How was your gig last night?

[cheddatom]

Saturday night at Redrum in Stafford. A charity fund raiser for North Staffordshire Hunt Saboteurs. The sound engineer started talking about the resonant frequencies of the room, and how terrible the monitors are before we'd even loaded in. He didn't like that we didn't have in-ears, he didn't like that my snare drum isn't damped, he said the bass rig was too loud before the bassist had played a note, and he lost his mind when our guys insisted on using their own vocal mics. SM58s. I realise other mics might be preferable, and sharing mics might save time, but we've been through covid, and there's no way we'll be sharing mics again.

 

Anyway, the room was packed and we played well. The mosh got a little over the top at one point but no-one was hurt. Apparently they raised £1500 which is great!

[Greg Edwards69]

23 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

With a decent PA, I defy anyone to know 'blind' if it's a software or acoustic kit for most genres of modern music. 

I guess that would depend on the venue size and how much "drum in the room" sound there is. As my drummer said to me (ex-touring pro, grade 8, full-time drum teacher), on a big stage, the audience doesn't hear the actual drum kit, they only hear what's coming out of the PA. In smaller venues, an acoustic kit works better as people generally hear what's coming off the stage.

 

Modelled amps are similar in some respects, but you get away with it in smaller venues because it's still a guitar sound coming out of a speaker, regardless if it's a real guitar/bass amp and cab of the PA.

[Dad3353]

1 minute ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

I guess that would depend on the venue size and how much "drum in the room" sound there is. As my drummer said to me (ex-touring pro, grade 8, full-time drum teacher), on a big stage, the audience doesn't hear the actual drum kit, they only hear what's coming out of the PA. In smaller venues, an acoustic kit works better as people generally hear what's coming off the stage...

 

FRFR cabs behind the e-kit would sort that out, if it was really that important. Even in small-medium venues, the kit is often present in the PA from a kick mic and an overhead, just to spread the mix for the room a bit better. It's all pretty moot, though; e-kits have come on in leaps and bounds in recent times, and sound very good indeed. Disclaimer : I'm a drummer.

[Jack]

Didn't post my gig from a few weeks ago for a couple of reasons.

 

Number one was that I'm convinced the venue (which shall remain nameless) has something weird going on. Now, I'm not saying that it's a money laundering front. Just to clarify, I do not suspect at all that it's a front for laundering money. However, about 5 years ago somebody bought one of the best loved live music pubs in a particular town, changed all the staff pretty much over night to a load of people who still, after 5 years, have NO IDEA how to run a bar or speak English, and who spend all the time on their phones. There is no promotion of bands, no trying of any kind to get people in at all. Some nights, not every night, a group of men will walk straight in, go behind the bar and go upstairs. They will not come back down. About 4 people to show up to any gig. After the gig a burly man with a thick accent will tell you that you're brilliant, hand you £350 cash and book in you in for several more times.

 

Secondly, I had to run home, catch about 2 hours sleep, and then be up at 4am for the North East Skinny Dip on the Sunday morning. I normally don't gig the night before, but there are only 5 gigs left with this band, so I didn't ask for the dep. Wish I had. The water is so much colder when you're sleep deprived.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Jack

[BigRedX]

On 01/10/2023 at 12:28, Dad3353 said:

My e-kit fits into the van all in one piece, not even folded (the floor drum is for our singer for a couple of songs...). It's all pre-cabled with velcro tie-wraps, so no set-up to do, just bring in the power supply and the MIDI cable, attach the bass drum and hi-hat pedals and it's ready.

 

That's because you are organised, and is what I would do. However no every musician displays the same level of organisation as us, and unfortunately I have learned from experience that these people can't be told, and don't get that quite often you need to be able to set up and be ready to play in under 15 minutes. You either have to live with it or replace them with someone who is properly organised.

[jimmyb625]

33 minutes ago, Jack said:

Didn't post my gig from a few weeks ago for a couple of reasons.

