Martin Atkins' Tour:Smart in Town
We always hear success stories about people breaking their bands and being able to tour on the strength of Myspace word of mouth alone, but the fact remains that touring is an uphill battle more likely to wreck your band than help it succeed. Still, despite the reality, theres nothing quite so romantic as the notion of being on the road and conquering new audiences.
Thankfully, we now have Pigface/Underground Inc records founder [Martin Atkins experience ](/20/38/abouttown/BookReview_2.cfm)to draw from. Atkins speaks today in promotion of his new instructional volume, [Tour:Smart], which takes his 20+ years of experience with PiL, Killing Joke, Pigface, etc. and presents it with liberal doses of anecdotal wisdom from a slew of working road rats (Henry Rollins, Chris Connelly) and professionals in related fields (for a combined 500 years worth of experience, as the books promo materials exclaim).
With its engaging, humorous tone, the book is a pleasure to behold and even feels good just to hold in your hands. It looks great on coffeetables too and makes an obvious gift for anyone you might want to help not throw their life away on a futile quest. Many already have heaped the book with praise for its accuracy and helpfulness:Atkins addresses every topic under the sun, including thorny cans of worms like drugs and immigration issues. Todays seminar will no doubt bring Atkins wisdom to life with even more charm and accessibility.
Tonight, Dec. 10 at [Lit Lounge], 93 2nd Ave., 5pm, free.