Our band has been gigging regularly, and some of the band members are feeling a little flush...

So tonight is our 2nd gig where we HIRED A ROADIE.

Yes, he set up all our gear, including "the beast", my bass amp. I walked up, plugged in my vintage '73 Jazz, and sound checked.

No sore back, no sweat stains before the gig even starts. No scuffed shoes, or busted knuckles. Just the music. Aaahhhhh.

Sound check is done, and we don't go on for another hour, so I came home to make you all jealous before I go play. (Gig near home.)

And when the gig is done, I'll put my bass in my case, shake some hands and tell everyone thank you, and it was a joy to play with you/for you as the case may be, and I'll be home before midnight.

This will probably add 10 years to my career.

How's your back? Sounds like a sweet deal!

How's your back?Its great! I carried my bass (only) from the car to the stage. Didn't break a sweat.

Now, my shoulders will be sore after three hours with an 8lb bass, even with my fancy fur-lined strap. That'll be the next upgrade. I've got GAS for a strap.

Is that the amp or the bass, i play DB, and where did you score that!:p

Its the bass. A '73 Fender Jazz. I bought it in '76. So you can do the math and see how old I am...

Does your band also have a sound man?

Whaddaya pay a roadie in Boise?

Band I'm in had that before my time and to quote them "it was easier, but we made half the money".
We all need the exercise and having no PA(we all use our own BOSE PAS) makes things VERY LESS complicated(in the 70's and 80's the guitar player and I did the 40 foot truck full of gear, PA, lightshow, and 3 roadie thing).

How did the roadie dent your take home pay as a percentage?

Does your band also have a sound man? Whaddaya pay a roadie in Boise?No sound man. Our (guy) singer does the sound. "Set it and forget it."

Roadie costs us $50. Five of us kick in $10 each. He makes about $15-$20 an hour. Costs us each about $3 an hour. Saves us a lot of wear and tear on our bods.

We used to console ourselves by saying "they pay us to move the gear. We would play for free, for fun." I've heard several other people here say that, too.

Now, I feel like they're actually paying us to play! Oh joy!

Roadie costs us $50. Five of us kick in $10 each. He makes about $15-$20 an hour.

he's making a lot less than that... he's got to kick his heels waiting for you to finish the set before he can load out... how many hours is he actually present at the venue? Is he able to go away and do another paying job?

My band always brings a roadie with us on the road, and sometimes at home. It makes things 10000% easier and usually doesn't dent our pay too much.

he's making a lot less than that... he's got to kick his heels waiting for you to finish the set before he can load out... how many hours is he actually present at the venue? Is he able to go away and do another paying job?Naaaah. We don't travel far to play. He sets up, then goes home for 3-4 hours, then comes back for tear-down. I guess he does have double-commute, but its not far. It makes things 10000% easier and usually doesn't dent our pay too much.That's what we're finding.

I've been trying to convince the guys that we need to do this. We only make about $90 a show each, but I'd love to kick in $10 to have someone do the donkey work. I'm not sure I'd be able to get out of ALL the work, and I probably would want to set up my own rig, but I'd pay that to have someone haul my cab(s), and help out with the lights (which I currently manage).

Ian

The down side: The times that I've worked with bands that had roadies were the only times that my equipment took a beating.

Wally

The down side: The times that I've worked with bands that had roadies were the only times that my equipment took a beating.

Wally

+1

This is all I have to say about that-

http://www.hel-looks.com/photos/20070915_06.jpg

My band is currently 9 people. 2 Acoustic guitar players, one electric guitarist, 2 violin players, cellist, drummer, pianist, and me on bass.

