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Asking a band member for too much help.

#101
I just never had a problem helping out with the gear. I will gladly help our keyboardist tote his hammond and leslie....or the drummer with his kit...i mean we are a band right? People pick the stupidist things to get worked up about....
 
#102
My band we all help each other out, but my rig I can carry. I do need help with the PA, especially the subs and amp rack. I don;t care what anyone else is doing, I ask that they help load this stuff in first as there is no gig with out the PA. I help my Guitarist lift his lightish 4 x12 if we play a place with a dirty or gravel parking lot so he doesn't have to ruin the wheels.
The drummer normally is too busy to help, but no gets paid until everything is loaded so if he is done he helps load back up.
 
#103
I live by 2 simple rules when it comes to loading in and out.

1) Do whatever needs to be done and help whoever needs it.

2) Don't expect help from anyone else with my own stuff.

If I didn't I would have killed several guitarists/lead vocalists by now. (one last Friday night)
Is it a coincidence that bass players and drummers seem to be best friends in a band?
 
#106
5 seconds to help lift off an amp cover doesn't seem like too much to ask. My response would have been "Really, you can't help for two seconds to lift this cover?".

In my last band we all helped each other out. If you happened to arrive at the venue first and had already unloaded your stuff, you'd help the next guy in with his. Similarly, at the end of the night, if one guy had stuff to be loaded when the others were done, we'd help out. That being said, we traveled light.
 
#107
TBrett said:
Gotta say, I'm fairly certain our guitarist would make a similar remark if he was constantly being asked to help the bass player set up or tear down.

I could tell he was afraid he was going to get stuck helping every time, which would impact his own set up time.
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Sorry, but the first statement is completely out of context of the OP's post. He said, "On the tour, after I roll myself in, every night I would ask the same guy (guitarist) to help me lift it off."

He is NOT asking the guitar player to help him set up and tear down his equipment. As far as impacting setup time, you shouldn't be leaving so little time to set up that you can't afford to spend a few minutes helping a fellow band member.

I guess I've just been spoiled. In every band I was ever in we all bring in all the equipment and take all the equipment out and help set up and tear down. This every man for himself attitude is really selfish and immature. :rollno:
 
#108
Our drummer used to carry around this big giant case and demand we all help him with his drums. Would have been happy to, except he always took his sweet time packing up, and whereas I could have been out the door a half hour before, I had to wait for him to pack his drums up, then help him deadlift that hideous case off the stage, and he'd go get his truck, hook his trailer up to his truck, we'd help, then he'd complain that we were doing it wrong. So naturally we would sneak off before he was done ;) He finally got the hint and got something smaller.

I don't think it's a big deal to ask a bandmate to help if you need a boost or something, but I'd spread it out and ask other people in the band and not just the one guy.
 
#109
My latest band has practically begged me to get a Ampeg CL and 810E cab and said they'd help haul them both as they sound so badass.

I've always helped everyone with everything, though not everyone is a gracious. Typically the singers disappear the second the gig is over to go drinking or schmoozing while the rest of us haul a band's worth of gear off stage.
 
#110
gastric said:
My latest band has practically begged me to get a Ampeg CL and 810E cab and said they'd help haul them both as they sound so badass.

I've always helped everyone with everything, though not everyone is a gracious. Typically the singers disappear the second the gig is over to go drinking or schmoozing while the rest of us haul a band's worth of gear off stage.
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Personally I prefer if the singer shows up after we load in and then gets out of the way when we load out. My guitar player helps with the heavy lifting, but then I want him out of the way too. Oddly enough, the only one I trust to help with the little details is my drummer.
 
#111
This really intrigues me because I know for a fact that many people base there gear choices off pure OVERKILL vs. reality.

I know many of you live and die by your 8x10, but I imagine you probably run them at 1/4 volume on 90% of your gigs (unless Duff MCKagan is on this board) and hell he is even playing lightweight GKs.

I base my gear choices on what will get the job done, not that it will look cool when I have this huge refrigerator 8x10 behind me to play my Denny's gig (Ok not Denny's because the bars I played had less people. ;-)

Just because Guitards OVerkill doesn't mean we should jump in these volume wars. Any band that I can't keep up with 500 watts and two DNA 12 inch cabinets is one that has too loud stage volume. Period. YOu guys aren't playing in GnR or Metallica or Megadeth. Get real.

Also most bass cabs are pretty tough to OP, do you really need a case for a heavy duty bass cabinet? Hell I take the metal grills off some of mine to cut down on weight. unless someone comes at me with a samurai sword I think I'll be ok. :smug:
 
#112
Personally, I had to hire a roadie/gofer after I had back surgery.

He gladly helped everyone though (especially after I reminded my bandmates that it would only be fair if they threw him a few bills).

Guitar player eventually hired his own tech/roadie (also does setup/repair for all of us), as did the keyboardist (his assistant also runs the mixer).

Didn't set out to hire a "road crew," but it's worked out quite well for us...and them.
 
#113
Flyingfrets said:
Personally, I had to hire a roadie/gofer after I had back surgery.

He gladly helped everyone though (especially after I reminded my bandmates that it would only be fair if they threw him a few bills).

