Just got home, and it was an alright night when it was all said and done. So this “show” ended up being a house party at our lead guitarist house. I hadn’t got the address yet this morning so when he texted me that we were playing there I knew that wasn’t a good start.
So I show up and we are stuck in the basement and have maybe a 10x10 area to set up. He tells me “well looks like you’re in the corner bud” and starts setting up the keyboard amp right where I’m supposed to stand. I ask him what he’s doing and he says “oh just put your amp on the other side of the kit” which is not where I’m standing. I tell him that’s a pretty f***ing terrible idea because I’m barely going to hear the amp if it was at my feet as it is, so if it’s on the other side of the kit and I have the keyboard amp up my rear then that’s not gonna work. “Oh, well I guess we can switch them around.” Yes, yes that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.
So the 3 people in the front are the LS, lead guitar and keys and I’m shoved in this corner by the drums with an open back guitars cabinet (LS’s cabinet, naturally) 2 feet in front of me. So I set up my small pedalboard where I can and just try and enjoy the party. Free beer and food, so it was decent.
We soundcheck and get the levels halfway decent for what the room is, and we go hang for an hour. We come back down to play and immediately both guitars turn their amps up and the keyboard dimes her volume too. Welp, guess I’m turning up now as well. LS also proceeds to set 2 open beers on his amp where the vibrations very easily could shake them off onto my pedalboard. I just move them to the floor, and he moves them back up on the amp. Fine, I move my pedalboard onto my amp and we play the set. Couldn’t hear a freaking thing other than guitars and drums. I kept trying to hear my bass but it just washed out between all of the octavers and distortion between the 3 up front. We play the set, people cheer (sort of) and I pack up and head out. Not a great time.
Oh and the one thing I forgot to mention, we have this song we play last that had a very sudden staccato ending where every instrument just completely drops out. It’s a good song ending, but for the last song in the set it’s weird to just end abruptly and then say “thank you and goodnight!” So I suggest that we do that ending but play it out like it’s the end of the set so it’s, not so abrupt. LS says “nah I want it that way just because it’s different”. Whatever you say bud.
So on the way out the drummer pulls me aside and tells me he couldn’t hear me either and we both decided that we need to write some stuff together as a band that’s more sonically balanced. If that’s not an option on the table then we are going to break off and start something else.
I still like the guys in the band, and I want to be an adult and talk out the issues but I think he wants hired guns to play his stuff his way. But we are not paid, so I don’t know how he’s going to find that.
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