by Alan Rowoth alan@folkmusic.org

The most recent version of this document will always be found at http://www.alanrowoth.com/shoestring.shtml

Touring On a Shoestring

In order for a musician to make a living these days, it is often essential for them to travel extensively performing, promoting, and selling their recordings. Travel is tough any way that you look at it. There are so many unknown variables. Here are a few tips that I have assembled that may help you travel more efficiently.

Planning your trip

Look at your calendar and assess your opportunities. Driving is usually the cheapest way to travel, though it's not always time-effective. I usually suggest that performers try to build their sphere of influence out in concentric circles from their home base. This makes it much easier to book tours that amortize the cost of their travel over several gigs and not just one. If you plan your itinerary far enough in advance, you should have no trouble putting together a string of dates that makes sense to drive.

Be aware of your limitations. Don't book a gig tonight in Western Virginia and tomorrow in Boston. You can get driving directions and trip planning help free online from MapQuest or MapBlast. At least with Mapquest, if you have a Palm organizer, as I do, you can download those directions right into your PDA.

Harrisonburg, VA to Boston is 564 miles, and that sounds like about 10 hours of driving. The bummer is that, depending on what time of day you'll br travelling, you'll be passing thru one of the most heavily travelled corridors in the US. One good traffic jam before you hit the George Washington Bridge and your 10 hour drive has turned into a 15 hour drive and you don't get to sleep tonight. On the other hand, it's 10 miles further from Barstow CA to Salt Lake City (574 mi), but out in the land of lax speed limits and wide open spaces, you could probably drive that in 7 hours or so. If you leave Barstow by midnight and get in by 7:30am, you can get a full 8 hours of sleep before sound check (or stop along the way if you are staying in a hotel.) Get to sleep by 3am, get 7 plus hours before the 11am checkout and then finish the drive in the morning. That's routing that I could live with.

There are a lot of specific travel resources out there. You can get information about construction and traffic bottlenecks from the AAA and (along the Northeast corridor) from the I95 Coalition. Here are a whole bunch more motor transport links from a US govt website.

Car Care Basics

. Many states also have traffic condition telephone lines. The only thing worse than owning a car is NOT owning a car - Alan Rowoth

Cars are a pain in the butt. There are so many things that can go wrong. I can't cover them all here, but the 3 main things that you want to watch out for on your car are oil, coolant, and tires. Change your oil religiously and pull over immediately if your oil light light comes on. Driving a car with no oil pressure is the most sure way to blow your engine. Conversely, if your alternator light comes on, you most likely want to keep driving to the next garage and get the electrical system fixed right away. The temperature light is trickier. If mine comes on, I first slow down a bit and turn the heater on full blast in the car. If the light flickers out then I drive to a mechanic. If the light doesn't disappear in 20 seconds or so, you may have a leak or a bad water pump. Continuing to drive is probably going to burn out your engine. Keep your tires properly inflated and inspect the tread regularly. Chiltons makes do it yourself repair manuals for most cars. Even if you don't do your own mechanical work, it's probably worth having the manual for your car just to diagnose problems. Be sure to get the right year, make, and model for your car. You can find these at your local bookstore or Amazon.com

Parking

Musicians are always parking in strange towns. Try to be a little thoughtful when you do. Be sure that no valuables are visible thru the windows (As much as possible, don't leave anything of value in the car overnight.) and lock your doors and vents securely. If you park a lot in big cities buy yourself a "Club" and use it. It may not stop people from stealing your car, but one look in the window says to a would-be thief that you aren't stupid enough to leave valuables in the car and he may stop short of breaking your windows to get in and rummage around. Try to park in well lit, high traffic areas whenever possible.

