart books around to the venue, 3 if you count that and my laptop)
d32. No on all counts. I had someone put together my last 4 chapbooks, and then I have Kinkos do all the work.
d33. 4 to 5 books. 18 books.
d34. 10, Springfield, MA. 180, Vancouver. Both reacted enthusiastically.
d35. Worcester, especially considering it was the night of the Super Bowl at the Patriots were playing? Bowery – ye God do I hate that room – I want to love it so badly, but I never get any love back (except from Shappy and Kristen)? Seattle or Vancouver.
d36. Honeslty? Probably made a bunch more friends, but it more or less felt like a zero-sum game.
d37. To quote Homer Simpson, “Marge, my friend, I haven’t learned a thing”. I think I approached it the wrong way, to be honest. I saw the tour as a “vacation with poetry” in a lot of ways (hence the whale watching).
d38. A couple of days, either at the McMillan’s or RC’s.
d39. E-mailed a bunch of places I wanted to do shows. Didn’t need to. Cantab asked, but I didn’t really want to bother with it (due to the whole Adam Stone drama) Have offered, never needed to? N/A
d40. I forget what Cheryl paid me for Boise, but it was the most by far (this was back when she was getting the sweet government dollars).
d41. What’s with the coat? How do you come up with your ideas? Do you always smoke this much? New performers: How do I get to go on tour?
d42. 1? Wanted a gig for the night, Louder was booked, wanted to keep performing each night?
E. FOR POETS SPECIFICALLY
e1. Slam poet/poetic satirist. Slam is well known enough where I don’t have to constantly explain what it is I’m doing. I do the poetic satirist dance on the days I feel that what I’m doing isn’t poetry. It keeps me honest about myself and what I do.
e2. No. I mean, yes. Don’t like the way my real name rolls off the tongue, and I’m too entrenched in the whole Klute brand to drop it now. I think so. It’s easy enough and unique enough to be remembered. It’s kept me from getting published I think. No, actually, it’s made it easier to get gigs.Probably.
e3. Did a few shows locally and one in Florida. Not really as part of a team. Duo: No. The group’s name was “The Non-Native Transplants”. I collaborate with one on our local annual Edgar Allan Poe show. Harder, because I was resentful I was the money.
e4. No. I mean, yes. It’s been a benefit.
e5. Gives you a starting pool of venues to hit, or simply a circuit to stay on.
e6. All the time. I’m mostly happy where I’m at. If I had a chance to do comedy writing/performance (a la Daily Show/The Onion), I’d probably slam less frequently.
e7. Slams – because when I do Open Mics, I feel I’m stripping the gears from the teacup readers to my brand of slam.
e8. No. Because I need a regular job to stay alive.
e9. Twain, Carlin, Hunter S. Thompson, Ted Rall, Jello Biafra. Jello Biafra, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, Jon Stewart. N/A. Cousteau, Twain, Vaclav Havel Ben Franklin.
e10. There’s a novel right there, my friend. Short answer on both: NO CLUE.
e40. Noooooo.
I’m working on my answers.
part one
A. FOR THOSE NOT TOURED
a1. If you have considered touring, but have yet to embark on a trip, what has/is stopping you?
Several things. Lack of contacts. I think that if I announced and/or started inquiring about a tour, that I could probably build these contacts, as asking “Hey, what are nearby slams/gigs that I could inquire about?” is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Mostly, inexperience, lack of demand, and being wholly tied down by circumstance for at least another six or seven months.
a2. What would lure you onto the road?
Knowing I’d make enough money on a monthly basis to pay for my car. Health insurance. A peak at your sweet behind.
B. FOR ORGANIZERS OF POETRY EVENTS (Which I used to do.)
b1. What poetry event do you organize? Occasionally have booked for Lincoln/Omaha slams. Still taking referrals for Lincoln, NE.
b2. What do you look for in a featured performer/poet? Talent – can they work a room, is their poetry interesting, will they be entertaining?
b3. Is their notability a factor in booking them? When is it not? Yes and no. Notability is not a factor if I think their poems do not meet the quality standards of the slam I occasionally represent.
b4. What is your rate of pay for featured performers/poets? Variable. $50-1k.
b5. What do you expect from a poet professionally? Professionalism. Be on time, or have a good excuse. Courtesy to the audience and the establishment (no spiking microphones, thank the house, etc.).
Part two
E. FOR POETS SPECIFICALLY
e1. How do you label yourself when seeking gigs to people who don’t know you, in your bio, or to your non-poetry friends and family? (Ex. poetry slammer, spoken word artist, Talky McTalkerson, slam poet, poet, funny poet…et cetera.) Why? Is this important?
e2. Do you use a stage name? No. Largely, i feel that the maxim “Stage Name = Failed MC” is true.
e3. Ever toured with a group? Slam team? Worked road gigs with a slam team. It’s harder, because you cannot control how dedicated other people are. They’ll either do the work, or they won’t. This is probably different for professional touring poets.
e4. Have you competed in poetry slams? If so, has your involvement in poetry slam hindered your ability to book readings/gigs? Has it been a benefit? I think that Slam, at a national level, has put my name into the world more than it would have gotten there if I had never been a competitor.
