Got a bad rep cuz of the sound guy

roccobladr · #1 08-20-2009, 11:02 PM

so i'm in a cover band and we were playing at a popular college type bar last weekend.

from the start we could see the sound guy was a little weird. didn't really talk to us, could'nt have cared less during the first set. we were getting TONS of feed back the first set.

so in between sets i'm tryin to talk to him about stuff making sure its sounding ok and he is just nodding his head with a cocky smirk.

so anyway, second set comes, my lead guitarists sound is gone. he changed guitars and cables but theres nothing coming out. he is trying to get the sound guy's help but he is standing there talking to some other guys. like ***!!

so we are pretty much on our own at this point, and as a pretty new cover band, we aren't very prepared for this. so for a matter of seconds in between songs we are just tellin each other what song to do next.

so as that disaster is going on, of course the owner of the chain of bars happen to stop in and see us.

one of his minions just wrote me the check and gave me an excuse like "oh we wanna get the DJ to work the crowd its a kinda crappy night" and i'm like ok no biggie i guess our technical issues didn't matter.

but we find out from our management that we got a pretty bad review. the worst they have gotten since booking there (only have been bookin at this place for a couple months though) but still, we are scheduled to play at another location of this bar this weekend, but they are weary about letting us do it now.

it just sucks that we didn't get a chance to explain our side of it, but thats the business i guess.

so besides just shrug it off, what can we do if we ever have bad feedback problems or anything on stage?

**TheMutt** · #2 08-20-2009, 11:11 PM

Definitely learn how to work the console if you can help it. That way when the sound guy is off being an idiot, you can step in and take care of it and explain to the owners that they need to fire the sound man who isn't doing their job.

Jeb · #3 08-20-2009, 11:27 PM

Sorry to hear that, its a shame when those types of things happen, but we've all been there.

IME, there are always multiple explanations for the trainwreck and everyone has their own side of the story. On this forum we exclusively hear one side and I've always wondered what the response from the "perp" might be.

Nick Kay · #4 08-20-2009, 11:34 PM

That's why you hire your own crew, mate.

I really doubt you'd get written off on technical issues alone. I think there's something else afoot in that bad review.

MNAirHead · #5 08-20-2009, 11:54 PM

Sounds like there's something else....

Sound guys normally wouldn't just train wreck you..

I've had horrid sound and been rebooked.

roccobladr · #6 08-20-2009, 11:58 PM

well cuz of the tech difficulties we were talking to each other on stage and stuff so i assume that wouldnt look too good.

RFord04 · #7 08-21-2009, 12:01 AM

I don't find it that hard to believe that you'd get a bad review because of bad sound... if the guy is a jerk and doesn't like the singers hair, he could easily make the band sound horrible and depending on the owner, he may not realize whose fault it was, but it's hard to say since none of us were there to judge for ourselves.

Suck it up and find someone else to do sound next time... learning to do it yourself is definitely a good idea, but that's easier said than done. It won't be the last gig, unless your bands talent is also a contributing factor to the bad review.

roccobladr · #8 08-21-2009, 12:06 AM

well this bar has their own sound system and own soundguys and everything. they dont let us touch it. its a shame because the crowd was loving us! at the end of the night the bartenders were like *** why didnt you guys go back on!! you were GREAT! girls were like grabbing my legs on stage and stuff. just kinda sucks not really having control over it, except just preparing for the worst.

we just made a list of some songs we can do if anyone were to drop out.

but what im saying is more like if it happens to be on the sound guys end, like feedback and such...what can we do about that? just roll with it til the end of the set?

JohnMCA72 · #9 08-21-2009, 12:21 AM

I'd definitely want to find out as much detail about the negative feedback (the report, not the sound) as I could. If there's something that you need to correct - even if it's just something that somebody else thinks you need to correct, you should at least take an honest look at it. Let them see you making an effort to fix whatever was wrong, & their opinion of you may change.

JM

kalle74 · #10 08-21-2009, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Kay

That's why you hire your own crew, mate.

+1000000

Get a good guy to do your sound. Give him a cut of the pay (the amount equals to his abilities, of course).

