Members senorblues Posted May 9, 2016 Members Share Posted May 9, 2016 I visited a venue yesterday to ask about playing. They had just opened and had applied for an "acoustic" license. The powers that be are obviously equating amplification and higher volumes, but taken literally, that prohibits keyboard players from playing quietly at the same times and locations that acoustic guitars, basses, etc. can play. Have any of you run into this? Under what circumstances, if any, do you play without any instrumental or vocal amplification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 9, 2016 Members Share Posted May 9, 2016 I play a Korg SP250, which has built-in speakers, which would doubtless fool the authorities. And, at least sometimes, I just sit at it and sing. It works fine and if you have a strong voice, you can fill the same space as those guitar players. I do that at a bakery/cafe in the afternoon; there's a lot of equipment noise but people listen while they eat. Any other venues in town are pubs and have a tradition of pretty loud music and louder audiences. But those wouldn't work for acoustic anything. So I'd say just try it. If your keys don't have speakers, I'm not sure what you'd do -- you need an amp. Maybe sweet-talk the venue into picking up an old free piano or something. (Unlikely, I'm afraid, and fraught, but it beats not playing.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 9, 2016 or ask them if there is room for your Steinway Concert Grand... I ran into a similar issue recently where the venue owners advised me that I could not use any amplification because they only had an Acoustic Instrument Permit; this is apparently a city ordinance, the venue is in Ventura County.. Unfortunately, this is an outdoor gig, on a corner lot of a shopping center. I sat there for a while and decided I had to pass on the gig. The ambient noise level would have been too high, and I was not willing to risk my voice. Oddly, another venue about 100ft away advertised live music...I guess they paid for an amplification permit. Unfortunately, they were already booked through to September...go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 9, 2016 Members Share Posted May 9, 2016 Which permit do you need for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members senorblues Posted May 9, 2016 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2016 How are these enforced? They do have specs for decibel levels at the border of the property, which is fine, as is responding to complaints, but I'm trying to imagine someone coming in unannounced looking for a speaker in a box with knobs on it. Just to make things interesting, this venue has already booked a piano player one night a week. I saw him there last season and he had a microphone and a teeny weeny practice amp . . . but an amp nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 10, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 10, 2016 the over-dressed saxophonist permit, IIRC...megaphone not included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 10, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 10, 2016 Enforcement is sketchy, to be sure, but in a small town, I'd be willing to bet someone would certainly make it a point to periodically verify that the permit requirements are being adhered to, complaints or not.The venue I was dealing with actually had a complaint lodged when they had an acoustic guitarist inside, with no amplification, but also no permit. Go figure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted May 14, 2016 Members Share Posted May 14, 2016 complaints dont necessarily require justification or truth... just saying... id have a ball with that, my 44" chau will go from a whisper to around 118 decibels without any need for amplification... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members senorblues Posted May 14, 2016 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2016 I wonder if you could provide a service to the community similar to hourly church bells. . . with something special at midnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 14, 2016 you can skip to ~3:OO for the real point, but the nostalgia was worth watching the entire video... and you can skip to about 2:30 on this one toohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq6Kgf6Tnus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 14, 2016 We have a town clock that does the Westminster thing every hour from 7 to 11. It used to be 24-hour but they built a senior's residence next door and the night-time tolling bothered them. There are a number of buildings nearby that echo the bells. If you walk quickly' date=' you get a lovely chorus from the doppler effect and if you're riding a bike or in a car, the sound gets really exciting.[/quote'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted May 14, 2016 system would not allow me to move pogo's actual post from the other thread where it seemed to be a non sequitor...here, it makes much more sense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 15, 2016 Members Share Posted May 15, 2016 THE WHALE AND THE BOWL OF PETUNIAS BACK NEXT Character AnalysisIf we were really organizing this page by how much we like characters, the Whale (oh, poor, sweet whale) and the Bowl of Petunias would be at the top of the page. We love these two because (1) they make us laugh; and (2) they make us think. The whale and petunias scene really demonstrates how the narrative point of view works in Hitchhiker's Guide: we don't need to know what the whale and the petunias are thinking before they crash—that doesn't affect the plot and the other characters at all. It's pure and simple digression, but we get it anyway because this narrator loves digressions. Also, the whale and petunias digression nicely shows off Adams's style of anti-climactic humor. We get this whole big description of the whale's thoughts and the way he innocently tries to deal with the world. Then, as the kicker to the set-up, we get two lines about the totally absurd thoughts of the petunia, who is apparently less innocent and more experienced than the whale (oh, poor, sweet whale). The climax to the scene is so ridiculous and unexplained that we can't help laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted May 15, 2016 Members Share Posted May 15, 2016 About ten years ago I played a place here in Vancouver that had the city come down on them. We were playing jazz standards, me with a small guitar amplifier, and the string bass with a small amplifier. tTe sax wasn't miced but was still louder than both the stringed instruments put together. Apparently the neighbours complained (we were one of several groups) and the next time in we could only play acoustically, as per a city bylaw. Wasn't much fun, as the only acoustic guitar I had was an acoustic electric and not very loud. Did the gig a few times and then the venue cancelled the music anyway - fine by me. In this particular case, the city did check up on the venue once it had been red flagged due to complaints form the other tenants. So much for "mixed use" buildings. Had the gig continued I might have searched for a louder guitar. I guess they can come in handy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted May 19, 2016 Members Share Posted May 19, 2016 senor, yes, but im certain they couldnt afford me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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