Lets see how much gear we end up bringing, most of this gear is mine and was put towards the band:
4 Bass Guitars
2 Strats
Les Paul
Telecaster
4 Acoustic Guitars
Cello
Upright Bass
2 Violins
Classical Harp
Fender Rhodes Piano
2 Other keyboards
All the stands for all that, plus microphones for the classical instruments, singers, and drums.
Drum Kit thats on the small side
Bass stack
Bass stack for pianist
Guitar stack
2 Fender Deluxe Reverbs with extra cabs
PA rated at a few thousand watts
Mixing board
Monitors
Lights
Merch
Odds and ends (folding chairs, tables, etc)

There is so much gear. Obviously many hands make light work and we don't always bring the PA but its still a back breaking amount of stuff.

We load out into 2 full sized cargo vans with trailers :hmm: I wish I had roadies...

Wow. How long does it take you to set up, once you arrive on site?

Band I'm in had that before my time and to quote them "it was easier, but we made half the money".
We all need the exercise and having no PA(we all use our own BOSE PAS) makes things VERY LESS complicated(in the 70's and 80's the guitar player and I did the 40 foot truck full of gear, PA, lightshow, and 3 roadie thing).

How did the roadie dent your take home pay as a percentage?

You have Bose sticks? Awesome!!! Those things sound great! I got to sing with a country band that had those...wonderful devices!

Cherie :):bassist:

he's making a lot less than that... he's got to kick his heels waiting for you to finish the set before he can load out... how many hours is he actually present at the venue? Is he able to go away and do another paying job?

And does he get free booze while watching you play? :D

And does he get free booze while watching you play? Nope. We're a bunch of Mormons, so no booze. But we regularly get hors d' ouvres, or desserts like cookies, or pie, or cheesecake...

He doesn't hang around. He sets, he goes. He comes back, he tears, he goes.

Man, you'd think he'd at least stay and watch a free show!

We'd have to pay him a lot more to stay and watch the show!:p

Nope. We're a bunch of Mormons, so no booze. But we regularly get hors d' ouvres, or desserts like cookies, or pie, or cheesecake...

He doesn't hang around. He sets, he goes. He comes back, he tears, he goes.

OMG! Cheese cake/deserts >>>>>> Booze.

Can I replace him? For free? :D:D

Can I replace him? For free? Sure, c'mon over. If you love cheesecake, you belong with us. !:p

Sure, c'mon over. If you love cheesecake, you belong with us. !:p

I'll be over as soon as I can find some plane wheels to cling to :)

There's no nearly enough good cheesecake in the UK!

In fact... Oh god... I'm finding some cheese cake tomorrow during lunchbreak!

Mmmm... Raspberry cheesecake...

Our band has been gigging regularly, and some of the band members are feeling a little flush...

So tonight is our 2nd gig where we HIRED A ROADIE.

Yes, he set up all our gear, including "the beast", my bass amp. I walked up, plugged in my vintage '73 Jazz, and sound checked.

No sore back, no sweat stains before the gig even starts. No scuffed shoes, or busted knuckles. Just the music. Aaahhhhh.

Sound check is done, and we don't go on for another hour, so I came home to make you all jealous before I go play. (Gig near home.)

And when the gig is done, I'll put my bass in my case, shake some hands and tell everyone thank you, and it was a joy to play with you/for you as the case may be, and I'll be home before midnight.

This will probably add 10 years to my career.Enjoy, it probably doesn't get much better than this.

Same here for a couple of gigs now :cool:
What a relief after xx years of schlepping. I only wouldn't let him to touch my pedalboard and bass, otherwise, go on, young man.. :D

I only wouldn't let him to touch my pedalboard and bass, otherwise, go on, young man.. Agreed. When I looked on e-Bay and found out how much '73 Jazz basses are selling for these days, I about won't let it out of my sight.

Enjoy, it probably doesn't get much better than this.Its plenty good, I'll tell ya! Gig tomorrow night...show up, plug in, play...that's the good life.

Lucky you man! Loading, err no jamming a truckload of crap into a toyota camry and setting it up is by far the thing I loathe most about gigs. Bass amps and PA systems are neither light or small!

