house concerts and 21st century touring

Not to dissuade anyone from joining our esteemed list of house concert presenters, but I’d like to offer some advice about controlling your information.

It is now easier than ever to get people’s information from the internet. Personal stuff. With just your phone number, I can spend $40 and find out all sorts of stuff about you. Try googling your phone number or your email address and see what kinds of combinations that come up, and notice the “sponsored links” that offer tracking services and credit reports.

With that in mind, I’d like to suggest a few things to keep presenters (or anyone) in control of their communications with the outside world. Create a new, PRIVATE email that you will never associate with your phone number, address, or any other private information. Most providers allow up to 5 accounts, and if you own a domain the possibilities are endless. Also, if you use outlook or Apple mail, it’s easy to receive an email from your private address, and then to reply with your public one.

This private email address is the one you should use when you allow strangers (artists, new audience members, etc.) to contact you. That should be the only contact info on your website, and on your listing at CIYH. This could also give you an edge in “sniffing out” potential trouble-makers if you host a concert series.Keep some anonymity until you’ve had a chance to gather a bit of information.

Here are some tips for new hosts as they join our site:

Naming your series… don’t use your street name, neighborhood name, or last name. Email… probably shouldn’t use your work email either. Open up a free yahoo, gmail, or msn account if you need to. Phone… I recommend not. Even if your number is “unlisted”, if it shows up on one website, it’s getable, and so is your address.

This is not to alarm anyone, I just thing it’s time we realize how public we can be without even realizing it. For your website and ours, stick to the basics, and make people share a bit about themselves before you put out too much info.

Best,

Fran Snyder
http://concertsinyourhome.com - the most complete house concert resource on the web… that also respects and encourages your privacy!
8^)

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When we think of concert tours, we’re likely to imagine diesel-guzzling buses, truss-filled semi-trailers, and jet-setting artists. Or we might imagine a rock-and-roll band playing under the hot lights at a smoky clubs full of inebriated college students. It’s certainly less dramatic to think of a singer-songwriter touring the country in a small car with his acoustic guitar, CDs, and a suitcase.

It might interest “green-leaning” readers to know that you can witness a powerful music performance that leaves a pretty small carbon-footprint compared to what we’ve come to expect from musical acts - and it might happen in your living room! Consider the growing “house concert” movement.

In at least 48 states and provinces, music fans are regularly opening their homes for private concerts. Through their own connections or by using sites like http://concertsinyourhome.com, they can find touring or local artists who enjoy performing for intimate crowds. This non-traditional setting allows small or acoustic acts to make some money, get free lodging, and often make a much stronger connection with the listeners than they could at a typical club or coffeehouse show.

House concerts are not just a very cool trend that is keeping touring songwriters alive, but a wonderful environmental trend as well. Consider these factors…

Reduced auto emissions:
1. artists travel light (very little equipment needed), allowing them to use smaller vehicles than they would for conventional tours.
2. house concert audiences are predominantly people from nearby areas - often times neighbors just crossing the street on foot.
3. artists often receive meals and lodging, which eliminates several additional car trips and commuting miles.
4. artists can often schedule several shows in one area (usually unwise when touring clubs), which allows them to travel less per earned dollar.

Reduced electrical use:
1. most house concerts require very little extra lighting.
2. most house concerts require very little amplification of sound.

Healthier environment:
1. most homeowners discourage smoking or excessive drinking at these events.
2. volume levels are much quieter than club shows which is great for everyone’s hearing health.

These events vary greatly, and not every factor listed would apply to all house concerts. But it would be hard to argue that these small, localized events are less sustainable than the mega-tours we see every summer.

For more information about house concerts, visit http://concertsinyourhome.com

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