Take the work out of networking…now.

unnamed(1)I hope you are having a beautiful Saturday. It is absolutely GORGEOUS here in the NYC and I’m ready to a great day outdoors. How about you?

 

This week I challenged myself to get out and do more during the week outside of work, ultimately not saying no to any invites. I took on the persona of a ‘Yes Man’. This ended me up at having friends of a friend who were visiting for the first time in NYC crash at my place, sharing cabs from New Jersey, trying new restaurants, going to a concert and the one thing I wasn’t looking forward to, a networking event.

 

I wasn’t completely dreading it, but I just didn’t feel good at that sort of thing. Meeting, talking about what you do and promoting yourself to a group of strangers. But I had promised myself to go out and say yes to every opportunity. And I remembered, I’m not going to meet new possible friends or be able to access new ideas staying back at work.

 

Something amazing happened the second I switched my mindset and started going in and introducing myself. I met people interested in similar industries, freelancers, musicians and even younger students looking for career advice. It was thrilling! And it was really great to get a feel for the words of what I do – a musician’s virtual assistant.

 

After that night, I made a new friend and freelancer connection, a student looking for virtual business advice, and a band in need of support. Three substantial connections that would not have happened if I had stayed home.

 

Why am I telling you this story? Well it got me thinking of my clients and if or when they do networking as well and if they have any struggles with putting themselves out there. The truth is, YES! Musicians have to network just as much as the next person to gain followers and spread their music. You have to do it to keep people coming to your shows.

 

It’d be impossible for you to have a successful career, thousands of listeners and do what you love if you’re hiding in the studio or hiding behind the laptop. You have to get out there! It is just as important as practicing, performing, recording, etc. all the other parts of your career.

 

I have a client who has been in the recording business for over 40 years, so when I do go to events or conferences with him, I’m really seeing a master at someone who selflessly promotes. And I believe it is because the ‘why’ behind his promotion is so strong. He has a clear vision of why he wants to share his latest album or his latest project with the person in front of him. And I don’t see him as a person being an annoying pusher on his music, but I see him as the hardest working artist in the business.

 

Self-promotion is a necessary component to your career, so here are some key tips that might help you step out of the door.

 

1) Just say yes – Say yes to the next networking event you can go to. The people you meet in person and share your story/music with in person is so much more effective than a tweet or a post.

 

2) Remember your ‘why’ – Remember why you are sharing your music. Is it because your music can help others? Is it therapy for them? Is it because you love playing to packed shows?

 

3) Get to know the other person – Make sure you ask questions and find out about the person your chatting with, too.

 

4) Stay humble, but be confident – Set any pride you might have and remember why you want to grow your career, why you want to connect with this person.

 

5) Follow up – When you talk to the person, promise to email them a song. And then do it! Contact them within 24 hours, stay fresh in their minds and send them a gift and ask them if you can add them to your mailing list.

 

I hope this helps you to say YES to more things and to not be afraid any more of the ‘hate’ people have for musicians who self-promote. Now go out there and connect!

 

Have a great rest of your Saturday and I’ll see you next time!

 

Cheers,

12 things to check off before every show [FREE TEMPLATE]

This week was about back-end work with a lot of organizing and creating checklists to organize several processes for my clients. This may sound like the most boring and tedious thing to do, however, I am one of those weird people that like creating checklists, spreadsheets, and step-by-step instructions.

 

Why do I like these checklists so much? Because I understand that we can’t rely on our brains to remember everything. It’s impossible! I have a pretty good memory, but I wouldn’t be able to handle everything that I do without some way to keep it organized. These lists are a way to ensure everything gets taken care of and nothing is overlooked. And you know what? It also makes you move faster in the process because you aren’t asking yourself, did I ask the band if they can make this date? Did I reserve my flight? Does the presenter know I’m a vegetarian? A checklist in front of you can answer those questions right away and you can move on to what you need to do.