EddiePlaysBass · #11 08-21-2009, 03:48 AM

Well it's not a bad rep so much as it is a bad review, now is it ? And I don't get it completely: was the stage sound bad, or was the overal club sound bad? I'd prefer a lousy stage mix and a good club mix so the people go wild, over the opposite.

But you would be well within your right to at least tell your side of the story - just be careful how you handle it. If you play there again and the sound man heard that you'd (rightfully?) complained about him, he might make things worse. Or just refuse to play with him behind the console.

It works both ways, in the end.

Rocker949 · #12 08-21-2009, 10:05 AM

It sounds like it may have been intentional. The only time I have heard of this happening is when the sound guy was friends with one band and wanted to make the other band sound bad.

Floridabwoy · #13 08-21-2009, 10:14 AM

Mellow Mushroom?????

NKBassman · #14 08-21-2009, 10:24 AM

Try and get your hands on the actual review and take it as constructive criticism.
I'm curious as to what the review actually said.

And don't beat yourself up over it either. Take it as a lesson and learn from the experience. Teach yourselves a few things about mic placement and basic sound setup for when the sound guy is a tard, and always try and play your best on stage regardless of what is happening FOH. If there is sound on stage, and it's not coming through FOH, that's the sound guy's problem and he should be dealing with it. If he's not, and the bar owners are still getting on your case like it's your fault, then just don't ever play there again and make your money elsewhere. If it's your own equipment that's having trouble, make sure you're prepared for it. Keep an extra guitar head around if you can afford it, and as a bassist make sure you bring your own DI just in case your rig craps out/the house DI is crap.

Vakmere · #15 08-21-2009, 10:29 AM

Nobody but your band will care about it in a week, in time you will gather experience with this part of the biz and all will be fine. In the mean time learn what you can about basic sound systems operation. Buy a Zoom H4 recorder, take it to the next gig/rehearsal and listen to what you do, this is also a helpful aid to what your band is doing.

modulusman · #16 08-21-2009, 11:58 AM

Was the guitar player using an amp or just going direct into the PA? It isn't the soundmans fault if the bands equipment isn't working. If I was running sound I would have at least tried to help but it isn't his responsability if the bands gear fails. It also isn't in his best interest to turn up the suck knob either.

alembicguy · #17 08-21-2009, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

Sounds like there's something else....

Sound guys normally wouldn't just train wreck you..

I've had horrid sound and been rebooked.

Im with you on this one. I need to hear both sides of the story to really be able to say anything.

DeluxeRed · #18 08-21-2009, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roccobladr

but we find out from our management that we got a pretty bad review.

And just where the **** were they when all of this is going on? And how come they aren't MANAGING it?

Joe Nerve · #19 08-21-2009, 12:34 PM

I don't think it's necessary to hear the other side of the story. It's done, it doesn't really matter, and it seems clear that you guys yourselves weren't sure what the problems were. When feedback is a problem though it's a no brainer to see who's at fault. If all the guitars volumes are down to zero and there's still feedback, then it's the sound guy. Period. Regardless, you had a really crappy gig, lots of stuff went wrong, and unfortunately there's nothing you can do now but swallow it and learn from it. Whoever gave you the bad review has their mind made up about you and if you try to change their mind I believe you'll only be making things worse.

To me this is all part of the game and the more experienced a band is, the better they handle it. Early in my playing I really took it hard when things like the above happened but the more gigs I played the more I learned to just let it go. The important thing is to learn to keep a smile on your face and act as if all is cool NO MATTER WHAT is going down, and it ain't easy. I played a gig not too long ago where ALL I HEARD was feedback, nothing else, and the soundman was nowhere to be found. Singer had a better attitude than me an just kept pushing me to smile for a half an hour. Turns out the feedback was only in the monitors and nobody else was really hearing it. Grumbling and fumbling to fix it would have hurt us more than just dealing with it.

I'd say it's time now for you guys to check all your equipment out, make absolutely certain the problems aren't coming from you, and then never say another word about the horrible gig and just go start kicking some ass. Make em forget that that night ever happened. It's all you really can do.

bggeezer · #20 08-21-2009, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocker949

It sounds like it may have been intentional. The only time I have heard of this happening is when the sound guy was friends with one band and wanted to make the other band sound bad.

Or if the sound guy was off his socks!

Ask him str8... that's the only way to know for sure.