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Providing Your Amp as the Backline for a Gig

#61
I'm often on multi-band gigs with friends' bands. We are pretty decent about sharing the load. I might provide my drums on one gig and I'll use another drummers kit on another. It works because we all know each other - it's the gigging musician's community I'm in and we're going to continually run into each other on gigs so we cooperate to make the entire gig successful - no drama.

In a blind situation, if I'm there I might let it go, but it really depends on what the situation is.

For a 12 hour gig where I don't know the other players I won't do it.

KO
 
#62
kraigo said:
I'm often on multi-band gigs with friends' bands. We are pretty decent about sharing the load. I might provide my drums on one gig and I'll use another drummers kit on another. It works because we all know each other - it's the gigging musician's community I'm in and we're going to continually run into each other on gigs so we cooperate to make the entire gig successful - no drama.

In a blind situation, if I'm there I might let it go, but it really depends on what the situation is.

For a 12 hour gig where I don't know the other players I won't do it.

KO
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i remember being in a venue when a fight started and a big stack of pa gear fell over....and i've seen some shows that the band guys were just as likely to smash their own gear as the audience on any give night.....pa boards covered with drinks,beer bottles and ash trays.....i might loan out my ss practice gear if someone i trusted assumed full financial responsibility for any damage,but my ampeg and mesa stuff,never
 
#63
Stingray5 said:
How did the gig go?
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Alright so here`s the run down.

Oh and quick note, the guy my guitarist talked to wasn`t the guy running the show, but actually the sound guy. This is important later on.

Friday night the guy called my guitarist again and was asking about the amp and my guitarist said it was okay :rollno: So anyways, I learn about this at like 1 in the morning on Saturday so it`s already too late to call the guy running the gig(turns out to be the sound guy) to tell him my guitarist messed up. Anyways, I wake up pretty early the next day (around 9:30), get the guys number, and then called him to tell him I wouldn`t be able to provide it as a backline because I didn`t trust other people I didn`t know using it and because I didn`t want to wait around all night for my amp. Keep in mind, this is about 4 hours before the backline was suppose to show up, and 6 hours before sound check were to even start (which also turned out to be BS - only the headliner got a proper check).

Anyways, the guy says it`s okay and he understands so I`m thinking everything`s A OK :) Well, fast forward about 5 and a half hours to when my band shows up to the place for sound check. The sound guy (same guy I talked to on the phone) comes up to me once we unloaded our stuff and he says he was unable to find a backline for the gig so he wants to know if he can use mine. I start to get a little perturbed and ask him how he was unable to get a rig when there`s 3 local shops to rent gear from. He tries giving me the runaround but I said I was willing to talk to the headlining bassist and if I didn`t like him then both of them were suck out of luck (also, turns out two of the five bands didn`t have bassists so it would of just been me, my friend, and this guy using my rig).

Well the other bassist turned out to be nice guy. Apparently his Eden amp had to be taken in for repairs so all he needed was a head (he actually had his cab with him) but I said for convenience let`s just use my setup, which he agreed to. In return, the bassist is actually under contract with Eden (for another year) so he gets about a 33% discount on their gear. He told me if I ever wanted anything from Eden to give him a call and he`d order whatever I wanted on his discount. Kinda cool.

On top of that, I talked to the manager of the venue and told him my displeasure with the sound guys being unreliable with the backline situation. Well, apparently the venue rented out the PA and hired those guys and under contract they (the sound men) were suppose to provide the backline for the bassist out of the money they were getting from the venue. Oops. So I got the $100 that was suppose to go to the gear rental. So yeah, not a total loss, and I`m pretty sure the guys who ran sound are getting fired because the manager of the venue called their boss and chewed him out about the situation.

So yeah, that`s the story. Even though everything turned out alright, I`m just saying a straight up 'no' from now on. It`s just not worth the emotional hassle or stress that can get thrown upon you. And for what it`s worth, my rig was mic`d and it sounded AMAZING! First time I got to hear what it sounded like out in the audience :bassist:
 
#70
Hayseed said:
So, the sound guys got paid for their time?
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My understanding of it is that the venue hosting the event rented out for the PA and the sound crew. It may of been written in their contract with the headliners or that of the corporation actually holding the charity event. Again, past what I was clued in on that`s all I know. I don`t even know if the headliners were from here or not.
 

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