For this week's column, I followed up with some of the advice seekers from the last six months, to see what worked out for them, or what didn't:

Dear Fan,
I left a trio that I helped start and fronted about six months ago and the band fell apart. I guess the other two members kept playing music together in a new band because today suddenly I got the Facebook update that they had changed the name of the band on the Facebook page. I mean all our flyers and pictures and stuff are on there and it just seems really weird. They didn't tell me about it beforehand, it seems like they should just start from scratch? I feel weird, like, are they going to start playing our old songs without me? Or am I being a baby?
A Lady

Dear Fan,
I need your help. My roommate's BFF recently disclosed that her cousin, who I know from college, has gotten into serious domestic brawls with her older boyfriend. She says cops have been called. I don't think it's him beating her, but them both giving what they get, though I don't know exactly. They both are intense and volatile and appear to have drinking problems. So how is this my problem? I'm good friends with some of the other guys in the boyfriends' band and wonder if it is my duty to tell them. I would want to know if it was my band, but I don't have any proof, only what I heard secondhand.
Thx,
Frankie

Fan,
I'm in a band of moderate renown. We're a D.I.Y. outfit but the band covers its own operating costs and on tour we can draw a crowd anywhere we play. We're on the cusp of releasing our 2nd album, nailing down dates for a summer tour (including some festival gigs) and shooting a music video for the lead single.

And I am so goddamn bored I want to quit immediately.

Hello Fan! 
We're a Chicago-based indie folk duo called Elk and big fans of your column. We have a question that we feel lucky to be asking. After several years making music together, we decided to get more serious. We just released our debut EP and it's doing well. Family, friends and fans are paying more than we expected for the download, and we've got a little band nest egg on our hands. It isn't a lot of money, a few hundred bucks after our first weekend of sales and we expect it'll keep growing, but it still brings up a strategic question. What's the wisest way for us to invest money that the band earns? We don't need to pay ourselves right now. Should we pay some creative friends to help us make a cool-looking music video, or get some better press photographs? Should we just save it for gas money when we tour? (We haven't toured yet but would like to start.) Should we be saving up for engineer costs of a full-length record? What about investing in merch which could, in turn, help us make more money when touring?
Thanks so much for your advice!
Elk 

Dear Fan,
Hey, my name is Adam and I'm in a band called Walter & The Conqueror and I was wondering how can my group can get more shows or could you help my band get more shows, we just released an album and now all we need is some exposure.
-Adam

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

Dear 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 is 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, causing them to play even worse until someone threatens to secretly switch our regular coffee with an antifreeze / bleach blend. What do I do?
-Tony

Dear Fan,
Over the past five years my band has built up a modest fan base that largely includes all the wonderful people we have met in the process, and is bankrolled mostly by our three day jobs.

We just released our second album on vinyl. To pay for the pressing, we started a Kickstarter campaign. With only 73 backers, we were able to raise about $4,000. As I crunched the numbers (I'm a sixth grade math teacher on the side), I realized that a good portion of our fans were willing to pay much larger sums of money, than what their package was actually worth--and it sparked an idea.

Fan,
I currently have a steady job, a mortgage and an awesome girlfriend. However I'm wanting to fuck my shit up by making the switch to being a musician full-time again. I'm having a hard time dealing with the transition. All my time is taken up with gigs, practice and recording sessions, meanwhile I'm still have to work full time to pay the bills. How do I find balance in this transition?
Patrick