Hi, I'm Greg and I'm a Rockaholic! I've traveled the world umpteen times and have advanced most of my shows. What does advancing a show mean? It's communicating to the venue before the show so that on the day of the show there are fewer surprises. I say fewer because things never work out exactly as planned.
After you, or your agent gets you a gig, the next thing you should do is get in touch with the venue to say hello and go over any needs both you and the venue may have. In general we're talking about:
• Confirmation of date and show time
• load in time for band / act
• arrangement of best time for meals and dietary considerations (if applicable)
• get names and contact sound techs, lighting techs, video techs, backline supplier, marketing and hospitality personnel
• go over arrangements for hotel and ground transportation (if applicable)
To make your life easier and more organized you should have prepared in advance the following:
• a diagram or photo of your stage set-up
• lighting cues and positioning
• A rider with your preferences for stage gear, amps + drums
• an input list for anything you may want mic'd
• high quality pdfs or jpegs of your act for publicity
• audio and video promo of your show the venue may need for publicity
• past reviews
• anything important to you and your show
• maybe most important - who pays you and when, etc.
Now, keep in mind you seldom get what you request. So, being flexible is key. You get paid the same whether I sound great or lousy. Two of favorite sayings is
1 - "You get what you get"
2 - "it is what it is".
In essence, getting in touch with the venue in advance (ADVANCING THE GIG) helps to ease their concerns that you are indeed more than just a signature on the dotted line. You'll find they are in general very pleased with your call.
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