Members Pat'sStrat Posted July 17, 2016 Members Share Posted July 17, 2016 It isn't the playing, it's the schlepping the gear around. I'm getting too old for this crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 17, 2016 Members Share Posted July 17, 2016 Gear. Yuck! Try playing piano and tell me about gear. I've decided that some gigs are fine without a PA. Yesterday at a café, I used just the piano's speakers and sang into the air. Nothing but compliments and no "too quiet" complaints. I love singing into the air -- just open your throat and sing. Now to find a place that has a real piano so I can walk in, sit down, and play. dream on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 17, 2016 Moderators Share Posted July 17, 2016 I say that every time when I get home. One of the reasons I've let my solo work lapse lately, but it is about to pick up again, and I'll be back to loading in the acoustics, the pedal case, Fishstick, mic stand, the PA bag...sometimes I think it isn't worth it, but then I remember, the money isn't the reason I do it, I do it because I'm nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members senorblues Posted July 17, 2016 Members Share Posted July 17, 2016 I've considered selling pretty much all my gear and replacing it for the sole purpose of reducing weight. But I LIKE what comes out of the 50 lb 15" powered speaker, and I LIKE the features of my 50 lb keyboard. I even carry around a modified concert artist bench. . . . But I LIKE it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted July 18, 2016 Members Share Posted July 18, 2016 Sometimes I say the hell with it and gig with just a 30 lb powered speaker with a 10", a DI, and a tiny 17 lb organ keyboard or a 30 lb $100 Craigslist special Crapasio piano (depending on the gig). But for doing a solo wallpaper "society" piano gig I rarely forego my 73 lb Yamaha piano with onboard speakers, when a piano is not provided. Had to lug it up 2 long flights of stairs Saturday (elevator out of order) to play at a museum. Next time I will recruit one of the homeless people milling around outside to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pat'sStrat Posted July 19, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2016 I have it easy compared to some of you, that's for sure. I carry in a powered mixer in a case, usually just one speaker cabinet and a stick to put it on, my gig bag, mic stand, ipad, pedal board and tip jar, also mounted on a mic stand. I can get everything in three trips to the rig. But it's just doing it 4 times so close together, and on one of the gigs i needed two mains and poles. Then again, I really like the nearly 700 dollars I got out of it. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 19, 2016 Moderators Share Posted July 19, 2016 If I could pull $700 out of a solo gig, I wouldn't care a hoot what my load in/out was That kind of money dried up here around 2010...along with the $2500-$4000 band gigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 21, 2016 Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 There was a time when I did more than one gig in a day - it was when I was greedier than I was sane I don't do more than one per day now. Schlepping is the price we pay. When setting up or tearing down I often wonder what I should leave home next time...................... Tenor Sax? Never. Flute? Won't make a difference. Wind Synth? Can't gig without them, they can cover the parts of any other instrument that fails. Synth Modules? Need them for the wind synth. Guitar? My newest toy/tool and I'm still having way too much fun with it - it looks good and adds a nice voice as well Pedals/Speakers/Mixer/Amp/Stands, etc.? Can't gig without 'em Leilani fees the same way about her guitar, synth and sound module. So, alas, there is nothing I want to leave home. But on stage the opposite is true. I think that it would be fun if I brought the alto sax, bass, keyboard, or some conga drums, and that's when I say, "JUST STOP" But look at it this way. People spend big money for a gym membership just so that they could lift heavy things. We get to lift them without having to join a gym. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_big_e Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 I've been a gym rat all my life, well the last 40 years anyway, makes no difference. All that crap is still HEAVY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve mac Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 I have been researching line array pa s and the first thing I look at is how heavy they are and second how easy they are to pack/unpack.... I am such a whimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pat'sStrat Posted July 22, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 Ha ha! I just did some recalculatin'... between the band and solo work, by Sunday I'll have 8 gigs in 10 days. I need a break! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 I don't like doing double shifts either, but in the last three weeks I've done four double shifts, most of them an hour or so apart. Not sure it's worth the effort, especially if the government gets a big chunk of the change. My theory has been that lean times can always be just around the corner, so work when you can, and don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I guess I'll stick with that sentiment for the time being. I've certainly sat around on my keister many times in the past, so I'll not complain about being busy - well I'll try not to anyway! Luckily for me, many of my gigs have house PA's - makes a big difference. I do find that when I have to move even my very portable PA, I get testy. BTW Notes, I just hosted a jam where this keyboard player showed up with a cheap portable keyboard and his iPad. He had some killer Hammond sounds on the iPad and was actually using the drawbars on the screen like one does with a Hammond. I also know of other guys who have ditched their rig and just bring their laptop. Seems to work for them, but who knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 23, 2016 Members Share Posted July 23, 2016 Got a call from a senior's home today -- can I sub this afternoon. Yes, but we're at a cottage this week and I don't have my PA. Fine. So I walked in, lifted the lid on their piano, set up my book and sang. Total weight in and out, about three pounds. It went fine, no one complained they couldn't hear me. I think I'll push this acoustic naturist thing and see how far I can go. There is much to be said for nothing between me and the audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 23, 2016 Moderators Share Posted July 23, 2016 I tried that when Ifirst started doing solo work...just me and an acoustic. Obviously, an upright piano has far more volume capability that an un-amplified acoustic guitar, but singing at that volume is pushing it, IMHO. Hence I went to the Fishstick, EV mic, and the A/Es. Really not a terrible amount of weight, and typically 2 runs to the parking area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted July 23, 2016 Members Share Posted July 23, 2016 I agree with DM. I would consider $700 to be a pretty healthy music haul for a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted July 23, 2016 Members Share Posted July 23, 2016 Nothing between you and the audience? Was it one of those nudist senior's homes? