Well, I've been home for almost a week now from my "What's All That Jazz About?" east coast tour and, besides coming back in desperate need of some rest, I have also come back with some lessons from the road. The thing is, what I learned may seem like common sense but it's amazing how even experienced people can take certain things for granted ,or even just get so wrapped up in other things that the obvious becomes not so obvious.
However, before I go into any real details, I would like to first state that the tour was a big success for me. I managed to turn some new people on to me and what I do, I significantly increased my mailing list, I have laid down solid ground work for doing more in the markets I visited, and I've groomed a number of good connections that are willing to become references for me when I begin putting together tours for the north east and also the west coast.
Regarding the lessons I have learned...let me start with a video I took using the camera on my phone. Most of the lessons I learned stem from one particular incident that I mentioned in the video:
However, before I go into any real details, I would like to first state that the tour was a big success for me. I managed to turn some new people on to me and what I do, I significantly increased my mailing list, I have laid down solid ground work for doing more in the markets I visited, and I've groomed a number of good connections that are willing to become references for me when I begin putting together tours for the north east and also the west coast.
Regarding the lessons I have learned...let me start with a video I took using the camera on my phone. Most of the lessons I learned stem from one particular incident that I mentioned in the video:
So, loosing my wallet was the root for a few of the lessons I learned. Here we go:
Lesson #1) - Do not wear attire that has no pockets!
For the first couple of days I stayed at the home of some older cousins I have in Virginia. Their son is the only male cousin in my entire family that is close to my age. On day two, he stopped by to take me out to lunch. In my excitement to hang out with him, I threw on a pair of shorts that didn't have any pockets because they were they closest thing to me. I figured I'd just hold the wallet. From there you can figure out the rest.
Dumb? Yep! Have I done it previously? Yep! Will I ever do it again? Nope!
Lesson #2) - Keep your cash in more than one place when traveling.
Now, this is something that I actually tend to do. But, for whatever reason, this particular time every cent I had on me was in my wallet...a little over $300 in cash. This was really for tolls and an emergency, because all of my fuel, food, and hotel expenses were coming out of my business debit card so I could keep track of everything in an easy fashion for income tax purposes.
In any case, had I had some of the money in a compartment in my rented car, some of it on my person (in a pocket!), and some of it in my wallet, I would not have lost the entire amount.
Lesson #3) - If you are a traveling musician, and especially if you're traveling alone, be sure to have some kind of support structure back home in case of an emergency.
For me, this is easy. My wife and my mother are the two people that I rely on most when I'm traveling by myself. They both always receive my itinerary so that they know where I'll be and when, they both keep copies of things link my social security card, photo copies of my driver's license, etc. Also, I have my wife's name on my business checking account. That way, should I ever loose my debit card or any credit cards while on the road, she can withdraw money for me from my music business account and wire it to me via credit union or Walmart moneygram. Walmart moneygrams arrive much faster than credit union.
So, when I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to find my wallet, I had my mother fax me a photo copy of my driver's license, my wife sent me a Walmart moneygram, and I immediately filed a police report so that, if I were to get pulled over for any reason, they could identify me by the case report number. In this way, I at least had some kind of means of proving my identity and I also had the cash I would need to get fuel, food, hotel rooms, and so on.
Lesson #4) - It doesn't matter how quickly you think you can make it somewhere, leave EXTRA early!
This is another thing that I normally do. It's a good thing too, because on the leg of the tour where I had to travel from Greenville, South Carolina, to Maryville, Tennessee, I encountered a road closing on interstate 40 because of a huge rock slide that had covered the highway. There were two detours offered. Both would eventually get me to the Knoxville region (Maryville is a suburb of Knoxville) so I choose the one that I figured was the shortest. After a little more than a half hour of driving, I came up to another road closing. They crew there told me that they had just closed the road an hour previous because of another rock slide! They told me that from there I would have no easy route to get to Knoxville, so I would have to turn around. I turned around and went back to the spot of the original rockslide that I had to detour at.