e5. How do you view the relationship between poetry slams and being a touring poet? I think it’s a stepping stone.
e6. Do you enter into poetry slams or competitions anymore? Why or why not? No – Homebound circumstances. I can’t leave my dad alone to attend slams, anymore.
e7. Do you prefer open mic or poetry slam features? Give details. Depends on the crowd, almost entirely.
e8. Do you view yourself a professional poet? Why? No. It’s not how I make my living.
e9. Who are your biggest influences in writing? Performance? Touring? Humanity? Writing: John Rybicki, Salman Rushdie, A.A. Attanasio. Performance: Taylor Mali (His enunciation/diction is SWEET, even if I’m not the biggest fan of what slam work I’ve heard), Rachel mckibbens, k80fs, Baz, the cantabbers, several others. Everyone has a strength to admire. Touring: No idea. Humanity: In terms of poets: Brian Ellis.
e10. What are your short-term goals? Long-term? I’d like to tour, once, on an extended basis, to see how well I can do it and where it takes me. Long term, I actually want to be a carpenter.
e40. Are you a bad-ass Bay Area rapper? No, sir.
~Ross
could you make this survey a little longer please?
it looks like sections A and C even non-touring poets can answer. i
I hope no one finds me pretentious for doing this… I also hope I haven’t made any stupid mistakes here.
A. FOR THOSE NOT TOURED
a1. If you have considered touring, but have yet to embark on a trip, what has/is stopping you?
For me it’s age, I’m rather young and unknown but I feel like I am getting to know enough people in the New England area that I might get the ability to tour locally at first and build my name up. This would be a dream come true. The other thing stopping me is I don’t know if I’d be comfortable touring alone. It’s a big commitment and I know my name is not near enough to bring a crowd which would probably worry venue hosts. now, being an “opener” or a “warm-up” act, that would be perfect. One of my goals as a Poet is to do a tour someday.
a2. What would lure you onto the road?
The opportunity, and the ability to fit it in my schedule of military/schooling.
C. FOR THE CURIOUS
c1. What questions would you ask of an experienced traveling performer?
I’d probably steal sections D and E and ask all of those questions. I’d also want to ask how the performer has markets him/her-self, usage of an agent or just alone, how banter works, what do you do when you’re losing a crowd, when a poem makes the crowd uncomfortable with its subject matter do you continue with it or stop it early, and other things along those lines.
Re: it looks like sections A and C even non-touring poets can answer. i
and I forgot to put down that this is Charles Xavier Lacerte. Smooth
Alec, touring drummer
Hi Mike!
D1: Yes
D2: Typically 10 days; that’s about ideal for me.
D3: 7 or 8 venues in 10 days, from small and medium mountain town pubs to medium venues in bigger cities. Small towns definitely more fun.
D4: First tour was in 2007.
D5: 5 times or so
D6: Made money on all of ‘em! If you consider that I had to take time off work, though…
D7: 15 or 20 gigs playing drums around Vancouver (and countless jams and open mics)
D8: Toured with a 3-piece or 4-piece band.
D9: Canmore, Banff, and Fernie on Friday and Saturday nights. Stagette parties.
D10: Yes — I’m a laptop warrior.
D11: Certainly. Nothing different.
D12: Band Van
D13: See D9
D14: Personal challenges: relax, have fun, go with the flow.
D15: Nope. It’s fun.
D16: No, I don’t think I’m at that level of skill yet.
D17: Three 1-hour sets
D18: Not yet
D19:
D20: 6-8 months
D21: Feels fantastic. The band works as a team. We’ve never fought on tour.
D22: Favourite: Summer. Least favourite: … well, pulling a 360 in the middle of an icy highway wasn’t great, but winter touring is still fun…
D23: Edmonton is our Bermuda Triangle. Aside from that, I personally take it hard when the band doesn’t gel.
D24: Yes — surrounding dates didn’t work out so we decided to cancel a mini-tour (too much driving for one or two dates)
D25: Yes, once the entire bar staff came down with the flu. We got paid (some) anyway and got mad drunk with out-of-town friends instead of playing.
D26: No
D27: A week of Fridays and Saturdays in the towns beside where all the tourists go. Those are the towns where the help lives. The help is fun.
D28: Band rooms in creepy old hotels. Straight out of The Shining. I love these.
D29: Whatever we have with us. Not much.
D30: Hackeysack; laptop; fruit juice.
D31: A backpack apiece for personal stuff; merch; instruments and amps. A (very) full van.
D32: Yes — shot glasses, shirts, stickers, buttons, CDs
D33: $0 – $100
D34: Smallest: 3 people. They loved it and had a great time and therefore so did we. Biggest: Hundreds. They had a great time and therefore so did we.
D35: The small audience in D34 was amazing. They danced their faces off. The mountain towns next to tourist traps are the best.
D36: Personal stuff. I’m not a rock star and don’t want to be … but I can have a lot of fun faking it
D37: Some people are just born for business. We have one of those in the band and it ain’t me. I’m lucky.
D38: Two nights
D39: Connections, persistence, and someone in the band with a loud enough mouth to do it
D40: $500 for a night.
D41: Can’t think of a single one…
D42: One or two where the booker backed out after the gig… NOT a good scene… and those venues never last until our next tour.