Members pogo97 Posted September 11, 2016 Members Share Posted September 11, 2016 Just had some high winds and an evening-long blackout here. Most places closed down and live music ceased completely. the wooses What do you guys do if the power dies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted September 11, 2016 Members Share Posted September 11, 2016 Hereabouts the law (or maybe the insurance companies?) says they have to evacuate a bar/venue if the power goes out. I've heard tell of private party gigs going acoustic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 11, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 11, 2016 many years ago, on an outdoor daytime gig at a flea market, we went acoustic until the power came back on. I had my resonater, the bassist had his upright, and the harmonica player was willing. Drummer played brushes, and we did some interesting things with our repertoire. Keyboard player found a guy selling a cheap melodica style unit and came back and sat in the last couple of songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted September 13, 2016 Members Share Posted September 13, 2016 I lost a couple of months worth back ion 2005 due to 2 hurricanes and a tropical storm that put power out for weeks and damaged venues. But on a normal gig, we wait for the power to come back on. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted September 13, 2016 Members Share Posted September 13, 2016 Hasn't happened to me much. Lost a nights pay in Calgary Alberta a billion years ago. I also recall that I worked with a singer who was essentially Mr. Entertainer. When we lost power one night, he told a ton of jokes and worked with the drummer doing songs like Under The Boardwalk, for about thirty minutes until the power came back on. Much respect to him. I should mention that the gig was in a fairly packed Rock club. Holding the attention of a bunch of drunken rowdies (without a PA) is no easy feat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members STM86 Posted September 13, 2016 Members Share Posted September 13, 2016 I have an irrational fear, stopping short of phobia, of performing unplugged. There was a power outage once at a patio gig an hour away where I had just negotiated a higher rate to account for the extra travel. After my first set the power went out. When the owner came to ask if I could play unplugged I had to say no. The power came back on in time for the third set and I could play again, so I played two sets, but they had already cut my check for 3 and said not to worry about it. The live mic is some sort of trigger that allows my quiet, introverted, kind of awkward personality to get out of the way for me to start belting things out and joking around with strangers. Without it, I can't sing unless I'm alone. The brain is a weird thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 13, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 13, 2016 wow, that must suck, I mean the fear part. Have you considered seeing a therapist? You are the same person, and you know it, but you find the amplification frees you of your inhibitions? The brain is indeed a weird thing. I'm actually a bit more reserved on mic, but it certainly isn't something I worry about, it is more about, well, off mic I am prone to saying some things in some ways that some people could somehow misconstrue as somewhat offensive on some level...sometimes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members STM86 Posted September 14, 2016 Members Share Posted September 14, 2016 Ha, I've seen some folks for my ADD, but not for my conditional split personalities. It's kind of a novelty to acquaintances who come see me. Less so to my good friends who know how much of a goof I am. I've seen a stroke victim who was wheelchair-bound and could only speak in individual syllables grab a mic and sing the blues like nothing ever happened. At least top-five coolest things I've ever seen for sure. Brains, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve mac Posted September 14, 2016 Members Share Posted September 14, 2016 Can't remember the last time we had a power cut here, years ago though they were common because Greece was a richer country than Turkey and if their national grid was running short they would buy at a premium electricity from Turkish electric companies who wouldn't hesitate to switch off Turkish cities. It would happen maybe three or four evenings a week. Of course now Turkey is a very rich country and Greece has tanked so the shoe is very much on the other foot. Re gigging without power, the closest I have come is having a house PA break down with no backup and I gave them an hour to fix it whilst having a drink and when they couldn't, collected my fee and left. I seldom play acoustic guitar anymore and reply heavily on loops and effects. I also wouldn't feel comfortable shouting jokes at the crowd. So no juice no Stevie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 14, 2016 Beware of Greeks buying absolute power...of course if they continue the 'witch hunts' in Turkey, eventually there won't be anyone to feed the hamsters and your power grid will fail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve mac Posted September 14, 2016 Members Share Posted September 14, 2016 Mostly wind farms etc here mate, huge investments in new technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted September 14, 2016 Author Members Share Posted September 14, 2016 I've been considering making my stage piano off-grid ready. It uses a 12 volt wall-wart, so it would be pretty simple to rig a power cable that hooks into, say, a scooter battery. This wouldn't be so much for blackouts (but I could see just keeping the thing in the van) but for outdoor playing, like a recent cemetery mass I played where we used a very long extension cord to power the piano. Still just considering though: one more thing to carry around. My real piano is already blackout-ready, but not especially moveable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted September 15, 2016 Members Share Posted September 15, 2016 Something like a duracell powermate will power a mixer and powered speaker for at least an hour, maybe two. Of course it has to be fully charged and brought along. I've done a couple of retirement home gigs with acoustic guitar and no mic. Easy set up! It would pay to have an acoustic that projects well acoustically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 15, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 15, 2016 where do you get seeds for that, I wonder...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 15, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 15, 2016 just tell the audience to crank up their hearing aids... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted September 15, 2016 Author Members Share Posted September 15, 2016 It's challenging to catch the sweet spot for retirement homes. Too quiet and they can't hear, too loud and they hear it as distorted. Somewhere just above conversation-level seems about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted September 15, 2016 Members Share Posted September 15, 2016 Pogo, we find about 85dba (slow response) a good start for retirement homes. We have a yacht club (almost a retirement home) that likes it no louder than 65dba during dinner, and then we can crank it up to an ear-splitting 80 or 90 for dancing The retirement communities have gotten better since the 'baby boomer' generation 'graduated' to that position. When the swing era people populated those places, I'd do a sound check, then turn the volume up louder than I thought was appropriate. Why? There was always the self-designated, "Turn It Down" or "It's Too Loud" person who would come up shortly after the first or second song with their complaint. I didn't matter how loud or soft, they were in the habit of making that complaint. They were usually aggressive or downright rude about it too. "Why does every band want to make me deaf - can't you turn the damn thing down.." Then I would say, "Oh I'm sorry, I hate it too loud too. Let me turn it down a bit" and reach over so they can see me turn the volume down to the place I wanted it to be in the first place. The apology disarms them (I'm a good actor) and they leave with a smile thinking they got their way. Sometimes you just have to play the game. But now that the boomers are there, and were brought up on Rock music, they like it a little louder and even occasionally ask us to crank it up. Although t learned that request could also mean play some faster music. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted October 7, 2016 Members Share Posted October 7, 2016 i cant find a place to plug the gong in to begin with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted October 7, 2016 Moderators Share Posted October 7, 2016 here ya go, the electrified gong modification kit...you need to solder the white and black wires to the front and back of the gong. The green ground wire goes to the support frame.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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