Speeding

I heartily recommend that you don't speed when you travel, it's more dangerous if you do have an accident and a couple of tickets can send your insurance rates into the stratosphere. That said, sometimes I push the envelope a little, especially if I am running late. If you find yourself doing that, at least be careful. There is an excellent web site that lists most of the habitual speed traps in the US at http://www.speedtrap.com. Know where they are and watch out for them. Favorite spots for "smokeys" to hang out in include those little access roads that cross the medians of super highways, up on the right on exit ramps or hidden from view by an overpass. They don't want you to see them before you are close enough to be "read" by the radar or laser guns so favorite spots also include just over the crest of a hill or just around a blind curve. They'll also sit sometimes at the bottom of a hill knowing that lots of folks just won't brake when going downhill.

Technologies for catching you speeding include:

Your wits and your eyes are the best defense, but radar detectors can be useful. They won't do a thing about VASCAR, helicopters, and unmarked cars though. Most folks don't understand how to use a radar detector and the technology keeps changing. Ten years ago, most police departments didn't have "instant on" radar guns. Now they all do. A radar detector will not save you from any ticket if you are the only vehicle on the road. You need "radar bait" out in front of you to trigger the police "instant on" reaction in time for you to correct your speed. Hang back until some hardy speeding soul passes you and then shadow them at a safe enought distance that your warning equipment works as it is supposed to.

If you do get stopped, deal with it. Be courteous to the officer and unargumentative. They can make your life miserable for you if they want to. Most of them don't like handing out tickets, but it is a necessary part of their job. Any time that you are stopped, don't get out of the car unless they ask you to. Turn on the interior light of your vehicle so that they can see that you aren't carrying anything dangerous and try to keep your hands in view at all times. Don't make a lot of sudden moves or go reaching in your pocket unannounced. There are some crazy people out there and the officer has no way of knowing that you aren't one of them. Don't make them any more nervous and upset that you have to. For more information on this topic you may want to visit the Speedtrap Bible.

The Friendly Skies

Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to drive and you have to fly. There are zillions of intricacies to booking air travel. My recommendation is that you get a good travel agent and let them help you with it. Used to be that the travel agent's commissions were always paid by the airlines, but they are getting squeezed from that end and some are starting to charge the clients.

Even with a travel agent, you should know some of your options:

You get the lowest fare with a Low Fare Airline.
Whenever possible fly on SouthWest, AirTran, MetroJet, Jet Blue, etc Or try to fly a major airline out of a low fare hub.
Consider Alternative Airports
Often you can fly in and out of a city less than 100 miles away for hundreds of dollars less.
Buy in advance
Usually 3 weeks in advance is enough to get you the lowest rate.
Be flexible
You can often get cheaper rates if you fly later in the day or on Tuesday, Wed, or Thursday.
Nested tickets are cheaper
If you hit the same destination repeatedly, you can buy excursion fares. It's best to book the nested flights on two seperate airlines.
Sometimes you can get a "hidden city" ticket.
Occasionally it's cheaper to book a flight to someplace else with a connection in your actual destination and then just get off the plane. Airlines are cracking down on this one though. Be careful they don't cancel your return flight if you don't complete the second leg of the trip out.
Watch for ticket sales.
The airlines periodically announce ticket sales and they allocate limited numbers of seats to those sale fares. Wait for the sales and jump on them when they come out.
Work your frequent flyer miles
Occasionally it's too late to book a cheap fare, but not too late to book a free flight with your flyer miles. Save them for this kind of situation or long, expensive flights. Don't blow them as soon as you accrue them.
Subscribe to the Internet Specials lists of your favorite airlines
These are the best way to get bargain seats on short notice, but they aren't very flexible. Also they tend to favor the same routes and some route just never come up for sale.
There are other web resources to check out
Be familiar with Best Fares, Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, and TravelZoo. Know what they can do for you.
Don't see it here? Then ask the expert directly?
1Travel.com's Terry Tripler invites you to Email him your air travel questions.
Still looking for more tips?
Mark Kahler's Budget travel site at About.com

