The last few months haven't all been rock and roll. There has been a fair amount of looking at spreadsheets, tracking income, deciding how much advertising would cost us, where to record our album, and so on.
So it's a little strange to be talking about a digital version of that. I downloaded Band Boss on a bit of a whim on my iPhone and quickly got sucked into creating a little fictional version of the British IBM. After naming the manager and dressing the band up, I'm thrown into a screen where I have one option - Arrange Tour. Tap on that, and it starts to get pretty deep.
How long does the tour have to be? Longer tours are better for popularity but can wear the band out. Can I afford to travel in luxury, or are we on the cheap? Advertising - Are we going to do it on flyers, pay for internet ads, or even get it on TV? More expensive options will mean more people might turn up, but if we're just starting out...
So I sent the 8-bit Aidy, Paul & I out on the road for two weeks, after selecting a suitable support act, advertised only on flyers and sleeping in the back of a van. Reviews came in thick and fast... and said we looked tired but put on an okay show. Time for some energy drinks.
Soon, we started knocking out some songs. We all trained a little harder at our musical ability and our visual appeal. Then we could record a single. This throws out some more options - Where can we record it? Can we afford the plush Arbury Road at a whopping $1,000,000, or we do it ourselves? Wait, the producer has a fever - And the only cure is more Cowbell. Also, can we chuck in an extra $271,731 to get that raw cowbell sound we're after?
There's some really fun stuff here - You have to keep happiness levels up, which is difficult when your little band start dating fellow musical stars. You can send them packing away on holidays, or buy them a shiny new watch. It's a pretty fun little time sink, as you're deciding what magazines to give interviews to, although once you've earned yourself a cool few million in Band Boss Bucks, I don't really see it getting better than this high life.
Just like reality, I guess.