 

Number one was that I'm convinced the venue (which shall remain nameless) has something weird going on. Now, I'm not saying that it's a money laundering front. Just to clarify, I do not suspect at all that it's a front for laundering money. However, about 5 years ago somebody bought one of the best loved live music pubs in a particular town, changed all the staff pretty much over night to a load of people who still, after 5 years, have NO IDEA how to run a bar or speak English, and who spend all the time on their phones. There is no promotion of bands, no trying of any kind to get people in at all. Some nights, not every night, a group of men will walk straight in, go behind the bar and go upstairs. They will not come back down. About 4 people to show up to any gig. After the gig a burly man with a thick accent will tell you that you're brilliant, hand you £350 cash and book in you in for several more times.

 

Secondly, I had to run home, catch about 2 hours sleep, and then be up at 4am for the North East Skinny Dip on the Sunday morning. I normally don't gig the night before, but there are only 5 gigs left with this band, so I didn't ask for the dep. Wish I had. The water is so much colder when you're sleep deprived.

That's certainly an odd one.

[asingardenof]

1 hour ago, Jack said:

Didn't post my gig from a few weeks ago for a couple of reasons.

 

Number one was that I'm convinced the venue (which shall remain nameless) has something weird going on. Now, I'm not saying that it's a money laundering front. Just to clarify, I do not suspect at all that it's a front for laundering money. However, about 5 years ago somebody bought one of the best loved live music pubs in a particular town, changed all the staff pretty much over night to a load of people who still, after 5 years, have NO IDEA how to run a bar or speak English, and who spend all the time on their phones. There is no promotion of bands, no trying of any kind to get people in at all. Some nights, not every night, a group of men will walk straight in, go behind the bar and go upstairs. They will not come back down. About 4 people to show up to any gig. After the gig a burly man with a thick accent will tell you that you're brilliant, hand you £350 cash and book in you in for several more times.

 

Secondly, I had to run home, catch about 2 hours sleep, and then be up at 4am for the North East Skinny Dip on the Sunday morning. I normally don't gig the night before, but there are only 5 gigs left with this band, so I didn't ask for the dep. Wish I had. The water is so much colder when you're sleep deprived.

Yep, that most definitely does not in any way sound like a money laundering front.

[Cliff Edge]

8 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

Yep, that most definitely does not in any way sound like a money laundering front.

No of course it isn’t, it’s an illegal gambling joint. 

[taunton-hobbit]

1 hour ago, Jack said:

 

Number one was that I'm convinced the venue (which shall remain nameless) has something weird going on

Likely a cover/staging post for illegal immigrants - had a run down boozer in my old village turned into an Indian Restaurant, same stunt (think it's still there) - money laundering needs cashflow with no tangible product (think car wash, taxi, nightclub, amusement arcade etc etc ...............

 

😎

 

 

[JapanAxe]

Played a sea-front bar in Weston-super-Mare with a rock’n’roll band that I often work with.

 

The positives:

Nice location opposite the pier.

Felt like I played well.

My rig sounded great (‘73 P > Demeter amp > BF Super Twin).

Paid gig.

Second gig with Boss WL20 wireless setup - loving it!

 

The negatives:

60 miles each way plus parking to pay for.

Loading area near the venue full of parked cars - owners obviously read ‘LOADING ONLY’ to mean ‘FREE PARKING’. Never mind, just blocked them in while I loaded out.

Guitarist’s DIY extension lead kept tripping the circuit breaker while we were setting up until I identified it as the cause.

Very few customers in the bar.

(New) lead guitarist hadn’t quite got his poop together.

 

I’m fed up with pub gigs and looking for some better quality work next year i.e. function band or tribute act.

 

[Cliff Edge]

On 02/10/2023 at 18:35, JapanAxe said:

Played a sea-front bar in Weston-super-Mare with a rock’n’roll band that I often work with.

 

The positives:

Nice location opposite the pier.

Felt like I played well.

My rig sounded great (‘73 P > Demeter amp > BF Super Twin).

Paid gig.

Second gig with Boss WL20 wireless setup - loving it!

 

The negatives:

60 miles each way plus parking to pay for.

Loading area near the venue full of parked cars - owners obviously read ‘LOADING ONLY’ to mean ‘FREE PARKING’. Never mind, just blocked them in while I loaded out.

Guitarist’s DIY extension lead kept tripping the circuit breaker while we were setting up until I identified it as the cause.

Very few customers in the bar.

(New) lead guitarist hadn’t quite got his poop together.

