Top five things other bands do that irritate you.

[knumbskull]

I think its a UK thing, as a bassist in a punk band its share and share alike! Only one person took it too far though. My band supported a well known hardcore band "Outbreak" and there bass player asked me to lend my bass, I politely said no as its a musicman and he agreed that he didnt want to lend it if I wasnt happy with lending it to him. But majority of times if someone asks to use my cab I will let them as has been said playing in a pub is a nightmare because there is literally nowhere to put unused equipment!! Also I guess public transport is different in the US than over hear but to the guy is Glasgow, I do not envy you in anyway mate!! Getting the train to shows is not a experience I like to do but buses and stuff to do shows, would just do my nut in!!

yep kit share is the norm for most small-to-medium gigs i've been to. no one has asked me to borrow my bass yet, though!

at my gig on friday the opening band used my head - which was running through one of the other band's cabs - without asking. meh, i don't mind, neither did the guy whose cab it was.

that's funny about Outbreak... i think the uk hardcore scene is pretty relaxed about equipment in general. i saw a hardcore band, Ninebar, where the guitarist broke a string, no one had any spares and so he cheerfully set down his guitar, and spent the rest of the set drinking at the bar

 

[stinger12345]

Bassgod76, I commend your unrestricted stage presence. Your fearless use of a thong in public makes it obvious you have balls.

Ya no kidding, considering they were just staring me in the face.


I'm in a reggae band, and I enjoy playing barefoot

 

[ciudadmarron]

Punk scenes are a different kettle of fish with borrowing gear.... but there's still a level where it goes beyond what's acceptable. We played with a band who nicked some leads and stuff once when we lent them some gear. Well, they went missing anyway. Sometime later they refused to let us use their gear when we were playing in their neck of the woods... just flat refused. We never played with them again and i've never been to any of their shows. Unfortunately this was about 10 years ago and they are still going.

 

[nortonrider]

Nope, turning up without a bass guitar would be like a carpenter needing to borrow a hammer.

Turning up without a bass amp is like a carpenter needing to borrow a lathe! If you only have access to public transport + 20-30 minutes of walking in the rain, then I don't think it's unreasonable that someone wouldn't bring an amp and try to negotiate borrowing one at the gig.

OK, maybe not a hammer but definitely not a lathe. I'll meet you in the middle and switch it to a saw - not that it really matters, both tools are required to get the job done.

Bad weather, transportation, walking.....EXCUSES!!!! SOMEBODY had to haul their amp to the gig.


But whatever works, I guess. I've never been to Glasgow so I can't say how things work there, but around here, Your lucky if there is a PA to plug in to.

 

[KingBollock]

OK, maybe not a hammer but definitely not a lathe. I'll meet you in the middle and switch it to a saw - not that it really matters, both tools are required to get the job done.

Bad weather, transportation, walking.....EXCUSES!!!! SOMEBODY had to haul their amp to the gig.


But whatever works, I guess. I've never been to Glasgow so I can't say how things work there, but around here, Your lucky if there is a PA to plug in to.

I'd have classed the amp as the Nail as the interface between the hammer (bass) and the wood (audience). Fairly essential as otherwise you're just hitting the audience with a hammer and that could get messy, and lead to quite a lengthy jail sentence...

 

[roysloco]

I'd have classed the amp as the Nail as the interface between the hammer (bass) and the wood (audience). Fairly essential as otherwise you're just hitting the audience with a hammer and that could get messy, and lead to quite a lengthy jail sentence...

Yeah tell me about it ... er ... I mean ... so I hear ...

A bass amp's very cool to have, but not essential at a gig surely? I've done many-a-gig with no amp present anywhere - just a good monitor mix and it's all sweet!

 

[bassgod76]

I agree that folks in the UK are a bit more open about sharing. Maybe it's the tight quarters everyone lives in? When I was stationed there for two years, the small size of everything amazed me. Hell, having a full sized 8X10 was a very rare sight. Bass combos ruled the landscape from all the pub gigs I played or watched. Of course, the guitarists always had a half stack Marshall on hand.

 

[bassgod76]

Ya no kidding, considering they were just staring me in the face.


I'm in a reggae band, and I enjoy playing barefoot

Barefoot!!!!!! LOL!!!!
I always kept shoes on. It looked funnier, and the tear-away pants allowed me to leave my shoes on. Besides, some of those stages are nasty.

 

[Beatle Bob]

How about two in the rack? One of my guitarists broke strings on his main guitar and his backup during a show recently. Since then, we also keep my guitar on stage in case it happens again. Plus, isn't showing off one of the main reasons musicians perform in public to begin with?

I suspect your guitarist may be a little heavy handed. If he/she used a lighter pick, or didn't hit them sooo hard, he/she would be fine. But if there's an endless suply of guitars on stage, there's no incentive to lighten up. I'm going on the assumption that these are electric guitars (with volume controls???) Anyway, it's his/her choice. I'll bet the load in/load out is a bitch. Good luck at the next gig.

 

[Mr 600]

+1 to the shorts thing (yeah, even if you play metal... don't be a pu**y!), but even worse are the disgusting, worn out, white-three-years-ago sneakers. I mean, it's bad enough if you're on the floor in a dive bar, but up on a stage? I have to be face-to-face with your high school gym shoes? Really? When this is a paid gig and your rig costs $2K you have that little pride? Jeez...

The clothes make the man, but the SHOES make the clothes! I don't expect everyone to have on $300 Cole-Haans, but a halfway decent pair of CLEAN sneakers from this decade would be a HUGE improvement for MOST bands...

Sorry for the rant, I guess I'm the "shoe nazi"!

My preference (in my insanely loud drunken punk rock band) was to play barefoot and shirtless with black shorts. Or in my underwear.

