{"id":25015,"date":"2023-04-28T05:30:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T09:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=25015"},"modified":"2023-03-30T14:59:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T18:59:42","slug":"the-state-of-touring-an-asheville-perspective-part-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/28\/the-state-of-touring-an-asheville-perspective-part-2-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of Touring: an Asheville Perspective, Part 2 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One…<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Quality over quantity<\/b>
\nBefore the pandemic, Bask toured incessantly. In 2015 alone, the heavy rock band based in Asheville played nearly 20 dates on its European tour. Touring was a central component of the group\u2019s existence. But when concert tours and festival gigs disappeared of of the schedule, the four members returned home and got on with their lives. And in the process, their perspective on touring changed a bit.<\/p>\n

As soon as I got the vaccine,\u201d says guitarist Ray Worth, \u201cI felt like I did my part. My approach was, \u2018I\u2019m ready to invest everything back into the industry.\u201d But despite determination and optimism, he says that an undercurrent of uncertainty affects everyone involved. \u201cThere\u2019s always a sense of, \u2018When\u2019s it all going to crumble again?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And the landscape seems to have shifted since 2020. With his dual vantage points as band member and independent show booker, Worth reports the same kind of changes regarding ticket sales that McWalters has observed. Before the pandemic, Worth says it would be typical to say, \u201cOkay, we did 75 tickets in presale, so we might get 200 in here tonight.\u201d Now, he says, the script is flipped. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have [sales] up front, it\u2019s going to be bleak.\u201d <\/p>\n

Time off the road gave the members of Bask an opportunity to re-evaluate their own priorities. \u201cFour or five years ago,\u201d Worth says, \u201cwe were hitting it really, really hard with 100-150 dates a year.\u201d He doesn\u2019t see the group returning to that kind of heavy-duty touring. \u201cWe\u2019ve all stepped back and said, \u2018Let\u2019s focus a little more on quality over quantity.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

One of the band\u2019s most recent run of dates was a short, four-city mini tour. Worth believes that this new, measured approach \u201chas created healthier dynamics within the band. We don\u2019t want to do shows just to do<\/i> them.\u201d And for now, that means \u201chunker[ing] down and focusing on [making] the next record,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

So while Worth and his band mates \u2013 bassist Jesse Van Note, drummer Scott Middleton and guitarist\/vocalist Zeb Camp \u2013 don\u2019t seem to be in a hurry to resume touring just yet, they\u2019re at least thinking about taking to the road\u2026 eventually. \u201cThings have been hitting my inbox,\u201d Worth says, noting inquires for Bask bookings \u201cin Europe later this year and early next year.\u201d <\/p>\n

Off the Road<\/b>
\nSome artists have all but given up on the idea of live concert touring.<\/p>\n

King Garbage is the duo of Zach Cooper and Vic Dimotsis. The two are a self-contained musical unit: they both write, produce and play multiple instruments. Perhaps by design, their sound is difficult to pin down, spanning many genres from soul to rock to funk, all wrapped up in a hypnotic and psychedelic melange.<\/p>\n

In addition to releasing two highly regarded albums \u2013 2017\u2019s Make it Sweat<\/i> and 2022\u2019s Heavy Metal Greasy Love<\/i>, Dimotsis and Cooper put a great deal of emphasis into composing songs for or with other artists. That growing list includes Ellie Goulding, Travis Scott, SZA and the Weeknd. In 2021, the team co-wrote \u201cSing,\u201d a track on Jon Batiste\u2019s We Are<\/i>. The album earned eight Grammy award nominations, with a win for Album of the Year. Another track the duo composed, \u201cSweeter\u201d was featured on Leon Bridges\u2019 2021 album Gold-Diggers Sound<\/i>, another Grammy nominee.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And while King Garbage ventured out of town for live performances before the pandemic, their current focus on songwriting and recording means that it\u2019s not currently a priority. Bandsintown.com lists only two shows in the last three years, both local: one at Asheville Music Hall and another at Salvage Station. \u201cKing Garbage hasn\u2019t done much touring,\u201d Dimotsis says. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t plan on doing much in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touring, he says, has become a war of budgets. \u201cOnly those backed by support are able to take the risk of going on the road,\u201d Dimotsis believes. While conceding that touring is \u201cone of the few ways to make money as a musician,\u201d he says that he doesn\u2019t plan on doing much of it in the future. Instead, he says, he and Cooper are working on their next album.<\/p>\n

Though King Garbage has been earning recognition in the music industry, Dimotsis doesn\u2019t seem interested in becoming part of its machinery. \u201cThis is a time to make live or recorded music out of love and intention,\u201d he suggests. And for his duo at least, touring doesn\u2019t figure into those intentions. <\/p>\n

Unwritten future<\/b>
\nJust over a year ago, Covid-19 cases in the U.S. were just coming off their peak of nearly 90,000 per day. But now, for touring musicians as well as the population in general, life seems to have returned to normal with remarkable speed. Still, if the pandemic has taught anyone anything, it\u2019s that the future is uncertain. So while there are anecdotal clues to what the future of concert touring will look like, it\u2019s too early to know for sure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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