"Check In" here before and after your gigs, Set #2, the sequel!

[mrwink]

Another Triple-Header for my cover band - Tonight we'll be at Bar Melody, out by LA-X - it's a groovy little dive bar - big place with crappy PA. The crowd ususally warms up to us pretty quick and we have a fun night there.

Tomorrow(Saturday) we start off with a Relay for Life event at UC Irvine - then tomorrow night we'll be at Carmine's in So. Pasadena - this is our first time at this venue - I've heard good and bad - I'm sure it will be all good! We have a new fill-in drummer for both of Saturday's gigs as our regular drummer is playing with his 80's metal band, Tuff.

 

[mimaz]

1 gig tonight, 2 tomorrow.....first steel drum gig of the year tonight, then 2 Fab Benders gigs tomorrow.......it's gonna be a busy weekend.

Tonight should be easy, just one set 6:30 - 8:00, no PA, all acoustic, (except me, I'll probably bring the Walkabout).

Tomorrow a concert set in the afternoon, then a club gig at night (fortunately an easy one, kinda early at 9-12, and only a couple minutes from home.....I'll be pooped by then).

 

[Lazylion]

Tomorrow I'm subbing with a band for an outdoor gig in DC. We play at Malcolm X Park for some kind of a rally/march kinda thing. One glorious 45-min. set. Hope it doesn't rain!

One interesting thing; the bandleader paid me at Wednesday's rehearsal! I never get paid 3 days in advance!

 

[mimaz]

Steel band gig is now history....went off without a hitch.....

just found out that the concert set tomorrow has been moved indoors due to the weather...

 

[Slim Louis]

My next gig(s) are this Friday, Sat., and Sunday, as always, outside, weather permitting, at Handy Park, Beale St. Memphis TN. All I will say is, that a bad gig is still better then a great day job! I know , I should be grateful, and I am, I just forget sometimes! Played with a new drummer last Sunday, that I really liked! The question is, can he do it again this weekend?!!! I'll let ya'll know!

Well the predicted rains held off long enough to get the gig in Friday night, but it looks like we are rained out for Saturday. Beale St. was packed with people from the Memphis in May music festival, but the tip jar was mediocre. We play for tips, record sales, and 10% of the bar, its a crap shoot! I took two cabs, a 2x10 and a 4X10 and it was painfully obvious I had a blown speaker in the 2X10. It was OK after I unplugged it! Fun crowd, but light on tips! Guitar player/band leader got weird but my Karma hasn't quite turned around yet!

 

[Lazylion]

We play at Malcolm X Park for some kind of a rally/march kinda thing.

Turned out to be a Legalize-it rally, I should have known.
It was cloudy and threatening the whole time, but no rain! Stage sound was a bit weird, there was a low-end rumble, but since it was only one set and I wasn't singing, I figured it wasn't worth it to raise a fuss. We made it through, and best of all, I made it in and out of DC in a reasonably timely manner, and nobody stole my stuff.
Did I mention I got paid 3 days in advance?
Mission Accomplished.

 

[Howlin' Hanson]

We're playing Saturday afternoon outdoors (forecast: mid-80s, humid) at a local Harley-Davidson dealership. 60's oldies, lots of Beatles. Using a sub drummer, our regular guy is not as dedicated lately. Should be interesting, particularly since my voice is still raw from a recent cold....

Gig went well. Very light attendance, but the Harley dealership didn't really promote, and our fan base is still small. My voice held out OK. Sub drummer was great, though we were ragged in a couple of spots.

The pavilion had a roof, three stone walls, 16 electrical outlets, restrooms on the side of the pavilion, and motorcycles coming and going. We got paid a decent amount and confirmed we have enough songs for a four-hour gig.

Looks like we may get asked back, plus they have another dealership in the area who might want us. (Well, I really promoted them between songs.) All is well.

 

[Lazylion]

^^ Did you play Born To Be Wild??

 

[Michael Vee]

I have never done one of these. I have been checking in on TB tonight and thought I would.

I played a performance of "The Producers" at Oak Ridge Playhouse tonight.

Gear: Spirit XZ-2, Status flatwounds, Genz Shuttle 6.0 head, Bag End S15X-D cab.

Six piece show band, with music director playing oboe, alto sax, flute, piccolo; remaining musicians are piano, utility keys, trumpet, bass, drums.

Very good time. Dang good score.