This time, instead of following the second detour sign, I let my temper get the better of me and I decided to use my GPS to find myself a faster route around the rock slide and to my destination. The only problem was that after following the GPS for about 30 minutes I ended up on a dirt road that was obviously going to take me straight to the front door of somebody's ranch! Once again I turned around.
Finally, I decided to follow the second detour that was listed at the original rock slide. It did indeed take me to my destination, but it did so by bringing me an hour and 45 minutes out of my way, where as if I could have stayed on interstate 40 I could have been there in only about 30 minutes or so! All said and done, I had added nearly 4 hours to my trip! However, because I left super early that day, I actually arrived at the venue with about 30 minutes to spare. I was somehow able to get set up very quickly (and this particular venue required that I used every piece of equipment I had brought with me from home) and I started the program only 5 minutes late!
So anyway, those are the 4 most valuable lessons that I learned while on this particular tour and I hope some other musicians, and maybe even some regular folks out there, may be able to benefit from them. In closing, here are the two other videos that I shot during the tour:
In any case, had I had some of the money in a compartment in my rented car, some of it on my person (in a pocket!), and some of it in my wallet, I would not have lost the entire amount.
Lesson #3) - If you are a traveling musician, and especially if you're traveling alone, be sure to have some kind of support structure back home in case of an emergency.
For me, this is easy. My wife and my mother are the two people that I rely on most when I'm traveling by myself. They both always receive my itinerary so that they know where I'll be and when, they both keep copies of things link my social security card, photo copies of my driver's license, etc. Also, I have my wife's name on my business checking account. That way, should I ever loose my debit card or any credit cards while on the road, she can withdraw money for me from my music business account and wire it to me via credit union or Walmart moneygram. Walmart moneygrams arrive much faster than credit union.
So, when I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to find my wallet, I had my mother fax me a photo copy of my driver's license, my wife sent me a Walmart moneygram, and I immediately filed a police report so that, if I were to get pulled over for any reason, they could identify me by the case report number. In this way, I at least had some kind of means of proving my identity and I also had the cash I would need to get fuel, food, hotel rooms, and so on.
Lesson #4) - It doesn't matter how quickly you think you can make it somewhere, leave EXTRA early!
This is another thing that I normally do. It's a good thing too, because on the leg of the tour where I had to travel from Greenville, South Carolina, to Maryville, Tennessee, I encountered a road closing on interstate 40 because of a huge rock slide that had covered the highway. There were two detours offered. Both would eventually get me to the Knoxville region (Maryville is a suburb of Knoxville) so I choose the one that I figured was the shortest. After a little more than a half hour of driving, I came up to another road closing. They crew there told me that they had just closed the road an hour previous because of another rock slide! They told me that from there I would have no easy route to get to Knoxville, so I would have to turn around. I turned around and went back to the spot of the original rockslide that I had to detour at.
This time, instead of following the second detour sign, I let my temper get the better of me and I decided to use my GPS to find myself a faster route around the rock slide and to my destination. The only problem was that after following the GPS for about 30 minutes I ended up on a dirt road that was obviously going to take me straight to the front door of somebody's ranch! Once again I turned around.
Finally, I decided to follow the second detour that was listed at the original rock slide. It did indeed take me to my destination, but it did so by bringing me an hour and 45 minutes out of my way, where as if I could have stayed on interstate 40 I could have been there in only about 30 minutes or so! All said and done, I had added nearly 4 hours to my trip! However, because I left super early that day, I actually arrived at the venue with about 30 minutes to spare. I was somehow able to get set up very quickly (and this particular venue required that I used every piece of equipment I had brought with me from home) and I started the program only 5 minutes late!
So anyway, those are the 4 most valuable lessons that I learned while on this particular tour and I hope some other musicians, and maybe even some regular folks out there, may be able to benefit from them. In closing, here are the two other videos that I shot during the tour:
