This week started out as most others have these last six months. It was Monday and I did not have to go to the bank to deposit cash from a gig / gigs over the weekend while on lunch at my 9-5. I had planned on doing some maintenance on things in the dungeon (studio) either Monday or Tuesday evening after the 4 little g-sp0ts were off in dreamworld. The only time I can manage to do anything!
I skipped Monday night due to being tired. On Tuesday night, however, I was forcing myself to get down there. Just before that was to begin (some point after dinner / before kids went to bed), I received a message asking if I could play on Saturday! “I’m in!”
He sent the last setlist the band played - 58 songs. I scroll through and it’s mostly straight up classic stuff, some “newer” alternative (newer meaning 90’s / early 00’s and my stubborn self won’t accept it is basically classics as well!) Cool, I’ve got it. I’ll review what I need to.
This gig was to be an outdoor party on a property about a half hour away. Lots of room. The guy who reached out to me added the drummer to a group chat so we all could discuss the show. Drummer said we need firepower. Okay, my interest is piqued. The host of the party wanted people to hear us, feel us and have fun.
I guess that means BRING THE FRIDGE!
They had built us a stage out of pallets. The black flooring you see was some sort of foam / rubberish material. I wish I had gotten a picture of how significantly my side was sunken in under the weight of my amp. It was funny.
In the interest of not alerting the authorities, I was very conservative with my volume during sound check. Host came over after starting the bonfire. “Whoa! How loud can get thing get?”
“People can hear it if I need them to. Why?”
“Crank it up, dude!”
“You got it!”
We sound checked on “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”. Not the whole song, just to get an idea of where we were. I saw our esteemed host pointing at me at one point giving the thumb up towards the sky. Here we go. On the chorus, I was thinking of turning the song to the Guns version anyhow. I activated the Meatbox and Darkglass Duality to get a wee bit more “oomph”.
It oomphed.
After concluding the sample of the song, I did my routine “Thank you! Good night!” Good for a laugh from the crowd.
We enjoy some quick food and run over what to start with. Just run through set 1 as normal. Start with “American Girl” and let’s fly.
I’ll spare the details of the next few songs as all went well. We made it through song #7 which was “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”. The P Bass sounded sooooo good on that one. Host comes over. Apparently local police had some words due to our volume.
I, and I am sure many of you, know where this road goes down. In retrospect, I should have started packing then and there. I decide to be polite and adjust the volume/ tinker with my board.
Police were very, very reasonable with the party host. They ask the music to be “speaker level”. That translates to no band. He apologizes profusely and will pay the whole rate for us for the evening. Better than some bar owners!
It was a success in my book for a couple of reasons. I had only played with the vocalist / guitarist one time prior and never with the drummer. We meshed immediately. It was fantastic. As we packed, we had the “We’ll do this again!” convo, but it was legitimate. It was an good time and I earned a spot with another group of musicians.
There’s the stage. The host had the surname of Lynch, hence the name. I should have grabbed a picture of the whole area with the bonfire. It was perfect weather for it.
Other random thought:
I sold my beloved Nissan Frontier earlier this year. It could fit all of my big gear easily and with the camper shell on, I could fit all of my arsenal in there (bi-amped stereo setup). I sold it due to us about to have child #4. How often did I need the truck? I’ll get some money for it. Turned a profit on it and had a few days of sadness/ slight regret, but moved on. I saw it a couple of weeks later at the last gig before the madness started. Saturday before St. Pat’s. I had forgotten to sign a spot on the back of the title. Oops. New owner brought it out. It was a good way to cut the cord and say goodbye.
I have a Honda CR-V I had purchased from my uncle, who still lives in NYC. He was moving from Queens to Manhattan and had no need for a vehicle any longer. I paid to have it brought to me in 2015. Low miles and minor maintenance needed. It’s a 2012 and as of yesterday, still has under 75,000 miles. Since the truck is now gone, yesterday was her first true test on what she can fit for a show.
As expected, she did well!
It settled me a bit. I can still gig with this and not need the truck any longer. Good thing I bought a Wrangler for a toy!
Cheers
I skipped Monday night due to being tired. On Tuesday night, however, I was forcing myself to get down there. Just before that was to begin (some point after dinner / before kids went to bed), I received a message asking if I could play on Saturday! “I’m in!”
He sent the last setlist the band played - 58 songs. I scroll through and it’s mostly straight up classic stuff, some “newer” alternative (newer meaning 90’s / early 00’s and my stubborn self won’t accept it is basically classics as well!) Cool, I’ve got it. I’ll review what I need to.
This gig was to be an outdoor party on a property about a half hour away. Lots of room. The guy who reached out to me added the drummer to a group chat so we all could discuss the show. Drummer said we need firepower. Okay, my interest is piqued. The host of the party wanted people to hear us, feel us and have fun.
I guess that means BRING THE FRIDGE!
They had built us a stage out of pallets. The black flooring you see was some sort of foam / rubberish material. I wish I had gotten a picture of how significantly my side was sunken in under the weight of my amp. It was funny.
In the interest of not alerting the authorities, I was very conservative with my volume during sound check. Host came over after starting the bonfire. “Whoa! How loud can get thing get?”
“People can hear it if I need them to. Why?”
“Crank it up, dude!”
“You got it!”
We sound checked on “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”. Not the whole song, just to get an idea of where we were. I saw our esteemed host pointing at me at one point giving the thumb up towards the sky. Here we go. On the chorus, I was thinking of turning the song to the Guns version anyhow. I activated the Meatbox and Darkglass Duality to get a wee bit more “oomph”.
It oomphed.
After concluding the sample of the song, I did my routine “Thank you! Good night!” Good for a laugh from the crowd.
We enjoy some quick food and run over what to start with. Just run through set 1 as normal. Start with “American Girl” and let’s fly.
I’ll spare the details of the next few songs as all went well. We made it through song #7 which was “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”. The P Bass sounded sooooo good on that one. Host comes over. Apparently local police had some words due to our volume.
I, and I am sure many of you, know where this road goes down. In retrospect, I should have started packing then and there. I decide to be polite and adjust the volume/ tinker with my board.
Police were very, very reasonable with the party host. They ask the music to be “speaker level”. That translates to no band. He apologizes profusely and will pay the whole rate for us for the evening. Better than some bar owners!
It was a success in my book for a couple of reasons. I had only played with the vocalist / guitarist one time prior and never with the drummer. We meshed immediately. It was fantastic. As we packed, we had the “We’ll do this again!” convo, but it was legitimate. It was an good time and I earned a spot with another group of musicians.
There’s the stage. The host had the surname of Lynch, hence the name. I should have grabbed a picture of the whole area with the bonfire. It was perfect weather for it.
Other random thought:
I sold my beloved Nissan Frontier earlier this year. It could fit all of my big gear easily and with the camper shell on, I could fit all of my arsenal in there (bi-amped stereo setup). I sold it due to us about to have child #4. How often did I need the truck? I’ll get some money for it. Turned a profit on it and had a few days of sadness/ slight regret, but moved on. I saw it a couple of weeks later at the last gig before the madness started. Saturday before St. Pat’s. I had forgotten to sign a spot on the back of the title. Oops. New owner brought it out. It was a good way to cut the cord and say goodbye.
I have a Honda CR-V I had purchased from my uncle, who still lives in NYC. He was moving from Queens to Manhattan and had no need for a vehicle any longer. I paid to have it brought to me in 2015. Low miles and minor maintenance needed. It’s a 2012 and as of yesterday, still has under 75,000 miles. Since the truck is now gone, yesterday was her first true test on what she can fit for a show.
As expected, she did well!
It settled me a bit. I can still gig with this and not need the truck any longer. Good thing I bought a Wrangler for a toy!
Cheers
. Thanks for sharing!