I'll be playing this show the next two weekends. Next weekend, I'll be there Thursday/Friday/Sunday, then the following weekend will be Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Come on out and see this romp, stop in to the band area and introduce yourself! It's a good time.

 

[rokkitt]

I played with a cover band on Saturday night in White Plains, NY. It was an ok gig. Nice restaurant that I wouldn't have guessed hosting a band. Typical covers included "American Band," "Baba O," "Seven Nation Army," (ugh, White Stripes) "Southbound," "RearViewMirror," "Rockin' In The Free World," "She Hates Me," "Beer," and so forth. 2 14 song sets. Most of the songs are average 3-4 minutes long. The guitar player turned them into 10 minute songs with extra long, multiple guitar solos. I had previously asked him to try & shorten the solos, but things change when we're live I guess. We were supposed to get $100 each plus a percentage of what comes in through the door, potentially walking with $125-$150 each. As soon as we load in the bar's manager asked if we had anyone with us that can watch the door to collect the $5 cover charge as his guy called out. We didn't. It already sounded bad. Our set started at 10:00, took a break at 11:15, started at 11:45, done at 1:00. The singer "worked out a deal" with the manager & the band got $320, splitting to $80 each. Mind you, I've chipped in on 5 practices at $20 a pop, paid a $5 bridge toll, a $5 "valet fee" only to find my car right where I left it, and a 3 hour drive to the gig & back. It's my first gig with these guys. We have 2 more scheduled gigs coming up: one, a "showcase", which means everyone except the band gets paid, and another for 3 sets that will be another hour drive. I guess my mind is made up. Not sure if I should continue with the gigs or cut my losses.

@@@@@@

I auditioned for those guys! The twanger kept telling me to turn down, but his half stack was blasting in my face! The drummer(older guy) and screamer (younger guy) are cool---- but I am glad the twanger, who ran the band, picked someone else! Just wasn't for me. Southbound and seven nation army? That puzzled me too.
Ru still with them? What is the name of the band?

Tell them I said hello.

 

[mrwink]

all three gigs went well - Saturdays stuff with the new fill-in drummer went wonderful - great rhythm, knew the songs well and was easy to lock up with!

The crowd at Carmines was great - tons of people and they sang along on a lot of songs, danced (we were told that nobody ever dances there by the door guys) and they cheered for more - that sure makes it a lot more fun!

 

[jgsbass]

Looks like Friday night clubdate ( just came in) and Saturday night clubdate for me
Museum of Natural History was fun for different reasons. Allright, show of hands, how many of you have ever played with a Shondell? Thats what I thought. I have a buddy who has been Tommy James MD for what seems like forever, and he was an added piece to a gig that we were already too loud for. Tons of classic rock. Brought the family into the room with "White Room" ( their request). All that, and a $100 tip. Each.

 

[Shy Guy]

Just got back from a show and completely (in my band's and my view) bombed the show. My guitard does a lot of solos in our songs so he sets up ques in his playing to let the rest of the band know when he'll end. He did not do any ques, and also decided that he'd change the structures of 1/2 of our songs on the spot;this confused me, which in turn confused my drummer and caused us to fail miserably. The audience liked it, except for the musicians in the crowd.

 

[Jimmy Bones]

My band had our first gig together last night, and all in all it went ok. There were a few flub ups on our behalf, but most people were pretty gracious about our music. They didn't like about half our set, but our last song really killed them.

Least we were good enough to be offered a couple more shows.

 

[franzkafka]

So, my band just played it's second show together. It went alright, but the other band, the one who put the show on, were total dicks.

Let me preface this by saying that, while not the most attended show ever, the people at our first show were great. We played well, all the bands were friendly, and we shared. We all gave compliments and were generally friendly.

This show was the opposite. The band we played with is kind of a joke. They put every semi-well-known band they've ever opened for (all of which nobody cares about anymore because it's not 1999, think nu-metal) on their flyer and took up a **** load of space plugging some show "opening" for some nu-metal band when in reality, 15 other bands no one knows about are "opening" throughout the entire day.

This band also raffled off tickets for that "big show" they had coming up during their set tonight, and mentioned it after each song.

They borrowed our singer's PA because they don't have their **** together enough, and didn't thank him. They put on the show and apparently told us initially that there would be a PA, then told us it'd be pay to play and we'd have to get a sound guy. I applaud my singer for bringing his stuff and letting them use it too so we could play.

They played dated music through ****** amps and were all well past the age most people reach when they realize they won't make it. That may sound rude, but if you knew those in question and their approach, you'd know it's completely justified.

