Am I right to pump the brakes?

[klejst]

Only you know when you're ready and if it turns out you were not, you'll know pretty quick. But I'd say if you don't put forth good and steady effort then it's almost like you're restricting yourself and life is too short to just coast.

 

[J Wilson]

No drummer and a half-dozen songs is OK if you guys want to go busking.

Do this, and it may be a train wreck, with the possibility these two kids think it's OK, or embarrass the hell out of all three of you with implications down the road. Neither are good outcomes, and at this stage you're miles away from an outfit that's stage ready.

Put this on a multiple bill and if the others bands are solid, you'll look even worse.

You need to take them to see a tight band that can own the stage for five hours as an object lesson.

 

[Lesfunk]

Sometimes the best way of finding out how ready you are is to make the jump, play the show and learn from what goes wrong as well as right

 

[buldog5151bass]

It will never be perfect. Get out there and perform - there is no better way to improve.

 

[Runlikegregg]

what's the point in waiting?
this will ideally be the first of many, many shows.
playing shows is a learning curve and you can't start learning until you start playing shows.
plus playing your our own songs in front of people will most likely give you a good (if not new ) perspective on those songs.
personally, for the situation you're describing a 30-40 minute set will be perfect.

no matter how long you wait you're first show will probably be pretty rocky. you may as well get started.

 

[gln1955]

Ok, so I've been playing with another two guitarists for a few months, an original project. We have about 3 solid songs at this point that I feel are surprisingly decent, plus three interesting covers, plus about three songs in various stages of development.

Forget the songs in development for now. Learn enough easy but interesting covers to fill the set go for it. A month should be plenty of time to get down several covers and put the final polish on your three originals.

Personally, I'd hate doing this with a drum machine. Can you find someone willing to play with you or hire a sub drummer for the show?

 

[soul45]

Yeah just do it. You'll meet people, get to hear your equipment in a different space, get experience working with a venue/sound guy/etc, see some other bands. The stakes are pretty low at multi-band shows. The experience of packing up your stuff, driving to the space, hanging out, playing, packing up and driving home ... it's fun. It's a bonding experience if nothing else.

 

[Kael]

Every gig is worth a half dozen rehearsals. Play now. Hell, I can't begin to count the number of acts I've workde with that never rehearsed a single time. Just learn the tunes on stage.

 

[Gregory H]

There is no bigger motivation to practice than an upcoming gig, except maybe for the afterglow of a gig that went well even though you were nervous about it.

I got asked to play a solo gig a few months ago and I was like "who, me?" I though about it, realized that I didn't have anything to lose even though I don't have any actual polished and/or finished material. Scared the snot out of me, but man did it give me drive to practice for the week and a half or so that I had to work with.

I basically played a 2 hour groove/techno set at a beach bar that is more known for rock and reggae. I was SO NERVOUS. At one point early on the organizers approached the stage looking concerned. "Can you turn it up?" "Who, ME???" I turned it up, and they walked away grinning. I had some people dancing, and a few people came up to tell me how stoked they were about the music. No vocals, no clear starts or stops. Just doing my thing and being super self conscious about it in a bar on a Wednesday. People dug it.

Get up there and be yourselves. I bet you'll be surprised at how well it goes.

 

[DwaynieAD]

The gear situation would give me pause absolutely the experience and polish is just an excuse

 

[crazyBassClown]

Those same venue owners don't care how much your band sucks or doesn't suck as long as they sell the expected amount of alcohol on that day. So unless you are really and truly awful to the point of being disruptive in some way, there's very little to fear here.

In my admittedly limited experience from the unknown originals multiband in a small venue thing the one thing that would drive people out and upset the venue owner was a guitarist playing too loud.

Beyond that almost anything will not be a huge problem and you will get maybe a 15-30 minute slot so won't need a huge amount of material either. I'd say just do it. I really don't think you will make or break your reputation and the other bands on the bill have probably been where you are.

 

[sonic 7]

I say go for it and book the gig. A show with multiple bands is perfect for you guys. You have 3 originals and 3 covers, a six song set should be fine. But… you need to get in some serious rehearsals in the next few weeks. Work on those six songs and only those six songs.

 

[Krakmann]

Salud!

Full steam ahead! It all will go well. Or no. But at least it will happen.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

If this is not a well established band yet, I say start with playing small gigs and at not-so-famous venues first. What sets apart a novice band from an experienced one is how it handles the mess-ups. If the band is inexperienced, they might fall apart after a mistake. If it's an experienced band, then a layman wouldn't even notice that there was a mistake because of how they handle things. And this is something that comes from experience so there's no shortcut to it.

 

[NYCBass]

Dude go out and kick it, good tunes don't care what equipment you are playing through!

