TimR

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1435585895' post='2810270'] Having been born in 1977 also, and having just had my 38th birthday, I refute your maths And my right as a middle-aged white man to be pedantic on the internet. I for one, didn't enjoy Kanye's performance, however, lots of people who were there didn't leave, so I think they probably did. I wrote this about moaning about festival lineups for festivals you are not attending the other day though, seems pertinent to stick it here... http://davedoesntwriteanythingever.blogspot.com/2015/06/things-on-internet-that-will-never.html [/quote] Very entertaining. To be honest Glastonbury is too big now to be all about new music. A massive festival costs masses of money which means people want to see big names for their money, the big names want the big money and the price rises accordingly. As musicians I'm sure we're all playing our own low cost local festivals with our own home grown local heroes headlining in front of their mates, girlfriends (and proud mums and dads)

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1435584607' post='2810247'] My experience spans over 30 years, over a decade of which was working has a professional sound engineer. I have engineered anything from small venues to large outdoor events, during that time I was notching up over 200 jobs a year. I am well aware of my bad spelling, grammar and punctuation it is a problem I have had all my life but I fail to see how it is any way an indication that I may not have the skills or the intelligence to be a competent and professional sound engineer. I am now retired from live music because of a heart condition but despite my health and my poor English skills I still managed to get a first class hon’s degree in music technology. Maybe I should bow down to your greater knowledge and experience and clearly better punctuation. [/quote] That's fine. Just your previous post probably makes some very good points but I just can't read or understand it. I did add a smiley. I didn't mean to cause offence just wanted you to rewrite your post so I could read and understand it. I assumed it was auto corrected by your phone

So are we looking for someone in their 20s who is going to be considered a legend in 20-30years time? Good luck with that. I suppose the closest we've had recently was Amy Winehouse.

Kanye West is 39.

I thought it was Dave Grohl.

Ironside. You might want to read that over, edit the spelling, grammar, punctuation and paragraphing. It's very difficult to understand. I hope your mixing skills are better Personally as long as I can hear the guitar and vocals there's not a great deal that can go wrong with on-stage sound. I've really never had an issue that wasn't fixed by asking for a bit more of X in the monitor. I think the worst experience I've had is when the bass amp has bled into the kick drum mic. and the engineer hasn't identified it. Live sound is all about experience and I think introducing yourself and talking to the sound engineer as soon as you arrive is key.

This will be the Kanye West born in 1977 who is 39years old? Raised in a middle class household in Chicago. .

Does seem a bit strange. If you're continually coming into contact with sound engineers who can't get a decent sound from your band it's probably time to look at the common factor.

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1435497623' post='2809331'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNkPn0JrTFQ WT actual F. Is this real? [/quote] He looks a bit shiftily at the camera when he realises he's forgotten the words.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1435486745' post='2809154'] +1. Of course you won't like it if it's hip hop. I have never had a conversation with a middle aged white bloke about Kanye... or even classic hip hop (DMC/PE etc.) [/quote] Sorry. I'm a white middle aged guy. I grew up in the 80s/90s, the formative years of Hip Hop. What I heard last night was NOT hip hop. Obviously he has fans but Glastonbury is no longer the place for a specialist artist to perform. Especially as it's now become a Mecca for middle aged marketing consultants. .

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1435485711' post='2809136'] Some singers with very, dodgy intonation, have gone on to fame and fortune in the past. Simon Le Bon and Sade are two that instantly come to mind. [/quote] I agree. Far too much reliance on autotune means we have forgotten what real live singers actually sound like. I suspect people in the live audience wouldn't notice. I thought she was away with the fairies.

I like hip hop. Was that hip hop? I thought it was more like RnB.

[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1435442684' post='2808900'] Twitter has just about melted and it's mainly positive. [/quote] That's what happens when you follow people with the same tastes as you. You get a biased view. My Twitter feed has also melted. But not positively. I watched two numbers. I didn't understand it. It's obviously some kind of high art but doesn't appeal to me.

Lemmy has been very ill for quite a while. Florence was high as a kite. Glastonbury was summed up very well last year by Bruce Dickinson when he said Maiden would never play there.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1432852954' post='2785722'] Excellent stuff. I'll be walking around with my two cameras, taking photos and vids of the event, and also taking photos of the photographer taking photos of you guys... Big thanks to Si for manning the photobooth, TimR for the backdrop, and Mick for the idea. [/quote] No problem. The photos look really good.

I only had one Tuba. Although classical musicians are a bit more relaxed about other musicians borrowing gear. The orchestra pit isn't quite like a pub gig.

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1435237732' post='2806846'] as TimR and Marc S say, I do carry a DI and don't do backup amps for some reason. I have two amps, one set for DB and one for EB but prefer the DI backup for both. Although I rarely have needed the backup of anything myself, I like to be the one who saves the day by having a spare cable, mic, connector, strap, strap locks, pens etc. I mean who takes spare guitar strings and pedal patch leads to a gig where they play bass and no effects? Me! What a plonker... [/quote] It got to a point when a drummer had a go at me for not have the correct spare lead for someone else. That's when I twigged... Look after your own gear and it won't go wrong. Look after someone else's and you'll get the blame when their kit goes wrong.

[quote name='smaz' timestamp='1435236074' post='2806808'] ... I do however have extra guitar cables, speakon leads, power cables etc. - don't have backup strings at the mo (need to sort that out!). That way I've also got stuff other band members may need too... [/quote] That's what I used to do. But in the end I learned it's really madness.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1435233652' post='2806762'] ... My obsession has gone a bit far though as if playing at a big-ish, paying gig I take a spare Amp head.... just in case Is that obsessive? Never had an amp break down during a gig..... ... [/quote] My dad always used to take a spare power amp to his gigs. It's not a huge thing and can be used on any instrument in an emergency. Nowadays a DI into the PA will get most of us through a gig.

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1435225358' post='2806629'] If you haven't broken a string at a gig and then tuned back up and carried on playing on three strings for the rest of the set until you can tie a knot in the end of the broken one and put it back on in the break between sets.... then you haven't lived. [/quote] I broke a machine head on the E string on the opening number of a NYE gig. Spent one verse of the next song moving all the strings up a machine head. The rest of the night was not easy. I take a spare bass.

[quote name='wdejong' timestamp='1434990897' post='2804487'] I intend to swap guitars when we play that one song in drop D. No idea if/how it's going to work, as it will be the first gig I'm doing it. Is there anyone who down-tunes their guitars live on stage, mid-performance? [/quote] Yes. I do. The important thing is; it's not part of the act. The vast majority of the audience are not there to watch the bass player down tune or the lead guitarist swap guitars. As said above, do it quickly and effortlessly with the minimum of fuss. The only people who should notice it happen are you and that gear-geek in the audience who is only there to gear spot

I have recently (last 5years) started taking a spare bass to gigs after a catastrophic failure. I have spare strings, a spare instrument lead and a spare power lead. I also have a DI box so I can play via the mixer in the event of my amp dying. That's it.

In 30 years of playing in bands I've never listened to the vocals other than to check the level and that they're in tune.

"Letting a stranger loose on my PA" isn't the same as "Taking some advice on a mix." I love the Internet.

Marillion pioneered the crowd funding idea. https://www.virgin.com/music/how-marillion-pioneered-crowdfunding-in-music One of the bass players here has done it too but I'd have to do a long search.