sit down at a gig?

[totallyfrozen]

[Pet Peeve Rant]
If you are getting PAID to play, it's a job no matter if you consider it a job or not. Whoever is paying you considers it a job.

DON'T GET DRUNK AT WORK.

I've heard the various explainations before (I was tired, I didn't get enough water, I didn't eat, etc.). All those things just make it easier to get drunk. If a person only has ONE beer and it makes them tipsy but they think they can usually hold 12 beers it doesn't matter--that night, they're drunk. It's not a matter of opinion; it's medical. It doesn't matter how much a person thinks they can handle. If you're "buzzed" or "tipsy", you're drunk. If you're too "tired" to stand, then you're alot drunker than you think. If there's a pet peeve I have about being in a gigging band, it's that! People thinking that because the patrons are partying they get to party too. Wrong! The bartender isn't drunk, the waitress isn't drunk, the bouncer isn't drunk...why's the band drunk? Don't get drunk at work!
If you want to get drunk, then play for free.
[/Pet Peeve Rant]

As far as sitting down, I think that all depends on the genre of music you play. I wouldn't sit for a Metal gig, but I'd sit for a Jazz or maybe a Blues gig. When I played keyboards live, I'd alternate between sitting on a tall bar stool and standing. I guess people expect drummers and piano players to sit. No one thought it was uncool. I stood more than I sat anyway cuz we played Rock mostly and I'd get into it.

 

[Munjibunga]

In my rock band, we never sit down. In my acoustic trio, we always sit down. Skunk Baxter used to sit down at a lot of gigs. I'd say grab a stool and sit. But being too drunk to stand up would get you fired that night in my band.

 

[notdavey]

I saw a video of Niacin with Billy Sheehan sitting on a stool during the set. I bet no one would mock him for it.

I guess it depends.

I've played hundreds of gigs and maybe sat enough times to count it on one hand. I just prefer to stand (but also play funk based jazzy stuff and need to get my groove on).

 

[mongo2]

I take a stool to gigs and use it as the mood strikes.

 

[Rockingbird]

Take a bar stool up, and just lean on it, with one foot on the rung. Works for everything except faster classic rock and metal. Also looks cool if you prop your bass up on your knee (makes it easier to play too).

 

[johnnyz]

I don't care if people sit, no matter the genre.

 

[ClydeMcAllister]

I can't sit and play well. Even in the studio, I have to stand up. I play pretty ham-fisted with a pick, using my whole arm when I strum. I lose that when I sit down, and while I can play, I can't get the same feel or dynamics as when I stand.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I'm 75 and can not stand for a complete show. When I need to sit down I have a tall stool just the right height to back up to and sit. I'm still at the same height I would be if standing. Course we are all older than dirt. One sits on his amp when ever he needs a rest and the lead guitar sits through out the entire gig. Rhythm guitar and lead vocalist is a youngster (68) and is still able to stand the entire gig.

You do what you have to do.

 

[doktorfeelgood]

I have a stool that is part of my gear that goes to every gig. I have used one for 20 years or more. I play Blues and whenever it gets to the point in any set where the frontman calls a slow Blues, I'll sit on the stool to play that song. I do it for a couple of reasons. Give my feet a rest and being right handed, take some of the weight off of my left shoulder where I have a bone spur. It really works, too. Gives those aforementioned body parts just enough of a breather so that I can stand up without any problems for the rest of the set.
I'd prefer to stand all the time, but it is what it is so I just do what I have to and enjoy the rest. Sitting on that stool for one tune per set allows to keep going. And drinking is never a problem for me. I haven't drank at all for years. I don't mind somebody having a couple of beers over the course of a night, but gettin' drunk on the bandstand is cause for dismissal, IMO. )-(

 

[MD]

I've never tried to stand with the ABG I gig with. The stool from "On-Stage Stands" is perfect (they call it a "throne"). Its foot rest is in front of the seat, a prime location for resting a bass on one's leg. At its full extension it gets my head well above the piano on our duo gig, and keeps me from getting buried behind the front line horns when playing with larger ensembles.

 

[MNAirHead]

Unless you have a real reason.. bad communication style

 

[MNAirHead]

Being drunk?

Wow... would you want this from a band you hired?