I just had a promoter suggest that I could van-tour my way to their weekend festival 1500 miles away, booking Sun-Thurs shows to and fro, so as not to have to incur the expense of flying in and out of their festival. In 1995 I could. In 2015 I would be lucky to receive an offer of one door deal in 100 pitches for a weeknight show. It costs over $500/day to put a trio in a van, counting band member guarantees, motels, and the $.82/mile mileage cost as stated by my van’s manufacturer.
It is profitable for top acts, which ain’t me.
1. Competing forms of free electronic entertainment.
2. Gas and motels more expensive than 1995.
3. Very little demand for CDs sold offstage now that streaming is the preferred delivery method for club-going aged people.
4. the transition from one-band-plays-for-6-nights to six-bands-share-one-night.
5. Fear of drinking to a .05% BAC level and getting a DUI.