 

One mistake I made starting out changed everything for me and is the reason why I started developing and creating my checklists. Here’s how it went.

 

For an upcoming concert, I had thought the entire time that the presenter was covering hotels. When I was pulling together an itinerary for the band a few days before, I realized I didn’t have any hotel reservation confirmations from them. So, I emailed the hospitality contact asking, “Hey, do you have the hotel confirmation numbers? Much appreciated!” His reply? “We didn’t make reservations, it is stated in the agreement that you would reserve and handle hotel.” CRAP is exactly what went through my head. How could I have overlooked something this important?

 

I checked the agreement again and sure enough, the words were there: Artist is responsible for hotel. No reservations were made and I was struggling for the rest of the day searching to find 8 available and affordable hotel rooms. Sure, I made it happen, but it wasn’t a pretty day and honestly, I could have totally been out of luck. I told myself, I can’t let a detail like that slip away again.

 

I learned quickly that details for shows get lost in emails and documents (like what had happened to me), so it’s important to find a way to check off what you have done and what you need to do to make sure you’re prepped for every show, every time.

What should you be checking off in prepping for a show? Here’s a list that I’ve developed over the years:

 

1) Presenter contact name, phone, email and phone day of show.
2) Hospitality contact name, phone, email and phone day of show.
3) Production contact name, phone, email and phone day of show.
4) Contract/Agreement Status – was it sent? Was it signed by both parties?
5) Rider Status – did you send them your rider?
6) Advance – did you go over your tech requirements? Did you send them your stageplot?
7) Soundcheck – what time is load in, soundcheck and when do doors open?
8) Airfare – who’s paying? Have you reserved your ticket?
9) Hotel – who’s paying? Have you reserved your room?
10) Ground Transportation – who’s paying? Who is picking you up and taking you to the hotel/venue/anywhere else? if you’re driving yourself, are you receiving gas reimbursement?
11) If you are driving in, where can you park your car or bus and where do you go to load in?
12) Meals – who’s paying? If you are receiving a buyout, how much?

 

I know as a musician you KNOW what you need to check off before the show, but with this list in front of you, you can make sure you get the most important things checked off. This is about making it easy and saving you time.

 

Take a few minutes and build your checklist of what you need to know for every show, every time. Those 10-20 minutes of creating the checklist WILL save you hours, stress and your well-being in the future. Another plus, you can share this checklist with your assistant and they can check it off for you. You’ll feel confident that nothing will be overlooked when delegating the job.

 

Do you need a checklist for your shows to help you prep? As a gift, I’m offering a downloadable PDF checklist that you can use for your shows. If you’re like me, I like to print and check off these things on paper. If you like to do everything online, I also created a Google Doc spreadsheet that you can use! Click below to get your access today.

 

Every show is different, so you may need to add or change a few things on the checklist I use, but this will definitely help you start somewhere.

 

PRINT MY CHECKLIST

LINK TO AN ONLINE GOOGLE DOC SPREADSHEET CHECKLIST
(Make a copy to your google drive and it’s all yours!)

I hope you find this checklist useful, and if you add anything to it or if you created your own and want to share with me, I’d love to see it! Just hit reply and I’ll be happy to help you build yours. It’s what I do! 😉

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

 

(Checking off sending you a letter this Saturday),

fionazsig

Sorting through licensing companies?

If you’re in America, I hope your grill is heating up, you’re shades are on and you’re gearing up for the first weekend of summer. It’s amazing how fast the year has gone, isn’t it? This weekend I’m taking a step out of the city into New Jersey to visit me and my boyfriend’s friends – rumor has it, (and vegetarians, including me, prepare yourself) they ordered a roast pig as the main meal for the day. Oh yeah, we take it seriously here!

 

I’ve had a really fun week working on various projects, being a part of a few live events and also rolling out my new website. So many advancements with my company and brand, as well as my clients!

 

In today’s industry, it’s quite common for independent artists to look for music licensing companies to a) create a revenue source and b) breakthrough with an amazing deal on say, a commercial. It’s like a licensing deal with a big name brand or company is the new record deal.

