D.I.Y.

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson On Frugal Touring And Why Tour Managers Are Pointless

image from jethrotull.comIan Anderson of Jethro Tull thinks going out on tour an losing money is absurd, and he's turn that philosophy into a hobby.  Much of his off time is spent in search of the cheapest flights; and on the road, Anderson is also the tour manager.  After all, who needs to pay someone else to spend his money doing things that he can do better?

On Tour Managers

"I don’t have a tour manager because I don’t want to have another guy who will spend my money and do things differently to me, Anderson told Pollstar. "I know exactly where I want to stay. I know exactly which airline and what time I’m going to fly, and what aircraft I’m not prepared to fly and, in a few cases, which airline I’m not supposed to get into for fear of dying."

Working With The Right Musicians

image from jethrotull.com"I work with musicians. My experience has always been that if you give people the responsibility of behaving like professional musicians, they will rise to the occasion. If you treat them like sheep, they very quickly become sheep. Having a shepherd is not an ingredient that is part of my way of doing things."

Economy Of Scale

"The economy of scale is everything. If you end up with four guys in the band and 20 crew, you’re probably doing something wrong. I mean, there may be an artistic reason for doing that but it’s most likely that you’re way, way overemploying people. And, of course, people will make themselves indispensable … and therefore make [musicians] dependent on them. That’s what I mean when I say if you treat musicians like sheep they become sheep."

More @ Pollstar.com

 

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