cheddatom

I've not been able to post since but I did two gigs supporting New Model Army last week Tuesday we played at The Live Rooms in Chester. There was something seriously wrong with the PA, no idea how they managed to take so long to fix it, but it meant our soundcheck was just a very brief line check. This normally wouldn't bother me but the rest of the band (who are big NMA fans) had got me nervous for the first time in ages! It was sold out too so a pretty important gig. Anyway, the sound was crap on stage, and probably out front, but it didn't matter at all. The crowd loved us! Wednesday we played the Boiler Shop in Newcastle. This is such a cool venue. A huge old warehouse with loads of history, done up in a very modern fashion. Brilliant soundcheck and we played really well. We've been asked to support on another date next year so that'll be cool

It's not something I've ever come across before. Are there any particular projectiles you'd recommend?

Is this part of your show? You plant 9 audience members each with inflatable novelty items to throw at the band?

It sounds like chorus but there there are some parts you can hear two plucks (almost) at the same time, so it might just be double tracked. I think you're boosting in the right place, 500Hz. There's nothing above 2KHz at all so maybe cut out all the top end. There's a little bit of dirt there. That could be from the desk pre-amp or over driving the tape input or from a compressor... I don't think a distortion pedal would do that for you. Maybe a compressor I guess some Jaco aficionado will know exactly how it was done.

Sorry to read this! Hopefully you find another band that's a bit less hectic. All the best

Cool! We were on at 8 so I guess it was you lot I heard while we were loading out. We played the small stage at the end of the room. Decent size crowd who were singing back to us, but the sound was pretty bad. I think the guy was just expecting standard 3 or 4 piece punk bands with amps but our guitarist uses a pod for his electric and switches between than and an acoustic. It took about 40 minutes to get everything working before we went on. The sound guy was clearly very annoyed. Oh well, still good fun! There's always such a great atmosphere at the punk gigs

I have a few songs in very weird times like 13/8. It's a lot easier to just count in with 4

Fulford Arms in York on Saturday. We'd never played in York before so weren't sure what to expect. The soundman greeted us and sorted us out in about 15 minutes. No messing about and lots of mutual respect, so that was nice. Then we all went for a quick curry hoping to return in time to see the support bands. There were 3 punk bands of varying degrees of crazed noisiness and I really enjoyed them all. I guess the packed venue and friendly atmosphere helped but it was just really fun. I was fully expecting most of the audience to leave before or during our set but they seemed to hang around and we played really well, so a fantastic night all round! I got to bed around 2:30AM, up at 7 to get to my studio and prepare for the day's session at 9. I got a text at 8:30 - "the singer's van has broken down so we can't get to your studio". A very sleepy day off ensued

Most of my gigs are on drums. I'm normally pretty good at this but when I struggle is when I have to start one song immediately after the end of the last. My band do this to try and keep the momentum going but sometimes it just fries my brain trying to think of the tempo of the next track while I'm playing the last couple of bars of the current track. It's really difficult!

I'd never heard of phantom splinters before but I've definitely had them!

very cool

I'm not judging anyone else for doing it, just explaining how I feel. I don't refuse the money anyway, can't afford!

I've been paid to play to no-one and I find that even more soul crushing. I feel like I shouldn't be paid, taking the money makes me feel like a thief, which just compounds the glumness of the empty gig

I've played a lot of "bad gigs" as defined above, but the only gigs I'd want to actively avoid are those without audiences. If you take a gig from a venue or promoter you've not worked with before, then it's a gamble, but if it turns out there's no audience there, just remember to never take a gig from that promoter again, and don't believe their excuses!

We did the Amersham Arms on Saturday. It was an all day punk festival. We were supposed to be the penultimate band but the last band (The Lurkers) didn't turn up. It was a 3 hour drive down to get there at 7pm. We were expecting to be on around 9 but they pushed us back to 10 and asked for a longer set. There was a good audience for the few bands on before us, but most of them left as we were setting up. We were left with about 15 people in the room, of which maybe 5 were actually watching. Got to bed around 3AM, up at 8 on Sunday for a session in my studio... worst gig for a long while

Star and garter in Manchester on Sunday, loads in, played well, went down well, great all round really! The bass drum of the house kit was knackered which was a massive disappointment as it's normally great and I would have brought my own if I'd known. Never mind, no one in the audience cared!

Bannerman's in Edinburgh last night. Great venue but I really didn't like the sound. It seemed like everything was on the edge of feedback. It went well anyway, and I got a curry and a night in a hotel out of it

The Station in Ashton under Lyne last night. A tiny little pub with a small and unusual audience. We've done it a few times now. Terrible room, terrible PA, the place smells awful, but actually it was loads of fun

nice one! The bassist in my main band is always going on about feeling like an imposter, but he's been doing some really big jazz gigs. He says he's "getting away with it" but everyone else just knows he's ace at the bass guitar

Last night at Wroot Rocks which is a great venue in Wroot, near Doncaster. It's in the middle of nowhere really but the stage and PA are brilliant, and people turn out. I'd highly recommend playing here if you get chance!

good read, thanks. It amazes me how many people just do their own thing without listening to everyone else - and yet manage to stay in bands!

It's difficult to be in "the zone" or the right mood every time you go to play. I was talking about this to a mate of mine at the weekend, in the context of drums. If I'm not in the right mood when I go to play, I don't realise it, I'm just really unsatisfied with my playing, and I start trying different sticks, adjusting the heights of stands, swapping cymbals, even looking online at gear to buy. When I'm in the right mood to play I'm just "on it" and the gear I'm using makes almost no different to my level of satisfaction (obviously crap gear is no fun but it's very rare I'm confronted with crap gear)

One of my bands does pretty well, great gigs, enthusiastic audiences, and the money is OK too. It's a great night 99% of the time, which is worth it for the 1%. Some of the music I'm not very keen on playing, and most of it I'd never listen to at home, but I still think the gigs are so much fun that I'd do it without the pay I'm in another couple of bands that are so much fun to play in, and I love the music so much, I really don't care about money. In fact I'd happily just play that stuff in the studio and listen to it at home, although the desire to have other people hear it is pretty strong, just because I'm so proud of it

Bass is very difficult to record, you have to be very precise. A lot of the bassists who come through my studio are often surprised to find that they can't actually play the riffs they thought they'd been playing live. It's quite easy to get away with just making a low end rumble live, but you can't really do that in the studio

I'm on drums in that band