 

Most of the time, these licensing companies are searching for independent artists, like yourself perhaps. They are looking for a new sound, a new voice or new face for these companies looking to feature music in their marketing that will excite people – aka not necessarily the music that is already on the radio.

 

My clients do get emails from licensing companies seeking to work with them. My clients are looking to get their music licensed. But what happens when they are too busy recording a new album, going on tour, or sticking to a writing or composition deadline? These opportunities get lost.

 

Don’t lose opportunities to expand your music. This is where an assistant steps in and can take the hours of research from the musician to help them determine the best fit for them. Here’s how.

 

1) Forward the email requests you’ve gotten that you would consider to work with to your assistant. Forward all of the emails you’ve gotten from companies saying they want to license your song(s), as well as forward companies you know of that you’d be interested in working with.

 

2) Ask your assistant to research licensing companies that would be a good fit for you. This would require your assistant to know your music and listen to what you’ve released. Ask them and be sure they’ve listened to your music, give them a list of similar artists to you, and they can return with a list of companies that have licensed similar genres. Better yet, they can sniff out companies that don’t have what you have to offer so they would be more interested in including you in their roster. This happened recently in an inquiry where a company was looking for a sound that my client offered.

 

3) Build an easy to read spreadsheet. Have your assistant keep this research organized. Below is what you should include. Some are self explanatory, but others are very important.

Build a spreadsheet that lists:
Company Name
Company Website
Contact Name
Contact Email
Contact Phone

Artists they have licensed – Get an idea of their roster to find if you compliment the other artists. If you were a songwriter, you wouldn’t go for a licensing company that works mainly with rappers.
Companies they have licensed to – See what level the company is at. Do they have connections to brands that will help you break through? Do they impress you?
Non-exclusive or Exclusive Agreement –  Are you going to be able to license your music to other companies or opportunities with that certain company? Some won’t allow you to. You have to decide if this is important to you, or it’s worth putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Payment terms – How much do you get and how much do they get if a deal goes through? Do you have to pay any fees upfront? Find out exactly where the money comes in or goes out.
Summarization – Ask your assistant to summarize and say if they think it’s a good fit or not and why. Having this discussion can help a decision happen faster and easier.

 

4) The contract – Once you’ve evaluated your choices, the next step is looking over a contract and a package from the company to help you get started. While an assistant can assist in looking over a contract, you should really find a lawyer to go over the agreement to make sure your music and yourself are protected to your interests. A few sites to find a lawyer are Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts or Avvo.com.

 

Go ahead, go back to your songwriting cave. Your assistant has this. Once you return to take care of business, your assistant can have a clear explanation of the best licensing company for you.

 

I hope you found this helpful, whether you have an assistant helping you find the licensing company for you, or if you are doing this all on your own.

 

Have any questions for me on this? Head over to my blog here to comment with your question. Or, just hit reply with your question and I just might answer your question in the next newsletter.

 

Have a great Memorial Day weekend,

How I set up a video shoot in less than 24 hours.

I get asked quite a bit what goes on in my day as an assistant to a musician. I find it hard to fully explain, but I CAN tell you, it’s never dull and I learn something new every week. This makes it highly rewarding and exciting with a dash of the good stress. The stress that pushes you to blow your own mind and do something you didn’t think was possible.

 
Here’s an example.
 
Last year, one of my clients had a very exciting new CD/DVD release. It was definitely an album that included a concept never done before, so everyone on the team AND the public were excited for it to be released.
 
During a meeting a few months before the release with our publicist, she suggested that we create a video press release – a visually exciting video that would showcase the release and highlight it’s importance and what makes it so different than any other album anyone has ever done.
 
The problem was, my client was traveling constantly for other performances months before this needed to be completed. Even when he was back in the office, other activities were already scheduled. I was stuck trying to figure out when this could be created since I knew my client wanted to make this happen, if at all possible.
 
