Just Confirmed - Looks like the Acoustic Outcasts Tour will be coming to Columbus a few days earlier than expected:

Friday & Saturday July 29 & 30: Columbus, Ohio: Cadillac Jack's
1849 Stringtown Rd, Grove City, 43123 - (614) 875-7244

This seals the itinerary for July 28-August 6 - please visit the new site http://acousticoutcasts.com for details on all tour dates and the artists who are participating.

My B-Day is the 29th of July so that is definitely going to be a birthday to remember that is for sure!!!!!!!!!

Flyers for all Acoustic Outcasts shows are now available to download on the Keel & Wayne web site.

They are in Microsoft Word format.

Just go to http://keelandwayne.com - click on the TOUR DATES button - then follow the easy instructions. We appreciate the Keel & Wayne Street Team's help getting the word out...

Well, crap, looks like ya won't be coming to NC on this afterall.

We'll get there, Ace - sorry it won't be when we hoped. Amos' Southend in Charlotte was actually the only venue on the previous itinerary that actually took care of business, in terms of contracts and deposits - if the other venues had done as well, we wouldn't have had to scramble the dates around.

Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to live the life of a traveling minstrel and just roll from town to town singing to everyone for free, this is the real world - it takes gas, airfare, guitar strings, 9 volt batteries, food, clean clothes and beer to keep these wheels rolling. Anybody that knows me knows that I'm not about the money, I'm about the music, but this ain't my hobby and just like the next guy I've got families to support and bills to pay. It costs many thousands of dollars to crank up this machine, and we just can't take the loss when agents and venues don't hold up their end of the bargain, and you and I both end up with the short end of the stick.

Like I said, we'll get there - in the meantime, we'll have a live Acoustic Outcasts DVD coming out soon to hold you over....

It's cool. Though I never did it on the scale that you do, I was once in bands and stuff and know that it's expensive and hectic no matter the motivation. I'll just have to keep hoping that the next time you're this way I am off of work, lol. The DVD sounds cool though.

Ron, I have a follow up question to you reply to Ace. Could you tell me (us) how the bookings thing works? Do you pick cities where you want to play and then start contacting venues or do venues call you saying that theyd be interested in having your band in? Also, is it harder to get shows booked in places like New England where your projects dont get the exposure that they might in your 'home base' area? Thanks for any insight.

Eric
(counting down the time to Plymouth)

It ain't rocket science, Eric, but it can get complicated. It happens in a variety of ways, on several different levels. In the real world, the act will have an agent, and a window of availability - for instance, the Acoustic Outcasts Tour has an agent that is currently pitching dates in Sept/Oct. The agent will put together a Routing Plan - regions and markets that can be strung together with realistic drives in between them. Right now, we are soliciting offers from NY to LA, and we could end up in either one, Texas, or all three. You need three to five substantial offers in a 7-day period in order to justify going to any particular region or it's just not financially feasable, unless one of the gigs pays well enough to offset the expenses of the other ones.

So in order to come to a particular market, Boston, for instance, you've got to have 'support dates' in other nearby markets such as Springfield, Providence, Hartford, etc. - the support dates and routing can expand to 500 miles apart, even more, if you are traveling in the luxury of a tour bus with a full crew.

Many times, we will receive a substantial offer out of the blue and build around it. IronHorse has often worked this way, securing one major date and building around it. For instance, the Back To The Basics Bike event in Concord Vermont August 19-20 really wanted us to headline this year's event, and made us a very generous offer, so it only made sense to do additional IronHorse dates in Ohio the weekend before that and then head to Vermont. A support date in Boston on Thursday August 18 would have been feasable, because it's only 173.9 miles (Approximate Travel Time: 3 hours 19 mins) away, but we were holding out for another event we wanted on Wednesday August 17 which unfortunately fell through. Whew.

The initial Acoustic Outcasts dates July 28-August 6 actually started like this also. We had a high-profile date on Wed Aug 3 in Ohio, then started to build support dates on either side of it. Though the Aug 3rd date did not materialize we kept the support dates, re-filled the 3rd in Erie PA, and added a Nashville date to kick it off. Whew.

Yes, it's easier to secure bookings in your home base(s). In Nashville or Ohio, if we want gigs they are only a phone call away. But even more importantly, it's easier to secure MULTIPLE gigs in Ohio, and string together enough dates to make it worthwhile - there's no place like home!

I could write a book on this subject (and a few other subjects), but I gotta go now, if I didn't spend so much time on the Message Forum I could maybe get some work done and take care of some business, maybe book some shows....

But keep in mind, Eric, it's only it's only 173.9 miles (Approximate Travel Time: 3 hours 19 mins) from Boston to Concord Vermont to see IronHorse August 19-20...

Ron,
thanks for the response. I hope your fingers werent too sore after typing it. Sorry to put you through that! It gives me an interesting look into how the touring routine works for you. I am going to try to make it to VT. You're right, its really not that far from Boston. However we have been working a lot of weekends at my place of employment so Im not sure yet as to what August will bring. If I dont make it there I will definately see you for one (maybe both) of the shows in Plymouth.

Thanks again,

Eric