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Gig Prep


stewblack

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I was reflecting how I used to spend hours rehearsing on the day of a gig.

How times change. Nowadays I have come to realise that once I've decided which amp/cab/bass combination I'm going with, the only important thing to do is assemble, take, apart, and reassemble pedal boards. All day.

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I run thru my checklist and make sure everything i need is packed.

I'm the designated driver so i need to go pick up the van hire then the drummers for PA and Lighting plus drums of course so i very rarely have time to do much else apart from shower and eat before i leave in early afternoon.

GIG CHECKLIST.docx

Dave

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Step 1. Check that my rig is still working and nothing is missing.

Step 2. Check that my main bass and back up bass are in fully working order. Change strings if necessary.

Step 3. Load gear into car/van.

Step 4. Check where the gig is.

Step 5. Unload gear again as gig is on another day.

 

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Run through everything just once, standing up. 

Make a list of everything you need, under different headings (eg, amps etc, leads, personal effects, directions to venue).

Get it all out on the landing, while cat runs out under your feet. Then tempt cat back into flat with a pouch of Sheba. The cat wrangling episode has to be built into my timetable for getting out! 

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2 hours ago, seashell said:

And I should have added, I like to run through all the songs without my glasses or contacts so as to be prepared for playing in a dingy venue where I can't see anything! 

I'm going to have to think about trying contacts. Specs and the rock chick look don't really go together!

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18 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I just make sure that there is a bass in the case before I load it into the car! l used to get recurring bad dreams about turning up to play, opening the case to find it empty.

I almost did that once. I got to the gig and opened the gig bag, only to find an old bass that I had put in my usual gig bag a few days earlier. Problem was it wasn’t wired up as I had taken the pups out to use in another bass, and put that basses pups in place in this bass, and just left it. I had to wire the bass up using gaffa tape at the gig. 

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In the past I have been seen parked up on the side of the A3 checking in the back of the car in case I forgot to put the bass back in the case etc!! I did leave the PA amp behind once!

That never happens now because, apart from my backup bass, the gear I gig with never comes out of the cases, boxes and bags at home.

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Bizarrely, if I was gigging on a Saturday it felt like my prep was all afternoon, I couldn’t get around the fact I had to be thinking about getting prepped ! 

Friday gigs were far better , I worked all day, went home and then had half an hour to get my shizz together , it felt I hadn’t wasted half a day thinking about it :scratch_one-s_head:

Edited by lurksalot
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2 minutes ago, lurksalot said:

Bizarrely, if I was gigging on a Saturday it felt like my prep was all afternoon, I couldn’t get around the fact I had to be thinking about getting prepped ! 

Friday gigs were far better , I worked all day, went home and then had half an hour to get my shizz together , it felt I hadn’t wasted half a day thinking about it :scratch_one-s_head:

Perhaps imagine that the first half hour of your Saturday was the half hour you have left on a Friday to get prepped, that way you’d be prepped early on Saturday and have the rest of the day to craddock abaht.

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3 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Perhaps imagine that the first half hour of your Saturday was the half hour you have left on a Friday to get prepped, that way you’d be prepped early on Saturday and have the rest of the day to craddock abaht.

Nah

 

I left the band and can now do whatever the f**k I want to on a Saturday :sun_bespectacled:

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7 minutes ago, lurksalot said:

I left the band and can now do whatever the f**k I want to on a Saturday :sun_bespectacled:

I honestly can't think of anything I'd rather be doing on a Saturday (or any other day of the week) night than gigging.

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15 minutes ago, lurksalot said:

Nah

 

I left the band and can now do whatever the f**k I want to on a Saturday :sun_bespectacled:

When my old band spilt up for a few months i loved having my Saturdays back. Letting the mornings/afternoons/evening all blend to get her without having to look at my watch or inboxing i had to be home for a certain time was a lovey, new feeling for me. 

On gig days i hate sitting around, but cant seem to get motivated to do anything else. 

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