David Gate & Levi Macallister Present

Salving

Through storytelling and poetry from David’s book, A Rebellion of Care, and Levi’s new collection, Pay Attention, You’re Alive, we’ll be taking and artful journey from isolation to togetherness.We’re excited about what we’ve created, and have spent months building something special and specific—not just as it relates to our art, but to our hope that these events will foster a sense of community and togetherness. We have a vision for a very intentional kind of night, and we’re hoping you might be interested in helping us make it come to life.Here are some specific details about what we’re after:

Theme

It's Good To Be Together

So many of us, so much of the time, feel separate and alone. Almost everything in our world seems to divide us—social media, politics, religion, and the power-dynamics inherent to them—all while calling it “connection” and leaving us believing that our felt sense of reality is wrong.Maybe, even, that you are what’s wrong with you.You are not what is wrong with you.It is not. You’re feeling the way you’re feeling—even down to the depths of despair—because you’re “working” right. Because you are paying attention, and there’s a real, understandable, likely-painful quality of overwhelm inherent to the kind of attending you can’t help but experience in the light of it all.And, what we want to say is, stick with it. There is more—goodness, beauty, justice, kindness, liberation, hope—to see. Not in a glib, this will be your fix kind of way, but in and through the very wisdom that knows there is life shimmering in the midst of it all, and together, we become and hold it for one another, and all that makes us: us.Gathering in a real, embodied way is a rebellion of care that reminds us, that helps us believe in, that fosters that kind of aliveness.

The Show

What It Is And How We're Doing It

[TOUR NAME] is an immersive, embodied, multimedia event. We’ll feature poetic, musical and visual elements interwoven throughout.

We’ve each chosen a selection of poetry, stories and anecdotes for these events, which we’ll be sharing, reading, performing. That said, we want these events, themselves, to be the experience of what our art hopes to express, where the hope is not just heard, but felt. To that end, we’ll be inviting a featured guest/local-someone—another poet, artist, songwriter, friend—(to be announced) to participate with us each evening, weaving them into the story.

Details and Desires

We want these places/events to feel like they’d be fun to gather together in whether or not we were performing. We want places that feel more… designated and special than, say, moving some chairs to the side of a room and plopping people down on the floor. To that end, a few thoughts:

Venue/Space/Feel/Aesthetic

We’ve all seen artists in horrible venues, and we don’t want this to be that. That said, we’re relatively open to a variety of options—an art space/gallery, a studio, a theater, some private residence or (size-appropriate, and clean) home, a college/university, a venue (established or DIY), etc. I (Levi) have even performed in some lovely hair salons, tattoo studios, Airbnb lofts and coffee shops before. We are open to anything within reason, and will be screening our options. We want everyone who attends to feel comfortable and well-accommodated so that they can truly drop in to the experience. (We’ll also need enough space to set up merch-tables… and the tables to put them on.)

Attendance and Capacity

Our hope for each event is a 50-person minimum, and up to 120. We are asking hosts to take that into consideration when inquiring about or suggesting spaces.

Refreshments/Food

People seem to enjoy being places with other people knowing there are food/drinks/snacks available. Ideally, at the least, some sort of refreshments will be an option, whether that’s a BYOB situation, a local vendor wants to get involved (as sponsor, donor or presence), or you’ve got a secret cellar and a generous heart.

Please Note: alcohol should not be considered a dealbreaker for us if it’s off the table for you, but also, guests will be expected to behave appropriately and each event, and our marketing, will include said disclaimer.

Tech

We don’t need much, but we do need something. While a full system with subs isn’t required, something like a Bose Standalone / Portable System is (for example, or comparable). Depending upon what gets set in stone, here, we may need someone to run sound, as well (albeit, our needs are minimal—direct input/aux, mic line, possible instrument depending on guest, etc.) We will bring/provide the projector for video elements.

YOUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As host, we’re asking for your help, which certainly includes a bit of dreaming/ideating about the best way to pull this off in your area, but also requires some practical needs, like:

Venue/Event Space

Let’s see what you’ve got! If at all possible, we’d like to skirt big venue fees for everybody involved. That said, we’ll take each suggestion on a case-by-case basis.

Promotion

Yes, we will be doing plenty of our own as artists, but it must be said that no matter how many social-media or email-list followers we have, getting the word out, locally, is still necessary, and that’s where you come in. We’re asking you to tell your friends, your family, your community, as well as any other ideas about what groups or organizations might be interested in your area (churches, schools, poetry or spoken-word groups, your social media, etc.)

Lodging

We’ll address this on a location-basis, as “[we’ve] been everywhere, man” and have friends all over, but there may be nights when lodging is requested, and a hotel is needed. You don’t have to put us up in the Ritz, but we’ll need to figure it out.

Financials

We can't play your town for free. Sorry. If you'd like to book a show, a guaranteed minimum must be covered, which can happen through selling tickets, using a built-in event budget (such as schools / churches / universities / non-profits often have), asking your rich uncle to bankroll the evening, etc.

OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As host, we’re asking for your help, which certainly includes a bit of dreaming/ideating about the best way to pull this off in your area, but also requires some practical needs, like:

Provide Promotional Materials

Branded event poster/art, digital and creative assets, headshots, etc — all things [TOUR NAME]

Promotion / Marketing

We’ll be sharing, announcing, talking about, garnering interest, screaming from rooftops, emailing (both general and location-based email marketing for people within your regional area), etc.

Press

We are available, individually and together, for any press and promotional opportunities (interviews, podcasts, local radio, community-engagement, etc.)

Ticketing

Unless otherwise discussed, we will host ticketing sales in-house, or co-host a backend link together (think: Eventbrite, etc) for visual ease. If solo-hosting, we will provide weekly sales numbers so that we know where our target’s at.

The Show!

Of course!

The Ideal

Timeline

Our goal is to have dates, hosts, venues and details squared away for each respective leg of this run at least one full month out from the start of it, so as to give as much time for promotion and sales as possible.

Okay, that’s that. Thanks for your time. Forgive the length, here—it’s really not as daunting as it may seem, and we’re both chill/laid back humans that are open to any conversation you’d like to have about it. This is just the “nitty-gritty” version, and we’re doing our best to anticipate questions as we seek to create a unique something that will play out as a best-case-scenario for everyone involved.Let us know what you think!