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Poll: There is NO STAGE
- Thread starter mellowinman
- Start date
Chili on a dog, now we're talkin'.droolEither OK to taste. Chili on a dog-w/ onions-mmmmm.
Should we adjust the poll to reflect the current conversation on ketchup/mustard?
What if I have mustard to grind, but no stones handy? Does "Boot Ground Mustard" sound good?
No.
Going back to the original topic, this is the band 'area' at one of our gigs.[I may have posted this b4-CRS]Pic taken by drummer, I'm in the corner.
Dance area in front of us.
The ONLY place in my town that will pay for original live music is a Mexican food joint that has a patio. We play on the floor, just under a TV, between the wall and a pillar. There's almost enough room for us to stand with our instruments in a normal position and we couldn't be happier. The tip jar is always full and the check never bounces. What is there to complain about?
The last time we played there a couple was in the middle of eating at the table on "the stage." When they saw us walk in with our gear they picked up their plates and moved to another table on their own because they were excited to hear some music. They wound up staying for our entire show and even bought one of our CDs. I'd much rather be in that situation than on a stage with no audience, or worse a dismissive one.
The last time we played there a couple was in the middle of eating at the table on "the stage." When they saw us walk in with our gear they picked up their plates and moved to another table on their own because they were excited to hear some music. They wound up staying for our entire show and even bought one of our CDs. I'd much rather be in that situation than on a stage with no audience, or worse a dismissive one.
I will play any place people will alow me to play. Not picky about the venue/stage/etc. in the least.
We have an area rug that is the minimum size we can fit in. If there is just open floor space we roll that out and it helps define our "stage area".
Most of the clubs we play in do not have stages, and many have no carpet and have hard floors all the way around. I always take an acoustic platform to put my speakers on and a space foam mat to stand on. Many of these places are kinda sports bars and have those big ass tvs right above where we are playing. I make sure they are turned off. I remember this one place was packed and there were 2 giant tv screens behind us that I paid no attention to. They were on. The audience seemed into our music and were hooting and hollering. After awhile I realized that there was some sports team from this state that were playing, and everyone was watching probably thinking we were a distraction. After the game was over, most of them left. Next time I made sure the screens were off and that we were not playing when their team was playing. Not having a stage makes the venue intimate, but you have to watch out for the occasional drunk wannabe rock star who thinks its karaoke and stumbles into our space, and the wannabe dances with the stars couple that is swinging into our mic stands. Its all good fun and not as rowdy as when I use to play these kinda places in the 60s and 70s
One of my favorite gigs with my previous band was a gig we did in our guitar player's hometown when we were on a quick little weekend tour, rolled up to a tiny little bar that had a meeting room they held shows in, and since it was separate from the bar, it could be all ages. Couple of local punk bands opened for us, and it was so much fun to be looking eye to eye with high school kids (20 years younger than me, the grizzled old veteran of the band) just a few feet away, going crazy and singing along with us. It brought me back in time to doing those same types of shows in youth centers when I was their age.
We have been cheating the system, we bring a thumbdrive with only one image, our logo .We slap that sucker in the TV above us and tell it to display the image. The management were really impressed we figured out how to get our logo on their TV (with all our social dets, of course).
We play 'no stage' fairly often. Makes for a more intimate atmosphere as long as the tvs etc are off - we don't play until they are off. People talk to us and ask about our instruments (we build); connections are made and folks become fans and friends, and look for our upcoming gigs. When it's a smaller gig, this is very nice and we enjoy it a lot. When it's a larger gig, we bring in more folks. Works for us!
The majority of our gigs have no stage, or at most a 1' high 'platform'. Our clientele are not big drinkers so very few 'drunk' problems. We've taken to stringing an 18' rope light in front of us as both lighting and 'separation'-an idea I picked up here.(they used Christmas lights). Coupla places, we're "in the dark" and real lighting would cost more than we get paid so that ain't hap'nin'.