Enjoy, it probably doesn't get much better than this.
Actually, it does. Most of of the shows I've done in the last few months have a crew waiting for us to arrive at the theater. They unload everything, bring it to the stage and set it in place, with all wardrobe stuff carried to the dressing rooms. The crew makes sure that AC is ready for us and have always had all the PA gear in place. When it's time for a soundcheck, there's a stage manager to relay our requests to the monitor guy. And we always get a catered meal.

After the gig, all our junk is carried to the truck and loaded (under supervision, of course), and then we go to the hotel where we each have our own rooms (typically with king sized beds). And they pay us money on top of all that! :)

hey Martin~!!!!

do they wipe the sweat off you brow between songs?

hahahhahaha



THAT guy has it made, right fellas? and ladies?


R:cool:

hey Martin~!!!!

do they wipe the sweat off you brow between songs?

hahahhahaha



THAT guy has it made, right fellas? and ladies?


R:cool:

Nah - that's only with one guy I work for. Other gigs, I might have to carry my upright a quarter of a mile from the parking lot of a convention center, or load in the PA by myself in the rain, or play outdoors in 95 degree heat in a tux, or have large and unruly bikers explain that I'm not standing exactly where they think I should stand....

Dave Martin, dude! What a sweet gig! Yeah, a catered meal beats cheesecake. and a crew beats a roadie. Now I have something to aspire to!

Our roadie couldn't make tear-down tonight, so we had to tear down ourselves. Reminded me how much we appreciate him.

Oh, well. At least I gt a plate of leftover cookies to take home...

Dave R, this is the part where I make YOU jealous. I'm coming up to two years in a band that has it's own Roadies and crew. All the info is here:-

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230405&highlight=roadie

hey Martin~!!!!

THAT guy has it made, right fellas? and ladies?
R:cool:

I should add that at the last place I played with this guy, the view from the stage was pretty impressive. Here it is....

http://www.basshall.com/seating/thehallseatingnew.jsp

But last night I played in a dive bar, so it works out.

More good to YA DAVE!!!! LAp it up.
I used to be in a band where the Drummer was/is just plain lazy & has too much $$$$ We used to play in a niteclub that was on the 2nd floor -2 flights of stairs with 180 degree turns in the middle of each(OLD building too so BIG flights!!!) The club ran from 12am to 5 am & the gigs were 12.30am - 3.30 am!! :-( was a good gig, but HARD loading my bass rig DOWN at 4am!!! Especially after working all day previously!!!
ANYWAY our drummer back then used to 'take advantage of' a guy who worked for a local sound hire co. -he was a big strapping lad with FAR more BRAWN than BRAIN-to put it politely! Anyway, he'd call round to the drimmer's house, load it into HIS van & take it to the club, lug his drum kit up there, set it up, come back AFTER the show, ( Nigel-our lazy drummer- would 'graciously' pack it up) & lug it DOWN & pack it into
his van & drive it back & unload it ALL FOR $10.00 Now this was 1989 NOT 1959 so $10 wasn't worth ONE LUG up let alone all that!!!! Poor guy! He loved it tho!! Name of WADDY!! At least now we all call our final check of stage are AFTER a gig a "Waddy check" in a salute to the great Waddy- he used to always come back after loading & check the stage are-no doubt on a previous experience of losing something & being "TOLD"!

Dave R, this is the part where I make YOU jealous.Right, you did. All that roadie help PLUS the good money? Sweet gig.

And you do get some cheesecake now and then, too, right? :D

Right, you did. All that roadie help PLUS the good money? Sweet gig.

And you do get some cheesecake now and then, too, right? :DWe get catered meals at a lot of the gigs, but it's usually just a main meal. No entre, and no desert usually. Probably just as well. Lugging gear used to be the only exercise I got. Imagine how fat I'd get if they fed us cheescake :)

Imagine how fat I'd get if they fed us cheescake Right, its a healthy thing they limit you to entrees.

On the other hand, you could play like Flea and wotk off a lot of calories...