BOOKING LIVE SHOWS IN 2018 / my first two months working as a booker / overcoming the challenges

It seems booking bands in 2018 in Croatia isn't all that easy. It's been exactly two months since I started doing this job and I've probably felt every feeling there is to feel in the world, all at the same time, from the excitement of doing my dream job to complete panic. So here's a brief summary of my work so far - how it all started, where am I now, what does a booker really do and what are the challenges you face every single day.

HOW IT ALL STARTED (E-MAILS)

Two months ago I sent an SMS to a guy who owns a Zagreb based record company saying something like Hey, I'm looking for work in music so if you happen to have something, call me, I'd be glad to do it. In no time, I received a reply: Sure, come by the store, we'll talk. I was excited. I didn't really expect a reply. Let alone a positive one. I came by the store, sat down with the future boss, talked about what I do now and why I want to do this and made a deal. The deal was simple: Here are the bands, go and do it. Nobody told me what to do first or how to even do it. It was a settled thing and I guess it was expected of me to just go and start booking. Since this was the very first time I was trying to book shows, I was scared shitless. I came home, sat down, googled for a few hours, then I took a piece of paper and wrote down the essentials. I wanted to see what I know, what I should know, what I don't know and where to start. What I knew was this: it's a non-stop job and you do it everyday. There are no working hours, no lunch breaks and no ''I don't feel like it''. If you do it, you do it all the time. I also knew I already had some connections (and therefore a place to start) which I picked-up along the way, playing shows ever since I can remember. Also, if you don't have a decent internet enabled smartphone, go get one. I had a shitty smartphone that was on the brink of becoming thrash at any second and it was time for a new one. So I bought a decent smartphone with an unlimited internet package and some handy options (like ''scan document'' and other apps like PDF converter, whatever to jpeg converter, .wav to .mp3 converter and all that kind of stuff) because once it starts, you'll be sending all kinds of files all the time and the e-mails will never stop coming with every file type on the planet in the attachments. I also upgraded from Messenger to Slack because I had to keep working in various threads were I could organise the information I need into separate compartments. The other crucial step is to store everything you work with (promo materials, riders, photos, important notes...) into organised folders (each for every band), both in the computer and in the phone. I started with booking 4 bands (two of which share members) that all wanted to go on tour at the same time but in different places. Imagine the hell. So, this all sounds like a lot of work (and it is) but it can be pretty much done within a few days and it's the essential thing to do before you start and it also helps you determine your starting point better.

(if you don't organise, you'll get lost!)

WORLD MAP (WHERE TO GO?)

One of the big questions. Where the hell could my bands even go to? Will it be affordable? How much money do they even need to start? Will they earn more that they invest? All these questions came swarming in so I had to make some kind of a plan.
When I travel with my other bands (Moskau, Seine), I always go to Google Maps and I save the place we are currently in as a ''favorite place''. Google maps has an option of showing the places you saved as favorites marked in a shape of a heart on the map. That way you can keep a very visual track of all the places you visited. I was smart enough (without even knowing it) to mark a place every time I would play a show so now I knew where we were and what we managed to reach without loosing money. This is my map:

The number of hearts gets bigger as you zoom in but this is basically where I've been so far. I knew I could book my bands from Croatia all the way to Belgium up north or all the way down to Plovdiv, Bulgaria down south. This was a good amount of Europe coverage which was just what I needed. The next step was to see the list of my contacts. I already had some contacts and I also got a few lists from my boss. The other lists were from people that were doing the same job or bands that were touring before. I reviewed my contacts and linked them to the places on my map. I had all the contacts from all the places I've been to, plus some contacts in places I've never been before. All the contacts are from Europe and Europe is big enough for all the bands I book. I also checked which of the clubs don't exist anymore and which are new ones to upgradeand filter my list. Lastly, I calculated the expenses for a few possible Europe routes so I could determine the price per show I had to aks for each band to make the tour affordable. This was all my info organised and all my tech stuff ready to go. The next step was the execution.

EXECUTION (REPEAT IT 'TILL IT HAPPENS)

Execution was simple. You sit down, write as many e-mails as possible and send them to all the people from your contact list. Then you wait and check your e-mail every 2 seconds before you get a few replies. The replies are anything from We would really like to, but it's not possible at this time, It might be possible, It's possible but not for that price, It's possible only if... to nothing. The nothing replies are the most common ones, followed by not possible at this time. All the rest that have a possible in them are worth pursuing. When you finish that, you do it all over again. It's very simple. You just repeat the same things until you get a better result and this is probably the only job in the world where you get a better result by repeating everything exactly the same way. After a while, it becomes a routine and you don't even have to think about it anymore. You wake up and you do it. The only thing you need to keep track of is what e-mail are you using with whom. I use my official e-mail, my personal e-mail and my bands' e-mails to send stuff. I have to keep a good track of what I've sent from which e-mail because I could end up waiting for a reply that never comes but is actually in my other e-mail account.

INTRODUCING THE ARTISTS (FROM OBSCURE TO MAINSTREAM)

Now that I've sort of covered the job part, it's time to say a thing or two about the ART PART because art already is in part, isn't it? Just kidding. Anyway, I work with 4 artists: Vasko Atanasoski, The Lesser Men, Brujači and Trobecove Krušne Peći. They are all very different from each other but somehow, it all works.

VASKO

First up, Vasko. Vasko is a guy from Macedonia who is doing music all his life and who is sort of a legend in the underground scene. He used to play in several bands (Bernays Propaganda and Xaxaxa) but is now going solo. This is his previous work:

(probably the biggest alternative band ever to emerge in Macedonia, here featuring none other than Mike Watt)

(another of Vasko's bands, something more rough)

And his solo album ''Pazi kuče'' recently released. It's crazy stuff and he's doing these crazy shows that fit the music perfectly. He just came back from tour (first tour I ever book for someone) and started recording new material!

THE LESSER MEN

The Lesser Men is a band consisting of experienced Zagreb based musicians. They are the most mainstream (even though this is not true mainstream), last year they released an album ''Bedrooms'' and it was on almost every ''Albums of the year'' lists. This is how they sound:

BRUJAČI

Brujači are old school. Post-punk school. They share members with Trobecove Krušne Peći. They sound like a mix of Gang of Four, the Pop Group and Fugazi. They are noisy and dirty and they do it really good. They are actually much older than Vasko or the Lesser Men and they've been around for more than 20 years. This is their latest effort.

TROBECOVE KRUŠNE PEĆI

Now THIS is a legendary band. Back in ex Yugoslavia, they were banned because of their name. Trobec was a Yugoslavian serial killer and he would burn people in a furnace for making bread. Hence tha name ''Trobec's bread furnaces''. The state bannned them even though they were only 20 years old. Years later they finally released their first album (which was supposed to be released back in the 80's) and they've also released a new album called ''Ether'' last year. They are this crazy Pop Group, Rip, Rig and Panic, Birthday Party, The Fall mix and they really sound amazing, even today. They've decided to play again four years ago after a break that lasted for 30 years.

So, this is what I do and I hope I will continue doing it. I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to comment and support!