#DIY touring

Gear Repair

My Les Paul Jenna Nelson repaired after I destroyed it on my first U.K. tour The best way to prevent the inevitable panic attack of your gear failing while on the road is to be prepared. When you use your gear every day in volatile environments with varying weather conditions and sobriety levels,...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETDocumenting A DIY Tour with Tips From Steven Anselm

Touring is eventful and exciting, but the days eventually begin to blend together. Venues and bands blur, and people’s names are the last thing that will stick in your mind. It’s best to appoint a member of the band to take photos and/or journal your time on the road, or even bring along a tour...

Tarra Thiessen

AF 2018 IN REVIEWHardest Working DIY Bands on Tour in 2018

Below is our list of the Hardest Working DIY Touring bands of 2018 keeping the DIY dream alive! We asked each band about their favorite moments, what they have learned, and/or are most proud of from this past year. photo credit: @zb_images North By North (Chicago, IL) 212 shows I caught North By...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETHomes Away From Home

After a show in Lawrence, Kansas my old band Ex-Girlfriends pulled up to a random house where we were going to sleep that night. There were garbage bags covering the garage windows, conjuring images of the mutilated dead bodies hidden inside. Our bandmate had set up these accommodations last minute...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETTouring Across the Pond

Sharkmuffin charms Robert Plant The story goes that Jimi Hendrix was unknown in the States before he traveled to the U.K. It was only after his time across the pond that he returned as our beloved shredding icon. It can happen to you too! His spirit is still there, and Sharkmuffin may have...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETDIY Merch Making

Do you have too many band t-shirts? I have so many that I recently I gave my college bestie, favorite neighbor and Gustaf front woman, Lydia Gammill, about 30 of them to send to her cousin to make into a queen size blanket for me. I still have at least 15 band shirts remaining in my closet, and...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETTour Promo

Caro reads about her next tour date in Rolling Stone. Photo by Jose Berrio While I was dancing around my middle school bedroom screaming into a hairbrush dreaming of my future rock stardom, I had no idea how many spreadsheets and e-mails I would have to send to make it happen. Even after you’ve...

Tarra Thiessen

AF 2017 IN REVIEWHardest Working DIY Bands on Tour in 2017

Vanessa Silberman (LA) Over 200 shows Vanessa Silberman is nothing less than a super human. She has been on the road since January, totaling about ten tours solo, as a two piece with LA transplant via Madison drummer Dave Boson, and as a three piece (the Vanessa Silverman Band) featuring Reed...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETBooking Basics

Booking a tour is basically planning a road trip with the goal of playing music every night and (hopefully) making enough money for gas to your next destination. Booking your first tour is a grind, so it’s helpful to have higher purpose that is fun and motivating. Bands usually plan a tour to...

Tarra Thiessen

CHECK THE SPREADSHEETAttitude is Everything

Hello! Thank you for checking the monthly DIY tour guide. I play on tour with three Brooklyn-based bands and have been on the road for at least a week each month this year (aside from one). Going on tour is a goal of many bands and in today's super connected world it is easier than ever to attain....

Tarra Thiessen