Tour Announcement coming soon, Summer 2018 Options

[SJN1279]

There are rumblings of a big North American tour for this summer. An announcement is on the way, and I’m hearing sooner than later. Stay tuned......

This post has been edited by SJN1279: Jan 21 2018, 8:06 pm

[Voodoo Lady]

Oooh, lots of inquiries... hopefully I can answer them all for you, Gruno.

I agree with your last statement -- even though it was riddled with sarcasm.

Voodoo Lady, you said: “Live’s spent a lot of the last year and first three months of this year sitting on their hands.” And also: “They currently could still tour mid sized venues with someone opening for them.”

How do you come up with the idea of mid-sized venue? What would you base your claim upon? Just curious.

I base it on my concert experiences. There are small, medium, and large venues. Large venues, of course, are ampitheaters/arenas. Medium sized venues (a.k.a midsized) are ones like Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, (Dallas, basically--and I think it might be Verizon now), The Pageant in St. Louis, or my favorite, Aztec Theater, San Antonio. Large venues are fine, but of course most fans prefer to see their favorite artists in a medium or small venue because you get a more intimate, up-close, give and take experience. Small venues are your standing only clubs or bars, like Josabi's, The Leaky Barrel or The RockBox here in S.A. where I've past seen the Toadies and FasterPussycat. There's also "classier" small venues... I've been to one in Chicago, but the name escapes me now. If I'm wrong on these classifications, please by all means, educate me.

Do you realize a band just doesn’t decide to book shows in venues they want with the dates they want? They might request certain venues, but those requests may not be met for numerous reasons. Marketing and projections are determined based off of the bands popularity within a country—then wittled down to territories, then cities, which includes previous tour financial returns with regards to profits/losses.

Of course I do. I'm always complaining about how San Antonio doesn't land a lot of bands I wish to see (popularity factors based on demographics, I'm sure) and I have to travel to Austin, Dallas or Houston for them. I'm 99% sure that Live has never played San Antonio in their existence. Ed has, but not Live.

A band decides what time of year they go on tour. That is usually decided between band and management based off of many factors. A booking agent is given the timeframe and desired net income that the band has agreed upon. That booking agent then routes options for the band including their financial guarantees per venue. The band then decides which option works best for them.

Sometimes it is a better financial avenue to do co-headlining/package tours based off of many factors, two of those being promotion and production cost. Do you know what each band asks for as a financial guarantee from promoters? Have you a clue at what the overhead is for all production costs for each band? What is the bottom line for staff wages, transportation (equipment & individuals), cartage fees, equipment supplies, meals, promotion, lodging, graphic design, management, and on and on?

Yes, I am actually aware of the costs/expenses you have just listed off. I had an acquaintance (friend of a friend) who was a concert promoter in the late 80's and early 90's and I actually kicked around the idea of choosing that as my career, but then changed my mind as I did not want to major in marketing. I prefer literature, art, and history (basically everything) over mathematics ... so as for the exact numbers and costs, no, and I frankly do not give a damn. But yes, I'm aware all those things exist.

Would you rather they not have done any shows since their New Year’s Eve reunion performance? Maybe they should not have done that NYE show, in your eyes?

No to both. That would be ludicrous.

Would you rather they not tour, which is a good source of income for Live (and all staff involved) and their well being for their families? It is, after all, their jobs. It's their business.

I have absolutely no qualms about Live touring and making money or even "being in it for the money." I previously have defended Live in this forum when others have complained they are in it for the money. So what? It's their career. They need to pay their bills and they need to eat, too.

You want new music from Live, but you want it when you want it; not when Live is ready to deliver – no, that’s not good enough for you. So they played "10.000 Cups" as a new song. Does that mean it is ready to be released? Have you any insight into the creative process from songwriting to production? Demoing? Rewrites? Mixing, remixing, mastering? Don’t you want them to deliver some kickass songs? Would you rather half-assed tracks because “the fans want something new”? Do you know if they have secured a record deal (if that is their intent) or united with a distributor? Any idea if they have those in place, what that company is requiring as far as timeframe? What about their publishing legalities – is all of that finalized?

I am not going to answer the above ten questions because no, I don't know the answers to all of those things because I do not work for Live and am not a fly on their wall (which I often wish I could be). But I'm sticking to my guns here on this one-- Live has had plenty of time to deliver new music.

As a footnote in general: one can’t compare bands such as Stone Temple Pilots with Live and expect them to mimic the same design.

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Um, okay.

You also said: When as someone else said, they are too great of a band for that; the best band from their time. -- That's pure opinion (one that I agree with as far as great band from their time), but that does not exactly translate to what the general public agrees with. Go to the Bush message boards, STP boards, etc, and I'm sure those fans will proclaim the same for their band they are championing.

You got me there.

There are many more factors involved with touring and releasing music, I just outlined a portion of it. You can be snarky about it in return, or understand the difference between knowing the way things are within the music industry/music business vs. fantasizing about what your favorite band should do.

I honestly tried my best not to be snarky. It's my nature to dream (fantasize sounds so negative). I'm an INFJ (Myers-Briggs). I've had the determination and independence to make many my dreams a reality. I won't change that.

Trust me when I say that I fully understand your passion for Live.

Awesome. Thanks.