I saw an opportunity. My client had one day free, and our team member who specialized in videography was also in town. I emailed them both saying, “If we’re going to do this, we should do this tomorrow.” So without delay, they responded with a yes, let’s go for it, and the countdown began.

While we had the manpower and we had the space (an apartment), we didn’t have the proper video equipment available. This had to result in a high quality and professional video to be able to release to the worldwide press, so we needed top-notch video cameras and lighting.
 
Believe it or not, a company in New York accepted rental inquiries and fulfilled them within 6-8 hours. I struck gold! After quick approval from our videographer, I put in the rental order and gave them all the requirements (scanned IDs, Credit Card Scans, Insurance forms, etc.). I went to bed thinking, “The impossible has been done!”
 
Once the rental store opening up in the morning, I went straight to the store and easily picked up my video equipment. In a matter of hours, they put together a video camera, memory card, stand, light stands, blubs and reflectors for me to take away to the apartment. It was on!
 
I hopped in a cab, carrying more bags of equipment than I had hands, but somehow handling it all and headed to the apartment. Once I got there, the videographer and I got to setting up.
 
While the camera was being tested, my client approached me with a list of questions for me to ask him that he put together the day before so he could easily and comfortably talk about his new release. It was brilliant and effective. He could speak to me, someone he was comfortable with, to be able to say what he wanted to say about them album in the video. It wouldn’t have the effect of him talking AT the screen.
 
Then, we thought it was all over. We turned the lights on in the room, and not 15 seconds later, half of the place lost power. We blew a fuse! We all looked at each other and literally cursed. My client wasn’t sure where the fuse box even was. We started looking and found it behind a bookcase that was mounted on the wall. (I cannot make this up!). So, we got unscrewing and unloading books from the case so we can access the fuse box. Minutes later, we opened it up and reset the fuse. Success! I also moved the lamps to the other outlets in the apartment so that it wouldn’t happen again. 🙂
 
With that fiasco out of the way, we set the stage with a nice background, focus and got to the ‘interview’. Not even an hour later, we had some great footage and we all felt great about the look and feel of the video results.

Can you believe it? In less than 24 hours, we had footage for a video press release. Just the day before, I didn’t even know if it would happen.
 
That is a moment that I feel highly rewarded for staying persistent and making a goal happen. Most people might have given up and said, “Oh, we should have planned this better,” or “It wasn’t meant to be this time around.” But our team knew that for this release, it was important for this video to be created.

The key to take away here was that the team worked together to make it happen. You might have the will yourself, but you are going to need the support to help you see it through.
 

The result? Well, see for yourself!


Hope you enjoyed my story and that it inspires YOU to build your team so you can keep pushing toward the goals you have. 

Have a great weekend,

Twitter rolls out a fresh new look.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week and the start to your weekend is going great. I’m so happy spring is FINALLY here. I’ve had quite a week with events kicking off the spring and summer season, so I’m happy to be enjoying a little down time to balance out the festivities.

To add to the excitement, Twitter has rolled out a whole new look for its users. Part of my position as assistant is to keep my clients updated on social media – if there is a new feature, a new rule, or in this case, an entirely new look. As you know, this happens quite often.

First things first, have you seen it? (You have to – I love it!) Check out the first two featured musicians who switched over: John Legend and Weezer.

Here’s what you need to know to keep your profile updated with Twitter’s new look.

Larger, customizable header photo – You will notice on the two examples that now the header is larger and more prominent, and they got rid of the background image. John Legend uses the space to promote his latest album and makes his profile picture a photo of him, while Weezer, a more established brand, focuses on featuring their band members in the large banner and their infamous logo as their profile photo. Either looks great, but you will want to figure out what you want to feature.

If you have a new album that you really want to push, you might want to have a header featuring the release. Or if you have an upcoming tour, you can highlight the band and dates on your header.

