Dumbest thing I've ever been told at a gig. Ever.

[Silas Stingy]

We were waiting to set up at a wedding, time was moving on, so the guitar player asks the party organiser if we can start taking the kit through. She replies "They are doing the wedding speeches in the next room to where you are playing.......you can start taking through the quiet pieces of equipment".


Another one playing in a local pub, this guy starts talking to me and the guitar player during a break "I've got a Fender Jaguar at home" and carries on telling us how great this Jaguar is, won't shut up about it, eventually we walk away. About 15 minutes into the second set this guy reappears holding said Jaguar above his head like a trophy he has just won. We struggle through to the end of the song at which point the guy shouts out "See you didn't believe me did you!!!".

[kcole4001]

Originally Posted by oerk

Sorry to derail, but...

I think it's common practice to play quarter notes for the drum soundcheck - the soundman has to set his compressors and especially gates right, so it's important to hear the decay of the drum and how the gate affects it. Yeah, it's annoying for the drummer, but when I do sound, I want soundcheck to be over quickly, and that's only possible when everyone cooperates.

It's exactly what our guy does (who is also our drummer).
He gets either the guitar player or I to check the drum levels and adjust the mics if necessary.
Slow, measured hits at normal playing volume is what he wants to hear.

[Tysonhiseler]

Originally Posted by oerk

Sorry to derail, but...

I think it's common practice to play quarter notes for the drum soundcheck - the soundman has to set his compressors and especially gates right, so it's important to hear the decay of the drum and how the gate affects it. Yeah, it's annoying for the drummer, but when I do sound, I want soundcheck to be over quickly, and that's only possible when everyone cooperates.

I totally agree. My band has always prided ourselves on a professional sound check. No wanking on anyone's part. If your not told to play by the sound guy then don't. And when you are told to play, its not solo time, just show the guy the range if sound you will be using for the show. And yes, quarter notes are standard for a drum check.

[sturoc]

+1 Oerk

[JohnMCA72]

Originally Posted by oerk

Sorry to derail, but...

I think it's common practice to play quarter notes for the drum soundcheck - the soundman has to set his compressors and especially gates right, so it's important to hear the decay of the drum and how the gate affects it. Yeah, it's annoying for the drummer, but when I do sound, I want soundcheck to be over quickly, and that's only possible when everyone cooperates.

Of course, what he plays during the program is any/everything but quarter notes!

I always enjoy the quiet, barely-audible "check, check, test, test,..." on all the vocal mics to set levels. Then the show starts with the "real" singing voices & every mic is immediately 15-18 dB too hot!

[5StringThunder]

Originally Posted by JohnMCA72

Of course, what he plays during the program is any/everything but quarter notes!

I always enjoy the quiet, barely-audible "check, check, test, test,..." on all the vocal mics to set levels. Then the show starts with the "real" singing voices & every mic is immediately 15-18 dB too hot!

That's why you play as hard as you're going to play when the set starts. Just with more space so that the sound guy can set his compressors (as was already mentioned)

[qervo]

The sound man is your friend. Don't piss him off.

[Bradass]

Originally Posted by jweber76

We also typically provide our own PA, I am the sound guy. One night a couple years ago we were playing a local establishment that had its own sound system. We were the first band on that night and were pleased with the opportunity to have an extended Soundcheck. So we get up an go through each guitar then my bass then on to the drums... That's when the fun started. Our drummer does a quick roll around his drums, you know, just to loosen up. The sound guy comes over the mic "Hey! Just hit the drums I tell you, when I tell you to! " so he says "snare" and drummer goes rat-a-tat-a-tat on his snare. A clearly irritated sound guy says "quarter notes! Just play quarter notes!" Ok Tom 1" my clearly irritated drummer does a quick bap-bap-bap-bap on his Tom. The sound guy screams back "QUARTER NOTES!! I SAID QUARTER NOTES!!" like he had a metronome behind the board that Pete just wasn't in time with! I could hear, nee FEEL him seething behind the drums through the rest of the Soundcheck... Bearing in mind that our drummer is a 40 something, mild mannered dad who works in higher education, we completely lost it when we went around the horn on mic checks, he was growling through tightly gritted teeth "cheeeeeeeeck, cheeeeeeeeck, grrrrrrrr"
Hilarious (for everyone but our drummer)!
We've played there a few times since and never had any problems... But ol' Pete will never forget...

Sorry, but he has no right to be mad at all. The sound guy was doing it right and your drummer was doing it wrong. The poster or two before me got it right. There are reasons the soundguy does it that way.

