I don't mind that as long as my band is friendly with them. I had a few "sister" bands that we gigged with which I had no issue promoting.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Top five things other bands do that irritate you.
- Thread starter Tony In Philly
- Start date
I don't mind that as long as my band is friendly with them. I had a few "sister" bands that we gigged with which I had no issue promoting.
When I lived in OKC, my band was friends with another local band. The other local band got the opportunity to open for Ratt. This was just a few years ago, when Ratt was well past their prime. The guys in Ratt were total jerks to this other band, so Ratt's trailer pulled out of the gig with this band's sticker on the back.A few years ago, a couple friends of mine played on the same bill as Jimmy's Chicken Shack. Before the gig, the promoter was going around telling everyone, "Whatever you do, don't talk to the guys in Jimmy's Chicken Shack!" On the day of the show, the guys from Jimmy's Chicken Shack actually went up and started talking to the other bands and ended up being cool, down to Earth guys in contrast to the promoter's idea that they were big rock stars who wouldn't have time for the common folk.
My drummer opened for Fuel when they were still doing club dates. Fuel's tour manager made this big deal about how many feet my drummer's kit needed to be from Kevin Miller's kit on stage. My drummer ended up setting up too close and the tour manager started going off on him. Kevin Miller saw this and then told off the tour manager for copping an attitude with my drummer. Then Kevin made the tour manager tear down his own kit to give my drummer more room to set up on stage. The tour manager ended up cursing my drummer while tearing down Kevin's kit as my drummer laughed.
Re-arranging the bill. We played with another local a couple months ago, actually we jumped on their show at the last minute because someone cancelled, but we figured what the hell we didn't have anything booked that night and it was in-town so whatever. Anyway, with being such short notice (2 days maybe?) we didn't really have time to promote that we were on the show. We were told we would be 2nd of 3 bands with the band putting on the show playing last. Standard stuff. Anyway we are getting ready to on and they decide they are going to "let us headline" (nobody is the headliner at these shows, someone plays last. Unless you are a touring band, there is no headliner, get over yourself /rant ). Anyway so they go on, play a super long set, then take almost 45 minutes to get off stage - then leave while we are playing. By the time we get on they had pretty much cleared the place out. Pretty much everything that a band can do to annoy me they did, we will never play with them again.
might just be an indie scene thing. it's definitely the context to which i'm referring...
but the band that brings loads of its friends/fans in to the show, and those friends either stand in the back or outside smoking cigarettes, pointedly ignoring your band. then, when their scenester buddies' band plays, they crowd the place and all of a sudden are an enthusiastic audience. to top it off, you might have one of them raving to you about how awesome your band was, and you know full well they saw 30 seconds of your set, tops.
i've been playing fairly regularly since i was 16, so i know that sometimes you just play to an empty room, and that's the reality. but when you're playing around in the scene that prides itself on checking out new things, and being respectful, it's a real head-scratcher when they vacate the bar/club en masse when someone they don't know is on stage.
but the band that brings loads of its friends/fans in to the show, and those friends either stand in the back or outside smoking cigarettes, pointedly ignoring your band. then, when their scenester buddies' band plays, they crowd the place and all of a sudden are an enthusiastic audience. to top it off, you might have one of them raving to you about how awesome your band was, and you know full well they saw 30 seconds of your set, tops.
i've been playing fairly regularly since i was 16, so i know that sometimes you just play to an empty room, and that's the reality. but when you're playing around in the scene that prides itself on checking out new things, and being respectful, it's a real head-scratcher when they vacate the bar/club en masse when someone they don't know is on stage.
1. Suck
2. Suck Loudly
3. Suck Loudly because they are too wasted to be on stage and have no concept of a proper mix.
4. Suck Loudly because they are too wasted to be on stage and have no concept of a proper mix, then complain because they can't hold the crowd.
5. Show up to your gig and say you suck because your band does NONE of the above.
2. Suck Loudly
3. Suck Loudly because they are too wasted to be on stage and have no concept of a proper mix.
4. Suck Loudly because they are too wasted to be on stage and have no concept of a proper mix, then complain because they can't hold the crowd.
5. Show up to your gig and say you suck because your band does NONE of the above.
When I lived in OKC, my band was friends with another local band. The other local band got the opportunity to open for Ratt. This was just a few years ago, when Ratt was well past their prime. The guys in Ratt were total jerks to this other band, so Ratt's trailer pulled out of the gig with this band's sticker on the back.
Haha, gotta love the "I'm still a rockstar in my own head even though I'm back to playing clubs and county fairs" national bands.
I've told this story on here before, but it warrants repeating.