Though it isn't liable to be much use to you with your touring travel, many people don't know that many airlines have special "bereavement" fares for immediate family members attending a funeral. Some airlines also have special "compassion" fares for people who must travel due to a serious illness or the impending death of an immediate family member. Bereavement / compassion policies and discounts vary by airline, but before you buy, remember that fares on low fare airlines are generally much less than any bereavement or compassion fare. To purchase a "compassion" fare you must be prepared to provide the name of the person who is ill, your relationship to this person, the name and phone number of doctor and if applicable, the name and phone number of the hospital or nursing home. To purchase a "bereavement" fare you must be prepared to provide the name of the deceased, your relationship to the deceased and the name and address of the funeral home in charge of the funeral arrangements. Again, before you purchase any "compassion" or "bereavement" fare, check the best fare available on a low fare airline.

Airlines and luggage

The airlines are becoming more and more restrictive with luggage. They say it's for safety, but I suspect that they are trying to improve their all important on time flight ratios. In any case, be aware of your airline's luggage policies. Here's a link to the policies of some major airlines. Here is another, similar link from Luggage Online. Most let you check two or three items up to about 70 lbs per piece. (and will let you check more for an additional charge) Carryon bags are usually limited to two (or even one) small item. Be sure that your carryon items meet their size requirements. (currently a bag that is 22" by 14" by 9" is safe with all of the airlines.) Larger may be a problem and require the bag to be "gate checked" This isn't good if it's full of fragile stuff. United Airlines is currently spearheading the restrictive luggage policies and they have gone so far as to install hard templates over the security belts at the checkins of all of the cities that they fly to. If your bag doesn't fit thru the template, you don't proceed to the gate. Some airports have a single checkin without the template. If yours is one of those, find it and use it. Many airlines still let you carryon a guitar case or garment bag, especially if the flight isn't full. (which is a rarer and rarer occurence these days...) If you are flying with a guitar, probably your best bet is to buy a Calton hard case for it and just get used to checking it at curbside.

Rail and Bus Travel

It's not impossible to tour via Amtrak or Greyhound. But it's a bit more confusing logistically. For instance, there is one train a day from Cleveland OH to Chicago IL. You need to depart Cleveland at 5:05am and the return gets in at 3:25am. That's not very convenient for the person who's agreed to drop you off at the railroad station. The good news is that the trains are very comfortable and roomy. Also, a lot of performers go into the club car and play after dinner, selling some CDs and getting names for their mailing list. Don't call Amtrak trying to book performances on trains, they don't hire musicians. Trains are a little slower than driving, but not much unless you count the oddball departure times or have to make connections. (to take the train from Syracuse NY to visit my cousins in Jefferson City MO, I would have to endure a 23 hour layover in Chicago. That more than doubles the length of time the trip takes.) The bus could get me there in about 28 hours and it takes me about 15 hours to drive there. As you have probably guessed, I usually drive or fly into St. Louis or Kansas City and rent a car.

All that said. They all have their uses. Amtrak has a seasonal excursion fare that could take you from Boston to Fort Lauderdale to San Diego to Seattle and home again for around $250. Greyhound says that you can bus anywhere for $59 one way (with restrictions, whatever they may be...) These are all tools that you can use, just as you can use metropolitain public transportation to fill in gaps in your travel plans. Amtrak is actually a viable way to tour the Northeast Corridor (from Boston to Washington DC.) Nothing has quite the convenience factor of your own automobile though.

Sleep Cheap

Hotels

One of the best hotel resources I have seen is TravelWeb. They have access to the reservations systems of many hotel chains and can book many of the rooms online. There are all kinds of tricks to getting a deal on hotel rooms. Like musicians, it is commonplace for hotel rooms and plane tickets of identical descriptions within a wide span of pricing. Many hotels will give you a better rate if you check in late enough that they know that they can't rent the room to someone at a higher price. Learning to negotiate with them is something of an art. Never expect them to give you their best rate right off the bat. It's just not the way that most of them do business.

