Our band Rebel Storm based recently returned from our second tour of Europe. I know that I've read similar accounts on here in the past, and found them interesting and helpful. I thought I'd relate some of our experiences, and hopefully you'll find something helpful as well.

First off, let me state that both our tours were "self-financed", and if you can avoid this approach, do so at all costs! Touring in Europe is EXPENSIVE! Our recent tour consisted of 19 shows, over 31 days. The vast majority of those shows were in smaller, club-type venues. While this is the best way to closely interact with the crowd, these smaller venues are limited in what they can pay, and therefore, the bottom line for the band isn't always that good. Doing fewer, but larger venues that have the ability to pay better, is probably the best bet financially, and it's one of the approaches we'll be taking in 2004.

Electricity Issues
Once you've committed to a European tour, there are several critical issues you'll need to resolve before you get on the plane. First is equipment. Remember, Europe operates on a different voltage system (220V) than we do, and you're gear is NOT compatible. You have two solutions to this problem. One, is to supply yourself with the appropriate adapters, and take you're gear with you (This is probably the worst scenario, due to shipping costs, wear & tear, etc). The second option is to borrow or rent European equipment, and pick it up when you get there. Borrowing is less costly, but has certain risks associated with it.

Equipment Issues
In 2002, we made arrangements with the bands we were playing with, to use their various backlines. This allowed us to bring just our guitars, stick bags, and other small items. It minimized our set-up time at the shows, and also what we had to haul around with us. This scenario worked fairly well, except that we were never quite sure exactly what kind of gear we'd be playing on! One night, our keyboardist was stuck with a "consumer-grade", electronic keyboard, complete with "Rumba" and "Salsa beat" settings! But, you make do, and put on the best show possible…the crowds didn't seem to notice the equipment deficiencies.

On our 2003 tour, we made arrangements up front, with our friends from the German band FLATMAN, that we would use their backline for the entire tour. Thankfully, this gave us a consistent quality of backline. After the first few shows, we had everything "dialed in", and were able to maintain a higher quality to our sound and performance for the entire run of the tour. However, it presented us with a different problem…hauling all that gear from show to show!

Hauling Options
In 2002, we rented several small vehicles, and while we saved on gas, which is extremely expensive, space was cramped, but all we had to move around was a few guitars, our suitcases, and ourselves. In 2003 it was a different situation all together! We still had the suitcases, and guitars, but this time we also had amps, drums, keyboards, speakers, mixing boards, power, lights, drum risers, etc. All the trappings of a traveling show! This meant that we needed a larger vehicle. So, we decided to rent a bus. The ability to keep all the equipment, and the entire band in one vehicle, and move it all together, was a huge benefit. While the rental costs of the single bus in 2003, was about the same as two vehicles in 2002, the cost of fuel was higher in 2003, and the bus consumed more fuel per kilometer, than the two smaller vehicles combined. This meant more expense, and less profit.

Once you have all these logistics worked out though, the trip itself is an experience you'll never forget! We refer to it as "sensory overload fueled by sleep deprivation"! The sights, the sounds, the food, and the people...they're all great! If possible, budget yourself some time in the schedule to do some sightseeing. You won't regret it.

Your Audience
The smaller, club venues, which are a bit easier to book than the large, concert shows, have a tendency to be located outside the bigger cities, in the rural countryside. This is where you meet some of the warmest, most genuine people there are! It doesn't matter what country you are in either. In 2003, we did shows in The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. We played for everyone from farmers, to factory workers, and hippies, to Hell's Angels! We didn't meet anyone that wasn't friendly to talk to, or enthusiastic about the music.

Language Barrier
Speaking of talking, you should be prepared to deal with some language barriers. While many people in the larger cities speak English, it is not so common in the countryside. Northern and eastern Europe is less "English-speaking" than southern and western Europe. Our advice? Try to learn some of the language! At least a few basics, like "please", "thank you", "hello", "good-bye", "excuse me" and "where is the toilet?" If you do at least THAT much, the Europeans who can speak English, will be much more likely to do so, and in most cases, will be happy to "practice" their English with you!

Staying Out of Jail
Here's a key point to remember. The United States Constitution does NOT follow you overseas! What is legal and acceptable in the USA, may not be so in France, or Italy, or wherever, and vice versa. Even though most of the borders between the European countries are open now, the laws are not universal. For example, driving at the speed of light may be acceptable in Germany, but it certainly is NOT in The Netherlands, and getting caught violating any law could be costly! Keep your passport handy, and obey the laws. You'll have a great time!