 

I’m fed up with pub gigs and looking for some better quality work next year i.e. function band or tribute act.

 

Pub gigs used to be great until breweries started recruiting managers and landlords who couldn’t run a tap never mind a pub. They’re only in it because they like a good drink and think it’d be a good idea to run their own drinking hole. 
I saw great music pubs change inept landlords a number of times before eventually shutting down. That’s why I gave up gigging for a few years. Now I don’t do pubs. 
You can tell a good pub by the way the landlord presents themselves. If they’re scruffy and dressed in joggers it’s not a good place. 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Cliff Edge

[Greg Edwards69]

2 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

I saw great music pubs change inept landlords a number of times before eventually shutting down. That’s why I gave up gigging for a few years. Now I don’t do pubs. 
You can tell a good pub by the way the landlord presents themselves. If they’re scruffy and dressed in joggers it’s not a good place. 

Or gigs are cancelled because the new landlord threw out the bookings list and starts again with acts they know, not the bands who've been playing there regularly over the last several years. Or worse still, they get an agent to do it who only book the same few bands over and over again.

[BassAdder60]

12 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Or gigs are cancelled because the new landlord threw out the bookings list and starts again with acts they know, not the bands who've been playing there regularly over the last several years. Or worse still, they get an agent to do it who only book the same few bands over and over again.

That’s terrible to be just cast aside such as that. Venues in some cases are managed by very inexperienced event organisers! 
Struggling industry made worse by the wrong people running them !

[dmccombe7]

On 02/10/2023 at 18:35, JapanAxe said:

Played a sea-front bar in Weston-super-Mare with a rock’n’roll band that I often work with.

 

The positives:

Nice location opposite the pier.

Felt like I played well.

My rig sounded great (‘73 P > Demeter amp > BF Super Twin).

Paid gig.

Second gig with Boss WL20 wireless setup - loving it!

 

The negatives:

60 miles each way plus parking to pay for.

Loading area near the venue full of parked cars - owners obviously read ‘LOADING ONLY’ to mean ‘FREE PARKING’. Never mind, just blocked them in while I loaded out.

Guitarist’s DIY extension lead kept tripping the circuit breaker while we were setting up until I identified it as the cause.

Very few customers in the bar.

(New) lead guitarist hadn’t quite got his poop together.

 

I’m fed up with pub gigs and looking for some better quality work next year i.e. function band or tribute act.

 

Tribute thing is good fun with the right people but there's never a guarantee with any band. Sounds like you've had enough tho.

How long has new guitarist been with the band. ? Maybe just needs a bit more time to  bed in ?

Unless the guitarist is an experienced electrician or electrical background i'd be very wary of anything they've hobbled together for mains supply.

You know the old saying :-

"Red to green, black to brown and blue to F**k." 

Dave

 

[Boodang]

On 02/10/2023 at 22:35, JapanAxe said:

Played a sea-front bar in Weston-super-Mare with a rock’n’roll band that I often work with.

 

The positives:

Nice location opposite the pier.

Felt like I played well.

My rig sounded great (‘73 P > Demeter amp > BF Super Twin).

Paid gig.

Second gig with Boss WL20 wireless setup - loving it!

 

The negatives:

60 miles each way plus parking to pay for.

Loading area near the venue full of parked cars - owners obviously read ‘LOADING ONLY’ to mean ‘FREE PARKING’. Never mind, just blocked them in while I loaded out.

Guitarist’s DIY extension lead kept tripping the circuit breaker while we were setting up until I identified it as the cause.

Very few customers in the bar.

(New) lead guitarist hadn’t quite got his poop together.

 

I’m fed up with pub gigs and looking for some better quality work next year i.e. function band or tribute act.

 

I totally agree, pub gigs suck. That's why we don't have them here in Pakistan.... pubs that is!

[JapanAxe]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Tribute thing is good fun with the right people but there's never a guarantee with any band. Sounds like you've had enough tho.

How long has new guitarist been with the band. ? Maybe just needs a bit more time to  bed in ?

Unless the guitarist is an experienced electrician or electrical background i'd be very wary of anything they've hobbled together for mains supply.

You know the old saying :-

"Red to green, black to brown and blue to F**k." 

