Equipment setup and breakdown etiquette

[fhm555]

Before my legs got crushed I always helped with whatever aspect of load in, setup, and load out needed tending ATM. My brother supplied the PA in any band we played in together so I always made sure he had help wrangling his equipment.
After i was able to get back to playing, my role in helping changed in that I could no longer tote any barges or lift any bales, but I could break out cables and get them hooked up, since everything was color coded it was a job even I couldn’t screw up.
in short, the poopie is not going to pack itself so until it is all packed and we’ve made a last walk through to make sure nothing was missed, i’m doing what I can to ensure the job runs as smoothly as possible. Not because of any sense of obligation, at least none beyond anything to reduce interpersonal friction, which can only help us all concentrate on why we are there to begin with. If someone has a bug up their bung about whose turn it is to do what, stink eye and stiff legged stalking around rather than open honest communication only serve to degrade the music, and that’s why I’m there. I’m hoping every job yields an epic musical experience so I’m happy to head off any potential resentment over minor details.

 

[pepj]

Charge him for use of P.A and carry. You get 2/3 of pot, he gets 1/3.

Sounds a pretty inconsiderate 'partner' ...if not downright ignorant to me.
So it costs him accordingly, imv.

 

[brianrost]

For setup, if I arrive early enough I offer to help others bring their stuff in.

For breakdown, once I'm all packed up, I offer to help others unless I'm driving alone and the drive is more than an hour.

I usually help take down the PA, although I don't wrap cables. When I owned a PA I wanted to do that myself to make sure they were wrapped properly.

I usually don't wait for the drummer to pack up, unless of course I'm car pooling with him On some gigs I'll hang around chatting to audience members or waiting for the money. If so, I offer to help.

Charge him for use of P.A and carry. You get 2/3 of pot, he gets 1/3.

The last band I provided PA for offered me an extra share (split 6 ways for 5 people, I'd get a double share). I was happy about that!

 

[Hummergeist]

I know a duo that had a great slot touring in support of a huge act in the UK, and then broke up and lost their momentum with this kind of disagreement coming between them.

 

[JimiLL]

I hustle my own gear in, then help with anything left over. Common decency.

 

[longfinger]

I

Do you have any opinions on an etiquette rule of thumb? For instance, if I'm playing with a drummer, I wouldn't leave the gig while they were packing up. If I was physically unable to help carry, I would at least stay around and offer moral support and friendship. I wonder what other people here think.

Thanks!

Absolutely, they should ask and be around to help as needed. They might not be needed, but at least they asked.

Reality, most drummers don't want help because the help often slows them down and does the pack up badly. Ditto for the PA. Too easy to lose cables, adapters, power supplies etc when more people "help".

However, once all the pieces are all in the various bags and in their proper places, then the help is great to carry the bags to the vehicle.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, I try to make sure everyone is packed up and ready to go before I leave. I didn't always do this, and I regret it.

Currently, I'm not sure I'd want to be in a band with someone who wouldn't help with the load in or out. That would indicate that someone isn't a real good 'hang'. And at a gig, it's all about the hang.

I played with one BL who always drew a pretty good crowd of the folks who followed his band back in the 70's. After the gig, it might take him up to an hour to visit with everyone who wanted to talk with him. While this was going on, I broke down the PA (which he owned and had set-up) and staged everything for the load out. To me, his 'working the room' was just as important getting the equipment ready for the load out.

 

[turf3]

Absolutely, they should ask and be around to help as needed. They might not be needed, but at least they asked.

Reality, most drummers don't want help because the help often slows them down and does the pack up badly. Ditto for the PA. Too easy to lose cables, adapters, power supplies etc when more people "help".

However, once all the pieces are all in the various bags and in their proper places, then the help is great to carry the bags to the vehicle.

For PA, I think a brief training and some visual management is in order, rather than insisting on doing it all yourself "so it'll be done right".

For example, all the speaker cable goes into the bag clearly marked "Speaker Cable". All power cords go into "Power". All signal cables go into "Signal". Buy a proper microphone box with enough spots, label the box "Microphones". Teach 'em how to fold and stow microphone stands. As each container (bag, box, case) is filled, it goes onto the two or four wheeler and either to the car (if someone's out there loading) or to the door, to be shuttled out to the car.

If there's equipment that's owned by different people, label it with the owner's name. Not in wee little letters, get a big damn stencil and spray paint it in 6" letters.

For PA the best setup for quick and easy is to color code every microphone cable with colored tape at each end. If you're going to be doing the same setup repeatedly, use the same color codes on the mixer input. Doing it to microphones is a good idea too, but in channel tracking the end of the cable's right there and visible. Color coding mics is only if the same mic is used in the same channel all the time, which may not be the case with setting up in various venues.

If it's the same personnel over and over, label the mixer channels (Joe - vocal/Joe-guitar/Steve-vocal/Steve-sax/ etc.)

Visual management and a modicum of training allow setup and teardown to be achieved by more than one, thus faster.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

I used to ride with him, but after the last one where June Lockhart (60s TV, Lassie, Lost in Space) rode with us...

Come on, let's be fair here. You can't just mention June Lockhart and not give us a few stories!

 

[gln1955]

Come on, let's be fair here. You can't just mention June Lockhart and not give us a few stories!

Does she really speak jive?

 

[Michedelic]

Does she really speak jive?