But How Do You Get a European Gig?
Now…something has to happen, in order to prompt you to want to tour in Europe. In our case, Rebel Storm was selling CD's in Europe faster than we could send them over! We realized that we had quite a fan base over there, and like many artists before us, who couldn't get arrested in their own home towns, figured that maybe Europe would be the right place for us to make a name for ourselves. You're probably thinking, "That's just great and all…but how the hell do I book some shows over there"? Well, it's not the hardest thing in the world, but it does require a certain degree of detective work, and persistence, as well as a bit of luck.

First of all, I'm going to be a bit cryptic here, because many of the processes, and the venue/contact information used, are things that have been discovered, developed, and fine-tuned by professionals in the Booking industry, and to give away their hard-earned information would be like taking $$ from their pockets, and that wouldn't be good! Besides, if I gave up those confidences, they may elect not to work with Rebel Storm anymore, and that wouldn't be good either! However, there are a few tips I can share with you.

Many of the smaller venues in Europe maintain websites, or are listed on websites that carry general "entertainment news". Be prepared again, for the language barrier to be a problem. When you contact these venues, many times, you are dealing directly with the venue owner/manager, and command of the English language may not be one of their strong suits. In many cases, these venues will request a Press Kit or Promo Pack, and most often, they will request one of your CD's. They'll want to listen to your stuff first, before they talk about booking, and you'll have to be persistent in checking back with them to make sure they've received and listened to your stuff.

Honesty is always the best policy, and we found that telling the venues up front, that you are investigating a possible tour of Europe, and are looking for potential shows, is the best way to break the ice. This allows the venue to reply with something like "If you come to Uzbekistan, we'll book you a show". With that ammunition in hand, you can now approach other venues with the opener, "We've got tentative commitments from XXX club and YYY club, and wanted to book some other shows in the area, so we're contacting you, before the schedule fills up." Now, the venue thinks, "Hmm…maybe I better book these guys". When they do, you can go back to the original venue, and get solid a commitment. You're kind of playing one against the other, but you're really not lying. Getting that first booking is the hardest, but once you have it, the rest come a bit easier.

Have a supply of preprinted Press Kits and/or Promo Packs, and CD's, to send to potential venues and booking agents. Be prepared to send out hundreds of these Promo Packs, and to receive responses to a fairly small percentage of them. However, when you DO get a response, jump on it! Even a hint of interest is worth investigating, and often, what seems like minimal interest at first, can turn into multiple booked gigs down the road!

Create an overall plan. Decide approximately when you want to do your first show, and your last show, and then start filling the dates in between. This isn't rocket science, but given the fact that you'll need to purchase round-trip airline tickets as far in advance as possible, to get a decent fare, you'll need to have the "fly-in" & "fly-out" dates defined ASAP! On our most recent tour, we committed to a final show date of 25 October, in Switzerland. We had a show booked on 18 October in France, and had hopes of filling the dates in between the 18th and the 25th. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and we spent a week in Europe between shows, at our own expense! Had we known early enough that we wouldn't fill those dates, we might have elected to cancel the 25 October show. But, we needed to buy tickets, and the 25 October show was one of the first shows we booked, so we stuck with it.

Of course, the best way to accomplish the booking task is to work with a professional. We had invaluable help on both our tours, and can recommend some highly competent people! For the 2003 tour, we used a two-pronged approach. We had a domestic booking agent, who had the overall responsibility for filling the schedule. This was someone we could communicate with regularly, and with no language barrier. We also used a booker who was German, and centrally located in Europe. His English was good, so we could communicate with him without too much difficulty, and of course, he didn't have as many problems with the language and cultural barriers within Europe. Our German contact also assisted with the tour bus rental, and the arrangements for the use of Flatman's backline.

All of us have made worldwide contacts via the Internet. When attempting to book a European tour, you might want to contact some Internet acquaintances, and see if they can connect you with someone "in-country", to help you out. There's no substitute for a good local, who will work with you! Just be sure to treat them right, and follow through with your commitments, and you'll probably make a life-long friend and business partner in the process.

Speaking of friends and business partners, Rebel Storm wants to thank Jeanne Comaskey at BJMacanudo Productions, and Karl-Heinz Ramming of Flatman, for all their help in setting up both our European tours. We couldn't have doe it without them!

If you are interested, a more detailed diary of our 2003 European Tour, along with pictures, are available on our website at www.rebelstorm.com

Play on…
-Big D
bigd - @ - rebelstorm.com (broken out to avoid spam) www.rebelstorm.com www.rebelstorm.com/Store.htm