[ko stradivarius]

I had a sorta similar incident many years ago when I was about 18-19 years old.
....Back when they had live music at high school dances. ;-)
We were doing a soundcheck at a very well to do high school when a few couples started coming in.
As I was doing a vocal check a kid thought he would impress his date by coming up and grabbing a handfull of strings, snapping them back on the neck.
Before I even got my bass off our drummer was already on the twit twisting his bow tie around his neck. I got over in time to knock him down. :-)
No trouble after that.

Originally Posted by bassfran

Not to derail, but I have a twice a year gig at a college in a small 100 seat auditorium, vocals-only p.a.. Once we had one of the students play guitar with us and he was on my side of the stage.

Kid said to me, "You need to turn up, you're not loud enough." I told him, "I'm fine- don't worry about it." Because we'd done the gig for 3 years running, same gear. He waited until my back was turned and reached down and adjusted my volume. I heard it change of course. I just turned down the knob on my bass to level off because we were in the middle of a song. Set ends.

I walked up to him backstage, got 6 inches from his face, and quietly growled, "Never touch another man's amp. Ever.", then walked away. The look on his face was priceless.

[graver555]

Originally Posted by Crazyeelboy

One time at band camp...

Hey dont make fun of band camp stories until YOUR the one thats shaved from the neck down just to end up losing a cross dressing contest

oh and you cant forget the daisy dukes and the bikini top borrowed from the gf.

[RoosSQ]

"Before we pay you, you have to move all those tables and chairs back in the room and set them up"

(At 2:30 in the morning, after playing a 3.5 hour show and hauling in/out a hammond organ and leslie)

[bassinplace]

Originally Posted by RoosSQ

"Before we pay you, you have to move all those tables and chairs back in the room and set them up"

(At 2:30 in the morning, after playing a 3.5 hour show and hauling in/out a hammond organ and leslie)

Oh my god! Unbelievable! I think I might very well tell that guy that before I put my foot up his slave labor ass, I'd give him one last chance to pay up.

[qervo]

Once had a bar manager tell us ( after a 4 hour show) "oh I forgot to mention the first gig is free for me , but you boys can come back some other time and play" I went into the kitchen an grabbed myself a nice ovenware set that i thouhht thought was worth what he owed us and never played there again, but I had some very nice pots and pans.

[MoeGJBeener]

Originally Posted by qervo

Once had a bar manager tell us ( after a 4 hour show) "oh I forgot to mention the first gig is free for me , but you boys can come back some other time and play" I went into the kitchen an grabbed myself a nice ovenware set that i thouhht thought was worth what he owed us and never played there again, but I had some very nice pots and pans.

Always always always have a signed contract clearly staying payment.

[qervo]

I know now to do that . My story above happened when I was 17 and naive. He was just some jerk who thought he would take advantage of some kids . I learned quickly after that.

[Sonic]

Stoned kid: "Can we use your bass amp? We forgot ours."

This actually happened...

[1954bassman]

Okay, I got a new one, just last Sunday at my home church where I have been playing bass almost every Sunday for three years.

We have a large praise team, with like 10 members, and we just added a third guitarist, who plays a Fender Strat. Last Sunday was his first Sunday on the platform. After our first service, one of our church members comes up to me and says: "I see there was a new bass player up there today." Yep, three years, and some folks don't have a clue.

[MX21]

Originally Posted by 1954bassman

Okay, I got a new one, just last Sunday at my home church where I have been playing bass almost every Sunday for three years.

We have a large praise team, with like 10 members, and we just added a third guitarist, who plays a Fender Strat. Last Sunday was his first Sunday on the platform. After our first service, one of our church members comes up to me and says: "I see there was a new bass player up there today." Yep, three years, and some folks don't have a clue.

I've had the same experience. I play for the kids at our church. I'd been doing it for a couple years, which is like 20% of their lives. I switched from a red bass to a brown one and they thought I was a new bass player.

[Mr L]

Originally Posted by MX21

I've had the same experience. I play for the kids at our church. I'd been doing it for a couple years, which is like 20% of their lives. I switched from a red bass to a brown one and they thought I was a new bass player.

At my old church that I played at for 3 years I had a red P bass with white pick guard for 2 years. Switched the pickguard for a black one and people thought I was a new bass player.

Felt the love...

[foxxiroxx]

Alright - the oddest thing I heard at a gig, wasn't at a gig of mine, but was at a gig I was attending. I was talking to the vocalist who is a friend of a friend during break. Some guy walks up and makes several requests to which the vocalist turns him down. So finally this dude asks .... well what do you know that's classic rock? (After the band had been playing classic rock most of the night) - lol..... kind of a big genre, no? lol