 

[roysloco]

My preference (in my insanely loud drunken punk rock band) was to play barefoot and shirtless with black shorts. Or in my underwear.

Sounds like my favourite church worship band moments ...

 

[ncdms1833]

This reminds me of an old baseball story: A hot-shot rookie pitcher is on the mound, facing the great Rogers Hornsby at the plate. After 3 straight ball calls, the young pitcher starts to cop attitude with the umpire. The umpire says, "Young man, when you throw a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know!"

Eric Clapton, & others of his stature, can "get away with" certain things just because of their stature. They've earned that from their careers. Often, somebody will say that <famous artist> could never "make it" today. That may or may not be true, but nobody will ever know for sure. However, Eric Clapton did not just suddenly "appear" in his current form. He worked hard for decades, starting when he was a very young man. It's a common myth in all forms of entertainment that all somebody needs to do is "be discovered" & everything will just fall into place.

Reality is considerably different. A young, unknown "Eric Clapton" today would still have to work hard at his craft & pay attention to all aspects of his performance, just like the real Eric Clapton did when he was young. There's a lot more to it than just being "talented". How you look & act are important parts of the total package. Taking care of everything that you possibly can improves your chances, but there's still a strong element of luck. I've known hundreds of enormously talented players who never have, & probably never will, "make it". The very "best" player ever may very well never be heard outside of a basement or garage somewhere.

Eric Clapton has earned his right to show up in jeans, a faded T-shirt and a 3-day beard. I'm no Eric Clapton, & I seriously doubt that anybody else on this forum is, either. When (if) I get to that point, I'll show up in pajamas if that's comfortable. Until then, it's a big mistake for me to think that I can do whatever <big star> does, just because they can do it.

JM

+2 HERE, HERE!

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

There are gigs where having a stand and music in front of you is appropriate, but nothing screams "unprofessional" to me more than watching a band where the lead vocalist (or any other band member) has his or her head buried in a music stand reading lyrics or parts instead of connecting with the crowd.

Now I know that if I were to learn to memory EVERY single song I needed to know for church gigs, it'd be impossible, simply because there's far too much to learn (I think there's about 1000 songs in the music bank we have, and that's not including the various different versions).

I've also seen stands at jazz gigs and nearly all drummers I know use them.

 

[The Artist]

Now I know that if I were to learn to memory EVERY single song I needed to know for church gigs, it'd be impossible, simply because there's far too much to learn (I think there's about 1000 songs in the music bank we have, and that's not including the various different versions).

I've also seen stands at jazz gigs and nearly all drummers I know use them.

I think it's only realy bad if it's a rock band where the "image" is part of the show. You can't realy look badass when you're singer reading the lyrics of a music stand

 

[konodl18]

I don't even have time to read this whole thread, but what's with the attack on shorts? Disrespectful? Lazy? What?

Is this Queen Elizabeth's England or what? Do my hairy ankles turn you on, is this risque'?

 

[CBgaragebassist]

12. be nickleback

That actually made me laugh out loud! Thank you.

 

[The Owl]

My top five pet peeves:

1) Band acts like it's the second coming or loudly declaring how better you are than everyone else.

2) Musicians that yell out gratuitous profanity because they're too stupid to think of anything halfway intelligent to say.

3) Unecessary yapping between songs, let the music speak for itself, and if you can't think of something witty or inteligent to say, SHUT THE HELL UP or get a good joke writer!

4) Bad tone on any instrument, period (scooped mid guitar and muddy or clanky bass especially)

5) Long drum solos or ANY long extended solo spot wher the soloist runs out of ideas VERY quickly.

 

[Jim Campbell]

yep kit share is the norm for most small-to-medium gigs i've been to. no one has asked me to borrow my bass yet, though!

at my gig on friday the opening band used my head - which was running through one of the other band's cabs - without asking. meh, i don't mind, neither did the guy whose cab it was.

that's funny about Outbreak... i think the uk hardcore scene is pretty relaxed about equipment in general. i saw a hardcore band, Ninebar, where the guitarist broke a string, no one had any spares and so he cheerfully set down his guitar, and spent the rest of the set drinking at the bar

not even a spare string...jeez even throwing the old ones from a string change into the case would be better than just quitting......

..i've been to the uk and i get the lack of space thing.....if you have to take the train or bus i suppose a reasonable sized rig could be strapped to a two wheel dolly for the ride,and the bass worn on the back

as far as not caring if others use your stuff without permission,i think when some clown rinses the innards of your amp with beer you might be a tad irked

 

[roysloco]

..i've been to the uk and i get the lack of space thing.....if you have to take the train or bus i suppose a reasonable sized rig could be strapped to a two wheel dolly for the ride,and the bass worn on the back

I'm hoping to do exactly that with one of those 'brifcase' type amps (although I'll still need to make my own weatherproof container for it). But I guess the reason it's not high on the priority list is : why bother lugging expensive (and still 'heavy') gear all over the place when you don't need to? When you play through headphones in the flat because of neighbors and at any gig the venue will supply an amp, someone will be willing to share and amp, or you can just pa it, I can think of better uses for £500+.

Add to my list: 'f**k yeah!!!' attitude over talent or 'tighness' - being loud, abusive and sloppy as cr*p doesn't make you 'good'.

 

[HugheJapackage]

Im surprised at how many of you hate audible tuning, I think someone said before, is it horrid when orchestra's do it? Now I know where not talking about the phil-harmonic here but I was brought up in the school band program since 4th grade and just used to tuning that way. I just trust my ears more than a tuner, plus there hasta be a lil audible tuning so me and my guitarist can get perfectly in tune.

you cant plug a violin into a chromatic tuner...