Dave

 

It’s not the guitarist, it’s a lot of things about (a) that band, (b) playing in pubs.

 

And yes, it doesn’t matter how good the band is if the people are a-holes.

 

I’ve heard it said more than once that there are three important things in a band: the music, the money, the craic. All three and you’re golden; any two is fine; just one and you’ll never be happy.

[Bluewine]

On 29/09/2023 at 20:44, dmccombe7 said:

BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam Rock covers gig tonight in a small bowling club in Polmont outside Falkirk. Sold Out tho and what a great wee night it turned out to be.

They provided 2 trays of freshly made sandwiches from a shop supplier with water, soft drinks and crisps.

Paid at half time too so that was nice and we've been re-booked for start of next year again. Great feedback and lots of dancing and people simply enjoying themselves. Varied age group as well which is always good seeing the different generations enjoy what we do.

Sandberg VM4 running flat into Shure Wireless and then Ampeg SVT7 Pro almost flat EQ with just the bass boosted up to about 2 o'clock. Mesa SW210/115 cabs and my EBS Env filter for one song.

Quite a quiet gig as we were well down on the amps and just using the smaller 12" QSC vocal PA.

I find it difficult getting into a gig when iNi

Dts too quiet. I prefer a bit of volume to take my speakers into "working mode" where they sound a lot better.

All in allod night and well paid for such a small venue 

 

Nice gig Dave.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

This Saturday October 7th 5:00 !

 

Maple Road

Old Falls Village Park Beer Depot
N96W15791 County Line Road, 
Menomonee Falls WI

 

The outside gigs will be coming to an end soon.

 

Blue

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, JapanAxe said:

It’s not the guitarist, it’s a lot of things about (a) that band, (b) playing in pubs.

 

And yes, it doesn’t matter how good the band is if the people are a-holes.

 

I’ve heard it said more than once that there are three important things in a band: the music, the money, the craic. All three and you’re golden; any two is fine; just one and you’ll never be happy.

Yep can't argue with that. Its taken me 40 yrs to find the right people. 3 of my Glam band are also in the Punk band so it makes things a lot easier. I'm in band nirvana at the moment.

Hope you eventually find the right people too. It does make a huge difference to your outlook within a band.

All the best with it.

Dave

 

[dmccombe7]

12 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Nice gig Dave.

 

Daryl

Smaller venue than we would normally do with the Glam band but the singer had played it solo before and knew the organisers. They paid same fee as a larger venue would so all was good, plus they laid on sandwiches, juice and water.

Was a bit cramped too.

Dave

Edited October 5, 2023 by dmccombe7

[casapete]

First of two gigs for us this evening in the south west of England.

The Hall for Cornwall in Truro is a fantastic Grade II listed building which incorporates the recently opened

auditorium ‘The Cornwall Playhouse’, a superb venue with a seated capacity of 1,354. Both front

of house and backstage are really top notch, and coupled with a decent cafe/bar it is a favourite of ours.

Lots of helpful staff ( many of whom are volunteers ) ensure a good night for their customers.

We all but sold out the gig, so had a great evening. It’s a good sounding room so we got soundchecked

pretty quickly too. Always a pleasure to play in Truro, despite it being a massive trek for us. We are back

into Devon tomorrow night playing in Torquay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lozz196]

Looks great Pete

[casapete]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Looks great Pete

Thanks Lozz. It really is a superb place. When we arrived, we got signed in at the stage door and each had

lanyards with a photo ID made before we went in. We only had to show the ID in the cafe to get

unlimited free coffees and teas - just a small gesture but very much appreciated by us after such a 

long journey to get there. For the whole gig we were made to feel appreciated, which these days is

getting more of a rarity.
I’ve just found out we’ve been given a choice of two dates for returning there next year too, so happy days.

[Richard R]

10 hours ago, casapete said:

 

 

 

Just looked at your tour dates,  the closest to me is Cannock and not only is it sold out but I am on standby for taxi duty as my wife and her colleagues are out that night. 😪

Edited October 5, 2023 by Richard R
Grammar

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

 

Just looked at your tour dates,  the closest to me is Cannock and not only is it sold out but I am on standby for taxi duty as my wife and her colleagues are out that night. 😪

Make the effort, they are superb musicians and great to watch.

Dave