in regards to the confusion as to if i will be at the DeLuna Fest or in Los Angeles on the 21st: HAVE PATIENCE. a tour is malleable thing. i am not keeping anything from you…it is all getting worked out. take three deep breaths and trust that it is. Chances are, i will play both DeLuna and LA…but there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make all these puzzle pieces fall into place. HAVE PATIENCE.
Now, to the people making the “UGH! HOW COULD YOU NOT COME TO _______ ON THIS TOUR?!” posts on all my tour announcements, i have the same answers as always: HAVE PATIENCE. more dates are being added, to a tour, that as the support act, i have NO CONTROL OVER THE ROUTING OF. Additionally, i tour A LOT, way more than most bands, and in places most bands wouldn’t even be able to point out on a map. i try to play EVERYWHERE. In fact, i play damn near anywhere people will get me a show…which brings be to a critical point:
It doesn’t matter where you live, what state, what country, what planet you want me to play on, i have played over 1,000 shows and not ONE of them was set up because someone posted “UGH! why aren’t you coming to _______ ON THIS TOUR?!” on my facebook page. However, many of those 1,000 shows (i would wager near half) were set up because someone said, “If i set up a show for you in _______ on this tour, will you come play?”. To which, i almost always answer “Yes!”, because as previously established…i play everywhere i can.
Booking a tour is a really long and exhausting process, involving literally thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls between dozens of people for months and months and months on end. You start with this dream route, where you are playing every city, and every amazing venue, but as the tour comes together, that dream route is cut up and reshaped around so many variables and tough choices, so many battles won and lost, till you get your FINAL tour route. It is never what you dreamed it would be, but it is still a really great feeling to have it all cobbled together after all that work. When you see the final route, it is THRILLING! Partly, because so much leg work has been put in by my team to get to that fucker finished…but also because i just love playing shows and hanging out with all of you. The final route is almost like looking at month long party schedule…a month long party you spent months planning, and are throwing for all of your friends.
However, almost 10 years into touring, posting a tour is starting to fill me (and literally every single one of my musician friends) with a cynical dread. So many people worked so hard, for so many under paid hours, to make this huge thing come together, and when we share a tour with you guys…it is met with complaints and outrage. “HOW COULD YOU NOT COME TO _______ ON THIS TOUR?!”. I understand you guys are fans, and growing up in Jacksonville, i know all about the feeling of disappointment when you see your a new tour posted by a band you love, only to see that they are passing over your town.
But try to think about how it can be on our end…
I dated this girl once, i was in love with her, in fact. Totally over the moon about her, and one day, on a sunny walk over to her house, i picked a whole fistful of wild flowers to make big bouquet to give her…just because. because i was THAT in love with her. I get a really quality flowers, make a really nice arrangement, and think, “damn…my baby is gonna LOVE this!”. I finish the trip whistlin’ and walkin’ like i got winning lotto ticket in my pocket. I get to her house, fix my hair, make some last minute touches on the bouquet and ring the door bell…ready to make her day. When i hold the flowers out and kiss her on the cheek, she frowns, glowering at the fruits of my labor and says, “there are purple flowers in there…i HATE purple”.
that is a DIRECT quote.
Can you imagine how shitty that made me feel? All i wanted to do was to make her happy, went out of my way to do something nice, just for her, and she just tore all that apart with nine little words. nine litte words that were especially cutting to me, because I am clolorblind, a fact that she was well aware of. i couldn’t tell you if a flower was purple or not, even if you put a gun to my head. I just made the prettiest damn hobo bouquet i could with the little i had…just to see her smile. Boy, did that backfire…
As i was writing this post, i was wracking my brain, trying to think of some universal analogue i could use to help people understand the frustration myself and other musicians face in regards to the sea of complaints we swim against when posting a new tour…but that story about my ex came to mind and it just felt too perfect. I am not Radiohead, i can’t just call the mayor of your town and demand a show, shows happen in towns not because i want them to, but because someone in that town wants to set up a show for me. I understand your frustration, but if you really want us to play in your town, get us a club to play in, and a crowd to watch us. That may seem impossible…but that is literally how i built my career. Hundreds of perfect strangers who wanted a show to happen so bad, they didn’t just complain on facebook, they took action and made a show happen. I owe a great deal of my life to those kinds of people.
For an indie musician like myself and many others, booking a tour is a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work, done by a lot of people…all for you. I know when i show up at your door with a fistful of flowers, it ain’t always the best bouquet you ever seen, it might not have the lilies you love…but try to be understanding. i ain’t no florist, i am just a self taught, color blind, southerner trying to put something together as best as i can…all to see you smile.