The size of the new template is 1500×500. TWELVESKIP offers great advice on the dimensions as well as a really good template to help you build your best looking header, which includes invisible vs visible space. Check it out here.

Filtered Tweets – Social media platforms are all about featuring only the best of what they have, so it makes sense for Twitter to start filtering, pinning and featuring tweets. Your best tweets (ones that have received more engagement) will appear larger than the others. You can now pin tweets, so if you want to make sure everyone sees your tweet on your new concert date, or what you had for lunch, you can pin it to the top. Lastly, you can choose from different timelines when looking at profiles. Select from these options: Tweets, Tweets with photos/videos, or Tweets and replies.

If you haven’t seen the option to switch over yet, don’t worry, it is coming. You can prep ahead and have your team design a new header photo while you wait!

Are you ready to make the switch? Log into Twitter, then visit this site. Scroll all the way down and click ‘Get it now’. The change will be instant!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

fionazsig

Shipping Wars

Being a musician, having to organize mailings and send out materials happens more often than not. Whether it is albums, merchandise, promotional materials, hard drives, sheet music…it all comes with a price.

Working with various levels of clients for years, I learned my way around shipping and also became a familiar face in the post office, at FedEx, at UPS..(and even at the other FedEx a few blocks away) visiting all of them at least once a week!

Being in New York, at first, I would always choose whatever is open and what is closest – but after a few years of doing this, I have become very selective in how and from where I send anything for my clients because if you get lazy, you can end up paying way more than you have to to get those posters to a venue in time.

It’s important to understand your choices in mailing and who will give you the best value. Mailing costs add up and are usually forgotten in budgeting, so you should strategize on how you are mailing your materials!

United States Postal Service – www.usps.com

PROS
Media Mail – offers the cheapest way to send media, including CDs, Books, Movies, etc. If you have the time to ship it and are in no rush, go to USPS first and ask to ship ‘Media Mail’. It usually will get anywhere in the United States in a week, if not sooner.

Cheap tracking – always recommended to get tracking with USPS. It doesn’t come standard like FedEx or UPS. Don’t waste your time, don’t take the risk, spend the extra few bucks (literally a few bucks – tracking starts at $1.95) and have peace of mind you can find a missing box or letter.

Lowest International shipping – if you are shipping internationally, USPS has consistently given me the best rates.

CONS
Limited hours – The post office is only open a limited amount of hours during the day – MondayFriday, 7AM-5PM, closed on holidays. It doesn’t leave you with a great window of time and certainly doesn’t help you in emergencies.

Crowds – Because of its limited hours, you can find yourself standing in LONG lines, wasting precious time in your day.

UPS – www.ups.com

PROS
Gives you options – One perk at my local UPS is that they offer USPS services as well as the standard ground and air shipping of UPS.

Online Shipping Services – It’s incredibly easy to use!
While on tour, I had to ship about 8 boxes when our tour bus left us. The hotel recommended UPS – which I hadn’t used before. In a matter of minutes I had created an online account, printed and labeled the boxes and were able to give instructions for them to pick up the next day at the hotel lobby. Extra plus, even though I didn’t know the size or weight of these boxes, an estimate is good enough for them!

CONS
Comes with a cost – They tend to be the most expensive out of other shipping companies in my experience.

No Media Mail – They do offer USPS services, but that is strictly for Priority and Express shipping. When I brought up Media mail, they gave me a blank face.

FedEx – www.fedex.com

PROS
Always open – A lot of their stores are open 24/7 and I have several locations walking distance from me. They recently saved my ass when I needed to ship a package ASAP!

Reliable – I’ve never had an issue with a package getting somewhere. In the 3 years of working with them, it’s always gone well.

Ground Shipping is fast – Usually Ground shipping means a week or more, at UPS and USPS, however, FedEx seems to work some magic and ground shipping gets anywhere in 3 days.

CONS
Not for rush mailings – If you are in a rush, it will cost you going with FedEx. One overnight envelope can be $30-$40!
My recommendation?