That was Barbara Billingsley. Ward needs to have a talk with you.

 

[KohanMike]

Come on, let's be fair here. You can't just mention June Lockhart and not give us a few stories!

(Sorry to hijack this thread.) Not much for stories. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met. She was kind of a mascot for the orchestra, came to a good many concerts, she's a friend of the founder/conductor. Hung out backstage with us. Encouraging, congenial, easy to talk to. I was in show business here in Hollywood for almost 30 years, worked as an assistant prop master on top end movies. The tabloids and such are full of crap, it was very rare that I encountered a-hole people. I hesitated to do this, but I might as well show how many so called "Hollywood" people I was around.

RAGING BULL - Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro, Joe Peschi, Cathy Moriarty
WAR GAMES - John Badham
Mathew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman
ALL OF ME - Carl Reiner
Steve Martin, Lili Tomlin, Victoria Tenant
WITNESS - Peter Weir
Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen
STAND BY ME - Rob Reiner
Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell
ABOUT LAST NIGHT - Ed Zwick
Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi
MOSQUITO COAST - Peter Weir
Harrison Ford, River Phoenix, Helen Mirren
THE PRESIDIO - Peter Hyams
Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, Meg Ryan
CHANCES ARE - Emile Ardolino
Robert Downey Jr, Cybil Shepard, Ryan O'Neal
DICK TRACY - Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty. Madonna, Al Pucino
POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE - Mike Nichols
Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
ALMOST AN ANGEL - John Cornell
Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, Elias Koteas
REGARDING HENRY - Mike Nichols
Harrison Ford, Annette Bening, Mikki Allen
L.A. STORY - Mick Jackson
Steve Martin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marilou Henner
THE BUTCHER'S WIFE - Terry Hughes
Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, George Dzundza
FAR & AWAY - Ron Howard
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson
MR. SATURDAY NIGHT - Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal, David Paymer, Julie Harris
DESPERATE MEASURES - Barbet Schroeder
Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Marcia Gay Harden
DAVE - Ivan Reitman
Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella
YOUR NEIGHBORS & FRIENDS - Neil LaBute
Jason Patric, Nastassia Kinski, Ben Stiller
CITY SLICKERS 2 - Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal, Jack Palance, Daniel Stern
MY LIFE - Bruce Joel Rubin
Michael Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Queen Latifah
WOLF - Mike Nichols
Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader
LITTLE GIANTS - Duwayne Dunham & Steven Spielberg
Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, Shawna Waldron
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE - Neil Jordan
Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst
FORGET PARIS - Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal, Debra Winger, Joe Mantegna
THE RELIC - Peter Hyams
Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Seizmore
RED CORNER - Jon Avnet
Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradley Whitford
SEVEN - Dovid Fincher
Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow
IN DREAMS - Neil Jordan
Annette Bening, Aidan Quinn, Robert Downey Jr.
THE NEGOTIATOR - F. Gary Gray
Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse
A MAN APART - F. Gary Gray
Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Geno Silva
61* ROGER MARIS - Billy Crystal
Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Anthony Michael Hall
HIDALGO - Joe Johnston
Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson

 

[gln1955]

That was Barbara Billingsley. Ward needs to have a talk with you.

DOH! I'm getting my moms mixed up again.

 

[logdrum]

The only leeway is to the B3 player and his/her Leslie 122. 600 lbs is not exactly light. The singer with the SM57 no unless they are on quadriplegic. The drummer with Neil Peart setup -- not sure. Because if the audience cannot tell the difference between a Fodera and Squier tone, there is probably not much difference between a 7 and 8 inch splash tone as well.

 

[smeet]

Back in the day when bass rigs were HEAVY and BIG, other band members (and sometimes their significant others) would stick around and help me load my stuff into the car. These days I can pack up and load my 1200 watt rig into the car in a maximum of 10 minutes, and once I'm done I'll help anyone that needs help at that point.

 

[DaveParker39]

My rig is pretty low maintenance... 29 lb combo, guitar stand (we all share it), 1-2 basses, pedalboard, backpack. I've actually carried the whole thing in one trip.
We all help with PA and Drum transportation. I help run cables too. That's partially because I'm a cabling neat freak.

 

[Michedelic]

Did we scare the OP away?
New(er) bands should sit down at the outset, discuss this before any gigs, and sort out division of labor. Of course this rarely happens(if ever), due to inexperience, lack of foresight, or the inability of cats to self-herd. But a band should be a team, and once the tasks get sorted, that hopefully should hinder any misunderstanding or resentments.

 

[JPaulGeddy]

I'll always help load in, load out, run and wrap cables - UNLESS

they want to get there 4 hours early to 'hang'. Or they want to sit around and have a drink and a smoke before getting out. I don't do the hang at the club.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I always pick a time I will be there. With clubs and smaller PAs, it's an hour. More than enough time to set my stuff up and lug if the PA.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Thanks for the kind replies!

If I could clarify my question:
Suppose the other band member is physically unable to help - maybe they can't lift heavy things for example. Then is it okay for them to just 'peace out' right after the gig? Or should they stick around out of solidarity for the work you are putting in?

I realize this is a very subjective question - just looking for opinions.

Everybody can do something no matter how small.

Does the other person have gear, how do they attend to their gear? Can they wind a cord, take mics off stands, put them in cases, get you a beer or water? Something can always be done.