Gear Repair
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, it’s...
diy-touring
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Documenting 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...
AF 2018 IN REVIEW: Hardest 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....
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Homes 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...
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Touring Across the Pond
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...
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: DIY 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...
AF 2017 IN REVIEW: Hardest 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...
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Booking 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...
CHECK THE SPREADSHEET: Attitude 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...