My experience has put USPS and FedEx in the lead as a close tie. USPS is great for when you are in no rush with what you are shipping. Also, if you have an emergency and can make it before they close, it’s great for overnight and 2-3 day shipping as well! But, if you are in a bind and need something to mail quickly, FedEx Ground is just as good, fairly priced and most locations are open 24/7.

Each mailing is going to be different, depending on where it’s going and when it needs to get there, but knowing a few secrets can help you save hundreds in the long run. And always, always, always, get tracking!

To happy mailing! 🙂

Open the window to your fans.

I hope you are surviving the cold this new year has brought – at least if you are in the east coast. I’ve turned myself into a bear hibernating whenever I can. As a Texas girl, me and winter don’t play well!

I did muster enough courage and bundled up last night to go see the Broadway musical, “Once”. Wow, what a great show! The talent that is in the cast – simply amazing. All of them were singing, acting AND playing the wonderful music. Musicals aren’t something I always get to go to, so it was such a treat to take the time and see the spectacular show.
This got me thinking, how many fans want to see their favorite artists but can’t because they aren’t performing where they are? As a musician, you don’t really have complete control as to where you play, so there are always fans that miss out. What a treat it would be for my client who lives in New York be able to play for his fans in Chicago, in Canada, really anyone in the entire world! But, booking doesn’t always happen, funds aren’t always there and your time isn’t always available.

In today’s world, there are ways to make performances happen anywhere, simply by live streaming.

We all know there is nothing like a live concert, but branching out and doing live streaming makes your followers more aware of your show, your vibe and will get them more excited and more involved in what you are doing, making them an even bigger fan!

Also, if you throw in a Q&A, you nurture their need for immediate interaction, something very important in today’s social media society. Gone are the days of the ‘we’ll get back to you in 24-48 hours’.

Online tools and platforms, most of them being free, are out there making it very easy for your fans to tune in, and more importantly, very easy for you to set up and manage!

Imagine, opening up your laptop in your living room, grabbing your instrument and logging on to play 30 minutes of new tunes and to answer questions from your fans while earning a few extra bucks if you wanted…and you didn’t have to lug your equipment on a bus or plane or have to spend dollars on a hotel.

Interested? Here are my recommendations to get you started in the world of online live streaming your intimate shows. I only went for free companies and I’ve tested out each of these platforms so you are getting REAL reviews here! There’s some good info here you won’t find anywhere else, so check it out! (Too small? Click here)

My choice?

In testing and comparing, my choice for a live stream concert and Q&A platform would be Concert Window. I love the ease of use, it was built to stream concerts specifically and it’s all online so no downloading of programs on your computer. However, I know some musicians would find it hard to give up the fact that it doesn’t record and archive the video. I would have to say that I think it gives the event more of an exclusivity – giving more incentive for fans to watch. They won’t be able to see this at any other time (which is ah ha!, similar to a live concert experience!).

It’s such an intimate and exclusive performance that there’s not reason why your fans wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to see you play from anywhere in the world.

You can do anything you want with your set, so get creative!

– Host a live 30 minute Q&A (yes, you can charge for this).

– Preview some songs for a new album release.

– Play and then also teach fans to play one of your songs.

– Why not turn to your followers and ask them what they’d like to see for more ideas.

I highly recommend whichever platform you do use that you test it out in advance. If you are planning a huge event, like a launch, be sure to start testing out these platforms at least two weeks in advance. You want to be able to be comfortable with the technology so you can sit back and enjoy playing for your fans!

Cheers to opening your world to your fans!

5 Things I learned on the road.

Wow, what a month it has been. I got home last Thursday evening, exhausted, worn out but genuinely sad to have the tour end. I spent the next day catching up with mail ( a pile was waiting for me), with the boy who treated me to a great meal, and with a good night’s sleep! I didn’t know how tired I was! Ha!I hope you have enjoyed my photos and stories while on the road – what I did share was only the sprinkles on the sundae to say the least. I learned so much about musicians, touring, concerts and myself. Today, I want to share with you the things that stuck with me – the 5 things I learned while on the road.

