TimR

I played in a function band for a long time. All of the Ad Libs had been added over the years as the frontman worked out which ones worked and which ones didn't. Occasionally he really milked it and often lost impact and he then had to be reminded, after a gig, that the audience was there to see the band, not a comedian who wasn't very funny.

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1458994282' post='3012662'] Has he seen the video? [/quote] Good question. No. But neither have I, I'm going on the drummer's and guitarist's word. I have seen clips from other gigs but only while he is singing. He can pull of the 'look at me' while singing, just when the music stops, so does he.

I'm after a bit of advice. Our singer is not the greatest of frontmen. That's putting it politely. We have video and think he's really letting the band down. His singing is patchy in places, and he is quite reliant on having the words in front of him but I think we can get away with that for now. It's his interraction with the crowd and general lack of frontmanness that's the problem. So I'm considering relieving him of the interraction bit and doing that myself. I recently saw a band where the sax player did all the talking and think it worked really well. Any suggestions of either things to do and say (I'm happy to just be myself), would you script little sections? Or maybe we could script the current singer and give him some direction. The problem is he's "been doing it for years and doesn't need to be told how to do it." So approaching it is difficult at best. The ulutimate option is to get rid, unfortunately the level of person we're looking for is likely to expect a lot of work and rehearsing a new singer isn't high on my list of priorities. .

Is this for transport or are you planning to keep that sleeve on when you're using it? If the former, excellent idea. If the latter, I suggest you have a good think about heat build up and component failure.

Join us in the Long Distance Running Thread. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/184991-long-distance-running/page__pid__3001785__st__780#entry3001785

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1458686409' post='3009952'] What if you decide the character is a miserable bastard? [/quote] Fine by me. Who are we to argue if that's what people want to come and see.

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1458482587' post='3007915'] I used to do amateur theatre stuff and remember that I knew when my expressions were right if the felt exaggerated and forced. If you feel as if you are grinning like an idiot on stage, then you have got it about right. [/quote] Yep. As Phil Star and Hairy Chris say: It's a performance. Perform. I've been doing music for a dance competition at the weekends this month. I must have seen over 1000 dancers. Off stage they're nervous. As soon as they hit the stage they instantly become a different character. You just have to decide what that character is and play the role.

I find a 5k all out effort at ParkRun on the Saturday morning sets me up for the day.

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1458550774' post='3008395'] Its not just musicians. Its people in general. They expect that if you want something you'll chase up , and therefore they dont need to go to the effort. I see this particularly with the Cricket Club - I'm the club secretary. I send bi weekly emails with dates etc coming up, but will still get asked by 20 people out of maybe 50 when something is - even though I've provided the information for them a ton of times. Sure, may not remember, but you can friggen look at your email which is on your phone. [/quote] There's such a thing as too much communication. Bi-weekly? Although I assume you mean once every two weeks rather than two a week. I'm happy with a summary email when dates are announced. I don't need one every two weeks to remind me. What then happens is they start to ignore them all and miss the important ones. Another thing that happens is people 'hide' details in waffle. Separate date and time from the body of the letter/mail and highlight it. Our running club has a private Facebook group, absolutely useless for keeping people up to date, it's just full of people posting random stuff. I'm rebuilding the website and kick starting our forum again as it was quite broken and the webmaster didn't have time to fix it and keep it up to date so it fell out of use. Regarding bands, I send out an updated list of gigs each time we get a new one. They can then delete the last mail.

Rik Mayall

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1458153657' post='3005195'] I knew that - Boys only Grammar School Headucation A level Classics AND Archaeology here. I knew that too dawg gawnnit! I don't know, I salvage your post from RATM's ire - restore peace and tranquility to a doomed thread - and you go all Bamber Gascoigne on us! [/quote] That's Bambi!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1458158596' post='3005231'] Tim, you played with Nadir for a while didn`t you? Dom used to do this with a Trace combo purely so he could hear his own bass drum as he used to - and still does - rim-shots all the time. Def the loudest drummer I`ve ever played with. [/quote] Yes. He'd moved to a Dclass amp and a peavey sub, BUT he also had a really cheap Behringer gate on it and knew how to EQ the amp properly. Still sounds to me though, in the OPs case the mic is going to the main PA.

Also, if the singer was messing about with the desk, he may have altered the monitor/mic settings for the bass drum.

The drummer has a mic on his bass drum that only goes to his monitor and not FOH? Interesting. I was thinking the bass drum mic was picking up all the on stage rumble from bass guitar and low frequency guitar. Then that was being amplified out FOH. Can you hear the drummers monitor? Maybe that's your problem, it's just that monitor you're hearing the booming from.

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1458068836' post='3004415'] Ive heard a drummer describe this as playing to the room , which sounds like an eminently sensible approach to me. I wish more would adopt this. I try to on bass [/quote] I think a lot of bands try to fill the room with sound. If there is a dance floor; that's the area to fill with sound. If people want to dance they'll come forward. If your audience are all standing along the back wall; you're too loud.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1458062683' post='3004336'] I've been fortunate to find these rare gems in the last years in my previous and current bands but i, personally, know more drummers that only know how to hit hard than those who have a good sense of dynamic and can adjust volume. We all know that the drum kit/drummer sets the benchmark for onstage volume and i'm one of the first to agree with any drummer that says that when you hit it hard it sounds better but not all are prepared to sacrifice a bit of his tone for the greater good (or aren't able to do that). Like i said, i'm fortunate to been playing with a drummer for the last 5 years that understands this (but i still take every chance to tell him to play softer, just to keep him on his toes ) [/quote] We solved it with one drummer by all refusing to turn the volume up to match him. He had no idea where he was in the songs and kept complaining he couldn't hear the rest of the band.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1458061194' post='3004310'] Probably best to lock this also;( [/quote] Don't change the thread titles. It's confusing and the threads make no sense now. If you way it locked; PM a mod and explain why.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1458062119' post='3004331'] I thought that you and another couple of basschatters were having a dig . Sorry if I offended you with my reply. ;( [/quote] I'm lost. I thought a double post about going to the opticians was quite funny. Thought twins was the ultimate in seeing double and bumping into yourself. Didn't know which was the real thread - hence evil twin. Sometimes my thoughts don't even make sense to me. Maybe too convoluted...

I thought it was funny. And still do... Let it run.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1458054302' post='3004221'] that's where you're going wrong.... The best way to sort out volume problems would be if bassists stood next to guitar amps, and guitarists next to bass amps. Then you'd turn each other down rather than yourself up. (Will never happen though) [/quote] I can't see how that would set work. You need to hear yourself louder than everything else but for it still to sit well in the FOH mix. Over the years you develop a feeling for just being at the correct volume. If you weren't standing next to your speaker you'd need it a lot louder. You'd very quickly have no sound at all.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1458057271' post='3004259'] Fiddling while Specsavers burnt? [/quote] Getting his hair cut.

Robert De Nero?

Why does this thread have more replies?

Why does the other thread have more replies?

Is that his real hair?