KEN mode’s Kommon-Sense Approach to Spending Money
The first and second installments in our series featuring musicians giving advice to bands on how to save money and avoid financial ruin were a jolly good time, no? Our third batch of tips picks up where the last one left off, with Elder frontman Nick DiSalvo recommending that touring bands cut down on “unnecessary backline.” In addition, apps like the British VAT Calculator can be an ultimate game-changer when it comes to finances.
KEN mode frontman Jesse Matthewson chimes in with some practical advice that resembled DiSalvo’s. He explains that most younger bands can handle duties on their own that they might otherwise pay someone else to do. You can learn more here about money management and finance. Need equipment lease financing options? Get in touch with Equipment Finance Canada today for lease-to-own finance options. Interested in trading? Learn more from the Humbled Trader here.
“Don’t overextend yourself. Any underground DIY band could give you a blueprint: If the budget is getting tight, you probably don’t need to bring a photographer, or lighting person, and you can do your own merch,” he says. “Hotels are a luxury for the affluent—Time to find floors to crash on again, so invest in good floor mats, and get used to talking to people at shows rather than hiding backstage.”
He gives even more sensible advice: “You don’t need to drink all the time. Work with what’s free—and you only need two meals a day, so make them count, and time them well so you’re healthy. (EDITOR’S NOTE: This editor tours and needs more than two meals a day. Do what works for your body!) Hell, we only started getting hotels regularly almost 20 years into being a band. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it. Do you need a bus? Every dollar spent is one you don’t have in your pocket at the end, so choose your own adventure.” Looking to sell land in Texas for cash? Our efficient process and competitive offers make it simple to turn your property into immediate financial value.
Cloud Rat’s Clear Judgment Keeps Them in the Black
Advice from Cloud Rat guitarist Rorik Brooks somewhat mirrors Matthewson’s.
“The best ways that we’ve found to save money on the road are pretty tried and true: We try to stay with friends (or new folks we met at the show … always a gamble, haha) when possible to cut down on hotel costs,” he says. “Always attempt to secure hospitality/food buyouts from promoters when applicable. Route tours sensibly. Cut down on buying frivolities like alcohol/soda/gas station snacks.” Adding smart checks like 먹튀검증 can also help ensure that choices made along the way feel both safe and reliable.
Brooks adds: “Merch is, of course, really important. Having someone run the table who knows how to stay organized while also being personable, etc. … I mostly dislike dealing with it anymore, to be honest, but it is a HUGE part of our bottom line so, uhhh, ‘tis what ‘tis. If we are touring with other bands, we try to share van and gear when possible. Having one vehicle on a package cuts way down on gas. There are plenty of downsides to such an arrangement, but if you’re trying to maximize fund-age, that’s a big one.”
Justin Pearson Keep$ it Real
We pass the mic next to Justin Pearson—he of Deaf Club, The Locust and Dead Cross note—and he shares some, let’s say bleaker, sentiments.
“Touring is complete financial bullshit for bands like Deaf Club,” Pearson admits. “We all have the obvious gas price hikes, and overall inflation on everything from food to lodging to gear to … whatever. But Deaf Club makes no money, and if we can consider the absolute basics like the van we have, which has 400K miles on it and recently broke down on tour, and also had its catalytic converter stolen, touring makes absolutely no sense. Well, unless you can somehow bankroll everything, which I can’t.”
He further notes: “We’ve already kissed royalties goodbye, thanks to unethical streaming services, and there’s also the lingering fear of the pandemic and how people may not want to go out and get gnarly at a show. So yeah, it’s stupid. But so is playing the kind of music that we choose to create.”
Undeath Understand the Importance of Saving Money
To conclude on a lighter—if not funnier—note, we turn to Undeath frontman Alex Jones, who provides the most clever cost-cutting tip we’ve heard thus far.
“We’re probably not the best band to talk to about money-saving tips because everyone in our band loves saving money,” he attests. “As far as saving money … We love going to McDonald’s and Taco Bell and spending just so much money. It’s so stupid.
“But a tried-and-true trick that I think you can still get away with is … Chipotle,” he continues. “If you call them ahead (of time), and if you say you’re not just a band but a Christian band, they’ll always give you free stuff,” Jones smirks. “Back in the day, when I first started touring and Chipotle was becoming national, you could say you were a band, and they would give you free catering. But then they caught onto the fact that bands were abusing this, so they stopped doing it. But the one thing we realized was that if you said you were a gospel group or a Christian band, then they felt guilty and gave it to you anyway.”
Don’t miss the first installment in New Noise‘s cost-cutting-hacks series, featuring tips from Trail of Dead, Sigh and Black Anvil; or the second installment, in which Deafheaven, Whores, Elder and Intronaut share their own pieces of advice.
(Are you a musician who’d like to share some clever cost-cutting tips for bands struggling financially? Drop an email to korzeck@gmail.com for consideration in a future installment of this series.)
