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Pre Gig Band rituals

#81
I had a 3-piece band for 10 years that always set up early, did a sound check and left. When we came back, we all walked in together dressed for the show, had three shots of Jose' Gold in the middle of the stage, then started rocking. Sometimes, people would send up a round of shots during the show. We would always stop and make a toast to the crowd. It was not uncommon for us to be ****-faced by the end of the night. I learned to never toke up until the end of the show. If I did it during a break, I would always make a mistake somewhere during the next set. I really hated that... Nothing sticks out worse than a wrong note on bass.

These days, I don't drink or smoke. But I still love to rock! :D
 
#85
mbrsart said:
Cheesy I know, but my band's pre-gig ritual: pray. Even if we're not doing a church gig.
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I don't know why people think this is "cheesy". If your band feels like praying helps them, then pray!! Nothing to be ashamed of.

As for my own rituals? I don't really have any. Anything cool I might know at the time, I kind've play a clip of really quietly, just to warm myself up and warm the crowd up to me (depending on what I play). But usually before I go up to play a song, I'll have had my bass on anyway, so I'll be warmed up. It's more of an amp-testing thing...
 
#89
how can you guys wash hands before playing? i refuse to do the dishes because it makes my fingers too soft.

but preshow, i wont eat anything but granola bars and other dry foods that wont cause gas or indigestion. drink nothing syrupy. stretch my fingers in every way possible. do a lot of jumping around and singing obnoxiously loud as a vocal warm up.

when taking the stage, shirt off, beanie on. ive played very few shows without my hat, and i need something to keep the hair out of my eyes. i also dont play as well with a shirt on.

when ive got bass in hand, its tune with every octave imaginable to make sure its right, and then play chromatic scales, tri-tones up and down the neck, and work on my 3 finger rolls, even though i never use them in the context of a song.

i take my pre-show rituals pretty seriously. i look like an idiot, and the guitar players just kinda sit there and relax. the drummer is obviously just tapping on everything to warm up.

if i dont stretch, get myself pumped up, and prepare my digestive system for the show, ill play like hell. im a pretty physical player, and all the stretching helps with not tearing my fingers out of socket.

after the show, i want a soda, my lady, and perhaps a round of high 5's. then im relaxed
 
#90
We all have some drinks, but the guitarist whose side of the stage I stand on, we tend to get blindingly drunk. It helps us cope, or something, but we usually do pretty well, and it makes the stage show a lot more fun to watch. We get to start our own mosh pit if nobody else is moving. We're lucky we're both pretty good at playing while moving around or we'd be all kinds of screwed.

Besides that, we watch the opening bands if we're fans, chill with whoever else is playing that isn't on stage yet, or whatever friends or fans of ours came to the show that we know, smoke a bunch of cigarettes, keep drinking, then we start warming up a bit as the band before us is about half through their set, then it's final check and off we go. Almost always the last thing we say is "Remember, it's One, Three, Two, Four, Five, Six tonight." or whatever the song order is we've decided on. And "Hey, dude, move around, I swear to god, I could draw a chalk outline around your feet." and random other 'to-do' stuff to ingrain in our heads right before we play.

I rarely if ever partake in any notable amount of herb before I play, though I'm all about it after.

EDIT: And I rarely stretch, but I usually wash my hands and I crack the hell out of my knuckles.
 
#91
Vodka shot (or Jagermeister or Finnish classic Jaloviina) 15min before the show. It gets you going for the first 1-2 songs and then the adrenaline takes care of the rest. But absolutely only one shot since it's really bad, pathetic and unprofessional being drunk while playing. Such behavior can be seen A LOT here in Finland so I'm really not into joining that party.
 
#92
We play the same bar about once a month, where they give us food & a moderate bar tab. We usually have burgers & fries & a couple of pints of beer (After setting up). We talk with some folks, and then get beverages for drinking during the set, a safety pee, tune & go.

It may also be the best burger I've ever had, so that helps. They are missed at other venues!

imp
 
#93
One thing that I picked up from The Replacements (the awesome band, not the movie!) is wearing ankle weights the day of the show, and I always crouch until my knees click right before we go on. And of course the usual set up the bass amp and watch the drummer try to set up the drums in a speedy fashion, and fail.:p
 
#94
tdurden said:
kill a hooker, spit on the whores, you know the usuall stuff.
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What kind of answer is that?

Killing hookers?

Unless you mean "totally dominating them in bowling." That's right on. Nothing better for the mind and body than taking about 5 hookers to the bowling alley and challenging them to a few games of bowling.

Gotta watch out for who's scoring, those hookers can be pretty crafty- if you know what I mean.
 
#95
I usually arrive well in advance, set up all my crap, tune, put up our banner, talk to the club owner/bar manager for any particulars/requests/events/drink specials to announce, hit up the soundman and explain what I like tone-wise (and check out the gear since I speak soundgeek).

All of this before anyone else even shows from my band. While they are running around to set-up and soundcheck, I'm relaxing, talking to groupies, networking, etc..
 
#96
A drummer I play with on a fill-in gig used to go out on first break and get high... then one night a few weeks ago he didn't come back from the break. He gets out of jail next month I think. He cost the band a half nights wages, a bunch of future gigs, and pretty much screwed himself for gigs for a while until everyone forgets his little escapade.
Careful who you're relaxing with!
 
#97
The Golden Boy said:
What kind of answer is that?

Killing hookers?

Unless you mean "totally dominating them in bowling." That's right on. Nothing better for the mind and body than taking about 5 hookers to the bowling alley and challenging them to a few games of bowling.

Gotta watch out for who's scoring, those hookers can be pretty crafty- if you know what I mean.
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Whats up with all the Hookerz talk:eyebrow: We are Bassists
even ugly bassists get laid...I think:confused:
Go find you a girl mate, and get it 4 free;)
 
#98
I'm all business, I don't even drink at gigs anymore. Playing is a part-time job for me, and I don't treat it as anything less. It's a pretty cut-throat area for cover bands around here, and a bad reputation will have you in the B or C rooms in a heartbeat with no chance of getting out. I've done my time in those places, playing 3 sets for $400 a night - no thanks.


F-Clef-Jef said:
A drummer I play with on a fill-in gig used to go out on first break and get high... then one night a few weeks ago he didn't come back from the break. He gets out of jail next month I think. He cost the band a half nights wages, a bunch of future gigs, and pretty much screwed himself for gigs for a while until everyone forgets his little escapade.
Careful who you're relaxing with!
Click to expand...
 
#99
60HzRumble said:
I'm all business, I don't even drink at gigs anymore. Playing is a part-time job for me, and I don't treat it as anything less. It's a pretty cut-throat area for cover bands around here, and a bad reputation will have you in the B or C rooms in a heartbeat with no chance of getting out. I've done my time in those places, playing 3 sets for $400 a night - no thanks.
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Bummer:hmm: I don't smoke anything anymore, and if I drink it is only after the gig.
 
#100
I do a few minutes of yoga and some breathing exercises, and drink at least half of a bottle of water right before we go on. I also have a black wool flatcap that I've dubbed my "thinking cap" and will wear it at shows that I think I'll need some help! Come to think of it, I seem to wear it a lot lately!
 

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