Pomplamoose Tour (Part 1: the Salaries)
It’s easier to spend time dissecting Pomplamoose’s tour statistics article than focus on the tragedy of the Michael Brown/ State vs. Darren Wilson case, so I’ll acknowledge this, but continue to distracting myself.
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Yesterday, Jack Conte’s article about his band losing money on tour made major waves: Read it here.
I love Pomplamoose. (I wanted to take my wife Natalie to the Chicago show, but we closed on our house that weekend. I missed going to the Cleveland show, but had my own gig to play.)
I’m a super fan.
Most people are saying positive things about this article, and while I have some minor critiques of the tour expenditures, there have been some misconceptions that are annoying.
A few folks are missing Jack’s main theme and point of his article: That being in a band is about making it every day, by working, by taking on risk. That a creative class is rising up in the music world.
I agree with that 100%.
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Some bands have taken issue with expenses for irrational reasons. They are comparing a DIY, indie punk tour to this tour, which isn’t apples to apples.
Here’s my take on two misconceptions:
1. The band members salaries
Many DIY bands who have never heard of Pomplamoose took issue with the payments to the bandmates.
Pomplamoose is a duo, and they hired professional musicians to join them on the road for 28 days. Pomplamoose’s expense for these bandmates is quite reasonable.
The fact that they took a band on the road is also reasonable. They were playing mostly 400-800 capacity rooms, and they wanted bring an engaging performance. They are commanding decent crowds.
So: $48,098 for salaries and per diems isn’t extreme.
They have four musicians and two crew members. For simplicity, let’s assume everyone got paid the same rate.
$48,098 divided by 6 = $8016.33 for a month of work per member. And maybe rehearsal time, too.
Look at it this way: $8016.33 divided by 24 gigs = $334.01.
Guess what. That’s a typical payment to make as a musician. I make between $200-300 for my Michigan bar gigs before tips and sales.
And these musicians and crew are on the road for 28 days, away from home, families, regular life!
These musicians and crew members were doing this tour for a reasonable payment. They probably had a fun time playing these great gigs, but it’s work. They are hired to do a job. They aren’t part of a band collecting royalties, but hired guns.
So punk bands, and DIY bands, stop saying the bandmates got paid too much. You need to look at this as hiring session players.
Pomplamoose treated their crew as well as they could. I bet Jack and Nataly wished they could have paid everyone more.
Part 2. the hotel costs
Blue Owl Songwriter Finals, December 11
Thursday, December 11, 2014 – Blue Owl Singer-Songwriter Finals!
Hosted by Great Lakes Collective at Midtown Brewing Company
402 S. Washington, Lansing, MI 48933
7-10 PM
In April, I participated in the first round of Great Lake Collective’s singer-songwriter contest, and lo-and-behold, I made the finals!
The winner of the finals gets a $1500 for his or her next recording project. (Is it ok for me to dream? Coincidentally, on December 12, I’m heading to Chicago to start tracking my next music release at Frances Luke Accord’s studio.)
GLC has been about embracing community in #lovelansing since their formation, and I expect this show to be equally about Michigan’s great music scene as much as the competition. The show is open to the public, and the line-up of finalists are talented performers. I’ve seen Adrian and Abbey perform in Lansing, and they are stand-out songwriters. I’m excited to meet Kevin and Frances. Join us for a fun night!
Related show
November 8, 2014 – Fluke Takes (live taping/house concert)
Chicago, IL (with Sedgewick)
1. Damn Fine Day
2. Smooth*
3. Love & Be Proud
4. Mahogany
5. Burning Bright
6. I Just Want to Be Your Last
*Santana/Rob Thomas cover
Fluke Takes filming Sedgewick, Chicago, IL
Brian Powers (from Frances Luke Accord) at Fluke Takes
Fluke Takes filming, Nick Gunty (from Frances Luke Accord) and Will Thwaites
Guess what our little minstrel will be!
Little Victories: How a Bad Gig Became Great Success
In 2011 and 2012, I felt like I had a lot of ground to make up in music.
I had traded grading essays for performing gigs, quit my job as a teacher to be a full time musician. I felt like it was time to play some gigs outside of my home towns, so I booked my own tours outside of Michigan without knowing what to expect. January and March 2012 were a crazy set of ups and downs.
I left Michigan excited to be playing shows in other states for the first time. I was also worried that no one would show up; worried that a snow storm would happen; worried I’d go insane driving 6-10 hours by myself.
Fortunately, most gigs on my first tours went fine. Yes, I drove through two, insane snow storms, but I made it to all of my gigs. I also played a few shows that felt like complete failures.
One gig I played at the Froth House in Madison, WI had two people attended the show: one regular customer named Richard Wilberg and the barista named Eric Stimson.
I played my best songs like the room was packed. Richard bought all of my merch after my set and took my business card. Eric was kind enough to give me a free meal and let me sleep on his couch that night, so I didn’t have to pay for a hotel room.
Eric and I joked that I sold a CD to 100% of the crowd that night.
Later, what has surprised me was how important that gig became for me. Richard happened to be a songwriter, and he hired me to sing on his music release of folk songs. Eric started a radio show on Max Ink Radio, and he invited me to play a house concert at Deerwood Studios for a pre-recorded radio show. (Note, that airs tomorrow.)
Over two years later, a gig that I first considered a failure became a stepping stone. I now see that first gig in Madison as a great success.
Evan Weiss (Into It. Over It.) says it best about DIY touring in his blog titled, “Start a Band, Throw a Brick“: “Touring in a band is singlehandedly the most fortunate lifestyle I can consider for human beings living near or below the poverty line. It’s a way to see the country (or even the world)…”
Performing music–and doing any creative career–is about little victories. We can’t always wait for the right opportunity where we have a guaranteed success. We have to face some failures, but sometimes those disappointments will lead to great moments.
