IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

October 2018

On August 31 Fish posted his answer on Facebook to the many questions he received after publishing his current tour dates. It's an article well worth reading and it articulates exactly what touring bands are confronted with.

The questions I am referring to can be summarized in the following: 'why don't you play [name venue], please come to [name country]?' His explanation was as simple as it was clear: “Touring is expensive, and if venues or promotors aren't willing to pay a certain amount, we will lose money. That's a risk I can't afford. ”

We're getting these questions too. Although Kayak play in a different league altogether (we wish we had his problems) the same answer more or less applies to us: if we are not playing a certain venue or country, we did not get the financial offer that was needed to at least break even- or the venue / promoter wasn't interested at all to book us. That's the reality we (and many bands, I can tell you) are facing. And with the Brexit coming up, prospects are even worse.

It's not that we do not want to go to France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the rest of Europe (except the UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Russia where we do play). Hell, we're not even playing all the venues we'd like in Holland.

Believe me, there's nothing we'd rather do. It's just not possible without losing money or running a big risk to lose it. And it is unlikely that merchandise and possible record sales (what?) Will make up for that.

The only way to get us [here] would be to all approach a promoter or venue and explain how profitable it would be for them if they booked Kayak [here]. Good luck!

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POEN, POEN, POEN, POEN

On August 31, Fish wrote a comprehensive answer to the many questions he received on Facebook from the tour schedule he published. It is worth reading that piece, and it shows exactly what touring bands are dealing with.

The questions to which I refer can be summarized as: "why don't you play [hall name], please come to [country name]?" His explanation was as simple as it was clear: “Touring is expensive, and if the halls or promoters don't want to pay a certain amount, we make a loss. I cannot afford that risk. ”

We also get those questions. Although Kayak does play in what is a lower division (we wish we had his problems), the same goes for us more or less. If we don't play in a particular venue or country, we simply couldn't negotiate the amount needed to at least break even - or the venue / promoter wasn't even interested in booking us. That is the reality we (and many bands with us, believe me) are dealing with. And with the upcoming Brexit, things will only get more difficult.

It's really not that we don't want to go to France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the rest of Europe (ok, we do play in England, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Russia). Folks, we don't even get to all the halls of the Netherlands where we would like.

Take it from me that we would love nothing more. However, it is not possible without losing money or running significant risks. Merchandise and possible record sales (what?) Probably never make up for that.

The only way to get us [here] is to approach a room or promoter en masse and explain how profitable it would be for them to book Kayak [here]. Good luck!