My guitarist opened for Humble Pie some time ago. Peter Frampton was long gone, and the band was so washed up that they were actually touring with their manager in an SUV. The contract rider stipulated that the opening band was to provide the backline! Yep, you heard that right. A local cover band was required to provide backline for a national band that had hit singles on the radio (maybe it has something to do with what I said a few sentences ago about being washed up). My guitarist, being the rack guy that he is, was using an ADA preamp through a Lee Jackson power amp at the time. He set up one of Humble Pie's guitarists with a pretty stock Marshall tone. When my guitar player walked away, HP's guitarist dimed the gain on the solid-state Lee Jackson and started playing. Needless to say, my guitarist was pissed. Humble Pie literally played a 7 song set, jumped into their SUV, and left. The audience was ready to riot. To try and cover his ass, the promoter asked my guitarist's band if they'd go back up and play again. Unfortunately, the sound company stated that their contract specified they were to provide production for ONE opening band and ONE headliner. The promoter had to hand back a lot of angry people's money at the door. I had this same experience a couple weeks ago, opening for some big time metallica cover band(super nice equipment, touring bus, the works) who had a buncha metallica nerds as fans show up(you know the type, greasy folks wearing either bandana's and tank tops or bandana's and studded leather jackets) and nobody's in front of the stage for the first two bands except the usual friends then all hell breaks loose once they got on stage, or maybe we just suck, lol, I dont know. (p.s. I do love metalica, just not diehard metallica fans)
Played a gig the other night with around 8 or 9 bands on, all local bands apart from a few. One of which was a band from Leamington Spa which is a good 30-40 miles away and anther from Crewe which is further. My band were headlining this show, all the local bands mess about put on a show what ever fair enough. When it comes down to the bands that have travelled the furthest, because all the local bands have messed around playing up for there mates the last three bands (mine included) have to hurry through there sets. So all in all some beginner band who are doing covers of slipknot and whoever get to play a 45 minute set to no one. The headliners (my band) and the 2 main supports get to do 15 minute set each and we get cut off 2 and half songs through because the bar was closing!!!! With a full house!!!! Were not playing there ever again!
things that urk me:
bands who stop in their set to tell the crowd "move up closer" or "i wanna see some hands up" or my personal favorite, singling out people for being "too cool to feel them" at this point i feel the crowd has every right to tell the band not to suck as much.
keep your beer off my gear...if you dont see me do it you dont do it..if you do see me do it you had still better ask.
people who come in with a suck rig and automatically want to ask to use yours.
band statues drive me crazy, if you have to stand perfectly still as a collective and stare at your instruments to get through your song, please, re evaluate the amount of practice time or the use of practice time.
and please if you play rougher music and see a kid on the floor getting trampled or something similar feel free to stop the music to ensure the safety of your audience member. if theyre thrashing to you theyre feeling you and will typically listen if you send out and SOS for a man down.
bands who stop in their set to tell the crowd "move up closer" or "i wanna see some hands up" or my personal favorite, singling out people for being "too cool to feel them" at this point i feel the crowd has every right to tell the band not to suck as much.
keep your beer off my gear...if you dont see me do it you dont do it..if you do see me do it you had still better ask.
people who come in with a suck rig and automatically want to ask to use yours.
band statues drive me crazy, if you have to stand perfectly still as a collective and stare at your instruments to get through your song, please, re evaluate the amount of practice time or the use of practice time.
and please if you play rougher music and see a kid on the floor getting trampled or something similar feel free to stop the music to ensure the safety of your audience member. if theyre thrashing to you theyre feeling you and will typically listen if you send out and SOS for a man down.
That sounds frustrating. However, if you're sharing the bill with 8-9 other acts, I would be prepared for unplanned events. 8-9 band lineup = atleast half dozen egos, some groups will start late, and atleast half will off load their gear at a snail's pace. I think a 3 band lineup is more than enough for one night. Otherwise, it seems that the schedule begins to come off the rails. A lot of musicians are flakes. Expecting flakes to stick to a time schedule is foolhardy, at best.
I had a drummer who use to set his beer pitcher on my rack every gig during soundcheck/set up. It took him a while to finally get the hint when I'd pick it up and set it on the floor immediately after every time. The only liquids that go on top of my rack are in bottles with tightly screwed lids - no cups, cans, or pitchers. It doesn't take a Ph.D. in physics to make the observation that lower frequecies cause physical objects to vibrate. Of course, some people are a little dense.
My band shares a rehearsal room with 2 other bands.
Using the stuff I leave in the room is ok, but parking ashtrays and beer on my stack is a no go!
One thing my drummer does would annoy the sh*t out of me if I were in one of the other bands... he plants his kit right in the middle of the room each rehearsal and doesn't tear it down afterwards (he plays a mini kit for our acoustic covers band). One of the bands even mailed him in anger last time.
Using the stuff I leave in the room is ok, but parking ashtrays and beer on my stack is a no go!
One thing my drummer does would annoy the sh*t out of me if I were in one of the other bands... he plants his kit right in the middle of the room each rehearsal and doesn't tear it down afterwards (he plays a mini kit for our acoustic covers band). One of the bands even mailed him in anger last time.
i'd say you've just got to take these things on the chin.
promoters will always book bands who can bring a crowd, full stop!I'm in the house band for our local jam, and when someone leaves their open beer on my rig, I walk right up onstage, don't care if they're playing a song or not, and move that beer to the shelf on the railing, next to the amp. That shelf has a lip, so things don't often spill, and when they do, the liquid stays on the shelf.
If they get pissed, they can leave.
Cherie
That may have to do with the cover.
Some clubs in Austin will book several bands in a row. If your fans show up early, and they go in while the band before you is playing, *that band* gets the money, not yours. So, the bands ask their fans to wait to come in until they are onstage, so they get the cover charge from the fans they brought.
Its an awful practice.
Cherie
I played a show opening one night many years ago and we knew we were terrible and annoying. We ran everyone out of the club before the headliner came on. After the show, the headliner got into a fight with their bass player, who quit, and I was asked to join the band. Played with them for 8 years after that.
Yep, tired of drummers trying to break down their cymbals and put everything in their bags and cases while we are waiting to set up. It's especially bad when they are your friends and you can't yell at them about it.
