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I started on cello nearly 20 years ago, so I can read the music, but I have a hard time doing any improv while reading. I like being able to commit songs to muscle memory, but just not there yet.
And yep there's horns and multiple singers. The tunes are (some) jazz and a lot of brass rock and motown.
And yep there's horns and multiple singers. The tunes are (some) jazz and a lot of brass rock and motown.
My favorite! You’re going to have a blast. My favorite band ever was a 9-piece soul/r&b group.
I think there's a place for both charts and no-charts, and it really depends on the type of gig you're on. I play full time, and in my experience charts are acceptable at rehearsals and maybe the first few gigs, but I am quickly expected to get off chart and interacting with the musicians and crowd sooner than later. This is for both rock/cover gigs, and a lot of the bigger band/horn section/jazz stuff I do. Here in Baltimore, you can go downtown and catch a live cover band any night of the week at a number of bars, and believe me these guys have memorized hundreds of tunes in a variety of styles and expect their rhythm sections to follow.
That said...I can "get by" on a lot of songs I don't know, because at a certain point they all blend together and you can hear where its going.
All this talk about charts and I guess the real trick is...if you have a good ear and can adapt on the fly, and everyone leaves smiling and having had a fun night...than it doesn't matter how you get there. Listen Listen Listen
That said...I can "get by" on a lot of songs I don't know, because at a certain point they all blend together and you can hear where its going.
All this talk about charts and I guess the real trick is...if you have a good ear and can adapt on the fly, and everyone leaves smiling and having had a fun night...than it doesn't matter how you get there. Listen Listen Listen
Be prepared for drunk relatives getting on stage a la Jeff Spicoli blurting: "I know that song!" Private affairs sometimes treat the band like a karaoke machine.
Show up early. Early.
Shake the sound guy’s hand and ask his preferences for bass signal. Have a plan to get your signal into the house.
Have the equipment to tune silently.
Watch your language. I once witnessed a drummer get fired for a comment in the urinal.
Bring a snack and water. You’ll often get fed but the timing may not jive with your schedule.
Act like you’re happy to be there.
Don’t overplay.
Thank everyone at the end of the night.
Shake the sound guy’s hand and ask his preferences for bass signal. Have a plan to get your signal into the house.
Have the equipment to tune silently.
Watch your language. I once witnessed a drummer get fired for a comment in the urinal.
Bring a snack and water. You’ll often get fed but the timing may not jive with your schedule.
Act like you’re happy to be there.
Don’t overplay.
Thank everyone at the end of the night.
I've played professionally over the years, all different types of bands. All the little things will fall in place as you go, don't sweat the small things. The tips I will suggest are based on hundreds of shows with hundreds of musicians, and revolves around the core values of professional musicianship.
My signature sets the tone of every band I've ever been in, and will be in, and can be broken down into this mindset.
"Your ability gets the gig, your attitude keeps it."
You got the job because of your playing ability, look, attitude, all that stuff. To keep the gig you need to learn the songs and retain them, be consistent in your playing. Be happy. Your attitude make up a huge part of being in a band. No one likes a primadonna douche that doesn't play well with others. Those types are quickly replaced. A bad attitude will spread like wildfire, and band leaders will cut a player constantly bitching about everything.
Be fun to be around. Be respectful of your other band mates. If you are fun to be around, know your parts and play them every performance, be on time for practices and shows, and not bitch, there should be no reason you can't keep the gig until you are ready to move on.
Remember, for every good paying gig, there are many, many players just waiting to take your place.
Don't give them the chance.
My signature sets the tone of every band I've ever been in, and will be in, and can be broken down into this mindset.
"Your ability gets the gig, your attitude keeps it."
You got the job because of your playing ability, look, attitude, all that stuff. To keep the gig you need to learn the songs and retain them, be consistent in your playing. Be happy. Your attitude make up a huge part of being in a band. No one likes a primadonna douche that doesn't play well with others. Those types are quickly replaced. A bad attitude will spread like wildfire, and band leaders will cut a player constantly bitching about everything.
Be fun to be around. Be respectful of your other band mates. If you are fun to be around, know your parts and play them every performance, be on time for practices and shows, and not bitch, there should be no reason you can't keep the gig until you are ready to move on.
Remember, for every good paying gig, there are many, many players just waiting to take your place.
Don't give them the chance.
I think I’ll put that in my new employee orientation
-Be like teflon, don't let anything get under your skin ever.