1) Pack light.
I consider myself good at packing just enough for any trip. For a 3 week trip, I packed enough for each day. Just a few days in my trip, I realized I could have probably brough only HALF of what I did. Why? A big reason is because most of the venues had laundry facilities. With load in times 4 hours before a show and have a few extra hours before (and during) the show, I could have easily done a couple loads of laundry. Some of the hotels also offered laundry facilities, but most of the band waited to grab a convenient free wash at a venue – something that was new to me!

2) Research hotel / venue ahead of time.
For this tour, I was navigating a bus driver to places neither of us have been too. You’d think you could assume each venue and hotel would have bus parking, right? Wrong. I learned very quickly that you need to research where you will be ahead of time and find out exactly where the bus or vehicle of choice should be parked. When arriving in Evans, GA, we couldn’t find a sign for the event space that was apparently in a very small parking lot – FYI, HELL for a big tour bus. I was talking on the phone to a guy not giving clear instructions and trying to voice that to a frustrated bus driver who had just scraped the side of the bus by a tree in this tight parking lot. Turns out, the venue was right behind us IN THE LIBRARY (which had maybe 3-4 signs up). If I had asked or researched this ahead of time and known the venue was in the library, I would have saved minutes of frustration and the driver $100s of repair for his bus. Consider that lesson learned.

3) Get familiar with the space and staff.
5 minutes before arrival, I would call up the presenter and make sure they could meet me by the door. Once the bus stopped, I hopped off and greeted the presenter right away and ask for a tour of the space. “Show me the green room, show me the dressing rooms, show me the stage, show me the front of house, show me where the bathrooms are!” I learned to do this after the first few gigs and once I started, the days got easier knowing where everything was right away – because the band will ask YOU where everything is. Even if you are doing it on your own, get familiar with the space as soon as you can. The next thing? Shake hands with everyone on staff and introduce yourself with a smile. You want to be able to ask favors from these guys for the next few hours- whether its a run to CVS for a case of water or help with loading up the van after the show – and stay on their good side. Giving your CD or a piece of merchandise as a thank you also helps. Leave them on a good note.

4) Treat the band (or yourself) once in a while.
With this tour, I got caught up with making sure where everyone was, checking the itinerary every other 30 minutes, running through what I need to do the next morning, worrying if the driver knows where we’re going…it can get overwhelming. But, the sound engineer (and experienced tour manager) on the tour reminded me that if you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right. The band is away from friends, family, loved ones and away from their homes. Treat them once in a while. I found a late night pizza after the show delivered to the bus or a bottle of champagne for our last night all together did the trick. Remember that behind the planning and logistics, these are still people and they need to relax and enjoy their time on the road!

5) It’s all about problem solving and staying calm.
A heavy message I learned while being on the road managing 8 other people’s time, is that emotions have to be left at the door with any problems that WILL come your way. And you have to stay calm about it. This tour single handedly taught me that things will be okay and it built my strength and ability to stay calm & problem solve. For example, there was a last minute decision that the lead wanted to come out after the show and speak on music education (he authored his own string teaching method) and then sign CDs, I knew I had to step up and contact presenters as soon as possible to discuss the game plan. When we saw that getting our own mic/speaker to set up in every lobby wasn’t going to work (Guitar Center’s don’t exist everywhere, by the way), I had to chat with every presenter and discuss if the plan would be better carried out on stage, in the lobby, and who would take him to where he needs to go. I could have easily gotten overwhelmed or frustrated when things weren’t exactly how we envisioned, but you learn to work with what you have in order to make the show go on!

I could write pages and pages of my experience and what I learned, but I will leave you with what I can fit in this post.
I can happily say, I’m ready to tackle touring in the future and be more prepared than ever before! What tours are coming up in 2014? Can I come?

Here’s to the next adventure,
Fiona Z