by Politics

In a follow up to a recent story on the problems faced by touring bands in the face of skyrocketing gas prices, Indy Week has put together a detailed article looking at the actual costs and problems faced by bands.

The magazine spoke with Birds of Avalon who discussed some of the unorthodox things they've had to do to make ends meet:

Back when we did Boston and New York, we made sure to add a whole tank in New Jersey before we got up there. … We are definitely driving slower. … Sometimes, we draft behind trucks if they are going roughly the same speed as us. It's debatable if this helps, but it makes us feel like we're saving gas.

Some bands are paying upwards of $200 per day to get from show to show, making it essentially impossible for smaller bands to even cover gas prices, let alone make much money from shows.

Birds of Avalon also painstakingly documented the price of various trips finding that a relatively common trek from Raleigh to Atlanta could run $160.00 while Orlando, Fla., to Pensacola, Fla comes in at $190 and New Orleans to Raleigh tops $350.00.

You can check out the article here.

With prices like these and low door prices, merchandise sales are going to make the difference for a lot of bands.