I dunno if this coming Warped Tour will be anyone else's first time too, but the whole prospect of it scares the everlivin' out of us, so do any of you Warped veterans have any advice on things like what to bring, getting your tents printed up, suggested stock levels to allocate for each day, or any other must-know/don't-forget information that might make this whole thing a bit less daunting for a pair of English idiots trying to make it in the U.S. of A?
We're looking to succeed where the likes of McFly, The Arctic Monkeys, Robbie Williams, Oasis, Marmite, Tea & Crumpets, Free National Health Services, and the films of Hugh Grant have failed. (That won't happen)
Any advice would be genuinely appreciated.
22 Comments
justinryan said 3 months ago
When I used to tour, I was a member of some "merchies" or "tour manager" group on myspace that had some helpful info about all of this stuff. Can't remember the link but try searching for that on myspace?
Dave!PTS said 3 months ago
Thanks man! I'll look it up!
quakerninja said 3 months ago
yeah I have a show comeing up to. I would like to know. How much should I expect to pay for a banner? (ballpark figure ) I need to get a sign made up.
I found some tradeshow reading.
http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com/articles_exhibitors.html
kenny g said 3 months ago
how big of a banner do you want/need?
a.j.mohacsy said 3 months ago
give the crowd free beer...
makes everyone believe your for the people, works like a charm for pennywise in Australia, haha yeah... be interactive and get the kids on stage, everyone wants to be a celebrity...
might not work in America though, maybe hand out American flags or hamburgers:P
JK
Jon Kruse said 3 months ago
Yeah the venues are pretty strict about not letting you hand out drink or food items.
Make sure to wear sunscreen and apply it throughout the day, and stay hydrated. It would be cool if you had super soakers with cold water in them. You would be my hero if you did that.
Elks said 3 months ago
I've never done any selling but what I can tell ya is water is NOT cheap, so I've seen local bands hand them out along with their CD sampler. I bet if a clothing company did something like that, it would go over well. Just promote like crazy, free stickers that kind of thing.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
Marmite sucks, VEGEMITE ftw!!!
LuckyStripes said 3 months ago
Stock levels would be some info I would love to learn more about..
quakerninja said 3 months ago
not sure yet, the space in 10x10 feetz its an outdoor street market deal, so something that can take some weather, I was thinking 2-3 colors 6x2 feetz
here is the logo so far.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
Hey quaker, I reckon you need to break up the info a bit more - get some heirachy of info happening. I know to look at "Quakerninja" first, but then all the other info is at the same level. I would also suggest keeping the website off the banner - as you may change one day. Also "Fine art for fine people" is a great line and needs more prominence!
quakerninja said 3 months ago
great tips something like this maybe.
should I move the tagline to the bottom. The rain on the I and J leave some dead space on the top. still not sure about the "by Newman"
heavyprints said 3 months ago
I'd like to offer some halps.
I'd suggest leaving the background how it was. The black at the top is kind of TOO much contrast.
I think that the 'by newman' looks good because it is small enough that you are absolutely certain that it is not related to anything else on the page.
I'd suggest not making Fine Art For Fine People so big, but contrasting it with a different typeface. I'd also suggest a placement Similair to your first to balance out all of the extra visual interest around 'ninja'.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
I agree with Heavy on leaving the back ground as before - but question whether you even need the "by newman".. like you could tuck the "fine art for fine people" in a different font (maybe sans serif to contrast with your logo) where "by newman" already is.
I just see quakerninja as being you!
heavyprints said 3 months ago
Yeah I was just talking about 'by newman' working Visually. Somehow my stuff got all chopped up so it makes no sense.. I will fix it.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
Plus you put quakerninja into a search engine and you're there in the first million positions...
Ameeee said 3 months ago
Nah dude, it made sense - I agree with you! I just kinda went all radical and decided to chop half his design out!
Perhaps we should take this to a private thread gentleman?
heavyprints said 3 months ago
Nah. Literally, some of the things I said got cut and pasted into different places than I typed them somehow. I have no clue what happened. It's fixed now.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
Oh ok..sometimes I really do need to take things literally.
quakerninja said 3 months ago
jack of all trades maybe, jack of this thread guilty. (sorry) It is related to banners for shows so someone else jump in so i don't feel like a total dick.
feels kinda naked.
Ameeee said 3 months ago
I say go a touch bigger on the "Fine.." so it is aligned with the r and the n.
Now it has a enough space around it and it looks more like a logo and more professional. I think it just has a nicer balance now. Don't worry about it being naked - sometimes less is more. Did you move the "j" down? If you're in Illustrator convert the type to outlines and using the direct selection tool you can lengthen the j without throwing it out of whack :)
Hope I'm not bullying you with my suggestions! I just think if you can attract people to your stand with a tight banner then you can give them all the other info they need when they come to talk to you..I reckon it'd be great to include your whole "quakerninja" definition (not on the banner..but somewhere)
Dave!PTS said 3 months ago
Haha.. no worries man, commandeer away! Banner looks sweet dude!
Anyone else wanna share their Warped knowledge? Average daily sales figures? sweet hook-ups? No? Alright..