-Smile a lot, look sharp
-Know your material
-Maintain your gear to perfection
-Always have a backup bass tuned and ready
-Don't drink alcohol or socialize with any visibly drunk people
Most of this stuff is a given, nothing meant to insult or patronize. Seems like you already have a good amount of experience.
Oh yeah! Have fun man!
-Smile a lot, look sharp
-Know your material
-Maintain your gear to perfection
-Always have a backup bass tuned and ready
-Don't drink alcohol or socialize with any visibly drunk people
Most of this stuff is a given, nothing meant to insult or patronize. Seems like you already have a good amount of experience.
Oh yeah! Have fun man!
Congrats. Feel blessed for the opportunity, and blessed that you're not the band leader. To that end, empathize with your band leader and do all you can to make his life easier, which means taking care of your duties, from song learning and prep to rehearsal to stage directions, to your personal rig, and your attire/aesthetics. Be a team player and get with the strategies for success that have been put into place. Make the sacrifices for your audiences, and enjoy being an entertainer.
If my band members do all that, we have awesome dance party performances.
When they get lazy and cut corners, don't give me 100%, or otherwise buck the system, we can't bring our A-game and compete with the A bands for the A room$ and client$ in town.
This is going to be way different from your originals band. You're not writing songs and recording original tracks. You are learning songs which (I hope) were chosen to please a certain client and audience, and they like their Big Macs mostly the same way they had them the last 8 billion times. You are hunting down your target audience, rather than fly your originals up the flag pole and hope an audience comes to you. It's a whole different ball game. Keep your eyes and ears open, learn from your BL and mates.
Remember: You may gag when you hear a standard, but even "Mustang Sally," played to a loving appreciative audience that is dancing and singing along, giving you the rock star treatment, can be a real hoot. And that wad of cash in your mitts at the end of the show doesn't hurt a thing.
Have fun!
That pretty much describes the cover band audiences, and the different objectives of originals bands and cover bands. One situation is not "better" than the other, they are just different. To play in a corporate/wedding band demands professional working relationship, with the stress on "work". It isn't usually a "party" and it isn't always fun.
Check your ego / creativity at the door, do your homework, and smile a lot because you're getting paid to do what you Love to do.
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Word. Cover bands can be a total blast if you are working with good peeps. Embrace the experience.
My advice for wedding/corporate/golf clubs- Don't get discouraged if you are 'invisible'. The crowd won't go nuts and throw panties, you'll be lucky if they even clap. These crowds are there for something else, and you are just wallpaper.
Be prepared at weddings to have LOTS AND LOTS of drunks trip over the monitors.
Requests for Brown Eyed Girl, Mustang Sally, The Hokey Polka? Learn em all- you're just a jukebox to them.
Be prepared at weddings to have LOTS AND LOTS of drunks trip over the monitors.
Requests for Brown Eyed Girl, Mustang Sally, The Hokey Polka? Learn em all- you're just a jukebox to them.
I know, I know ... it's 2018 for cryin' out loud! But they WILL request The Macarena, Electric Slide, Boot Scootin' Boogie, Margueritaville, Brown Eyed Girl, Mustang Sally ... etc, etc. Roll with it.
Good points, the competitive corporate "show bands" in my neighborhood are always run like a business, to a very high standard and expectations for the individual and unit. It's a part-time job (full-time for the BL). The behind-the-scenes work is demanding, but we try to inject at least a sense of humor and alleviate any stress that starts to build up. Being with like-minded people working toward a common goal creates an "all in this together/us against the world" camaraderie. Still, not as much "fun" as a good ol' boys basement jam band out for a good time.
Our real "fun" is usually saved for the stage and show. That's when, if we prepped well, we can really let loose, put some energy and showmanship behind it, and be great entertainers.
Then again, I'm of the opinion that eventually, in order to be successful, an originals band needs to adopt the same business acumen.
It's a product, with a special needs target audience, that requires marketing skills, and you face competition from similar products.
If you sing, have a mic and mini-monitor just in case. Have ability to move all your stuff in one trip through a working kitchen.
+1
Sometimes very true with this audience, which is why my band has all but abandoned hard endings and dead air. This is not an arena show where the band gives the audience a chance to stand and cheer after every song. We roll one song into the next, using medleys and segues every chance we get. Since keeping them on the dance floor is also a goal for many of these gigs, stopping doesn't help. When we finally do end a song and let it breathe, we will get healthy applause and appreciation, but we had to work hard for it.
