Hey CREWMEMBER, CREWMEMBER & CREWMEMBER:

I know you're really super busy now with only a week to go before the tour, but you'll want to read these suggestions below.

I'll be sending you separate emails with your Special Job.

Enjoy yerselves!

WHAT TO BRING
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-Your act. Remember, we're looking for a 15 minute lively act here. Compelling, punchy, polished and not boring is what we're after. You're going to do it 7 times so put some time and thought in. When you practice it, PLEASE time yourself to confirm you won't go over 15 minutes. Leave people wanting more. Something that's very entertaining at 15 minutes is mildly so at 20 and boring at 25.

-Terms of how many books to bring, on my last US tour (17 cities) I sold about 40 books.

-Bring your passport AND birth certificate or driver's licence. Canadians are not allowed to make any money in America without a work permit and vice versa. They can search your car, so try not to have flyers if you're saying that you're just going to visit friends, and don't offer more information than what they ask. Remember they can (and have) Googled crewmember's names, so if you have a prominent website with your tourdates listed you will want to take that info off of it for the border crossing.

-I've found Mapquest really good for directions right to each venue, it also gives approximate drive times, add an hour buffer: www.mapquest.com... other people have suggested a real map backup, however.

-People who find the floor a little hard to take might like to have a blow-up matress. A sleeping bag is your own little personal space. A towel is also a good idea, which can double as a pillow.

-Your car might need stuff -- the January 2005 crew ran into snow on the west coast and were legally obligated to buy chains.

-Having something free, like a flyer or sticker, means that interested but broke people have something to remember you by. Bring any extra PMR postcards you have to spread the word about the project. Also a good idea to have a donation bowl on the table as well as passing the hat.

-Power bars and peanut butter & bread was suggested as a good backup.

-An alarm, either on a clock or a watch is very handy.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE THERE
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-What we've done at some bookstores in the past is brought some beer to sell at the show -- brings in a few bucks plus lends a festive atmosphere (drunks laugh more). If this appeals arrive early enough to talk it over with the person in charge of the venue. Obviously you can't sell beer at the bars, but you do get to keep all the money from your sales.

-When doing a show in a store, the regular split on what you're selling is 60% to you and 40% to the store. Please respect this, zine-friendly bookstores are some of the most enthusiastic and stable venues the Roadshow's had. If a few sell you might want to offer a 50% discount to leave a few in the store. If your stuff is in a publisher's catalog, you might want to bring a few along to leave with booksellers so they can order your stuff that way.

-Passing the hat for gas money has worked well for the crews that have done it -- make it fun, like a cartoon head or a hubcap, and it won't be a chore.

-In some situations, the Agent will host the show, but often it will be up to you to introduce your fellow Crewmembers. You can ask the Agent if they want to do it, but having a fellow Crewmember introduce you is better than an unsure Agent.

-Handing out books in smaller crowds helps sales -- they get to look it over without braving the merch table. Always the chance that someone will steal something, however.

-Document it if you can! Getting pics, video and audio gives it a life beyond the moment! Crews who don't take pics always regret it.

-Set order -- who goes first, second and third? This is an annoying ego-charged detail that had to be settled every night. To avoid this, go with alphabetical order for your first show, then rotate.

-That said: in an ideal world, everyone would stick around for everyone, but if it looks like most people are there for someone in particular ask that person to go last. Local acts, too. They're not necessarily opening acts, and the set order can mean the difference between new people checking out your act and you playing to a suddenly empty room. Afterwards, if you liked their stuff, give them a PMR postcard and encourage them to sign up to go on tour & mention they were a local act. If you did OK with the pass the hat it would be awesome to buy them a drink to thank them for performing.

-Pay Phone Tour Diary: whoever goes last that night makes the call after the show. (206) 309-7325 is the number, get a $10 phone card for this purpose and just pass it off to whoever's doing it. Cells are fine, just make sure you have a clear line. At the beep, just leave a message saying how the show went, or an anecdote about the day's events, which will then be posted on the site... the appeal of this is the idea that the listeners kinda get to go on tour with you.

-As well as the Diary number, it's also a good idea to have a list of the agent's #s in your wallet in case you get split up. This has happened before.

-Please jot down any ideas or suggestions you have for future Roadshows somewhere. We'll be bugging you after the tour for them!

Have fun, ask any questions you might have, and keep in touch with each other!