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bad reports?

H

heath_the_great

Jan 27, 2002
5,201
15
40
Newcastle - Australia
www.myspace.com
#1
well, i got an email from our manager today and apparently we got a bad report from this pub we played at on friday, mind you we've gotten excellent results from almost every other place we've played, and apparrently i was too loud, even though i took only 1 cab and was barely loud enough, ( i do the p.a, i dont run through it, and have the guitarist and half the drum kit miced up) and i was too busy:eyebrow: , now i know i do overplay sometimes, but thats to make up for one guitarist and his, ahem, basic skills (never gets a solo right:rolleyes: )....but i think they were refering me to walking out the front checking the levels and dancing with the crowd while playing, basically doing the showman thing (wireless systems rock)....now, our manager whinges whenever he see's someone standing still pretty much, now he's bitching at me for entertaining the crowd (as i like to put it)...and ive been forced to do backing vocals, which i suck at singing and its a miracle in the last few months ive been able to start singing and playing simultaniously and start singing in key sorta:hmm: and now he wants to add a 5th member just to do backings!:mad:

and not only that, our manager thinks its an "a class venue"....its a hole.....of a friday night the pub about 1 km up the road gets better bands and absolutely packs out of a friday night....but our next date there has been pulled, but that doesnt really worry me, ill be happy to never play there again...so hard to get a decent sound there...smallest stage ever, i think it was made for duo's..but im very surprised that they are dissapointed, we had alot of people up dancing all night..but anyway



sorry, i just needed a place to vent
 
#5
cheezewiz said:
Seems to me you should turn down and not play so busily.
Click to expand...
well the thing is i wasnt to loud, i regularly check the front of house levels by walking out front, even my music teacher from high school was there and he said the mix was good...

im just mroe angry at our manager, he just seems to always turn everything to backing vocals, even though im trying nothings good enough..i guess im more surprised at anything, we actually didnt improv as much as anywhere else, and when we do improv we get great feedback..i dunno, guess you cant please everyone
 
#6
Bottom line is you've lost a gig which is bad. A good gig is one where you get asked back! So something is wrong. Maybe the owner just didn't like you, or wants to cancel your gigs for some other reason and is looking for an excuse in which case theres nothing you could have done. Or maybe not...

Was the manager there? What did he think of the performance? If the mix was bad then why didn't he sort it there and then?

If he wasn't there then maybe he shoud have been if this is a venue thats important to him.

Listen to the criticism. Consider if it's accurate, or even if there's a little bit of truth there - even if you think the guy is wrong, is there something you can change to make him happy without making yourself unhappy? Cross reference it - what does everyone else say (you've had one good report on the mix). Figure out what you need to learn from it and then get over it.

Ian
 
#7
IanStephenson said:
Bottom line is you've lost a gig which is bad. A good gig is one where you get asked back! So something is wrong. Maybe the owner just didn't like you, or wants to cancel your gigs for some other reason and is looking for an excuse in which case theres nothing you could have done. Or maybe not...

Was the manager there? What did he think of the performance? If the mix was bad then why didn't he sort it there and then?

If he wasn't there then maybe he shoud have been if this is a venue thats important to him.

Listen to the criticism. Consider if it's accurate, or even if there's a little bit of truth there - even if you think the guy is wrong, is there something you can change to make him happy without making yourself unhappy? Cross reference it - what does everyone else say (you've had one good report on the mix). Figure out what you need to learn from it and then get over it.

Ian
Click to expand...


IMHO, the average bass player likes the bass louder in the mix than the average non bass player. Especially when you admit that you are "wanking" to try to cover a non talented guitarist.
 
#8
well i just found out the DJ that was doing the break music gave his opinion to the manager, and the manager goes off that:hmm: ...when i was setting up the p.a (we have 2 jbl 2x15"s for FOH) he setup his speakers (some 1x15s") in front of our FOH's, then he got upset when i moved ours to the sid e alittle and put his next to ours:hmm: and he played 5 minutes into each of our sets:hmm:

our manager wasnt there, but he is at the next one...

i know this is going to sound a little self righteous, but i know how to set the mix, i know that the stereotype of whoevers doing the p.a likes to favour themselves in the mix, ive had some great teachers in the past who've helped me get over that...

but it just really surprised me, we've had great reports from everywhere else we've played, we've got our 4th gig at this one place since late january in a few weeks,
 
#10
cheezewiz said:
That must be it then. It couldn't POSSIBLY be valid complaint.
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what the hell....whats the deal with all these sarcastic remarks...i mean, cmon, if you've got something to say come out and say it..

we were on stage ready to start on time, but as i said, the dj always ate into our time with yet 1 more song, we finished on time, give or take a minute or two
 
#11
heath_the_great said:
what the hell....whats the deal with all these sarcastic remarks...i mean, cmon, if you've got something to say come out and say it..

we were on stage ready to start on time, but as i said, the dj always ate into our time with yet 1 more song, we finished on time, give or take a minute or two
Click to expand...

If Cheeze doesn't make sarcastic comments, he shakes and falls down.

I think you need to remind your manager that he works for you and not the other way around.
 
#13
Everyone seems to have opinions in a band environment - it's often the band who have the least to say after gigs. The important thing is that you can isolate what you feel is valid from the piles of crap people (who were only half listening) give you. I'm sure deep down you know what works for you live and what doesn't.
I'm pretty cynical about "constructive criticism" from venue owners. Most venues are worried about bums on seats and people staying, drinking and spending. If you are screeching and bashing a pot and the venue is making cash, no complaints will be forthcoming.
I'd say there are only two things to worry about from this information. 1. Are you pulling enough people to your gigs? 2. Are you too dominant in your band's performance? These aren't huge issues - I worry about these things most gigs.

P.S - I hope the venue isn't the Lass O'Gowrie. My band is touring through there in July.
 
#14
nah, was warners bay tavern:rolleyes:

well, im very confused about 1. , we went and saw our managers "best band" who i filled in for a few times, they're tight, bit bland (imo) and play everything the same everynight, we saw them at the same venue, there were half as many people there and even fewer dancing than when we were there, and they've been booked back a few times....we like to stir things up a little by, changing things a little bit each time we play them....2. the only times im really "dominant" are when im soloing, which i admit is a few times more than neccecary, but thats to cover our guitarist who either doesnt learn solo's and tells me about 4 bars before it comes up or just doesnt want to solo :rolleyes: or i do the jack bruce approach that when the guitarist is soloing to get a little busier since theres only 1 guitar when we're playing songs where there might be 2-3 guitars, sometimes i may add a few extra notes or step on the ibby tube screamer to get a bit of grit to fill out some space....
 
#18
During a guitar solo is the last place you want to go wanking on. It's your job to hold the groove, not to pull the floor out from under things. So the guys solos aint so hot....so what, that is his job. If he's already struggling to begin with, how much harder does it make his job when he is competing for his own solo time, and has no groove to layer onto?

Read between the lines...........
 
#20
I DID come right out and say it Heath. All I meant, was even if the manager is a jerk, and the DJ is a jerk, you should take into account that there MAY OR MAY NOT be some truth to the complaints. Take it as constructive criticism .From your postings, clips, etc., over the years, it is obvious you like to slap, solo, stand out. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, it will draw complaints, especially as you said earlier, when you do it over a guitarists solo. I remember one clip you posted, when ALL you could hear was the bass. Now you said this was because the recorder was near your amp, and that's a good explanation, but it does make me wonder if there isn't some truth to the complaint.
 

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