Taking Stock Of Touring

A quick update on the state of my headspace, my calendar, and my prospects for the Sheddio On The Road Tour.

I’m about to embark upon the biggest stretch of touring in my career. I have been out on the road for one or two week stints in the past, but this swing is something altogether different. In the second half of this year, I’ll be playing more than fifty shows across the length and breadth of the country.

Frankly, it’s intimidating to look at the calendar and see the massive number of shows laid out in front of me. I’ll drive more than twelve thousand miles just for the shows on this tour. Between the beginning of June and the end of October, I will spend something close to ten weeks by myself traversing the beautiful landscape of America.

There are of course concerns about the state of my vehicle after my nearly catastrophic car debacle at the beginning of the 2023 Summer Tour. I’ll be adding a huge tally of mileage to a thirteen year old car with more than 170,000 clicks on her already. We’ll be careening over mountains and driving in the blazing summer heat of the American south. I’ll have to make sure that the Subaru is fully functional before hitting the highways for this massive stretch of shows.

For most of the west coast dates, the shows themselves are not even secured yet. I’ve simply chosen a route and I am doing my damndest to find venues along the itinerary and hope they work out. Many of these cities and states are places I have not even traveled, let alone played. There are shows planned right now for more than half of the states in the union. It’s a big undertaking for a lone dude and his guitar.

I’m also going to need to get into better shape. This is going to be a physically taxing second half of the year for me and I need to make sure that I can get into and stay in good enough health to play these shows with enthusiasm and verve. Between now and the beginning of June when I leave I need to return to a walking regimen, watch my sleep schedule, and return to eating better.

Touring is not a healthy way to live. I’ll be sitting in a car for long stretches of time and then jumping out at each venue to cart several loads of gear in and out at each stop. This is to say nothing of the anywhere from one to four hours I’ll be on my feet singing songs. They will be taxing days running on fitful sleep, and a catch as catch can approach to dining.

I’m going to need to make sure that I can roll with all of that on the road and stay healthy. The physical exercise is also good for my lungs as a singer, and for my mental health. Just the simple act of walking boosts certain hormones to help abate anxiety and depression. I know this and still do not walk enough.

The routing for the eastern half of the tour. By the time I get home, I’ll cover nearly 6,000 miles just with this section of the dates.

There is also a fair amount of economic anxiety that comes with booking a tour like this. As a worker in the gig economy, I do not get paid if I don’t work. Everyday that I spend on the road playing shows is a day that I cannot drive ride-share at home to earn a living. That means that the revenue that I generate on the road has to replace my ride-share revenue for a typical day, in the least.

My touring schedule, such as it is, will occupy a full two months of my calendar in the latter half of 2024. The plan for these shows and my goal for an audience on average should cover my expenses and find me better off than if I had stayed home to drive everyday; But budgets and plans are just projections. If these shows fail to generate enough cash on average to cover my ride-share earnings, I’ll come home from a very long tour financially further behind than when I left.

Still, I have never been so excited for a string of shows in my life. After my experience last summer, I have a much better idea of what to expect out there day in and day out. I’ve had a taste of roadside emergency. I’ve grown used to sleeping on couches, futons, air mattresses and guest beds. Most importantly, I have grown as a person and as a musician.

I am a better version of myself in this moment than I have ever been before heading out to tour. While I am filled with trepidation, I am also anchored by excitement. My expectations are reasonable, but also represent a step forward in my path as a singer and songwriter and performer. I’ve strengthened my connections with so many folks who have agreed to host me again for a return show, and I have forged new friendships with a slew of hosts and venues that I am excited to visit for the first time.

Maybe most surprisingly, I am filled with a sense of pride that I am still here and doing this work. While I am not digging ditches, this can be lonely and tedious work. And because I am selling myself, it can become a drag on my self-esteem to get rejection emails or worse, get nothing back at all. Still, with a fair amount of dedication and perseverance, I have filled a ton of these dates already. Many of these shows are likely to be better than any shows from my tour last year. This tour is already a sign of progress on various fronts and I haven’t even left the state yet.

It’s also become clear to me how entwined my touring, my music, and the work that I am doing at WAIM have become. In many ways, there is no way to separate them now. My work on the tour cannot help but become a focal point of my story here at the substack. Much of the anxiety and unease that I have felt with this project has been bolstered by the community here in this space and my ability to be honest about the process of booking a tour like this at the point in my life.

Thank you so much for letting me share my excitement, anxiety, and pride over this large undertaking. If I had not walked away from my job and committed myself to creative work there is simply no way that I could be embarking on a tour like of this fashion. Without your support and friendship, I’d never have made it a reality.

Cheers,
Matty C