If you believe that hotels may be sold out in the area for the night that you want to stay someherem then you are most likely going to want to book something in advance. There are a variety of discount plans that may apply to the basic "rack rate" of the room. Membership discounts from organizations like the AAA, AARP, Sam's Club, etc, as well as premium teaser booklets from things like the Entertainment card (800-477-3234) or NetMarket.com. Some hotel chains even have their own club. These tricks often work better on upscale hotels like Marriott and Sheraton because they are higher priced to begin with.

Most states have "welcome centers" on the interstate highways and it is very common to find books of discount coupons in the rest stops that can save you $10 or more a night over the normal room rates.

I tend to stick with the BUDGET hotel chains like Motel 6, Knights Inn, Red Roof Inn,etc. because I'm shopping bottom dollar and the budget chains usually win that battle. Also, I'm usually crashing at 3 or 4 in the morning and in no mood to dicker with the bell clerk over how much they want to charge me for the room. Still, If you are willing to spend few dollars more and do some negotiating, you often can get a much nicer room for just a little more money at a quality hotel. I have no interest in the room and it's amenities. It's just a place with a lockable door for me to curl up in, so I usually don't bother.

In big cities with expensive hotels, often the cheapest places to stay are at the YMCA or American Youth Hostel, though both organizations can have some more restricted rules and only semiprivate facilities. Some hostels don't allow late checkin and there are a number that won't even let you in the door after 10pm or so. Some expect you to provide your own bedlinens. I always travel with a Kelty "Light Top" sleeping bag that has just a sheet on one side and a thing insulating layer on the other. It is perfect for most any indoor sleeping situation. You can also find hostels and YMCA/YWCAs in some smaller towns, they can be very nice, though less competitive pricewise than they are in the big cities. Another advantage to hostels is that they often are full of travellers who may also be interested in you and your music.

Car Camping

I have been sleeping in my car for years. Not every night, but fairly often. I do it for a lot of reasons. I want to save money. I want to save the time of looking for a hotel, checking in, checking out, etc. Most times I've owned a fairly comfortable car (i.e. van or station wagon) to sleep in. I do have a few tips for you. Where exactly to park and sleep is sort of an art form. The quickest, easiest thing to do is to find a rest stop, truckstop, chain motel, or all night restaurant and crash in the lot but those are soooooo noisy and public. If you do, park in back, wear earplugs, and get out at the crack of dawn. I prefer to sleep in treelined residential suburban neighborhoods. Small towns, (ie under 25,000 people) are usually a BAD bet. Everybody knows everybody else and their business. There are just a couple of constables who love to roust you out. Many very small towns on major thoroughfares count on income from ticketing out of state motorists who are passing thru. You don't want to present too good a target for them.

Big cities are problematic on the other hand because it can be hard to tell which neighborhoods are safe and which are not. I usually aim for the burbs. Bedroom communities where people commute into the cities to work and often don't know their neighbors (much less their neighbors car's or relatives.) I stay away from those Ward and June Cleaver cull de sac's and stick with a blue collar neighborhood of real houses and flats. I try to stay out of most apartment complexes and all gated communities because they sometimes have their own security people. When I'm in the right kind of neighborhood I usually just know it. Best to park in front of a house that is for sale or rent or an empty lot if there is one. People worry less about who is parked in front of someone elses house than one that is parked in front of their own house.

Somebody told me recently that Walmart invites anyone with a trailer or RV to park overnight in any of their parking lots. I don't know how they would feel about a regular old car.

Parks

If the weather conditions permit, I sometimes sleep outdoors in public parks during the daytime. I keep all my stuff locked in the car and unroll my thermarest in a shady, bug free spot and stash the keys underneath so that no one can get them without waking me. It's a little riskier, but I've never had a problem. Parks are often well marked on maps. Smaller parks may not have full time security people or an admission fee. If you love parks, as I do, you can often buy a yearly admittance pass for a nominal fee for the National Parks or the State Park system in states like New York.