Their drummer kept looking at our drummer when playing to make sure he was watching. He was pretty talented, but the ego was ridiculous. They're bass player is cool though, we'd talked shop a few times. Go figure.

They also talked **** about us, from outside the venue, while we were playing. Apparently they trashed the flyers we made. I don't know why. Maybe because it was about the show and bands in question and only had pertinent information, who knows?

I learned about this after the show. During our set, I didn't have anything against them. I was pumped to be playing a show. When they started playing, though, I swear, music lost it's magic for me. I could hardly stand to watch the whole scene. The audience, the band, it was just depressing.

I could go on, it was just a bunch of trivial stuff that annoyed me. I put very little stock in what people say, because no one knows anything anyway. It didn't ruin the night so much as it put a damper on my excitement towards what music can be. If this **** is allowed to go on, maybe music isn't as untouchable as I hoped.

So why do people stick to the same rehashed ideas and structures with no humility whatsoever? Do they think anything good could come of what they're doing? Why do they see it necessary to be complete tools?

 

[Jimmy Bones]

Craftsman makes some good tools.

 

[samson3382]

They played dated music through ****** amps and were all well past the age most people reach when they realize they won't make it. That may sound rude, but if you knew those in question and their approach, you'd know it's completely justified.

Their drummer kept looking at our drummer when playing to make sure he was watching. He was pretty talented, but the ego was ridiculous. They're bass player is cool though, we'd talked shop a few times. Go figure.

They also talked **** about us, from outside the venue, while we were playing. Apparently they trashed the flyers we made. I don't know why. Maybe because it was about the show and bands in question and only had pertinent information, who knows?

So why do people stick to the same rehashed ideas and structures with no humility whatsoever? Do they think anything good could come of what they're doing? Why do they see it necessary to be complete tools?

I definetly know the type, or similar type. Boise is saturated with 50something burnout 80's metal style bands with 3 or 4 full stack amps and a drumset that needs its own U-haul. In a way I can't say that won't be me in another 20 years though. I mean im young and experimental now, but who knows what the future's hardships (&hearing loss) may bring. My music may come across that way to some people right now, but too me its a simple question.
Would you rather play music, and I mean actually pracitce/gig, or not?
It would be nice if someday I "made it", and I'm young enough it could still happen. But the reality is that I most likely will not, at least not by most standards. I love to play and as long as I do I'm gonna keep doin it. If I get tired, I'll take a break

I know the type though

 

[franzkafka]

Hahaha, the drummer thing! This guy had, let's see, at least 9 cymbals, one of which was borrowed from our drummer. He took up half of the already small stage with this ridiculous kit.

Here's to never becoming that. It should be easy to avoid, I guess. The more I think about it, the more it seems like some kind of innate attitude thing rather than something you become over time. Best of luck.

 

[unclejam]

I had a gig friday night. 2 hour show. ill put clips up on youtube later.

 

[EricF]

all three gigs went well - Saturdays stuff with the new fill-in drummer went wonderful - great rhythm, knew the songs well and was easy to lock up with!

The crowd at Carmines was great - tons of people and they sang along on a lot of songs, danced (we were told that nobody ever dances there by the door guys) and they cheered for more - that sure makes it a lot more fun!

I know Carmine's. My wife and I used to go there regularly when we were dating. Dancing is not at all uncommon, and tends to increase as the crowd gets drunker. I've seen some decent bands there, and I've seen some real train wrecks. If the band is doing a halfway decent job playing well-known songs, the crowd will be into it and everyone will have a great time.


My band has 6 shows completed so far. Our typical scene is one of the small bars in the area that promote original music. We do mostly our own songs, but also throw in our take on a couple of covers (an @$$-kicking version of "Folsom Prison Blues" has been a big crowd-pleaser). Our typical set is 45-60 minutes depening on the venue. So far, it's been going pretty well, but we have an re-occuring issue with our singer forgetting lyrics.

Somehow, we got the idea to chase a gig in Las Vegas. As much as anything, it was an excuse to take a road trip and party in Vegas. One of our guitar players hooked a gig for us - local bar rather than a casino (Jacksons Bar & Grill) - and they want us to play 2+ hours with a couple of breaks. We're down to the last week of rehearsal before the gig on 5/17, and I'm not particularly confident that we'll be ready. Musically, I think we'll do okay, but I'm not so sure that our singer is up to speed. I'm hoping for the best.