Is touring the US too expensive?

[Matt Stevens]

As a British musician who spends a good part of his life touring, I can say absolutely that touring the US is nigh on impossible.
I think in terms of Knifeworld, which is an 8-piece band, it is actually impossible.
Admittedly Knifeworld has a 'selective appeal', nonetheless we manage to get around the UK fairly regularly and occasionally Europe without making a loss.

The only way Guapo was able to tour the US in 2005 was due to our NEARfest booking.
NEARfest had a charitable status which meant we all received visa waivers. Our choice was to play NEARfest as a one-off and come back with a small amount of money each or take advantage of the opportunity by doing a tour (illegally)with Zombi.
We all opted for the latter. The gigs were pretty well attended and the tour was massive fun. Pretty much every night we had to sleep on floors but doing it with Zombi who had experience of that circuit meant we kept costs to a minimum and didn't make too many stupid financial mistakes.

I can't see that ever being possible again, realistically, which is a shame.

It's frustrating because every time I post forthcoming tour dates on Facebook with various bands, almost without exception someone(s) posts "Come to the US', like it was something we were deliberately choosing not to do.,

I can only echo Kavus. Fierce And The Dead get asked when we're coming but unless we win the lottery it's looking very unlikely. I'd love to do it. But for the moment the focus is the UK/Europe.

[Kavus Torabi]

Hey Ian. That comment wasn't aimed at you! Having seen Guapo in France I didn't have you down as an offender!
That said, I'd love to get our collective asses Stateside.
All of them.

[Adm.Kirk]

I remember an interview from a couple of years ago with Ian Gillan. He was asked why Purple doesn't come to the U.S. more often and he said that the audiences were too small. While Purple could sell out 15,000 seaters in South America, Europe and Asia they couldn't get anywhere near those numbers in the U.S. So if visa problems don't bite you on the backside, the apathy of U.S audiences will.

Bill

[Trane]

I think the main problem is size and distances.

For a European band its quite a fet to tour the US. For example Germany is about the size of Montana.
So if you are used to tour Germany you would not have any idea how to tour the US.

I can't picture touring Europe being less expensive than North Am in terms of costs and logistics.... Sure, Europe is more densely populated ** (so travelling between gigs might be shorter... If the tour is well organized), but transport costs are that much more expensive over here than in the US

Now I have no ideas on how tough and expensive are US visas and temporary work permits (furthermore , if you have to double up with Canada)






** Though this is debatable too, because the North East: from Boston to Detroit (or even Chicago) and Toronto/Montreal to Washington, the numbers are probably equivalent to European figures

[Guitarplyrjvb]

Thought of this thread when I saw the Martin Barre US tour thread.

Martin Barre would seem to be type of person who might be priced out of this, based on the responses to this thread. He has nowhere near the name recognition of Ian Anderson, and the small venues he's been playing would affirm this. Also unlike, say, Steve Hackett, Barre does not have long and/or established history of solo US tours to serve as precedent for economic viability.

Doesn't Martin Barre live in the US now? I thought he married an American?

[Jay G]

I sometimes wonder about bands that are able to tour here regularly, like Renaissance, but I guess Annie Haslam lives in the US now, doesn't she. And when Marillion used to do a lot of shows here Ian Mosley was living in Florida. I think that's the key. Kavus, move to the US!

Yes, Annie lives in New Hope PA.

[Facelift]

Doesn't Martin Barre live in the US now? I thought he married an American?

Oh, really? I didn't even know. The Tull guys seemed so "English" that it never occurred to me that any of them would want to live in the US full time.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

^^ I think I'm probably wrong about that. I thought I'd heard it years ago in an interview. Apparently Martin's wife and his son's wife are both from Mississippi. I think they now live in Britain.

[BravadoNJ]

Billy Joel came up with the best answer...... he plays Madison Square Garden once or twice a month.
instead of going to the fans- the fans come to him.

[SteveSly]

Billy Joel came up with the best answer...... he plays Madison Square Garden once or twice a month.
instead of going to the fans- the fans come to him.

Artists / bands have been doing that in Vegas for years. Elvis was one of the first. For country artists Branson Missouri is kind of the same deal.

[GuitarGeek]

Artists / bands have been doing that in Vegas for years. Elvis was one of the first. For country artists Branson Missouri is kind of the same deal.

Elvis was one of the first "rock n roll" artists to do it, but people like Frank Sinatra had been doing it for years before him.

Branson features more than just country artists. I understand there's a lot of sort of MOR type pop singers and jazz musicians and even comedians who do shows there.

I'm not sure if he's still doing it, but some friends of mine who used to live in St Louis told me that Chuck Berry does a concert once a month in a club he owns there.

[Matt Stevens]

Elvis was one of the first "rock n roll" artists to do it, but people like Frank Sinatra had been doing it for years before him.

Branson features more than just country artists. I understand there's a lot of sort of MOR type pop singers and jazz musicians and even comedians who do shows there.

I'm not sure if he's still doing it, but some friends of mine who used to live in St Louis told me that Chuck Berry does a concert once a month in a club he owns there.

Because we don't tour internationally we've had people come from Japan, Ireland, Netherlands and the US to see us - mostly at festivals but because they can see a load of their favourites in one swoop. I think the event/festival type gig is probably the future and just a few gigs a year. I mean i'd love to tour loads but i don't think it's realistic for niche bands.

[bRETT]

Oh, really? I didn't even know. The Tull guys seemed so "English" that it never occurred to me that any of them would want to live in the US full time.

Glenn Cornick did (in Hawaii).

[GuitarGeek]

Because we don't tour internationally we've had people come from Japan, Ireland, Netherlands and the US to see us - mostly at festivals but because they can see a load of their favourites in one swoop. I think the event/festival type gig is probably the future and just a few gigs a year. I mean i'd love to tour loads but i don't think it's realistic for niche bands.

Yeha, that does seem to be the way forward, I guess. It stinks if you're one of the fans who can get out to one of those few shows, but there's likely to be no better solutions to the matter.

[Zonefish]

like Renaissance, but I guess Annie Haslam lives in the US now, doesn't she.

But the tour consists of a small handful of dates that don't often expand beyond driving distance from PA. I have been patiently waiting for a return to the west coast since 1983 (they cancelled those dates). But snark aside, I get that it is cost prohibitive to tour especially beyond the population clusters of the Mid Atlantic unless you have significant financial resources. You would think that someone might be able to arrange for a live pay per view podcast of a local small club performance. It's not a perfect solution, but it might expand attendance from under served portions of the States (or Europe and South America for that matter). I know it is not the same as the visceral experience as being there, but might be more cost effective than a DVD release. Now someone with more insight might be able to shed light on technical, legal, licensing and logistic issues with the proposal (like YouTube piracy!), but it also could be a way to see your favorite semi-obscure band play live. Am I living in a delusional state?