 

[Fynn]

Ok, so I've been playing with another two guitarists for a few months, an original project. We have about 3 solid songs at this point that I feel are surprisingly decent, plus three interesting covers, plus about three songs in various stages of development.

They are in their mid 20's, I'm almost ten years older than them. One of them has done a few open mics solo, the other has no experience playing in front of people. I have played in front of people before, but not since high school, and only at house parties and underground stuff really. I do not consider myself experienced nor do I know a lot about live sound management. I'm the most well equipped member of the band - I have a nice GK MB210ii Combo that is quite flexible, the guitarists both have smaller combos and we currently have a drum machine plugged into a small combo as well (partially artistic, partially because drummers are hard to find). It's all loud enough to play let's say a small cafe, but even a bar setting and things start to fall apart on their end, I think.

The two guitarists are both anxious to play out, and have, through connections, arranged opportunities to play within about a month's time (they aren't totally crazy, the types of things they are setting up are multi-band shows, so the set would be shorter). This is at real local venues, and regardless of how many people show up, its still a professional setting and very much a scheduled event.

My impression is we need more practice, and though we still have time between now and then, we should hold off scheduling things until we are ready, period. And at that point we should dip our toes into the water more slowly, maybe playing someone's house or an open mic to do a few 'dry runs'.

I don't want to be a buzzkill, but I also don't have delusions of grandeur and as the oldest member I feel like I have some kind of responsibility to prevent us skewering ourselves, especially in a small scene. Am I wrong to pump the brakes and tell them we need more time to flesh out material, improve gear, get the performances tighter, and maybe even wade more slowly into live performances? Looking for help from the many people here with more experience than me.

There is literally no better way, and for some people no other way period, to learn how to perform, than to actually go and perform. You can rehears all you want, if you wait for months and months, just because you're scared that it'll all go wrong, then you will never be ready. This really isn't some sort of hearsay. Especially with the younger ones, they need to somehow learn what it means to actually stand on a stage and play for people, who actually expect you to play something.

Sure small gigs in sort of private settings will teach you a little and maybe even get you more comfortable, but the moment you stand infront of a crowd that is expecting music and is sort of looking up to you specifically, it will feel like a completly different thing altogether. Nothing in this world can prepare you for that realistically.

If I'm ever afraid that I might mess something up, I'll take a couple days (often even a single day) before a gig and go through the entire list of songs that might come up. I'll ask myself "do I know how this song is structured and do I know all the little nuances that I need to make it convincing?", and if the answer is ever no, or maybe, then I will sit down and rehearse that song, on my own, until I can say "yes". There is nothing more you can do at that point. The only thing you gotta tell yourself over and over again, is that you should never act embarrassed, or stop a show, because of a mistake you made. You can tell that to the two other players aswell. Even in the most professional settings, mistakes happen. The difference between the pros and the beginners is that the pros don't get scared and keep playing every single time, no matter how awful the gig has been going.

And if you think that gear is a hinderence, then split the money and rent gear together to get a better sound for bigger events. But I don't think I've ever heard a guitar combo (except for those that are specifically made for bedroom rehearsing), that aren't loud enough for a bar. Might be an EQ issue if you can't hear the guitars, or you're just drowning them in the Gallien Krueger sea.

 

[JACKSON JS1XM]

I'd advise the band to stay in it's lane. Take safer baby steps to develop more material & as a performing band. Even playing smaller & locally, you don't have to be the headliner band. That's how it's done, play your set to cut your teeth on as your original music & covers fill a portion of the night of multiple sets. If you're getting gigs, must be good enough that the bar or venue is allowing you to develop. If the band crashes & burns, that can happen to any band. Who knows, you guys might hit a stage of growth that takes off, or crashes & burns. But at least you know that you were going to the next step of development as a band. It's good to have a clear & honest assessment of what you are currently vs where the potential is to take it. I think having band members that are anxious to perform is a plus, holding that back, there's always going to be self doubt. It's a work in process as a progression to bigger or perhaps even break up.

 

[waynobass]

Am I wrong to pump the brakes...?

Yes. Get out there and play. Sink or swim, but nobody in the audience will even
notice if you're sinking. Think of it as an onstage practice.

 

[sedan_dad]

Until you're out playing gigs you're not a band - you're just a bunch of guys who own guitars.

Absolutely correct!!!!

 

[ThudThudThud]

Six songs, and no drummer isn't what I'd call 'ready.'
I would try for at least ten to twelve songs, and get a drummer.
They're more available than you would believe.

If someone does really like you and asks you back, are you going to fill the slot with six songs (three covers)?
Who is doing the writing? Ask them for more. If the songwriter only has those three, I'd see that as a red flag. Songwriters write songs. All the time. Work up a set.

I have been there. It wasn't too bad, but wasn't at all satisfying for anyone.