Reflecting on last night's gig...

[HolmeBass]

^This! A drink or two will calm the nerves, any more will mess with your reaction times and you need to be on top of things, save the partying for AFTER the set.

Get the best gear you can afford, new tuning machines are $100 if you cant afford a better guitar. EVERY string player should have a tuner and tune between each song while the singer speaks to the crowd.

The expereince should motivate your band to correct its issues, not every gig is going to be perfect and growing pains are part of the process.

Money? Do you play for money?

Ugh - tune between *each* song? No way! You need better tuners on your axe if you have to do that.

 

[guy n. cognito]

A quality tuner is critical. I've gotten to the point that I won't gig with a musician that doesn't own one.

 

[Session1969]

"I had 4 or 5 drinks before we went on, looking back now I probably shouldn't have done that"



Hmmmmm....ya think!

+1 and a recipe for disaster. One or two to ease the nerves but no more.

 

[free_Bassd]

I love hearing gig stories! playing for cover is a funny thing... I've only done it once so far, and what seemed like a bad gig, really wasn't that bad. the owner loved us and we made some decent money even though I could have sworn nobody even came in the place! but we also were playing the whole night so we didn't have to split it or pay a sound man cause we do our own sound.

On stage mishaps will happen, especially when alcohol is involved. My band usually does all shots that are bought for us (thee piece) and me and the drummer will drink beers in brown bottles so we just can take a few drinks and if need be leave the rest so they look empty.

tuning issues are something that should definitely be dealt with furring the sound check, but I bet it will never happen again after this lesson learned! all and all it sounds like a good show! no on told you that you sucked so I guess chalk this one up as a win!

 

[Barisaxman]

I think a couple of posters didn't read the part about this being an all-originals bands. Playing a 3-5 band bill and splitted the door with a cut for the sound tech is pretty much standard fare, and bands don't make any kind of money. Cover bands are where the money is at (our band doesn't play for less than $400 with house sound, $700 if we provide). Bands that want both work up 40-50 covers and sprinkle their originals in...you get more exposure to people and earn a little money at the same time.

In any case, take the above advice. Don't drink so much, and make sure EVERYONE has the proper gear to put on a professional show, even if you are playing for next to nothing. Most of your problems from this gig were self-inflicted, and if I was a club owner you would have to do a lot to convince me to hire you again. There are plenty of bands in most every market who know how to act professionally...even with nerves, eqipment issues etc. You need to make sure your band knows how to handle it with class and be fully prepared. A one hour show should be a cakewalk.

 

[Corevalay]

Sounds like you overthink it too much. Just show up and play!

 

[cableguy]

Boss TU-2....$50 bucks used. Nothing worse than tuning issues or a band that tunes where everyone can hear it over their amps. Learn from this and always make sure everyones knows how to calibrate their tuner. Nothing wrong with tuning down a bit if the vocalist has a sore throat or something. As long as everyone tunes to the smae pitch.

 

[TimmyP]

Boss TU-2....$50 bucks used. Nothing worse than tuning issues or a band that tunes where everyone can hear it over their amps. Learn from this and always make sure everyones knows how to calibrate their tuner. Nothing wrong with tuning down a bit if the vocalist has a sore throat or something. As long as everyone tunes to the smae pitch.

TU2 is the most requested tuner at my day job (backline supplier). There must be a reason