Airports

Airport parking prices usually rule it out for casual shoestring travellers, but if you are travelling by air, there are a number of airports that you can sleep for free in. For a list and details, visit Donna McSherry's Budget Travellers Guide to Sleeping in Airports Sleeping in Train and Bus Stations is generally confined to upright sleeping in uncomfortable chairs in noisy, well lit areas. Not my idea of a good time. Add to that that Greyhound is the official airline of drunks, ex-cons, and many folks who are wayyyyy down on their luck. I try to stay out of those terminals as much as possible. If you are desperate and don't have a vehicle to hide out in, then at least get a locker to stash your luggage in.

Showers

You can often get a shower without getting a room. Check first for Public Pools or Beaches where they are often free. Failing that, you can buy a shower at most Truck Stops and many health clubs, as well as some hotel health clubs. If you like to swim, exercise, and work out, a local YMCA membership can get you cheap access to their pool, showers, and exercise equipment. I believe that there is usually a minimal charge for guests who belong to other YMCA clubs. Solar showers (plastic waterbags that you leave in the sun for several hours and then use to bathe with) are great for camping but too bothersome for general travel.

It pays to be a member

Frequent Flyer programs
You're paying for the programs anyway. You might as well get flights
AAA
Road service, maps, trip planning, discounts on car rentals etc.
Sam's Club
Membership warehouse cheap prices on stuff I use.
Good Sam Club
RV Camping club
AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
Great discounts and buying power if you qualify. You have to be at least 50.
Consumers Union
They publish a travel letter for $39 a year that is jammed with info on good deals, ripoffs, and special offers.
Use your charge cards to pay for stuff. You can contest the bills if you are taken advantage of. You can earn premiums like frequent flyer miles and cashback discounts. You have a paper trail for your accountant when it's tax time and you get to use VISA's money for 25 days until the bill comes due. Just be sure pay off the bill in full each month.

Staying connected.

When you are travelling it can be surprisingly easy to find a place to log in and read your email. Most public libraries now have some sort of internet access. They may not always have the right mailreader software installed though. Now you can access most email systems directly thru a web browser by visiting Mailstart.com or HotMail. America Online Users will need to go directly thru AOL's WebMail interface. If you or someone you know wants a free email address, there are lots of people who want to give you one. Take a look at this list or this list for starters.

Want a free fax line that follows you when you are travelling? You can get this kind of service from eFax or jFax. They will email scans of the faxes to your email account. How about having free 800 number voicemail messages emailed to you as sound files while you are on the road? That would be Telebot. I don't publish mine as I'm only alloted 5 one minute messages per day at the free rate, but it is key if your family or manager needs to get ahold of you and they don't have a computer handy.

Telephones

Conducting whatever business you can via email is going to save you time and money, but we are still far from the day when you'll be able to do business without a telephone. Cell phones are great and I'm told that some of the new plans avoid roaming charges and have a fairly low cost per minute. There is a real convenience factor in being able to call the club and have them "talk you in" when you arrive in town and find that you had bad directions. On the other hand, those cell phone bills can mount up and I don't particularly want people to feel that they could and should call me 24 hours a day. I take messages on my home phone machine and have a couple of different phone cards that i use for callbacks.

I am interested in expanding covereage in this FAQ on cellphone plans that work for the travelling musician, but I really haven't researched them. Please email me if you have some insight on this.

You NEED some kind of phone card. Don't be charging your business calls to the telephones of friends, family, and fans. Yes, you can save money if someone else pays for your phone calls, but it's not worth the discomfort that those folks feel when the bill arrives at the end of the month. There are several features to look for in a phone card:

I mostly use a card from PNG communications that costs 15.9 cents per minute, billed in 6 second increments, with no per call surcharges. I also have a card from MCI that lets me call home for 9 cents per minute with no surcharges from a private phone, but a small surcharge from a pay phone. I don't use the MCI card for calling anyone but myself. I used to have an ATT card and my bills were far higher. Here is a review of several of the calling card companies. and here is a site that compares many of the rate plans.

