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Fly Dates??
#1
Hey guys! I've been reading your threads and everybody has such great ideas!

I am originally from the East Coast but I now live in California. I am getting a lot of host offers from the East and West Coast but not enough nationwide yet to string a whole national tour where we drive across the country yet.

I guess my question is.... Is it worth it to do a tour that you initially have to fly too? How many shows do you think would make it worth the cost of flights and renting a car?

Also I see the PA that Shanon uses is small what what about all your other gear does any body know any flight solutions to flying with a keyboard stand (I have a flight case for my keyboard but the stand and mic stand(s) don't fit inside.)
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#2
(22 Jan 2015, 04:09 PM)LindseyHarper Wrote: Also I see the PA that Shannon uses is small what what about all your other gear does any body know any flight solutions to flying with a keyboard stand (I have a flight case for my keyboard but the stand and mic stand(s) don't fit inside.)

Hey Lindsey! Great thread. Re the stand: if it were me, I would just go to a music store near your destination upon your arrival and buy one. The cheap ones are $25 at Guitar Center. Sell three CDs and it's paid for. Then you can give it away at the end of the fly dates. Far easier than trying to figure out how to deal with one on a plane.

Glad you're here!
--
jamie hill
shannon's husband & partner in crime
co-inventor of the house concert model & co-author of the book
which is why i reply so often on here
i produce, mix, & master records
you can hear my work at  deptofenergymgmt.com/work
Tacoma, WA, USA
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#3
(22 Jan 2015, 04:09 PM)LindseyHarper Wrote: Is it worth it to do a tour that you initially have to fly too? How many shows do you think would make it worth the cost of flights and renting a car?
Hi Lindsey! Super glad you're here. I'm in the process of writing a whole new section for the house concert book (update coming in late Feb 2015!) about the ins and outs of booking a whole tour. This is one of the questions I'll be talking about in the update.

But, my suggestion on the east coast / west coast / fly date scenario is this:
1) Do a budget for how much you think it would cost you to fly (plane tickets, extra baggage fees, any equipment rental or purchases once you get there, car rental, hotels, food, gas, etc).

2) Do a budget for how much you think it would cost you to drive (gas, hotels, food, etc). If you were to dead head drive for 3 or 4 days you could get to the east coast from the west coast, and you'd be able to bring all your own equipment with you. If you have the time to spare, this option might actually save you money.

3) Estimate how much you think you can earn per house concert, multiply that by the number of offers you have from potential hosts, and see if it covers your budget.

My suggestion is that even if you don't make an actual profit, but only cover your costs the first time traveling out there, it's probably worth doing it.

In my experience, our first house concert tour leg to the east coast didn't actually make more than our costs were, but we were able to subsidize it with some of the more profitable shows we had in the west. And by getting to the east coast that first time, we planted seeds for future hosts. On our next trip to the east coast, we had more house concert hosts than the first trip out, and we definitely made a profit out there. 
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