Available dates

I've posted a listing of the dates when I'm available for shows/bookings on a per city basis: http://www.brockwaybiggs.com/availabledates.html

Overwhelmed...

Well, it's less than 4 weeks until I depart on this 100-day road trip! I'm pretty overwhelmed by everything I still need to do. Places to crash, CBC radio opportunities, maps, contact printouts, shows (i need shows!), sponsors, banners, advertisements, merchandise orders, ... it goes on & on!

Plus I've been wanting to get time in with friends before I go... but I've been having to ignore some folks and I feel bad, but they understand. Hopefully folks can make it out to a couple local shows to say 'bye' before I leave.

I've locked down some sponsors, which is great. You'll all find out who in the newsletter i've got scheduled to go out Monday, March 31st at 10 am. I'm still working on more sponsors though...

The vehicle i'm taking across canada is still buried in snow, which has me a bit nervous.

My Oilers have put together a run that has them just barely hanging on... which means I'm having to put in face time on the tv... The Red Sox play a 6 am season opener. life is crazy!!

Bottom line is that I can't wait to hit the road... do music full time... and catch up with tons of friends, fans and meets folks I only know through email :)

Tour Planning

Here's a pic of the plotting of the trek taken in late February!

Some Gear

So I need some things for my trek... I went out last night to price some things and managed to catch some amazing deals at Canadian Tire. I'll be travelling with a cooler, cellphone, iPod, lamp, fan (since I don't have A/C), camera and needing to plug things in from time-to-time... here's my solutions thanks to Canadian Tire:

1. Motomaster Eliminator 300A PowerBox $129.99
On Sale for $79.99
This is a key pickup for being on the road and living out of a van... potentially for days without electrical access when in the National Parks!

2. Eliminator Solar Panel, 1.8 Watt $29.99
On sale for $12.99

3. Oscillating Auto Fan $22.99
On sale for $9.99

4. 1 million candle spotlight Rechargeable $29.99
On sale for $8.91

When the most expensive things in my living room are a Djembe drum and the needle for my record player, you know I love these deals!! :)

Also, Long & McQuade can't get this amp in Roland Micro Cube-W Portable Battery/AC Amp, so instead I'm considering Traynor TVM-10 which runs for $145.

Tour Resources & Steps

I got a question today "i'd be interested to know exactly what resources you are using for such a large endevour." So I thought I'd answer on the blog.

I applied for grants. They said it was too much work for one person, so no funding. Fortunately I've been saving for 3 years to do this trip. It's been a long time dream of mine. I managed to convince my work to let me have the time off. Without grants, I'm forced to do all the planning myself... But I've been performing for 8 years now, so I've also built up a lot of contacts across the country.

My preference is for radio shows because we've all dealt with shady promoters or shows where only 20 people show up. At the same, I love performing, so I'm gonna invest in two items that'll let me easily go busking, do private parties, in stores, etc:
1. Roland Micro Cube-W Portable Battery/AC Amp
2. SM 58 Microphone
3. An Ipod I can plug into the above.

Here are my steps for preparing for tour:
1. Expect to lose money, but aim to make a profit.
2. Put out a CD and promote it a bit to generate some buzz.
3. Apply for grants and get rejected so that when you do the tour you can say "In your face!" haha.
4. Find a vehicle and insure it and get roadside assist.
5. Be prepared to sleep in your vehicle (so bring tent, sleeping bag, foam padding, water jug, Stackable plastic tote containers, propane stove, mugs)
6. Find a good tool to store contacts & bookings: www.indiebandmanager.com
6(b) (Optional) Write a script to automatically generate an html listing of shows.
7. Plot a trek with dates (mine includes as many National Parks as possible).
8. Contact all hip-hop radio shows that match with those days/cities to try and get something poppin.
9. Contact folks I know in each city for places to crash.
10. For each location (radio show, place to crash), I google the map and copy it to a word document, so it'll be handy when I'm on the road.
11. Lookup information for each National Park, along with maps.
12. Lookup information for ferrys, etc.
13. Generate a skeleton plan of the trek including radio shows. This can be used to attract sponsors.
14. Write a Press Release.
15. Write a Proposal to entice sponsors
16. Write a rider for booking shows.
17. Reach out to all those grants agencies (See step 2), and re-iterate that you're going on tour and inquire if there are any grants that might apply to you.
18. Reach out to sponsors for cash / product for the tour in exchange for promotions.
19. Reach out to folks in different cities to put on live shows to fill in gaps (using the skeleton plan generated in Step 13)
20. Send Posters, Stickers, T-shirts, Cds, Banner to the printers.
21. I recommend you get a laptop with wireless, Rogers has portable internet for $50/month, a decent digital camera is nice too.
22. Take out advertising in a national monthly publication (e.g. Exclaim)
23. 3-4 weeks before each show, reach out to local media for coverage.
24. Handy trinkets: Solar laptop charger, AC to Cigarette lighter adapter, FM Tuner for your iPod, tire pressure gauge.
25. Don't forget: Flashlight, candles & matches, toilet paper, cutlery...
26. Don't be afraid to do some busking. Make a sign that says "Will rap for food" and stand outside a wendys. Little things can save you money.

K, that's all I can think of right now...

Tour Preparations!

Location: Ottawa, ON
So my 3 months off work got approved and I'll be hitting the road April 25th. The cross-Canada tour will last 100 days! crazy!

Last weekend was spent writing a script to automatically generate html listings of all my bookings/events for the cross canada trek. I'm using Indie Band Manager to store all my contacts and bookings.

This past weekend (other than watching a movie and shovelling/snowblowing), I've been contacting folks to fill slots with radio shows and/or find places to crash and/or look up national park info!