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 23, 2016 Members Share Posted July 23, 2016 I'm lucky that I (can) have a loud voice. Some of it's training but much is just luck and the year I spent in the Yukon with no neighbours and just learning to sing wide open. Like Bessie Smith and all those pre-crooners. Yeah, a nudist senior's home. Want photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted July 23, 2016 Members Share Posted July 23, 2016 quite alright, thanks-! I'm fortunate in that 3 of my steady gigs have a piano provided- a grand piano-shaped Roland object (that I have made peace with by practicing on my $100 used Crapasio before the gig), a decent Werlein (Samick) grand, and my fave- a mighty Kimball spinet, strategically detuned for maximum honkytonk-ragtime effect. Only the last gig (adult daycare freebie) has any vocals, provided sometimes by a little woman with a big voice au natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 25, 2016 Members Share Posted July 25, 2016 <...> BTW Notes, I just hosted a jam where this keyboard player showed up with a cheap portable keyboard and his iPad. He had some killer Hammond sounds on the iPad and was actually using the drawbars on the screen like one does with a Hammond. I also know of other guys who have ditched their rig and just bring their laptop. Seems to work for them, but who knows... I think that works fine for a keyboard player. For my wind controller I haven't found a software synth that comes even close to the VL series Physical Modeling synths by Yamaha. They allow me to coax actual instrument nuances out of the box. I'll go to a jam session with just a tenor sax and perhaps a mic. I have some friends in a band that gets paid a fair price for the night hosting a jam, so I'm happy to support them and have some fun. I don't do jams unless the house band is making a fair wage though. We have to protect each other, too many do it for free. And yes, don't look the gift horse in the mouth. When the fishing is good, fish hard. I've done almost 60 days straight without a day off. A day off is really, really good for recharging but in the summer when the tourists are all gone, we have more days off than I like (that's when I work on the Band-in-a-Box add-ons). But for gigging I want our duo to sound like our duo, and nothing less. That means sax, wind synth, guitars, flute, tactile MIDI controller, 10 space rack (mixer, synth modules, etc.), 15' powered speakers, pedals, mics, and too many cables that no matter how neatly you lay them out, as soon as you turn your back, the get tangled (I think they are mating). So one gig a day is all I do, but I'll do as many days in a row as I have the opportunity to do. I'd rather play than not. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 25, 2016 Members Share Posted July 25, 2016 I think that works fine for a keyboard player. Actually, it doesn't, but there's not much choice. A digital piano is not a piano and never will be -- real pianos have strings and hammers and soundboards. But, unlike a sax or guitar, a real piano is just too heavy to cart around. Used to be (before my time) that any music venue above a total dive would have a piano -- maybe out-of-tune with some non-functional keys, but a piano. That's rare these days. I'm told that Michael Kaeshammer, who can afford to do so, refuses any gig that doesn't provide a proper piano. Good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 26, 2016 Members Share Posted July 26, 2016 You are right about being no substitute for a piano. Some digital ones can do a decent enough job to fool most non-musical audience members, and many musicians who don't know the nuances a piano creates that well. Of course the action isn't the same, but you can make it do. If I just play sax, it's all I need, but I won't do my duo that way. And I do remember when every club from a dive on up had a piano, and I remember those that were hopelessly out of tune and missing notes. It reminds me of a Count Basie quote, He arrived at a gig and the owner apologized profusely because the previous piano player tore up the piano, a few of the notes don't play, and the quickest I could get a repairman or a replacement isn't until next week. Mr. Basie just said, "Then I just won't play those notes." Schlepping gear is the price we pay for having the privilege of playing music for a career. Of course fewer than 1% of us can afford roadies. If we had them, I'd definitely do two gigs in a day. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 26, 2016 Members Share Posted July 26, 2016 This is why I savor my pipe organ sideline. Walk in, turn on the organ and play. And it's a very nice organ that's (mostly) in tune and all the keys work in a beautiful and beautiful-sounding church about five minutes walk from my house. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n31783034[/ATTACH] But it's not enough to be a full eating wage. Pity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 27, 2016 Members Share Posted July 27, 2016 I used to be in a band with a guy who played organ in a cathedral in Palm Beach Florida. He had keys, could get in anytime, and nobody cared if we played rock and roll when the church wasn't in use. Those 64' pipes can rumble your innards in the most delightful way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 27, 2016 Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2016 they probably do not want you eating in the organ loft anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GtrGeorge! Posted August 15, 2016 Members Share Posted August 15, 2016 Good Sound=Heavy Gear. So far ,no one has beat the Math. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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