and..enjoy the journey
Pre-tour stuff you should have ready before you pick up the phone.
You need to save up as much money as possible for all the expenses that you'll incur prior to the tour. Things like phone bills, postage, press kits, posters, vehicle maintenance, food, etc. This should be done as a group. You need a phone, a good one with voice mail or an answering machine.
Put a promotional kit together (a bio, cd/cassette, posters, band photo, press clippings), and have enough of them on hand so that you'll be able to mail people stuff as they request and/or as you confirm dates.
Figure out what merchandise you're going to take with you (shirts, sweatshirts, lapel pins, stickers, patches, etc.).
Work out reliable transportation for the tour and buy a good road atlas. Become familiar with the cities and distances. Try to route a tour that's achievable for you.
Organize a tentative routing along with day, date, contact, phone number so that when you call potential promoters, you'll know roughly what date your band hopes to play there. Allot at least three months before the first date of your tour. You need to allow time for people to get your packages, listen to them, decide if they like you, play phone tag, etc.
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