Guitar player eventually hired his own tech/roadie (also does setup/repair for all of us), as did the keyboardist (his assistant also runs the mixer).

Didn't set out to hire a "road crew," but it's worked out quite well for us...and them.
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Yeah got back problems too, and bending up and down before a 3 hour gig playing an 8.5 pound P-Bass is not exactly the best idea... REAL< REAL easy to throw it out... and then game-over for weeks, no practice , gigs or anything.
 
#115
Muttleybass said:
I'm 52. We weren't talking about setting up, we were talking about load in. Once it's all in, I start wiring the PA and everyone sets up they're own gear. If they get set up before I'm done, I'll give them something to do if they're standing around. It just seems to me that not helping someone move a cab or bring something into the venue is counter-productive and petty. Yes, I probably wind up doing most of the work, but I just got tired of "who does what" and just decided a "Git 'er done" attitude was the way to go.
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Dude, that's crap. Me and my band members are all 40+ years old and my damn rack weighs close to 100 pounds (I carry a backup head in there also) and I almost can't lift it myself. My band members don't even say anything, I don't ask, it's AUTOMATIC that one of the two of them grabs the other handle and helps me pull that thing around. My 4x10 cabinet I also don't carry one step by myself.

I am usually packed in minutes and almost always end up packing the PA and all the drums into our minivan solo at 2AM. They're breaking it down, I'm carrying it out of the building as they're doing it. It's a team effort, yo.
 
#116
There are two sides to this that are both very, very valid, IMHO.

Side 1: a bandmate should always help, no matter what:
If you ask a bandmate for an assist, and the response is
something like "do it yourself", you can conclude that you are playing with the wrong bandmate. Labelling the guy a d*ck - is actually kind.

Side 2: when you get to mid age, weight really does matter:
If you are in a band with a bunch of 20something studs, I guess this doesn't matter. But when you get to late 40s, 50's, and beyond, weight really does matter. I Love to play, and frankly, at this point in my life, I'm hoping to find other like minded bandmates who are focused on playing with the smallest equipment footprint possible. I'm not in the greatest shape, and it really takes a toll on me when I am helping haul back breaking equipment at 3 am in the morning. It doubles the hurt - when it really isn't Necessary.
 
#117
obimark said:
This really intrigues me because I know for a fact that many people base there gear choices off pure OVERKILL vs. reality.

I know many of you live and die by your 8x10, but I imagine you probably run them at 1/4 volume on 90% of your gigs (unless Duff MCKagan is on this board) and hell he is even playing lightweight GKs.

I base my gear choices on what will get the job done, not that it will look cool when I have this huge refrigerator 8x10 behind me to play my Denny's gig (Ok not Denny's because the bars I played had less people. ;-)

Just because Guitards OVerkill doesn't mean we should jump in these volume wars. Any band that I can't keep up with 500 watts and two DNA 12 inch cabinets is one that has too loud stage volume. Period. YOu guys aren't playing in GnR or Metallica or Megadeth. Get real.

Also most bass cabs are pretty tough to OP, do you really need a case for a heavy duty bass cabinet? Hell I take the metal grills off some of mine to cut down on weight. unless someone comes at me with a samurai sword I think I'll be ok. :smug:
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Duff McKagan? Listen, I don't care what your friends do...I play what I want.
 
#118
Every gig we play I bring along my 8x12 Ampeg rig, no one ever hassles me if I ask for help. On the other hand, both guitarists have 2 4x12 cabs and a head to go on top. I guess it's about equality. But then all you're asking about is the lid. Not about the entire thing. He's being a dick.
 
#120
obimark said:
This really intrigues me because I know for a fact that many people base there gear choices off pure OVERKILL vs. reality.

I know many of you live and die by your 8x10, but I imagine you probably run them at 1/4 volume on 90% of your gigs (unless Duff MCKagan is on this board) and hell he is even playing lightweight GKs.

I base my gear choices on what will get the job done, not that it will look cool when I have this huge refrigerator 8x10 behind me to play my Denny's gig (Ok not Denny's because the bars I played had less people. ;-)

Just because Guitards OVerkill doesn't mean we should jump in these volume wars. Any band that I can't keep up with 500 watts and two DNA 12 inch cabinets is one that has too loud stage volume. Period. YOu guys aren't playing in GnR or Metallica or Megadeth. Get real.

Also most bass cabs are pretty tough to OP, do you really need a case for a heavy duty bass cabinet? Hell I take the metal grills off some of mine to cut down on weight. unless someone comes at me with a samurai sword I think I'll be ok. :smug:
Click to expand...



Well I can only speak for myself, but I only bring an 8x10 when I need it= outdoor gig, or very large venue. Otherwise I bring a 4x10 or a 1x15, or both. Again as NEEDED. I only have a flight case for the 8x10, the others have covers.

Removing the grill from the cabs is a very bad idea IMHO, as I have seen mike stands bounce off of the metal grill on more than one occasion. Stuff happens.

The point I was trying to clarify was that even an 8x10 in a flight case is NOT so wide that I can not reach both sides of said flight case by MYSELF.
:D
 

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