Dear Fan,
I'm booking a mini-tour for a folk-pop acoustic duo this June 4th-26th. We're hoping to head from San Francisco (staying for a week) to Seattle, to British Columbia, Canada. We've been sending out messages to venues, bands, community pages, Craigslist, and so far, people say they'll help or direct us to someone else, but nothing has actually pulled through. Do you have any suggestions about who to message, potentially hitting up different cities along the way, or what we should do in general? Any advice would be extremely appreciated.
Thank you!
Jessica

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Fan,

I play guitar for the band [Redacted].Our lead singer is a bitch. Honestly, she isn't a bitch at all, she just isn't good a communicating and comes off as a bitch. I finally figured this out and learned to disregard and negative vibes I got from her, but our new drummer and bass player have a hard time doing this. She will comment on the way they played something, the bass player or drummer will get totally offended, retaliate by launching an insult at her, and a battle breaks out which ruins our practice. Half the time someone quits the band, only to show up at the next practice. Our shows are great because there are no negative conversations during the set and everyone plays well because it's fun and happy. But at practice, there is such a crappy vibe that everyone plays poorly, causing others to point out their mistakes, pissing everyone off more. What do I do?

Tony

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Greetings Fan,
Our band recently changed our name after many years. We had our old name at the seeming dawn of the Internet-band-craze-age, when MySpace was king. Back in those days "real" bands didn't have much use for a social media presence. I find it disheartening that bands/ side projects of bands I loved and still love--whose heydays were long before the Internet (Six Finger Satellite, Fugazi solo projects Deathfix and Joe Lally, The Reigning Sound etc.) are on Facebook and such. Having to pimp themselves out in this manner like all the other dregs that play to he barkeep's cousin at SXSW. Can a band exist these days--or more importantly can people hear your songs--without partaking in social media? Are there examples of new up-and-comers who keep off the Internet, leaving a bit of mystique out there for you to find on your lonesome? Could there be a new trend on the horizon of anti-Internet? Am I an old person?
p.s our web handle sans Zuckerberg: hobbyistband.com
Thanks for your time,
Marc

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Fan,
What do the more responsible touring musicians use for medical care? What kind of plan is best for covering illnesses and hospitalizations for the road, and at home? In what ways can a musician make informed choices about coverage and cost effectiveness?
Todd

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Fan,
Is it common for indie labels, especially the bigger ones like Merge or Matador to keep the rights to a band's album masters? If so, is there a good business reason to agree to this?
John

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Dear Fan,

I've recently started a solo music project after being in a band for 10-plus years. Previously, there were four people sharing band duties such as booking, promoting, etc. Being just one person, I find there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. How can I create a new "team" to help keep the gears in motion as I work to build a name for myself? I know all about street teams, contests and other means for getting people to help spread the word, but I need a core team that I can rely on. I don't know how to make this happen since I'm an indie artist and not able to offer pay or other big benefits. Any insight is appreciated! Thanks

Jordan

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Dear Fan,
Considering the overused tropes of band nomenclature, it is only natural that someone somewhere named a band something that is perfect, then broke up. Maybe the band never played a show, or maybe the band put out a terrible obscure record. What is the rule on that, how long before that name is open again? When is a name fair game?
MG

See also: Ask Fan Landers: Will My Band Always Be Broke?

Dear Fan Landers,
We're a melodic indie pop band from a small college town in California. When our band first started, we had a great opportunity to put out two records on a record label that is known mainly for releasing Christian music. We figured it was a great way to get our music out into the world and it was; the label had great distro and treated us well. Even though we have since gone fully independent, we still can't seem to get any love from "cool" indie blogs and press outlets who cater directly to the people who would probably like our music mainly, I suspect, due to our former label associations, not to mention our home base in the hinterlands of California. How can we become "born again" in the eyes of the secular music press?
Daniel

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Hey Fan!
My band Swearwords have been playing together for a while now-- we've put out two well-received EPs and have filled some of the crucial rooms in Chicago. This year, we'll be releasing our first full-length and touring the Midwest and both coasts. Any advice for keeping the momentum going and priming the pump before the next push?
Best,
Neil

Dear Fan,
I'm in a young band from Reno, Nevada, called Memory Motel. We just released our debut 7-inch and we're getting to the point where we need some form of management. It's becoming increasingly difficult to deal with everything on our own, and as a result it feels like we're swimming in circles. The only problem is that Reno is a town that's not exactly filled with many good band managers/ booking agents/ industry contacts, and cold emailing people seems to not be working out too well. Do you have any advice for an indie band coming from a small market like Reno, trying to find more contacts? Should we just pack it up and try to make it in a big pond like LA or New York?
Huge fan of the column.
Memory Motel