Don't ignore your home phone service. There are a bunch of plans out there hovering in the 9-10 cents per minute range. (and Sprint just launched a plan with 5 cents per minute evenings, but you pay a surcharge for the plan and there are other restrictions.) I get free 800 number with my MCI long distance at home (and a raft of air miles). A Bell Tolls has a cost comparision of most of the current long distance offerings from a variety of companies.

Online Banking

One of the handiest innovations that I've gotten into is Online Banking. pay your bills electronically, no matter where you are. This is easy to do, but sometimes require the less popular high security browser software, so it may not work properly from some public computers. There are many many online providers of these services. Currently I use CitiBank Direct Access and I just opened accounts with Chase and Security First Network banks so I'll be able to do a little comparison shopping. I try to pay as much as possible with my US Airways VISA card to rack up those frequent flyer miles, but I also pay my bill off in full every month to avoid the interest charges (which would cost me far more than an airline ticket if I wasn't careful. For some things though, you just need cash. DON'T take cash advances on your credit card. The fees can be just outrageous! Get a cash card linked to your checking or savings account that you can access from one of the major cash networks around the country. MasterCard/Cirrus, VISA/Plus, NYCE, CU24 (1-888-495-CU24), The Exchange are some of the more popular cash machine networks.

Luggage

The right luggage can make a world of difference in how easy you find it to get around. You want it to be light, durable, affordable, convenient, and practical. Softside or hardside? With a few notable exceptions, softsided luggage is usually more durable than softsided, but doesn't offer as much protection to the contents. I pack anything relatively unbreakable in a backpack, rolling duffel, or rollaboard. Expensive instruments and electronics may need heavier hard shell cases like Calton, Anvil, etc. Most of my checkable luggage is made by TravelPro (the brand that most of the airline pilots use) It costs a bit more than copies of their designs, but the bags are far more durable than your similar Samsonite or American Tourister.(though these brands represent an okay value for the person who only travels once or twice per year. I also have had good experiences with bags made by Eagle Creek, Kelty, Tough Traveller, and Lands End. I hear good things about Briggs and Riley and also Tumi bags, but both brands can be very expensive and I haven't tried either. I've gotten great deals over time on most all of my TravelPro from my favorite camping equipment liquidator, The Sierra Trading Post.

Try to get wheels on any bag that you buy. If you have to drag it for a long way, you'll appreciate them. Don't overpack the bags. Do use zipper locks, preferably the combination style locks rather than the little padlocks with the crappy little keys. (These locks can also lock your tent zipper when you are camping.) If you have a laptop, stow it in a backpack or some case that doesn't look like it has an expensive computer in it. Never buy cases with computer company logos on them or anything else that just screams, "I'm a laptop! Steal me!"

Simple tools

There are a few tools that I have access to at all times. They've saved the day many times.
The Fisher Space Pen
Quite simply the very best pen that money can buy. Don't leave home without it.
Victorinox Classic Swiss Army Knife
Be sure to get the SD model with the flattened tip on the nail file, It's a perfect #2 Phillips head screwdriver.
MAGlite Solitaire mini flashlight
Maglite still doesn't have their site up. This vendor site actually sells a Classic/Solitaire combo. A lifesaver!
Casio VDB-200B-1 Wristwatch
Shel game me this for Christmas 1997. It holds 200 data items. The touch screen is tiny for my fingers but I get along.
My Palm IIIx organizer.
I was a confirmed Newton 2100 user until Apple dumped us. Palm isn't as strong, but it's current, cheap, small, and adequate.

Movin on down the line

This document is very much a work in progress and I would very much appreciate your comments and criticism. Please stop back now and then to see how it has changed. Thanks, Alan